Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.
Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib may find that Zim's plans are the least of his problems…
'thought'
"speech"
-0-0- is a scene/character jump
Chapter 11
Dib slipped into the window of his bedroom. Everything was the same, nothing had been moved or touched. Dust coated everything, giving evidence to how much time has passed since he had last been here. With a heavy sigh, Dib carefully made his way towards his door. If he could just talk to father, maybe he could get transformed back and go on with his life! He had to convince the Professor, had to remind him that he was his son! He was family!
Resolute, Dib walked through the dark hallway and down towards where the usual sounds of his father working in the lab echoed up the basement stairs.
"You're back,"
Dib froze, turning around slowly.
Gaz stood there, arms crossed. She examined her brother through narrowed eyes. Still an alien, the flickering lights of the TV glinting off his amber eyes. Still dressed in his usual outfit, the trench coat a little ragged on the edges and a long rip going down one sleeve.
As Dib began babbling something about family and possible ways to reverse his transformation, she added another observation to the rest.
Still annoying.
"Gaz, please! I'm sure dad can find a way to fix this! He'll help me!" Dib pleaded; antennae flat against his head as he tried to make his sister see sense.
"You don't get it, do you Dib? Dad does not care. He sees you as an experiment. The same way he saw me as an experiment when you put that pig curse on me," She all but spat the last words, and Dib flinched as he remembered that time. "As for me, you better be grateful that I'm being as kind as I am! If dad had his way, you would be on the autopsy table and not just contained for research and observation." She reminded.
"But…dad can fix this…" Dib protested.
"Dad doesn't want to fix you. He enjoyed the fact that he was the first person to get credit for actual alien findings, even if you weren't there in person. No one would refute him when he said he had an alien. This time, however, he probably will go public with you." Gaz remarked, opening a can of cola and sipping it.
"This time?" Dib repeated, eyes widening farther before narrowing slightly.
"You really think he is going to try and help you? I saw his notes. Your DNA is completely alien. There is nothing human about you left! So: no way to turn you back into a human. Even if there was, I doubt he would try to help you. Father is a scientist first, a scientist second, and a father last." Gaz said, glaring at her brother.
"I'm his son…he wouldn't…Gaz! I'm your brother! How can you just write me off and let me get poked and gawked at by scientists??" He demanded, stepping forwards and pointing an accusing claw at her.
"How can I? I had the same thing happen to me! And YOU were the cause of it!" She shouted back.
"Then you know what I will go through! How can you just let that happen? And besides, I helped you out of there!" Dib growled; eyes narrowing.
"No matter, Dib. You don't realize the extent of how long I've tried to get rid of you and your taint upon my life!" Gaz said darkly.
"What do you mean?" Dib blinked.
"Remember the PEG incident?" She asked, sipping more of her cola.
"Yea…" Dib's eyes widened. "Zim had been using the Dib-Spy robot…but you destroyed it."
"Yes. And it would have been YOU that I had destroyed, if it hadn't been a robot. I really was trying to do it, too. I could've just said you had an accident down there. But no, you got lucky." Gaz explained to her horrified brother.
"You…you were going to kill me??" He gasped, disbelief written all over his expression.
"Yes. And then there was that time you got captured by Zim. I was all for letting you die by his hands and going out for pizza with dad. Too bad dad said you had to be there." Gaz remarked, counting on her fingers. "And then when you got abducted by those moronic aliens, I was hoping you wouldn't get away. But you did."
"If you want me dead so much, then why don't you just let dad do his autopsies??" Dib shouted, not caring that he might be dooming himself by saying so.
"Even I have to admit the wrongness of dad killing his own son, no matter how weird his son is, by dissecting him as an experiment." she took a deep breath, letting it out and seeming to relax a bit from her angry stance.
Dib shook his head. He couldn't believe it…all this time, he knew Gaz didn't really like him…but to have the full extent of her hate was startling.
"Anyways, I think it's time dad found out you are home again. I'm sure he'll be sooooo happy that you came back." Gaz said, giving a smirk that sent chills up Dib's spine. "DAD!!!" She shouted, louder than ever. "DIB IS BACK!!!"
Dib cringed as footsteps sounded up the stairs, and the lab door burst open to reveal Professor Membrane.
"Dib!" he strode forward, eyeing his alien-son. "You did come back…"
"Dad…please…don't lock me up…we can fix this, I know we can!" Dib pleaded, eyes wide. If only his father would see that he was his son, even if he looked different! And that it was wrong for a father to experiment on his son!
"Sure thing, son. Let's go down to the labs, and I will see what I can do." Professor Membrane said, but the expression behind his goggles made his intent clear.
He wanted to begin his research upon Dib once more.
Dib did not have much of a chance to escape, as the house defenses sent down a claw that quickly grasped Dib, pulling him after his father down to the lab.
Gaz stood at the top of the stairs, finishing up her cola and crushing the can.
"No autopsies, dad." She reminded him firmly, before turning about to go back to the living room, flicking through the channels once more.
-0-0-
Dib glared at his father – no, not his father. Not anymore. Dib's eyes narrowed. He'll find a way out of here…he will! He'll figure out what to do afterwards, but first he had to worry about getting free.
They hadn't put him in a cell this time, oh no. They weren't going to have another escape. Now he was in a tube filled with a thick green liquid, one that Dib had always imagined Zim being contained in. Now it was him being held in one. He couldn't break lose the same was as before, he could barely get enough leverage to do anything as he floated in the substance.
The Professor and his assistants walked around outside the tube in the labs, their voices muffled and their images distorted by the thick, curved walls of the tube. Dib was prodded and poked, given electrical shocks that had him screaming. X-rays were used to view his skeleton and wires read his vitals and brain impulses.
Dib fell into a state of semi-depression. He had fallen for it. He had escaped once, and then went right back into the trap. He had abandoned Zim, when the other Irken had merely helped him. Granted, he still didn't like Zim, but now that he had offended him and took off, he probably is on his own from now on.
Soon he was moved to Professor Membrane's main lab, and he heard rumors that he was soon going to make an appearance on the Professor's show. If that happened…he would have so much publicity as the first ever captured alien…he would find it nearly impossible, or just downright impossible, to escape.
Days turned into weeks, and Dib found no rest from the constant experiments and 'scientific observations'. It was torture, to be blunt. He was caused pain in the name of science, he barely had enough to eat, and he had gone days without sleep, too afraid of the nightmares that were taking over his few hours of rest.
He took to staring out at nothing, retreating into his own mind as the countless terrors of his waking and sleeping moments, of his entire life at this point, drove him into a daze of memories. He refused to register the majority of what was going on outside his prison, instead reflecting on the better moments of his past, the times where life was bearable: he was human, his family life had not been shattered, and Zim was still the enemy and not becoming the only person that showed an ounce of concern over his well-being.
He remembered school, the awful class-mates, being picked on, and trying to expose Zim. The good times…the times where he had a mission in life, a goal to complete. He was working for the good of the Earth, and when the time came for the people he was saving to realize what he had done for them, he would be picked on no longer…he would be a hero, and Zim would be the first alien to be captured alive.
Now it was different. Earth didn't care; Earth would rather pretend nothing was going on. His family was dead, to his mind and heart. They betrayed him, caused him pain emotionally and physically. The people he had tried so hard to save were now the ones destroying his life and spirit by locking him up and using him for 'science'. Zim was not the enemy anymore, but instead had become something close to a friend, if such a thing could be said. He cared, at least a little. He respected Dib for who he was, he saluted Dib's efforts to save the Earth, where everyone else called him crazy and hurt him for it.
No, his world of memories was more comforting than real life.
Gaz stopped by, every now and then. She said things, but he didn't hear comprehend what she said. He saw her mouth move, her hands make gestures…but he couldn't understand. It was muffled and almost as if she was speaking another language. He would just stare at her with vacant eyes, focusing on a point past her shoulder and looking through her as she spoke.
It had been this way for four days after he had been brought into the main labs, when he realized just how serious his predicament was. The Professor was not going to come to his senses and let Dib out, Gaz was not going to have a change of heart, and Zim was not going to come to the rescue, too busy with his world domination.
So he continued to turned his attention inwards, burying himself in happier memories and blocking out what was going on outside his little world. Anger and hurt was all he could feel when he saw anyone outside his tube, especially Gaz and the Professor. Soon, hurt was gone, replaced by utter loathing and hate. THEY caused him this pain! THEY caused him this loneliness, this utter feeling of hopelessness and despair! They will pay, oh they will pay!
But, stuck in a tube, it seemed he would never get the opportunity to get away. The blinding rage that infused him soon disappeared as well, hiding in a back corner of his mind, waiting for any chance to be free. Soon he showed nothing, not hate, or hurt, or rage, or despair…all he did was stare through half-lidded eyes, stare into the nothingness beyond his prison.
Three weeks after he had been recaptured, and four days before he was to be shown to the public, something different happened than was usual on these routine nights.
The lab was closed, shut down for the night. Few lights were on, and Dib was staring vacantly at a distant spot on the opposite wall, the blinking of a fire alarm/smoke detector. This was usual, this is how it had been for three weeks.
So the sudden hissing as the lab doors opened caught his attention and drew him from his memory-world, bringing him to reality and back to the present, at least for a few moments. A man in a lab coat walked in, moving in a funny, stiff manner.
At the sight of him, amber eyes that were once half-lidded and distant were suddenly narrowed menacingly and glinted with anger, shining brightly in the light from the open doors.
The scientist walked up to Dib's tube, peering up at him through glazed eyes. The man looked out of it, staring vacantly like Dib had been doing moments before. Suspicious, Dib watched every move the man made. This was one of the Professor's assistants, one of the main scientists below the famous Professor Membrane.
He helped with the torturous experiments that had been done on Dib.
The man reached out and punched in his access number, and then proceeded to type in his password to access the main controls on the tube holding Dib prisoner. He began to enter commands, and Dib tensed, prepared for the worst. Why was he here so late at night?
Dib nearly jumped out of his skin when the liquid in his tube began to drain, and he suddenly felt solid metal beneath his feet. Oddly enough, the liquid slid completely off him, and didn't soak into his clothes as he thought it would. Oh well, means he didn't have to deal with the issues of being wet and leaving a trail when he escaped.
The scientist entered another command, and Dib watched curiously as the front of the tube slid open, allowing Dib to exit. But he didn't, too wary and cautious to just leap right out. What was the scientist planning? Why was he doing this?
With the absence of the tube walls to muffle sounds, Dib suddenly realized that the scientist was muttering something under his breath. Stepping carefully out of his prison, Dib listened closely as he scanned his surroundings for any sign of a trap.
"Let alien out…Master said to…wait…I said to…" the man was completely out of it, stumbling back and heading back to the door. "More tacos…I need more tacos." And he walked out, leaving Dib standing there in confusion.
What was he talking about, with the master said to and he said to?
Deciding to puzzle it out later, Dib took off through the dark labs, having no problem seeing in the dark, as his eyes were far superior to how they used to be and he had been in the dark for so long in the labs.
Finding a window, Dib brought out a spider leg from his long-unused Pak and shattered it, but luckily no alarms sounded.
Climbing out, Dib landed and glanced about, wondering what he should do now. He stood out quite a bit…wait! He had hidden the holographic projector in his Pak! But by now everyone would know him…so…
His Pak opened and a metal appendage came out, handing him the projector. He took it and rolled it over in his hands, letting it dangle and spin from its chain, watching as the street lights glinted off of it.
Nobody noticed Zim and his awful disguise, or Gir and his obviously fake doggy suit. So…if he activated the disguise and made a few minor changes…maybe they won't notice? The people of this place were so blind…it could just work.
Slipping it around his neck and pushing the buttons to activate it, he decided he'd just risk his luck. He looked into a nearby window to see how well he looked, and frowned when he saw his outfit.
His clothes were by now ragged and torn, both from his space trip and the time in the tube. He had better get new ones. But all his clothes were in his room…should he risk sneaking in?
Why not? It's not as if Gaz would be expecting him, and the Professor was probably out doing something or down in the house labs.
With new determination, and more aware of his surroundings than he had been in three weeks, Dib took off in the direction of his old home.
-0-0-
Climbing up to his window was easy, and silently forcing his window open was as simple as it had always been. He was thankful for all the times he had snuck out to go face Zim, since now he was quite experienced with all the noisy things in his room, and knew how to open his window without a sound.
Slipping inside and changing clothes hastily, he debated packing some more but decided to use only his backpack, as it was small and wouldn't weigh him down. Piling more clothes into it, as well as a few keepsakes like his X-scope goggles and such, he pulled on his only other trench coat and hid his old clothes in the closet, taking off out of the window again.
His ship should still be where he left it. He had hidden it where no one would think of looking, and no one was likely to stumble across it. He ran to the mall, careful to keep to the more deserted parts of the road as cars went by and one or two people were out walking.
With as blind as people were here, Dib had hidden his ship in plain sight, and yet it was masterfully disguised.
There! The Odd Emporium, largest store selling sci-fi and paranormal items in town. Dib used to go there all the time, browsing for new things to use against Zim. This is where he bought his Crop Circle magazines. They sold all sorts of stuff on aliens, big foot, the Loch Ness monster, you name it. If it was a monster or unnatural phenomenon, it was here somewhere.
The most notable part of the store, however, was the space-ships built on top, gaudily painted and decorated. No one ever noticed one extra ship appearing in the midst of the others, this one being a bit less bright in color and different in design.
Glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, Dib activated his Pak legs and skittered up the wall, making his way over to his ship. Opening it up and jumping in, he typed in the access codes that he had installed to prevent anyone from stealing his ship.
With a happy chime, the ships computer panel turned on, showing the Irken icon. Dib still hadn't figured out how to get rid of it, and now he could care less. Statistics and information ran across the screen, some of it in the Irken language. Dib had learned how to read it while flying with Zim to warn the Massive, so he didn't have any trouble understanding it.
The ship was in full working order, nothing had been bothered or even noticed while it had been up here, and it was flight capable and ready to go.
Dib began working controls, pushing buttons and entering commands into the ship, and with a low hum it began to lift off the roof of the store and hovered for a moment, before gaining more height and speed.
As the ship progressed higher and higher the lights of Dib's old town became smaller and smaller, until he was up into the higher atmosphere.
It was when he got out of Earth's atmosphere and into actual space that Dib breathed a sigh of relief. He rested his head in his hands, eyes clenched shut. He was free. They couldn't get him out here, they didn't have the technology.
But even though he was free from the labs, he was not free from his emotions. The hurt was there, pressing against his mind trying to demand his attention. But it was too painful to think about, to think about Gaz or dad…
The anger and hate was there, though, much stronger than the hurt. Despair was also pressing in, and he was close to breaking down. There really was no where to go. Sure, he had gone through this the last time he had escaped from the labs, but then he still had hope he could return and get changed back and resume his life. He had hope, back then. He had a mission: he was going to keep stopping Zim, and resume his life when he figured out a cure.
But now…no cure, no family…there was no hope. No one cared. Gaz wanted a life without Dib, Professor Membrane wanted his science and experiments, and Zim wanted to conquer and destroy Earth. The people of Earth wanted to remain oblivious to their imminent doom, and Dib was so confused as to what he wanted.
He wanted his old life back, his human life, his normal life of chasing big foot and spying on Zim. But that was impossible. There was no way he could go back. What options were open to him now? Wander the galaxy, homeless and friendless, until he died? Join Zim in his quest and destroy Earth? Become what the Tallest thought he was? An Invader?
That one had merit in the fact that he wouldn't be alone; he would have a goal in life again. He would be respected; he could have a semi-friend in Zim. But…was it right? It had moral drawbacks. He would be living a life of enslaving and destroying other races, of conquering planets.
Could he live with that?
Reaching orbit around Earth, Dib sat back and mused over his situation. He really did not know what to do. His desire for respect and acceptance warred with his moral issues and beliefs. He felt it was wrong to do that to other races, but…if the Irkens are the only ones that would show him respect and companionship, and actually treat him decently, why bother saving those who didn't? What did he owe the people of Earth? All they had done to him was give him a life of abuse and neglect, and then when he became even more different from them, they set about to experiment and study him, with no regards to his health or feelings.
For all he knew, Zim would just kill him for Dib leaving him like he did.
It was so confusing!
Dib sighed, opening his eyes and regarding the stars outside absently. There was Orion…and the moon…and Zim's station…
Wait…Dib blinked, snapping his gaze back to the space station. When he had last seen it, it had been tilting crazily to one side and horribly damaged from the Resisty attack…now it was as clean and polished as it had been before.
Zim fixed it? Well, that made sense. The Invader still had a mission, and he couldn't have his base anymore.
As Dib was musing over this, little did he know that he was being watched by the same person he was thinking about.
-0-0-
Zim frowned, tapping a claw against the computer counsel. His latest plan had gone off without a hitch, since there was no Dib to interfere. The human-made-Irken had taken off and left Zim once they had reached Earth.
Zim scowled as he thought about it, remembering back. He couldn't believe that the Dib still wanted to try and live his old life! He did not realize how good he had it now! He was Irken, he was superior! He had a career as an Invader ahead of him, something he would be good at if any of the experiences Zim had with him were any indicator. He had the mind for it.
But no! He up and ran off, trying a second time to fit in with a family and a world that didn't want him! He left ZIM!
Well, Zim knew he could have better. Dib had been a nuisance, but he had also been a worthy opponent. Now that he was not interfering with Zim's plans, he wasn't really a nuisance or an opponent. No, now he could be something more. He could be a partner, a fellow Invader, in Earth's downfall.
The Dib just had to realize that he was better off with the Irken Empire than with the inferior beings of this dirt planet.
But Zim knew the other Irken was realizing it. Spending three weeks in that awful human lab, held captive by his own parental unit, surely would grind in the fact that he was unwanted there and his life was meaningless if he didn't accept the facts: he was meant to be an Irken Invader.
So, Zim had decided to give his once-time enemy a hand. He'll forgive the fact that Dib ran off headlong into the trap set by the humans.
The orange mind-controlling nano-bots that Zim had made, or the pixie stick stuff as Gir named it, had been successfully recreated after the first failure. Zim had made more, and made extra this time, and he had finally been able to introduce it into the fast-food restaurants. The tacos, hamburgers, and chicken of this town now contained the mind-controlling nano-bots.
And one specific scientist who worked under Professor Membrane had an unhealthy liking for tacos. Zim had used this to his advantage, making this human the first test subject to his new nano-bots.
It had gone without a problem. Another victory for Zim! The pitiful human had freed the Dib, just as he was told. There was a small problem where he didn't quite think it was his own idea, but that was soon solved by a little more forceful commands from the nano-bots.
Now the Dib was free. What he did now was up to him.
To see Dib's ship suddenly fly up and begin to orbit was not a surprise to Zim. He was quite pleased to say the truth. Now all he had to do was get Dib onto the space station, keep him here and out of trouble, while Zim's plan reached its peak! And then, when the humans of this town rioted and began to terrorize the normal population, Zim would call the Tallest and the Armada would come.
Come and destroy all of Earth and humanity!
But first, he had to get Dib in a place where he could keep an eye on him and keep him out of the way.
-0-0-
Look! An update!!
So yea…I fell into the norm and made Dib join Zim. Why? Because I can't think of any other way for this story to end, unless Dib dies lol.
Anyways, here's a belated chapter for those who still will read it lol.