I don't own Invader Zim, okay? Yes, I know there's many I should get to work on, but I recently took a trip to Nevada and a road trip on the Extraterrestrial Highway. Aside from some graffiti in Rachel I saw that kind of looked like Zim in a beanie, I got some ideas out there. So enough of this A/N, on with the fic!
Dib sighed as he got out of the car, looking around. Here he was, the Nevada desert, home to the infamous Area 51 and Groom Lake. He was bound to find something and maybe, just maybe he could talk to people who had experience with extraterrestrials. I mean I am Professor Membrane's son and Membrane Labs has done work with so many of the military industrial complex out here…. Southbur Panoply for one…. He thought as he looked at the vast expanse of hot, dry and sandy soil, patches of brush for miles around. It was the summer before his final year of college before he finished his degree and he had worked on a double major in astronomy and engineering with a minor in biology. All "real sciences" his father had approved of ones he would use to enhance his paranormal investigation skills. Having turned 21 last fall, he had used that as an excuse to head out to Nevada. While his father thought it was a trip for a college aged Dib to "get his wild streak out", it was father from Dib's intentions. He was going to get to Area 51, he was going to see what he could see. And if not, well the desert always had some great stargazing, or he could go up to Lake Tahoe and see if he could find that Bigfoot baby he found when he was a kid. He had not had a lot of luck when he had spent the previous summer hiking around West Virginia under a guise of wanting to connect to nature.
Looking around, he wiped his face with a sigh. It was hot. But that was to be expected. But it was getting closer to sunset, the time to move in the desert, and he would just start wondering when he had parked his car. Just wonder and see what he could see. If nothing else, he might not see anything to prove himself right, but he might accidently wander somewhere he shouldn't, if his theory that the government and Zim were about as capable at securing their nefarious plans was correct. The Nevada desert was huge after all, and thousands of tourists a year drove on this out of the way state road where at the start was a shop that sold various kinds of jerky as "alien jerky". Dib smiled at the memory. He had stopped there to get a few bottles of water and look at the kitsch. Sure, the survivors he saw were just cartoonish cheap items with a high markup, but the alien dog pencil case would come in handy for his notes in his expedition as he wanted to save his power banks for the cameras and other equipment that needed it more than his smartphone. Besides, he had gotten good at navigating with a map and compass after the last summer when he was touring West Virginia for their cyprid lore, and he had gotten lost in the woods near Flatwoods and ended up in the next county. Talking to a few of the locals, one of the mountain men who lived in the area taught him how to navigate using an old compass he had and some maps he had that he hardly used, even if both were nearly 45 years out of date. Part of Dib had to admit that it was an embarrassing mistake for someone who had made his life's goal to find the paranormal wherever it was. Cyprids were not likely to be there easy for him to find, their location marked on Google Maps for him to just ask directions. And you would likely have to be out in the wilderness far from help or any kind of civilization to bail him out.
Dib parked his car, putting in the sun blinder that a local had told him would be utterly necessary in the summer heat so that his car wasn't too hot by the time he got back, and he would be heading the long trek back to Sin City. Pulling his equipment out of the trunk, he smiled, knowing that he was finally doing this, the trip he had planned in his mind since he was practically a toddler, even before Zim had come to Earth. He hadn't worried too much about Zim in a while, aside from the fact that he was getting much too close to Gaz for his liking. As much as he had wanted to object to their relationship, he knew that Gaz would pulverize him and he had to admit, she was an adult now, and making her own life and choices. All he could do was be there for her when anything fell apart. Making the note of the time he had till it was too dark, he headed southwest from where he parked towards where the infamous Area 51 was. Once the sun was nearly gone, he set up a quick camp and looked up at the night sky. "You know, with such a bright city, one where a hotel's lights can be seen from space, this is actually quite a beautiful space. Remembering the nasty case of trench foot, he had gotten from the expedition last summer, he took off his boots and sighed as he headed into the tent to get some sleep before the sun rose. He needed to make it as far as he could before he either got caught or the sun was totally overhead. "Rule 1 of desert travel, sunrise and sunset." He said as he yawned and went to sleep.
Meanwhile, a young woman pulled up to a kitschy shop and sighed. She had been out here for the past 5 years, ever since she had been stranded out in this sundried hell hole. Luckily, she had been found by one of the locals who had taken her on as a hand at the gas station and rest stop and let her live in an old trailer on the property. It wasn't what she had wanted in the least, but it was something. She was used to having to settle for some of the worst there was out there.
"Kat!" An older woman said waving at the young woman as she came in. Looking over, Kat smiled with a feeble laugh. "Take it your trip into the city was successful?"
"Yes Mrs. Lopez." Kat smiled. "Everything we should need for the next month even if a tourist bus stops unplanned at this little..." she paused not wanting to be rude to the person who had saved her from dying out in the desert. "Quaint stop." It was harder and harder to get allies who would help you when you needed it and Mrs. Lopez didn't seem to want anything from her other than help at her shop, which while annoying with the amount of stupid tourists that had come through and gruff truckers that would not stop making vulgar comments at her, was certainly better than all the other shitjobs she had in her life.
"What would I do without you Kat?" Mrs. Lopez smiled. "Do you need any help with the car unloading? I am still amazed you get so much in there with it being so small!"
"I'm just good with it." Kat smiled as she headed to the car and pulled around to the back and started unloading boxes of goods, she had gotten from a warehouse store down in Las Vegas. However, Kat was not a typical human girl who was working at a tourist gift shop out in the Nevada desert. She was the Irken rouge named Tak. Nearly 10 years earlier she had tried to steal Zim's mission and hand Earth over to the Tallest. However, she was foiled by Dib, Zim and a lesser extent Gaz and she had been floating in space for 5 years before finally the escape pod was knocked back onto Earth by an asteroid that had a near close call with the planet and she had found herself wrecked in the desert. The escape pod was blown to smithereens but she had been left alive and laying at a blaring sun, not realizing she had her human disguise on when Mrs. Lopez, who was out for her usual walk out into the wilderness so she could gather her mind had found what she thought was an injured young woman and brought her back to her establishment and took care of her. Tak looked at the large load with a smirk at the memory.
"What the bloody hell is going on!" She woke up and looked around ready to punch someone when she saw Mrs. Lopez slightly startled but had a slight look of amusement on her face as well.
"I could ask you the same thing young lady." Mrs. Lopez mused as she got over and laid Tak back down on the couch. "What does a pretty young woman like yourself do out in the desert dressed like that? Are you trying to die of heat exhaustion?"
Tak looked down and saw she was dressed much like she had when she was trying to take over Earth. The disguise generator still works despite the crash... maybe my mind control could too, and I could make this human forget everything she has seen... She thought but then paused. Not yet. She could be useful to me... just play it by ear, see what happens. She thought as Mrs. Lopez turned and looked at her with concern. "Some friends of mine thought it would be fun to hang out in the desert and well, I guess I made one of them upset or something and they hit me. We got into a fight, and I must have blacked out and they must have left me there."
Mrs. Lopez paused not knowing if she should press further, noting she saw no tracks to indicate there was anyone else that was there, but she figured it would better to not push the matter. "Shame." She sighed. "However, if you have nowhere to go, I could use some help. It's busy running a tourist trap all by myself and the truck stop portion with the..." She paused to think of the proper name to call the brothel on the side of the establishment. "Rest stop, yeah rest stop." Tak looked at her curiously. "Fine a brothel."
"YOU WANT ME TO WORK IN A BROTHEL?" Tak yelled "YOU SAVE MY LIFE AND WANT ME TO DO THAT WORK?"
"Only work I would have you do at most is take money and make sure the girls are taken care of." Mrs. Lopez said. "I don't know you from Adam, but I can sense these things." Tak paused. She wasn't sure that Mrs. Lopez wasn't hiding something or knew more than she led on, but she did not have much more left for her. Her ship was lost, she was stranded on Earth and her last plan to try and become the Invader she felt she rightfully should be was a failure. It was something. Shelter for the price of some work in a shop in the middle of nowhere. Nothing she couldn't handle. "And there's an old trailer home that you can live in too. You won't have to stay on my couch any longer than you want to. I mean you were pretty beat up missy." She propped Tak up and put a tray of homemade chimichangas, refried beans and a tall glass of soda in front of her. "Eat up. You need your strength."
From there, dismissing a voice that sounded like Dib saying that Mrs. Lopez was not what she seemed to be, she had taken to working at her businesses since then. It wasn't being an Invader, but it brought her some peace. What she was going to do from here, she did not know, but she also did not really care. It was a living and if she wanted to go somewhere for some time to have to herself, Mrs. Lopez hardly objected. Just advised her to keep a full canteen. Which while she thought it was water, Tak found that being an Irken, soda, vodka and tequila worked for her much like water and sports drinks did for humans in the desert. Packing up her canteen, and carrying a few extra snacks with her, she put on a hat and headed out into the desert.
"Heading out for a walk again Kat?" Mrs. Lopez asked as she saw Tak from the kitchen.
"Yes, it always clears my head." Tak said. "The desert air, the open land, it helps me."
"Well, be safe out there." Mrs. Lopez said. "I don't need to find you passed out again because you were foolish like so many others who come this way. The desert is not for people who do not respect her power." Tak felt a shiver go up her spine at this, thinking that Mrs. Lopez was some sort of being that spawned from some of the tales from the Paiutes she had heard one time, like some guardian of the desert. Stop thinking such insane things about your employer. She's the only one, other than Dib, who has ever been nice to you without needing to wash their minds.
"Of course." Tak said. "May be a few days."
"I will be fine." Mrs. Lopez said as she took an order from the cook and took it to a young blonde man and what looked like a kid in an alien costume. Rolling her eyes at the sight, she headed out in the desert and began to walk around, keeping a good mind to the path she had taken and would follow back. She was an Irken Invader and had an ingrained eye for scouting.
Meanwhile, Dib's trek was not going well. In the night he had run away from his camp after hearing a rattlesnake and seeing a scorpion on his stomach. Quickly putting his boots on, he had run out with only his canteen and whatever snacks he had in his pockets. "God I'm a fucking moron." He said as he looked up at the sun beating down on him. He held his canteen over his mouth, hoping to get some water when he heard a growling, and saw a mother mountain lion behind him. At this, he ran further, not keeping track of how far he had gotten or how much water he had. Now he was pacing slowly head growing light and vision growing blurry. Trying to hold himself together, he looked up squinting. "No way, no way, no way..." He said as he fell to the ground and blacked out.
"No way..." Tak said as she saw a tall but skinny man in black with pointy hair fall to the ground off in the distance. "Do not tell me you are a complete idiot..." She said as she ran up to the form. "Fuck." She whispered. "It is him..." She said as she moaned. "Well, can't let you out here to die. Even if you brought it upon yourself." She said as she took him in a fireman's carry and headed back to the gift shop. "I'll get you a room with good air conditioning and water to help you heal. And by God..." She blushed at the observation. "You've grown since I last saw you." The Irken link of height to worthiness overtaking her better instincts.
So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Yeah, I know I should be working other fics and I have too many unfinished, but a few may be coming to an end soon anyway and if all goes well then, I will be starting my main job soon and that will allow for better work life balance. Anyway, my bemoaning of my employment status aside, remember to read, well you just did and review. Ciao for now,
Otherrealmwriter
Aka
Realm.