Dib glanced at his watch again. The bus should be coming any second now. Right on cue, a bus screeched to a halt and emptied its contents before blasting away again.
He looked in vain for Zim's various disguises but none of the people had green skin. Dib sighed and picked up the small dog crate that held the mangled pieces of Gir. He didn't want to resort to asking strangers when an alien army was coming to Earth. More than enough people already thought he was crazy.
Sucking up his pride for the sake of the greater good, Dib asked an old lady "Ma'am? Do you know when the Armada is coming?"
She gave him an odd look so he moved on to another person. This went on for quite some time until he approached a dark-eyed teenage boy, leaning back against a wall.
"Do you know when the Armada is coming? Yeah I know, stupid question. Look, I'm just trying to get my sister back!" Dib shouted, frustrated.
"Actually, I don't know. I'm hoping the Tallests left all those reports I sent in some corner to gather dust, but you never know what they'll do when they get bored and I know that they'll eventually come here if they want the whole Universal conquest thing like they say they do," the teen replied, smirking.
"Wait. Zim?" Dib stumbled over backwards in shock.
"Oh look, you know my name," the teen chuckled.
"Hold on a second. How do I know you're not some stranger who thinks its fun to mess with kids? You don't even sound like Zim and he never had a disguise this good!"
"Voice editor and a holographic projector. Basic equipment for Invaders, I just never used it," the teen shrugged.
"But if you used it, nobody would have known that you were an alien!"
"That's the point."
"What? Never mind. Where's my sister, Zim?" Dib demanded.
"At my base. So are you're eyeball friends going to capture me or what?" Zim asked.
"How'd you know they were here?"
"By your reaction just now."
Dib slammed his palm to his face. "Anyway, how do I know this isn't some elaborate plan to take over the Earth again?"
The teen rolled his eyes. "If you don't trust me, capture me and take me to your lab."
With that, Zim clicked some buttons and the dark-eyed teen was replaced by a small Irken. Then he held a device to his neck and pressed another button. Finally, Zim looked defiantly at the surprised boy and held out his arms.
"Well? What are you waiting for, Dib-stink?" Zim sneered.
Why was he hesitating? Wasn't this what Dib always wanted? Ever since Zim entered his classroom, all Dib had wanted was to reveal his secret, yet now, when the opportunity presented itself, he was hesitating.
Dib clicked a pair of handcuffs over Zim's wrists.