At a month and a half, Dib found Zim covered head-to-toe in some kind of alien dust, blinking wide eyes and trying to rub at them. "Ugh, it got in my eyes! My precious eyeballs!"

"What's that?"

Zim turned to him, only just noticing he'd come in. "It's exploding powder. I was going to test it on the neighbor kid since he threw a rock at the window. It takes a whole half hour to fix the windows! That rotten little...!"

Dib sucked in a breath through his teeth. "What makes it explode?"

"It's homemade, that's why I'm testing it, but usually it's moving a lot. 'Cause, you know, everything has to move. Except for plants, but if I was going to explode a plant I'd just blow it up. Plants are dumb, they can't get out of the way."

If Zim wasn't literally the death of him via some weird alien weapon, giving his heart such a workout every day was certainly going to lean his demise toward cardiac arrest. "How do you get it off? "

"You're not supposed to without blowing into a billion pieces, but I'll just blast it off with cleansing gel. Computer! Bring me a hoverpad to go to the cleaning room!"

"Fiiine." A chute opened above Zim's head, but the little disk that shot out luckily didn't hit him. Zim carefully climbed up onto it.

"That won't jostle you or anything, right?"

Zim rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't be doing it if it did, would I?" At least Dib was pretty sure he'd rolled his eyes, from how the light changed in them. It must have been a habit he picked up from skool or from him. With irkens having only one color in their eyes, it wouldn't have exactly developed as a cultural thing there. Dib wondered for a moment what habits he'd pick up if he was on another planet for years on end, before Zim giving a little yelp brought his attention directly back to the matter at hand. Zim had nearly rammed into the door out and was fiddling with a small dial on the front of the disk. "Gir must have set it too high. He's got rockets, why would he- there!"

"You sure you don't just want me to carry you?"

"I'd use my pak legs if they wouldn't have too much movement. Your rudimentary meat-legs would be even worse."

"Riiight." Dib crossed his arms as Zim started floating down the hall. "Is there anything else in the room that'll explode since you spilled it?"

"The computer can clean that up," Zim said, shifting a little so he'd turn to the left. "I'd rather you not lose a foot, I'm not sure if the regenerative gel works on humans."

"How nice of you." Dib made a note to look for that- it would be good to study. Dad was always looking for new types of medicine.

"I am quite generous to you, aren't I?" Zim grinned at him, before hacking, sticking his tongue out. "Ugh, it got in my mouth!" He steered into the bathroom, carefully sliding off the disk and into the shower. "Dispense cleansing gel."

"Dispensing." The voice sounded slightly different from the house computer- maybe the bathroom ran on a different system? Dib wondered why it would need that- besides the house computer sometimes being uncooperative- when a solid sheet slopped down on top of Zim, sliding down his body almost like gelatin and encasing him in its wake.

"Zim? Is that what's supposed to happen?" Zim ignored him, holding his arms out. He was still fully clothed. That had to feel weird.

The gel moved down Zim's body, picking up all the powdery explosives before starting to melt when it hit the floor of the shower. Zim tugged at his gloves as he stepped out. "Ah, that's better- eh?" He looked down at his stomach. "Bathroom, you missed some!"

A lavender light ran over Zim. "Scanning ... subject is clean of any external contaminants."

"Some of it sunk into my skin!" Zim tugged up his shirt. "It had to, it's all squirmy in there!"

Dib rushed over. "Wait, something's moving around?"

"Maybe I swallowed some of it?" Zim set a palm flat against the curve of his abdomen. "Scan internal structure!" He was bathed in light again.

"Scanning. Foreign matter detected. Human DNA integrated with irken-"

"Yes, yes, I know of that. Is there any explody powder left?"

"0% powder detected."

"What is that, then?"

"Zim… they're moving." Dib's eyes were practically sparkling. "They must be big enough now to start trying to stretch out."

Zim stared down, eyes widening. "It's… moving?" He moved his hand where he'd felt the weird sensation, and felt a slight twitch, almost like a moth had been trapped in his guts. "Gah, how can it do that?"

Dib set his hand next to Zim's. "They've probably got arms and legs now." He spread his fingers out, trying to feel something other than the slight movement as Zim breathed, the normal pace hitching up at bit as Zim realized what was happening.

"Trying to already get out, huh? I like it." Zim grinned, nudging it with his fingertips and pressing down just enough to pale the skin around the gloves. "You're not going to get far yet. My body's too strong. But it's a valiant effort, for something that's part human."

"They're really moving…" Dib felt the faintest flutter under his palm. "We really made-"

"I made!" Zim said, pointing back at his chest. "It's growing in me, and it's only because of me that it exists in the first place."

"You wouldn't be having it if you weren't so bitey and my blood wasn't compatible," Dib argued. "But it's really moving now… there's a little person in there." He looked down again, irritation melting away. "Now, if you can just stop falling into exploding powder and getting attacked by rabid experiment beavers for the next few months we'll be golden."

Zim crossed his arms in a huff, but Dib swore that he could see the dusting of a flush across his cheeks and smiled a little wider.