Episode 3: Suspicious Minds (Part 2)

(Back with Joseph)

If third period was their battlefield, then first period was their one and only moment to create some sort of strategy…

Joseph Campbell took a deep ragged breath before chancing a sideways glance at the enemy; Cadet Scamooch gave him a wicked grin that was just begging to get punched right off his features.

Joseph shook his head and tried to focus on the task at hand...

But it wasn't easy.

Mrs. Bean was perhaps the strictest and moodiest Irken female Joseph had ever met, and that was saying something, considering the fact that he had been alive for almost one hundred and seventy years! To say that the female was short was an understatement; the Irken was so short that if she had been any shorter, then she would have broken his record of being the shortest Irken in History! But her height wasn't what set her apart; no. What set Mrs. Bean apart from the other members of the Irken staff were her eyes... They were both different colors, one pink and one blue. It was a rare birth defect that was mostly only seen in humans and Earthly animals; in fact, it was so rare that Joseph had never seen it in his own race. Before now, that is.

"Now class, today we will be discussing the various Galaxies of the Irken Empire," Mrs. Bean was saying in her usual annoyingly high-pitched voice as a Computer Brain passed out some worksheets. "You are to identify each galaxy and write a brief summary about them. You will not get the luxury of using your book or your notes, so I hope for your sakes you all studied!"

Joseph rubbed his temples absently as his ever-growing migraine threatened to flare up to an even more painful level than ever before. 'What the hell is wrong with me?!' He forced himself to stay calm and focus on his work. There were 150 pictures of several different galaxies on one side of his worksheet alone, and he could only imagine that there would be an equal amount on the back side. 'Stupid teacher! A superior should not be ordered around by someone as short as she!'

Joseph forced the thought away and started his work, naming the Galaxies one-by-one with obvious ease. 'This is child's play! A new-born Smeet could answer these!' Joseph couldn't help but roll his eyes. 'This is useless to me,' he suppressed a groan as he suddenly had the urge to challenge himself, but sadly there was nothing challenging about the task before him. He chanced another glance at the enemy and his blood began to boil as he noticed the cadet was already working on the back set of questions on their worksheet.

'No way I'm about to let some cadet out-due me!' He screamed to himself as he picked up his pace.

Cadet Scamooch smiled as he realized Joseph had picked up his pace 'Well it would appear our battle is starting early today,' the cadet chuckled and increased his own pace.

Joseph made a low hissing sound as the laughter of the enemy caused his blood to boil over. 'I will not allow some half-pint to out-due me!' He thought more forcefully this time as he continued working, not realizing that Cadet Scamooch was not the only one in the room to notice his behavior.

Mark's eyes narrowed on him suspiciously.

To say that the Irken was acting strange was definitely an understatement. Ever since Zim had attacked him last week, the boy had been watching him like a hawk, waiting for the perfect evidence to prove to the others that the Irken was more of a hazard then an aid to their mission, even though the fact should have already been obvious! The boy's eyes suddenly widened as he realized what was going on.

'Wait, is he challenging Scamooch?!' Mark asked himself in surprise. 'Is he trying to get himself arrested?!' Mark wanted to scream at him. 'And he's supposed to be a superior being; what an idiot!' The boy forced himself to focus on his own work, making a mental note to bring this up with Dib. Surely as a former enemy Dib would know for sure if the scum was falling back to his old habits… right? 'I sure hope so,' he told himself and groaned as the bell sounded off over the intercom.

Cadet Scamooch couldn't help but snicker as he and the Joseph-human put down their pencils at the same time, both finishing a millisecond before the bell sounded off. 'Well someone's definitely testy today,' he thought to himself. 'Only a fool wouldn't take advantage of this opportunity…'

Joseph stood up to turn in his work, only to see red as a certain cadet pushed past him, causing the boy to fall hard on his butt.

"Watch where you're going, worm!" Cadet Scamooch snapped as he continued on his way to the front desk to turn in his work.

Mark saw the moment coming before it even happened; Joseph was more than ready to pounce on the obvious display of abuse and Mark was more than willing to let him; or at least he should have been. But as he watched the moment slowly take form, he found himself consumed with the unmistakable urge to intervene. And before he could even process what he was doing, Mark found himself grabbing his and Joseph's books and pulling the boy out of the class by the collar of his shirt.

Joseph's look of rage twisted into one of pure shock as Mark threw him up against the closest locker. "Mark! Have you completely lost it?!" Joseph hissed as the boy backed off, giving him some obviously much-needed space.

"Me?" Mark asked as he continued to back away. "You almost snapped at a Cadet, and one that, mind you, wants to enslave you as his eternal minion!"

Cadet Scamooch snickered as he gathered his books and walked to the doorway to watch the show, obviously shocked that the Joseph human had almost pounced, and even more surprised that Mark had come in to save the day. 'Since when did you care?' The Cadet wondered to himself. He certainly hadn't noticed any sort of friendship between them before…

It was true. Mark didn't care but no matter how much he hated the guy, he couldn't stand to sit by and let the Irken fall for such an obvious ploy. No as twisted as it might have felt Mark knew that Joseph would have done the same for him. Whether he'd admit it to himself or not was another story all together.

"I don't need your help!" Joseph snapped, once more looking ready to pounce "I had everything under control!"

Mark was tempted to say, 'sure you did,' but something told him that his best bet was to let the ill-tempered Irken win this one. So instead, he swallowed his pride and said: "You're right. I'm sorry for making you look weak."

Joseph froze mid-pounce, looking somewhat surprised by Mark's words. He shook his head. "You know, you're acting really weird today," he said before walking by, as if nothing had happened.

Mark couldn't help the look of horror that slipped onto his face. 'I'm acting weird?! HE nearly jumped a Cadet, and I'm the one acting weird?! What's gone so wrong with him?!' He shook his head and decided that he couldn't afford to wait; he had to talk to Josh about this, now!

Cadet Scamooch's eyes narrowed as he watched Mark hurry off in the opposite direction as Joseph. 'The Worm nearly jump me!' The Cadet chuckled, despite it all, wondering what on Earth could have cause the boy to nearly make such an obvious mistake...

(Following Mark)

"Dude, we need to talk, now!"

Josh couldn't help but yelp in surprise as Mark pulled him into the nearest bathroom.

"Um, Mark, can't this wait? We're going to be late for second period and I can't afford another tardy this week," he protested as Mark checked the stalls for any possible eavesdroppers.

"It's about Zim," Mark whispered.

Josh's eyes widen at his words and a since of dread filled his soul. "What is it? What happened?"

"He nearly pounce Cadet Scamooch," Mark whispered.

"He WHAT?!" Josh was dumbfounded. "Are you sure he was going to?"

"I had to pull him out of the classroom to stop him, so yeah, I'm sure! And that's not all," Mark said.

"What do you mean?" Josh couldn't help but feel as if his legs had turned to jello. Usually Zim stopped them from attacking the Cadets, not the other way around, and now Mark was telling him there was more to it!

"In the beginning, it was almost as if he was challenging Cadet Scamooch to a race to see who could finish today's lesson the fastest," Mark answered darkly. "Something about the look on his face… he wasn't just angry and wanting to beat him. He looked repulsed by it all, and frankly, he looked real, real scary. Like he wanted to kill him, just because Cadet Scamooch even tried to win against him…"

Josh couldn't help but shiver. First the headaches, then the ill temper, and now this? He pulled out his notebook and added the new information to his notes.

"Wait, you're writing this down? Why?" Mark asked somewhat confused.

"Look, I'm asking you to keep this to yourself, okay?" Josh begged. "Please, Mark; as a friend. Do this for me."

"Fine," Mark sighed, "but only if you tell me why you're taking notes."

Josh groaned but nodded. "Fine. I'm taking notes because this is not normal behavior for Zim, and there's more than just a couple things wrong with him, it seems," he admitted fearfully. "Something's up, and I need to take notes so I can narrow down my search. At least, for when I finally get the chance to do some research on the matter..."

Mark nodded; the answer seemed truthful enough, but it was also alarming. "So, you're telling me that he has never acted like this before, and he's had more problems than just this pride and his anger?"

"Yeah," Josh answered fearfully. "I mean, he's lost his temper before, but never like this, and he's also been having bad headaches, which I don't think you knew about. He's eating enough food daily to feed an elephant, and now this strange pride thing where he's never had problems bowing for his own benefit, especially to superiors…"

"So, what do we do about it?" Mark asked the obvious.

"Let me handle it, okay?" Josh pleaded.

"And what if Cadet Scamooch tries to take advantage of all of, whatever this has been?" Mark asked.

It was a fair question, and admittedly, one that Josh hadn't thought of.

"If you see him drowning, help him out, okay? But other than that, leave him alone and don't tell anyone until I figure this out. Okay?"

Mark let out a deep sigh but nodded his agreement none-the-less. "Fine, but I won't be able to keep this a secret for long. There's something wrong with him, and if I can see it then so can the others, I guarantee you!"

Josh knew his friend was right; anyone would be able to see that something was up. 'I have to find out what's going on quickly before this gets even more out of hand!' He thought as he watched Mark leave, not knowing that the situation was only going to get far worse from here…

(Back with Kathy)

"Crap!" Kathy whispered under her breath as the tardy bell sounded. She was late for second period; again! At this rate she was bound to become Mrs. Richardson's most hated student for sure! Not that she could blame her; after all, she had been attending Westville High for a week now, and Kathy still couldn't find the sense to make it to her classes on time! Kathy shook her head and screamed as she collided with the worse person possible!

"Watch it, worm!" Cadet Scamooch hissed as he fell flat on his rear. "I swear, do any of you humans watch where you're going?!" He got to his feet with a loud humph, his behavior almost mirroring that of a five-year-old.

Kathy couldn't help but laugh silently at the thought, thinking that, for an evil alien, the Cadet was actually kind of cute…

'Wait, what?! Did I just think an Irken was cute?' Kathy blushed as she sat there, frozen to the spot. Surely she hadn't meant that! She only meant he acted like a kid, and that was all! …Right…?

Cadet Scamooch looked down at her, ready to scowl, when her obvious hue caught his attention. "Why are you all red?" He asked, obviously clueless.

Of course, his question only made her turn a darker shade of red. Kathy jumped to her feet and picked up her things before bolting down the hall and out of sight.

Cadet Scamooch blinked once, then twice, obviously confused. "Stupid human!" He snapped before continuing on his way.

Kathy rushed into Mrs. Richardson's class and buried her red cheeks in her hands as she tried to focus on the bell ringer. Thankfully, no one gave her a second glance, and Mrs. Richerson wasn't present to scowl at her for being late. 'I can't believe I thought that!' Kathy could have clawed her own eyes out! 'An Irken; cute?! And Cadet Scamooch, no less… I must have eaten a bad breakfast!' Kathy told herself. 'Yeah, that's it… After all, it's not like I actually have a thing for the guy… No, totally not…'

She silently battled with herself in her seat, furiously trying to settle her resolve…

'Their kind are evil, and none of them could ever change!'

'Except that, Zim has…'

'You don't know that!' She told herself knowingly. 'For all you know, Zim could be helping us for his own selfish reasons!'

Kathy wasn't so sure, and she still wasn't sure an hour later…

If one of them could change, wasn't it only fair to believe that they all could? Deep down she'd like to believe that even the evilest beings had some hidden good nature about them, but she also knew that this was childish thinking, and childish thinking was something a person in her position could not afford.

No, it was best to keep her emotions out of the equation altogether. Unfortunately, Kathy was about to discover that said task was easier said than done…

(Back with The Tallest)

"My Tallest, we have finished inspecting all of the Human residents in the city," an Irken officer addressed his leaders fearfully. "And we have found none of the food or any clues to who the members of the Resistance could be." The officer gulped, fearing his own demise.

"You're telling us you found nothing?!" Red screeched in obvious annoyance.

"You must have missed something!" Purple spoke of the obvious.

"My Tallest, perhaps we are going about this the wrong way," a soldier to their left spoke up sheepishly.

"Oh, and you have a better idea?" Red challenged, his eyes glowing dangerously red…

The soldier gulped, knowing all too well that it was best to keep his mouth shut, but he knew he was right, so with a shaky breath, he continued: "What I mean is, maybe we should interrogate the students...?"

"If we did that then the rumors of the resistance would be confirmed!" Purple growled.

"But my Tallest, perhaps a public announcement, followed by a public execution, is exactly what we need to kill the fire for liberation once and for all," the Irken officer suggested, backing the soldier up.

"You know, they might be on to something," Red said out loud as he appeared to be giving the idea some real, deep thought. "An interrogation, yes, that's what we'll do! We'll grab random students and have the school question them! After all, they're just children. Surely they'd break under the pressure!"

"And if it doesn't work?" Purple asked the obvious question.

"Then these two will wish they had kept their mouths shut!" Red growled as he eyed the officer and the soldier knowingly.

The two looked at each other fearfully, both thinking the same thing: 'This idea had better work…'

(Back with Joseph)

Joseph flinched as he allowed himself to get hit squared in the face and bit his tongue as the blow sent his already pounding head into a whole new level of pain that he never knew existed. If he could go back in time and change one thing about human history, then it would be the creation of the horribly sport known as dodgeball!

'Ha! Why waste your time on a stupid sport,' he scowled furiously to himself, 'When the better plan would be to go back in time and make sure a certain Cadet was never born?!' Joseph rubbed his temples in deep frustration as a chorus of laughter exploded around him.

"Ha! We win again!" Cadet Scamooch jeered as he watched Joseph rub his face in obvious pain. It was easy to see the human was frustrated and getting even more so by the minute. 'If I can just push him a little further, then maybe I'll finally win this fight!' It was an encouraging thought, to say the least, but how to give the child the necessary push without being too obvious was the real challenge...

The answer came to him in the form of a very angry and terribly dressed human known as Brian Rhodes. The kid was what humans called a geek, or a nerd… not that the Cadet cared about the human labeling system. In fact, if Cadet Scamooch was honest with himself, he would admit that he couldn't even begin to understand the difference in one human social group when compared to another. To him they were all stupid and insolent and nothing compared to his own superiority!

The human known as Brian Rhodes must have been feeling a rare sense of bravery because usually the kid was quiet and easy to push around. However, today it was obvious that there was something different about him. He stood tall and pointed a finger at him, as if he had some kind of authority over the Cadet. "The only reason why you guys always win is because we're not allowed to hit you!" Brian snapped, obviously fed up with the whole situation.

"Yeah, this isn't even real dodgeball!" Diana said, backing him up. "If this were a real game then you wouldn't stand a chance! Right Joey?!" She asked Joseph hopefully.

Cadet Scamooch smiled and watched as the perfect moment of opportunity formed right before his eyes.

Joseph froze as every one of his classmates, human and Irken alike, looked at him. as if awaiting his response. No doubt they expected him to encourage his fellow humans to back off, and any other day he would… but Joseph wasn't exactly in his right mind at the moment, and it showed. He should have seen the danger lurking around him like a pack of wolves waiting to strike, but instead all Joseph could see was the evil smirk that was plastered on the enemy's face. He had the unmistakable urge to wipe that smirk right off the cadet's ugly snout! Just once he'd like to see a look of shock or jealousy or perhaps even fear where that smirk would usually be…!

And in the mist of his exploding headache and ill temper, Joseph took the bait. "Please, these Irkens wouldn't even know how to handle a real game of dodgeball…"

Cadet Scamooch's smile got impossibly wider. "That almost sounds like a challenge, Campbell," he said, his words dripping with venom.

"A challenge?" Joseph snapped. "Please! We'd win the game in five minutes flat!"

"Yeah!" Diana and Brian agreed in unison.

"Uh, guys, maybe this isn't a good idea," Elisabeth whispered. "We could get in a lot of trouble," she warned.

Joseph suppressed a groan. Deep down he knew she was right; this was getting out of hand, and they needed to back down before they accidentally went too far.

Unfortunately, Cadet Scamooch could easily see Joseph backing down, plain as day. "Oh, come on! You're not scared of a little competition, are you?" He asked with a sneer.

Joseph instantly saw red! 'Fear is weak and pointless!' Joseph's inner demons snapped at the obvious insult. 'Are you just going to sit there and let some insolent half-pint call you weak?!'

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Joseph hissed as he picked up a ball. "If it's a real game you want, then it's a real game you're gonna get!"

Cadet Scamooch chuckled. "Well then bring it!" He jeered.

"Dodgeball! Dodgeball! Dodgeball!" The Irken cadets began to chant around them as four other cadets joined Scamooch on his side of the court.

"Guys, this is a really bad idea!" Elizabeth warned once more as Jack, Brian, Diana, and Joseph took their places on their side of the court.

"Stop worrying so much," Brian told her with a nervous smile. "It's just a friendly game of dodgeball, right Joey?"

"Yeah," Joseph agreed as he paced up and down their side of the court, eying the enemy knowingly. "Just a friendly game, right Sir?" He asked as he allowed a sly grin to find its way onto his face; an old sense of Irken pride coursed threw him. For almost a year he had been forced to pretend to be a lowly and worthless human, where his fellow Irkens treated him like a filthy worm…Now this challenge, as insignificant as it may seem, had brought him back to an equal playing field. He was no longer a lowly worm standing in the shadow of a superior Irken. No, in this rare moment, he was a challenger; an equal… and despite his better judgment, said moment was causing him to feel more like his old self.

"Yes, just a friendly game of real dodgeball," Cadet Scamooch agreed, obviously intrigued by the boy's sudden change in behavior. It was at that moment that the Cadet realized that perhaps it wasn't fair to say that all humans were the same. After all, Joseph was making it pretty clear that humans were an edgy and quite unpredictable race. 'Perhaps some humans are more worthy of respect then others…'

The thought should have made him sick to his stomach, but instead the Cadet found himself looking at the boy with a since of admiration. To openly accept a challenge from an Irken of his stature while fully aware of the risk was not an easy obstacle, yet this human hurled over it with ease!

Joseph's eyes narrowed at his enemy's words. Of course, he knew this was a trap; a newborn Smeet could have seen that obvious logic from miles away! But even with that knowledge, he still couldn't find the strength to swallow his pride. Since the first day of school, Cadet Scamooch had made his life a living hell, and despite his better judgment, Joseph truly felt that it was about time he started fighting back! He reared his arm back, readying himself to throw the ball as hard as he could when a voice of reason stopped him dead in his tracks. 'This is a bad idea, and you know it!'

'The over-grown Smeet deserves to be taught a lesson!' His pride screamed, challenging his voice of reason with ease.

'The moment you throw that ball is the moment you might as well kiss your freedom goodbye! He'll let you hit him on purpose, and then the coach will have you in chains in a matter of seconds, and you'll have to become a minion in order to prevent yourself from being imprisoned and found out!' Joseph's eyes narrowed; his arm was shaking now as the eternal battle raged on inside of him.

"Well come on, Joey! What are you waiting for?" Cadet Scamooch jeered as his fellow Cadets laughed at his internal struggles.

'How dare they mock their superior?!' Joseph growled, his anger boiling over once more. 'What kind of Amon allows those beneath him to push him around like common trash?' The thought caused Joseph to stop dead in his tracks.

He had done it again!

For the second time that day he had referred to himself as an Amon, something he hadn't done in over a century! 'Something is wrong with me!' He thought, as if the fact wasn't already obvious. He knew all too well that something was wrong, but like a big idiot, he wanted to pretend he was fine and ignore the whole thing. Which was perhaps the stupidest idea he had ever had! After all, he had already nearly killed two of his own allies, and had nearly gone for a third victim not even an hour earlier...

'I need to leave before he entices me again.'

"What's the matter, Worm?" Cadet Scamooch continued to taunt him. "Did you suddenly forget how to throw?"

The Cadets around them erupted in another chorus of laughter, but this time Joseph's pride refused to fall under their evil spell. "You're not worth it," he said.

Cadet Scamooch smiled as he watched the human scum drop his ball and walked away, leaving the court, and escaping to the safety of the boy's locker room. 'Of course, you've come to your senses. I should have known you would.' He snickered as the other humans on Joseph's team backed down as well, many of them showing a look of obvious relief.

"Well, so much for a real game of dodgeball," Cadet Meep teased, earning a few jeers of agreement from her fellow cadets.

Cadet Scamooch couldn't agree more. 'And to think, for a second there I actually thought highly of him!' He shook his head, knowing that he should have known better. They all knew that humans were all bark and no bite, and yet, for the slightest moment, he thought Joseph would be different. 'I should have known better,' he thought as the bell sounded around him, signaling the end of third period as well as the start of first lunch.

Joseph leant over one of the sinks in the locker room, taking several deep breaths as he held onto the sink for support. "Get a hold of yourself!" He hissed, giving himself a stern look in the mirror. "You cannot afford to mess this one up!" He warned himself as he reached into his pocket and grasped the skull necklace that was hidden there. "There's too much at risk," he reminded himself to strengthen his resolve. 'She needs you to be strong, so man up and bear whatever this is a little while longer...!'

Joseph took another ragged breath before he forced himself to move, walking out of the locker room and towards the cafeteria for a much-needed meal, hoping that whatever was happening to his body had finally reached its limits.

But unfortunately for him, Joseph would soon learn that the madness had only just begun…

-To Be Continued