A/N: Here you go, everyone. The first chapter of "Evolution of Evil", and I hope it was worth the wait. Sorry about that, but I kept getting side-tracked from my writing – mostly because I recently discovered just how addictive manga can be.
But, enough of my excuses, read on!
Disclaimer: Jana and the GESS belong to me. All canon Invader Zim characters belong to Jhonen Vasquez.
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The Membrane Household, The Next Day
Dib scratched idly at his scar as he waited for his laptop to finish remotely hooking up with the Irken escape pod sitting in his garage next to the remains of Tak's Spittle Runner. He liked to think of the pod as compensation for Jana destroying the ship; it wasn't as advanced, but it was still way ahead of anything else on Earth. Plus, its connection with Zim's computer had allowed him to do a little creative hacking.
Dib smirked slightly as he thought what he had done the other day after he had destroyed the EMP Cannon. He'd erased the blueprints for the cannon, as well as all the backup files, in order to prevent Zim from rebuilding it – not that Dib expected him to. He knew Zim well enough to know that he wouldn't bother repeating a failed plan; however, he had needed something obvious to distract Zim and the computer away from what he had really done. He had found the programming for the Electronic Security Field in Zim's base and managed to create a "back door" in it, which would allow Dib to bypass the interference and once again access his spy cameras within Zim's lab.
"Now, if only this stupid thing would connect," he muttered, looking at his laptop's screen, where the message "INITIATING HOOKUP" was displayed over a power bar that was very, very, very, slowly filling up.
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Zim's Base, Main Control Room, Same Time
"…And in other news, the Almighty Tallest have declared that due to increases in Resisty activity, sugar imports from Candyteria will be reduced," the anchor of the Irken News Network reported, "Tallest Purple would also like to stress that the sugar shortages are entirely the Resisty's fault, and have nothing whatsoever to do with recent enlargements of the Massive's snack pods. Furthermore-"
Zim gave a snort of disgust and deactivated the computer screen. "They would have been announcing my ascension to the throne of the Tallest right about now, wouldn't they?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at Jana, who stood at attention in the corner of the room.
The emerald-eyed assassin cocked her head in thought as she compared the current date with what she remembered from her history lessons at the Academy. After a few moments, she said, "No, milord. They would have been announcing Second Tallest Arnor's challenge to you for the throne. Tomorrow would have been the day you became Tallest, after you killed him in the ring."
"How'd I do that, anyway?" Zim asked, lifting an antenna in interest.
"It was simple really – though still rather ingenious," Jana added the last part quickly, as though afraid to hurt her master's ego. Zim chuckled slightly at that, and then gestured for her to continue.
"You faced each other in the ruins of this city, actually. For over an hour you fought amongst the rubble and the debris and the corpses of the humans, with neither one of you gaining an advantage over the other. Finally, you lured Arnor into what was left of a community pool; as soon as he entered you shattered the light fixture above him in order to temporarily blind him, and then you threw him into the pool. His battle armor weighed him down, so that by the time he got it off the water had dissolved enough of his body that he was unable to escape… probably."
Zim narrowed an eye in confusion. "Probably?" he asked.
Jana shrugged. "You blew up the pool facility to ensure that Arnor's PAK was destroyed so that none of his supporters could revive him. But this also had the side effect of no one being able to confirm exactly how he had died. Not that anyone really cared after that, since you had won the fight and therefore earned the right to be Tallest."
"Maybe this time I should just have you kill him in his recharge cycle," Zim mused, "Or better yet, have my new pets deal with him."
Jana blinked in confusion. "What new pets?"
Zim merely chuckled.
"Follow me and I'll show you," he said, as he stood up and walked towards the elevator. Jana followed obediently, staying a respectful distance behind.
The elevator descended into the bowels of the base, nearly two miles beneath the surface. Jana raised her antennae in confusion as she noticed how far down they were going.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, milord," she said, "but I thought there was nothing down here but storage rooms."
"Until last night, there wasn't," Zim answered with a shrug, "I had the computer construct a new lab module underneath everything else for my new project. I figured the further down it was, the harder it'll be for the Dib-human to infiltrate it."
Jana merely nodded her understanding, and waited for the elevator to reach the new lowest level. When it reached the bottom of the shaft, it opened up to reveal a short corridor leading to a single door, which slid open as the two Irkens walked towards them and closed behind them after they entered the room. As the doors slid shut, several overhead lights flickered on, filling the room with the same magenta glow as the rest of the underground complex.
The century's worth of assassin/bodyguard training Jana had gone through in order to achieve her status as a Shadow kicked in, and she instinctively scanned the room to absorb every detail of its layout. The door opened up onto a platform that overlooked a huge chamber filled with large clear tubes, which were filled with some sort of liquid and something else that she couldn't make out, due both to the distance and because of condensation on the outside of the tubes.
A hover platform floated over, and Zim stepped on, gesturing for Jana to do likewise. Once both passengers were on, a holo-pad flickered into existence in front of the would-be Tallest. Zim typed in a command, and the platform flew over to the center of the room, giving Jana an idea of just how big it really was. Her previous assessment of "huge" didn't do it justice – the chamber was the length and nearly twice the width of a football stadium, and evenly spaced along that entire space were hundreds, if not thousands, of the tubes she had noticed earlier.
"Impressed?" Zim asked, smirking at the awe evident on his servant's face.
Jana's gaze turned from examining the room to look at her master. "What is all this?" she asked.
"My victory," was Zim's only response, as he typed a command on the holo-pad. The hover platform stopped in midair, and then quickly descended to the floor. Zim stepped off and walked over to the nearest tube, Jana quickly following after him.
"I'm afraid I don't understand, sir," Jana said.
Zim still didn't answer. Instead, he reached over and placed his hand on the exterior of the tube. Wiping aside the condensation, he stepped back, allowing Jana a view of the contents. Peering through the now-clear container, Jana raised an antenna in confusion at the sight that greeted her.
Suspended within the tube by some sort of clear liquid was what appeared to be an embryo. However, despite crosschecking with the database within her PAK, Jana was unable to identify the species. Looking out the corner of her eye, she saw Zim smirking at her, silently urging her to try and guess at the nature of the creature within the tube. After several moments, she finally gave a sigh and muttered, "Alright, I give up, milord. What is it?"
The maroon-eyed Invader's smirk grew, before he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his back against the tube. "I call it a GESS," he said, "A Genetically Engineered Super Soldier. The perfect living weapon, if I do say so myself. And, as much as I loathe to admit it, I have the humans to thank for this."
Jana blinked, and gave her master an inquisitive look. Zim's smirk shrank – though it didn't disappear – as he stared into the distance, his memories playing over in his mind. "I found out that humans have for quite some time been studying their DNA in an attempt to find a way to improve their pathetic excuse for a species. Then, after I did a little bit of research, I found that Professor Membrane and others in this field have even proposed to incorporate animal DNA into the human genetic code in order to provide humans with some of the strengths of the animal kingdom. And then it occurred to me – if humans could combine the DNA of several species to create a better lifeform, then why can't I?"
Zim's smirk returned to its former size when he saw realization dawn in Jana's eyes. She swept her gaze around the room once more, taking in all the tubes, each one containing an infant GESS.
"So," she said at last, "You're combining the DNA of various animals in order to create your own private army of vicious creatures with which to destroy the humans." She paused, before a grin appeared on her face and she looked Zim straight in the eye. "You truly are brilliant, master."
Zim felt his face heat up. He didn't know why, but there was something about the way that Jana looked at him sometimes that made him feel all… warm and tingly inside. It wasn't that it was a bad feeling either, it was just something he wasn't used to. Shaking himself off, Zim brought himself back to the subject at hand.
"Yes, I know," he admitted, "But in any case, you are hereby ordered to guard this chamber. Should Dib somehow find out about this little project, he will no doubt try to make his way down here to destroy the GESS before they've been fully matured. That cannot be allowed to happen."
"How long will it take for the GESS to be completed?"
Zim scratched his chin as he thought that over. After a few moments, he said, "Well, the fluid they're being stored in is a special chemical compound designed to accelerate growth on a genetic level. So, I'd say it'll take about two weeks. Think you can handle that?"
The last part was said in a teasing tone he'd heard GIR use on occasion. He wasn't sure why, but it just felt appropriate. Jana blinked in confusion, but then she seemed to get the idea and grinned back at him.
"I think I can manage that, milord," she said with a bow.
Zim nodded, once again fully serious. "Good," he said, "I'll leave you to it then. I have to go make sure GIR hasn't left the front door wide open again."
He then turned around and walked onto the hover platform, which flew back towards the entrance to the chamber. Jana watched him go, a small smile on her face.
'So brilliant,' she thought, 'Even with history altered, nothing can ever change that brilliance, or his magnificence… and nothing can ever change the fact that he is so far above me, I will never be anything more than a servant to him. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to settle for basking in his glory from a distance.'
With that slightly depressing thought, Jana sighed and sat down cross-legged. Getting comfortable, she placed one hand on her energy sword in a preparatory position, and settled in to wait for anything that might happen.
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A/N: And I'll end it right there. I was originally going to include more of Dib and a more in-depth description of the GESS, but I figured I had made you all wait long enough. So, the physical description of the GESS will be later on, when they have all fully developed.
As for Dib, there'll be more of him next chapter when he attempts to break into the lab housing the GESS. Of course, Jana's also down there, so that should prove interesting…
Until then, read and review!