Decay

Chapter #2: Because.

I'm Zim. Invader Zim. I am an Irken Invader from the planet Irk, an elite trooper trained to weaken a planet's infrastructure to ease the conquest of my leaders.

Or I was.

You see, a few years ago I was informed of the fact that I was, in the terms of the Tallest, "A defective runt with no place in the Irken armada," and told that my mission to conquer the planet Earth was simply an exile. They had no idea what the name of the planet was, or whether it even existed. Of course, they didn't inform me of that fact when they sent me packing in my tiny Voot Cruiser on a six month voyage with an insane robot assistant.

Well, needless to say when I was informed of my status in the Tallest's logs that I was defective, exiled, and dead, I was furious. I raged and threw a tantrum, bashing computers, smashing furniture, and even decimating my little robot companion.

When I came to I found the house in shambles, everything, everything in the house, from the various lab room supplies to the attic's landing pad, and even to the voot itself was destroyed, leaving me with nothing. I buried my robot, detonated my home, and set off with what meager supplies I had on hand.

I had no idea where I was going or what I would do when I left, but I found that I had nothing to lose, and simply sat alone in the earth-park for many days, through rain and fog, just staying on a park bench, never sleeping, never moving. People actually came to stare at me on the one day it snowed. Heh, my skin, although freshly treated by glue, was already in burning pain. Eventually the crowd dispersed, leaving me alone.

Or so I thought. One person stayed behind. The Dib creature. "Hey, Zim!" he shouted menacingly. I remember it as clear as if it were today, his glasses reflecting the bright white of the snow around us, an evil, toothy grin upon his face. He was in his simple coat and frowning t-shirt, and his hair was still in the dirty scythe it was the whole time during our original encounters.. "Seems like I have you caught!"

An Irken never surrenders. Never. He made me realize that even without the backing or blessing of my leaders I still had a war to fight. A war against Dib, a war against humans altogether. "No, Dib." I said, "It is I who has you caught!" I burst from my seated position, showering our surroundings with snow and gripping for my adversary, shouting a battlecry.

We tumbled to the ground, trapped in a death vice, and I came out on top, my hands wrapped around his throat. I could feel my claws digging into his flesh, drawing a little blood before being kicked off, back into the snow. "Give up, Zim! Your almighty Irken prowess is nothing against me!"

I lay there in the snow with Dib lording over me, his fists clenched tight. Then he kneeled over me, before he was even able to make another move, I hit him with my head and entered a forward roll, tumbling into the bench with a painful crack. I gave an angered shout; Dib had recovered quickly, getting behind me and gripping my head, pulling it back. My eyes opened as wide as they had ever been and my contacts popped out and landed upon the bench, then Dib removed my wig and gripped my antennae forcefully. I gave a horrible shout. "You son of a whore!" I yelled. Taking his arms into my hands, I pulled him straight over me, and his head hit directly upon the back of the bench with a resounding impact. I stood to my feet, my anger boiling deep inside. "Give up, Dib, before you get yourself in too deep." I turned away, fists clenched and an eye twitching with anger.

As I walked away I thought I had won the battle, and was quite proud of myself. Or I was until I heard a growl, and then a great yelp as something collided headfirst to my back. Dib must have made one final leap to try and take me down. I wouldn't give him another chance. I quickly recovered whilst the boy was still on the floor and bent over him, raising a gloved fist and smashing it back down upon his face. He was out in the first hit. "I'm not done with you yet!" I growled, pummeling him in the face again, and again, and again. "Three years! Three damn years you've chased me, defiling my plans, and ruining whatever shred of dignity I may have ever had in my life!" I shook him vigorously and his teeth clacked together. He weakly cracked an eye open, his face the definition of fear. I growled in his face and dragged him out of the park.

'This is my victory!' I thought to myself as I reached the busy intersection. 'I am finally destroying this big headed rodent!' I shook him once more, and looked into his face. "Let my face be the last thing you see before you expire. Look at me!" He whimpered weakly as I turned his face to the road. "Yeesss, now you understand. I had given you fair warning." I forced his gaze upon me once more before tossing his limp form into the intersection. I turned away and heard the screeching of tires and the sound of impact. "Glorious." I said. "Just glorious." I left to the park and retrieved my disguise.

And that is the story of my exodus from that mud hole. However, my entrance to this line of work was very simple. I started doing odd jobs as a cheap-hire henchman for various employers. Eventually my popularity rose and I became a valued agent amongst various international companies, private, legal, or illegal. My abilities I learned from the advanced Irken training course, and my natural advanced strength and perception made me a very unique one-man unit. Where maybe four men were sent to do work, I could be sent in alone and do a better job. In fact, I was frequently set in such situations where I would have to directly compete with opposing agents that were directly against my employer. I won in every battle, without a doubt.

Now, I am the highest class of hired-gun one can find, sent on missions that only the suicidal or insane would attempt. Who knows, maybe I'm both.

It's what makes me good at it.