I obviously don't own Invader Zim, just this story and some fan-made characters! No harsh critics please, I am sensitive. Thank you!
Test Stage IV
It was starting to get dark. His pale face was practically stuck over the container's glass surface.
"6:21 PM... Absolutely nothing... and so on..."
That damned experiment had become boring, irritating and now also pointless. He was willing to do anything, anything, to go home. Life itself had become so dull...
"Dad...?"
"THIS DOESN'T HAVE ANY SENSEEEEEEEEEEE! ...huh?"
"A-are you okay?"
"Oh... Hello, dear"
And right when he was about to lose his mind, there she was. That little brunette with great scared deer eyes.
"Sorry... I know you wanted me to stay with my aunt but... but..." she stammered.
"Hmm? What's the matter?"
Then she frowned determinedly and slammed her both hands over his desk, in another dramatic gesture.
"Dad, we have to talk"
He stared at her confusedly for some seconds.
"Sure... About what?"
"Ehm... Well... Whatever you want... Hum... How's work?"
He glared at the container, then back at her.
"Lame... And how's school?"
She shrugged.
"Fine, I guess"
"Good"
They silenced for a while.
"Dad... Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Do you think I'm... strange?"
"Huh? What do you mean? Of course you're not"
"Really?"
"Really"
"Really?"
"Why? Is that worrying you?"
She paused, looking away.
"Kinda..."
"Look, dear, if it has to do with your interests or anything like that then it's okay, nobody should judge you just by your likings, besides you are clever and nice and there isn't any reason to despise you, even if you are truly strange, there isn't anything wrong about it... as long as you don't hurt anyone..."
"It's not that serious, I was just feeling a little... excluded"
"What? Excluded? And why?" he exclaimed, suddenly disturbed.
"I'm not like the rest of the people, I... I... make delusions to battle boredom and I don't seem to fit in any group. That's why I think I'm like, excluded... That's why I think I have problems..."
He was still looking at her, now with sadness, and also deeply touched. Anyone would have thought that he was going to hug her, but instead of that, he seemed to snap.
"So? Who cares? Who on earth cares if you're not like them? Huh?"
Den startled, quite surprised by that reaction.
"D-don't I have to socialize?"
"Not if that makes you feel sick! I want you to be happy, I want you to be content with yourself!"
"How can I? Face it, dad, I'm an aberration!"
"No, you're not! You are unique..."
"Dad... That's just a gentle way to say the same thing"
And then, to surprise her even more, he stood up abruptly and leaned forward to face her.
"The same thing? The same thing! HAH! That's what they expect you to believe! To make you feel INFERIOR! And no matter of how merciless they can be, DON'T LET THEM DESTROY YOU! DON'T GIVE THEM THAT SATISFACTION! Heard me!"
She receded, slightly frightened by his completely spontaneous rampage.
"But... but..."
"NO BUTS!" he howled, to then return to the depressed tone "You still are young, Den... You still can be someone..."
"Dad..."
"It's not a bad thing to be unique, so stop thinking like that. Understood?"
"...are you sure that it's okay?"
"Of course. I wouldn't like you to change, anyway"
Den smiled, as her father approached and put one of his arms around her shoulders.
"So calm down, try to don't concentrate enough in your mind and start listening a bit more to your spirit"
"And... what if my spirit is troublesome?"
"You'll be fine, trust me. Just don't become one of them. Never"
She nodded, and then looked at the digital watch in her wrist, gasping briefly.
"Oh my, it's very late! I have to go already!"
"Then come on, I'll go with you... After all, this damned thing isn't going to change"
Once they left, the substance in the container turned phosphorescent.
And the next day, her spirit effectively aroused...
"C-come on! We have to walk faster now!"
"I know, I'm sorry"
"Why were you delaying, anyway?"
"I was just arranging some stuff"
Kiki tilted her head, staring closely at that wide smile, so unusual in Den's face.
"W-wow... It's the first time that I see you so glad"
"Oh, really?"
"Y-yes! Then did that talk with your dad help?"
"A lot!"
"T-that's good to know!"
Shortly afterwards, at school, the sickly sweet giggles returned.
"Look, Kiki!"
"Oh my, you did it!"
"Yes! My own saccharine album!"
"YAY! Can I see?"
Den was observing them, but at a prudent distance, in her comfy shadowy corner, next to the dumpster. There was no doubt, surely Zal's album was even cuter than Kiki's one. To begin, it had a fluffy missy pink cover, and then inside... A plague, a horrific plague of glitter hearts, stars, rainbows and other stuff that made Den shiver and go back to her business. She had gotten an album as well, and it was now open oven her knees, but what she was sticking over it was terribly far of being something cute. However, she seemed to be quite amused, even though most of those pictures were enough gruesome to cause anyone an irreversible trauma.
"Alert! Freak alert!"
She turned, recognizing that voice effortlessly. There he was again. That boy who had talked to her the first time, and who actually hadn't been precisely nice with her. Just as now.
"Good for you by detecting it! Now what about scanning the rest of the area and let me be? Huh?"
He was looking at her album out of the corner of his eye.
"Are you a homicidal in training now?" he inquired, perplexed.
"What? What kind of question is that?"
"I was wondering, since... Well, you seem to like collecting photos of disemboweled things..."
"It's called autopsy, you ignorant!"
"Uhuh..."
"Ian! What are you doing now?"
Both turned, to see Zal approaching.
"Stop bothering her!" she nagged.
"It's okay, he wasn't" interrupted Den, who wasn't in the mood of bearing any pointless discussion.
Then Kiki came as well.
"W-what happened? W-what's that? Oh my, Den! Did you make a saccharine album too?"
"I'd rather say a nightmare fuel album" mumbled Ian, looking away.
"D-don't be so mean! It's not her fault to be special!" replied Kiki, what only made Den facepalm.
"Can we see it?" asked Zal kindly.
"Hum... I don't think you would like it..."
"W-why not? Come on!"
"Seriously, Kiki, it's not your kind of stuff"
"W-we know you're not like us but we'll still like you anyway!"
Den sighed deeply.
"All right, but don't say I didn't warn you..."
"L-let's seee... Oh... OH MY GOD!"
"What? What is it, Kiki? Huh? W-what the...?"
"Oh, come on! Doesn't anyone here know anything about the Roswell incident?"
Then Ian popped up from nowhere again.
"The scandal of the false UFO in New Mexico?" he snickered.
"All right... I'll just pretend that I didn't hear that" groaned Den.
"Whaa? Do you really believe in those things? Oh God, I thought you were just plain strange but you're such a genuine freak!"
"Ian! Stop!" restarted Zal, but Den silenced her once more with a short gesture.
"It doesn't matter. Seriously"
"Whatever... Better stay away from freaks, girls" said Ian, shrugging and walking away.
"A-are you sure it doesn't matter?" asked Kiki worriedly.
"I am"
The bell went off, as the kids went to their classrooms. Den was about to follow her group when Kiki stopped her, taking her by one of her wrists.
"Den... I'm afraid these things you like are going to get you into trouble. You should keep them to yourself"
"Well, if that means that this will turn me into a freak then bring it on!"
And so, she ran away frantically. Kiki just watched, shaking her head with a quite disapproval glance.
However, Den found something that she truly didn't expect after arriving to her classroom. The door was closed, and her exaggeratedly happy teacher was there, standing and leaning over it. But she wasn't looking happy. Her expression was rather upset. Very upset.
"Den... Could we talk a second?"
"Hum... Sure...?"
"This way"
The woman took her hand and pulled her to a corner, still with that same cold stare.
"Now tell me... Do you want to be popular? To catch everyone's attention?"
"W-what?"
"Because there are better ways"
"I... I'm not getting this..."
"Someone has just told me about your fondness towards... UFOs"
"Oh, that... So?"
The teacher lifted an eyebrow, almost nervously.
"I don't think you are understanding" she added "I mean sightings, abductions, aliens... That stuff"
"I know what that is. So?"
"HOW CAN YOU EVER ASK THAT?"
Den startled scaredly, although that rage attack just lasted like three seconds, and then the woman calmed down, almost instantly, what only scared her even more.
"Den, darling, you should know it, that's not a good thing... It's... It's... rubbish"
"Excuse me, teacher, but don't you think that's a rude term?"
"Not if we are dealing with something profane!"
"Whaa? P-profane!"
"Didn't you know it? Any kind of paranormal business is strictly prohibited in this school!"
"W... Why?"
"That doesn't matter! I don't want to hear that you have been daydreaming with flying saucers or dissected aliens ever again! Understood?"
"At least tell me the reason!"
"I don't really know, the principal stated it ages ago or that's what I heard... and anyway who cares? It's a bad thing, just stop with that and start playing with dolls, for God's sake!"
"..."
It started to rain. Once the bell blared, everyone ran outside madly. Well, everyone but Den, who was just walking. Kiki was still inside with Zal, probably giggling and commenting how lovely were those damned hearts and rainbows in their albums. Den sighed. Well, everything had begun. She had just pulled the trigger of a lonely and undoubtedly misunderstood existence. She'd rather be a freak before resigning herself to have an entirely hypocritical clockwork smile in her face, just to hide how corrupted she would be from the inside, as the rest of all that insane humanity.
...
"So? Have you confirmed it?"
"Yes, my master"
"HAH! I KNEW IT!"
"I already have encountered her a few times but, in my opinion, she doesn't seem to be any kind of menace"
"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!"
"Hum... Master?"
"I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!"
"Master, please..."
"Even if she doesn't seem menacing for now, don't dare to lower your guard! She could attack ANYTIME!"
"But... What makes her so dangerous?"
"That... That... THAT BIG HEADED EARTH WORM! ATTEMPTING TO EQUAL OUR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY SO SHAMELESSLY!"
"What do you mean?"
"You have seen her, haven't you? It's ridiculously noticeable! He wasn't fleeing... HE WAS GETTING PREPARED!"
"I'm still unable to get this, master..."
"HE CREATED A BEAST! WITH HIS OWN DNA! BUT SHE'S SURELY MORE STRONG AND LESS SMART THAN HIM! LIKE ANY PERFECT MINION!"
"Are you talking about... a clone?"
"Clone? CLONE! NO WAY! That's a way too refined word! That's what you could be, but that...THAT is such a MONSTROSITY!"
"He calls her Den"
"SEE? Even her name sounds LETHAL!"
"..."
"We have to destroy her. And then..."
A third voice slipped in.
"Eat some waaaaffles?"
"NO, GIR, GET THAT OUT OF HERE! Now... We have to destroy her and then..."
"Ehm... Master... Shouldn't we destroy both? The creation and her creator as well?"
"All right, all right, BUT STOP INTERRUPTING ME! We have to destroy them BOTH and then... then... AAARGH I LOST THE IDEA!"
Indeed, he did :/
Also... Dib is so hard, like I have issues catching his personality e_e;
Oh well... If liked, review
Will be good for my self-esteem :3