Dlbn: Hello, everyone! Been a very busy few weeks, so no time to update. Plus, there was that time my husband forgot to pay the cable bill and e had no internet for a week or so.
Nbld: Not to mention work changes, a final diagnosis of narcolepsy (and fighting with my insurance to get the meds for it), not to mention mine and hubby's birthdays (six days apart) plus festive bird eating day and Black Friday…not to mention the end of the world snowstorm a couple days ago.
Dlbn: Yeah, life's been crazy lately, yo.
Nbld: Don't ever do that again. Review corner! Thank you to Zim'sMostLoyalServant, Invader Johnny, and thejammysod for reviewing! Candy and cake for you all!
Zim'sMostLoyalServant: Thank you. They do need some positive things going on for them. After all, its been nothing but doom and gloom for quite some time. One meeting coming right up!
Invader Johnny: I'm glad you enjoy it. Meeting coming up shortly!
Thejammysod: Aw thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying! I was worried about having too many OCs since I know that was frowned upon for the longest time and might still be by some people, but it's worth it. More coming up soon!
Disclaimer: I own my cluster of OCs (thank you thejammysod for that phrase!), and the plot. Everything canon to Invader Zim belongs to Jhonen C. Vasquez. I make NO money off writing this.
Dedication: Dedicated to my husband and I for our birthdays last month!
Dedication 2: Dedicated to my sister and my brother in law's one-month anniversaries of starting their hormone therapy!
000
Dib was waiting outside Membrane Industries with his hood up at the meeting time the note had given Zim. He didn't sense anyone else around, but he still wished he had packed his military pistol into his belt just in case. Dib seemed to be trying to avoid being seen, which didn't surprise him. The only thing that would see him if he was alone were the security cameras. Zim stopped a few feet away from him, knowing enough to keep distance between himself and who was now his rival instead of his friend. The thought that he couldn't trust Dib with this stung, but he brushed it aside.
"What is it?" Zim asked.
"I didn't want to risk leaving a note in your locker and having someone see me." Dib told him. "No one has said anything about who wrote on Keef's desk."
"And this helps how?"
"It was Torque. No one has to say it. The smirk on his face was clear as day at that assembly; staff just turned a blind eye like they always do." Dib shrugged. "And not to mention I saw a sharpie fall out of his bag, and he tried to hide it, so it's pretty obvious."
"Thanks. For keeping your word, I mean."
"Of course…just don't tell anyone, alright?"
"Fine…Dib…?"
"Yes?"
"You're not setting me up here are you?"
"For what?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
"Okay…I'll see you tomorrow…I guess. Maybe in another timeline, we could have been friends still."
"Yeah, maybe."
Zim watched the teenager shove his hands into his pockets and slink off into the night, blending almost perfectly in his all black attire. If it wasn't for Zim's superior night vision that all Irkens possessed, not only ones that were military, he wouldn't have even known where he was going. He watched until the boy disappeared around a corner and sighed. Well, at least he hadn't been jumped and he got some information out of Dib. It wasn't as good as a solid I know who did it and here's your proof like he had hoped, but a hint was better than nothing. Zim turned and began walking home, shoving his hands in his coat pockets and wishing he'd brought his standard military issue 90 GAT laser gun with him. Or his pistol. He didn't see or sense anyone nearby but that didn't mean people weren't around. About halfway home, he felt his blood run cold and stopped in his tracks. He was still alone, as far as he could tell, but the uneasy feeling was still there. Curse his military instincts being on overdrive. He waited for a few moments, hearing nothing, until something moved in his peripheral vision. He turned to see what it was and found himself face to face with a group of guys, a little older than he was.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"What are you doing out this late at night…all alone…Junior?" One of them asked.
Zim recognized the voice immediately. "Drey Glibert." He greeted. "To what do I owe the pleasure? I wasn't even aware any of you were here."
"You have no idea what's going on around you as far as Covert is concerned, do you?" Drey chuckled. "We've been here a while. Watching, waiting…observing."
"If you're attempting to intimidate me, I feel it's only right that I warn you that I'm not afraid of you." Zim snorted. "And that I'm trained by the military to fight to kill. Step to me if you want, but I can't be responsible for my actions if I black out and go into battle mode."
"You're not as intimidating as you pretend to be, Junior, and I'm pretty sure you know that." He gave a nod of his head and the others fanned out, encircling the lone gangster.
"Tch, I should have known this would lead to no good." Zim turned his head this way and that to crack it. The satisfying pop made him sigh and rub the back of his neck. "Damn kid…"
"The boy? Nothing to do with this." Drey shook his head.
"Kid couldn't scheme his way out of a garbage can." Another man with green eyes commented.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Dirke." Zim informed. "Misinformed and a bit naïve, I admit, but Dib is far from stupid. He's the kind of kid that people like us grow up to work for."
"You're not even friends, and you're defending and complimenting the kid like that?" Dirke snorted. "You're something else, Junior, you know that?"
"So, I've been told. Many times." Zim agreed. "I'm merely pointing out facts. You know how I love proving Caleb's puppets to be fools."
That made something in the other males snap and they charged him at once. He ducked a fist sent by Drey, only to narrowly miss an incoming hit from Dirke. He cursed as he maneuvered around that hit. Every time he avoided one fist, another one almost hit him. He felt a little exhilarated, in a way. It had been a long time since something like this happened, and he was starting to feel like his old self. Even in elite training, fights like this were a common practice. A few tactics to break the circle kicked into his memory and he attempted to put them to good use. He ducked, letting two of them collide, and used the rebounding force to shove both away and burst open the circle of gangsters. He rushed through the opening, sliding on the ground and ripping open his jeans as he did so. Someone grabbed his arm and yanked him back. Zim threw a fist and felt the satisfying pop of a jaw popping. A popped jaw from just one blow? Looked like Caleb was somewhere in the mix. The person he hit stumbled back and he caught a glimpse of Caleb holding his busted jaw before the circle closed in around him and hid the lead gangster from view. With him most likely rendered unable to talk, he wasn't going to be able to call off his group. Either Zim was going to have to knock all of them on their asses, or he'd have to slip away somehow. They seemed determined to stop him from getting away, so it was likely he'd have to resort to the first option. Covert wasn't large, but it was large enough that if they were all present, a few could step out to let others join in the fray. Zim caught a fist sailing towards his face and smashed it back into the owner's face while he kicked back and landed his foot in someone's stomach. He heard the one behind him grunt and ducked, pulling their legs out from under them with one of his legs as someone attempted to hit him and instead tripped over him, landing on top of the one he'd kicked.
"Tch." He muttered to himself as he spun on his heel to get away from a few that attempted to jump on top of him and stood up.
He heard a clink and looked down in time to see a little metal ball on the ground. It was about the size of a baseball. Someone had to have planning on using it as a weapon and dropped it. Without warning, it whirred and opened, spewing a cloud of grey gas. The Irkens all began coughing but kept on swinging even as the smoke became too thick to see through. Zim felt a hand on his wrist and spun around to punch the offending owner of said hand, but came face to face with Dib, his mouth covered by a black cloth. He handed one to Zim.
"Come on!" He ordered, giving the wrist a tug. "This won't last too long."
Zim nodded, holding the cloth to his mouth with his free hand and letting Dib weave him through the crowd of Irkens and away from the smoke. Zim looked back but couldn't see anything through the thick haze. He could hear people grunt as their punches missed or they were contacted with someone else's strike.
They were a block from Zim's house when Dib finally let him go and pulled the mask off his mouth.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
Zim coughed, removing his own cloth. "What…the hell was that…?" He asked.
"One of dad's inventions he's always asking me to test out. At least now I know it works."
"Not what I was asking."
Dib flushed. "I heard the commotion and I followed the voices. When I realized it was you talking, I stopped and watched a bit…you're good…"
"Thanks…" Zim rubbed his jaw where a fist had grazed him. "Then you didn't know about this?"
"I don't even know who they were." Dib shook his head. "Care to explain? They look older than us."
"Those are Caleb's goons from back home." Zim informed. "I didn't realize any of them were here. Probably hid in plain sight."
"Was he there…?"
"Yeah."
"Damn it…I'm sorry…I feel like they used me to get to you…"
"Used you? What, you think Caleb got wind of us meeting?"
"I don't know what to think, but it's possible, isn't it? It's Caleb." Dib shook his head. "Far be it for me to talk bad about my friends, but there's always been something…off…about him."
"Oh?"
"He's clearly the leader type, yet he lets Torque call all the shots and offers advice when needed. It doesn't fit his personality at all."
"So, you've noticed." Zim nodded. "I'm rather certain he's just letting Torque think he's in charge."
"I…guess that's possible. You know him better than I do."
"Yeah." Zim shrugged. "Well, even if he knows you were meeting with me, he isn't saying anything any time soon. I popped his jaw."
"You broke it?"
"Dislocated."
"Oh…remind me to never piss you off."
Zim laughed. "A good lesson learned."
"Was…was all that true?"
"What?"
"That you're trained by the military…to kill…?"
"Uh…"
"I hope it was a bluff, but I don't think I'm stupid enough to believe that it was…"
"I'm not sure I can answer that, Dib…"
"I'm not sure I want you to." Dib smiled sadly. "We've all got our demons, right?"
"Yeah, we do."
Dib rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…I should get going home…it's like two AM."
Zim nodded. "You…want to come in for a bit? Rest up and leave later?"
"You don't mind…?"
"You saved my ass, kid, and probably saved their lives." Zim replied. "I have no ill will against you, I never have."
"If you did, you wouldn't have defended me to him…Drey…?"
Zim shrugged. "Yeah, I guess not."
"Thank you for the offer…but I should just go home. I don't want anyone to find me here and start trouble…"
"Yeah, I hear you." Zim rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…I'll see you in class…"
"Right. Stay safe, Zim. Don't worry Lahna and Sila too much."
"I won't."
"I hate to ask, but…what's the deal with you and Lahna, anyway? She practically clung to you from the moment you met."
"She's my sister."
"Oh…I had no idea."
"We've been separated for a while. That's all you really need to know."
"Yeah. Not my business, right?" Dib laughed. "And no one else's either, honestly."
"We all have our demons."
Dib cracked a small smile. "See you around…Junior…"
"Thanks…Dib…"
Zim watched the teen start to leave.
"Dib?"
"Yes?" Dib stopped and turned to look at him.
"Anyone gives you shit; you slip it to me, and I'll handle it, a'right?"
"Why? We're not friends…"
"Consider it my repaying you for tonight."
"Sure."
"We'll always be friends, you know, even though we're not. In some way, we're always going to have that connection." Zim told him. "Ya desen. Means for life. A'right? Don't forget that."
Dib returned to his side and pulled him down to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you."
Zim didn't say anything as the boy flushed and rushed off towards home. He blinked before shaking his head and laughing sadly. The gangster turned and looked up at the brightly shining full moon and stars as he walked into his yard. He spared one last glance back to the path Dib was taking but didn't see him. With a sigh, he unlocked his door and slipped inside. The light clicked on almost automatically.
"Where have you been?" Sila asked, standing up from the couch. "I was about to go looking for your ass. Chase said you left."
She was dressed to go out, maybe even looking for a fight.
"I had a meeting." Zim replied, hanging up his leather jacket.
"You met with Dib? What did he say?"
"Torque did it to Keef's desk, basically. No one outright said it, but he's put two and two together."
She nodded once. "So, what do we do now?"
"I don't know, but I need a beer."
"That bad?" She followed him into the kitchen.
"I got jumped on the way home."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Covert's here."
"Dib set you up."
"He came back for me."
"I don't follow."
"We went our separate ways, and that's when I ran into Drey and the rest of the goons." Zim replied, opening the fridge and grabbing a can of beer. "We fought, and Dib got in the way."
"Is he nuts?"
"Threw some kind of smoke bomb his dad had him test out and dragged me out of there."
"You think he's coming around?"
"To a degree, I do." Zim opened the can and took a drink. "Kissed me on the cheek before he left. I told him if Caleb or his crew gives him shit to come to me. I got his back."
"You're insane." Sila shook her head. "A kiss, huh? Looks like I've got competition."
Zim chocked on his beer. "What?" He coughed.
"What? Nothing. Loosen up." She brushed it off, leaving.
"Sila?"
"What?" She poked her head back into the kitchen.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Just wondering…" He paused. "You were worried about me?"
She shrugged. "You're oblivious, Junior." She complained, leaving again.
Zim sat down to finish his drink, mulling over her words. Oblivious to what?