Episode 9: Defective
Episode Summary- Judgment Day has arrived! Will the Tallest's ingenious plan to figure out who the members of the resistance work? Meanwhile Crystal devises a plan to get caught by the Irken Police.
Disclaimers: I Do Not Own Invader Zim
Author's Notes: And we are back with another exciting part of Invader Zim Renegades! Thank you all for all your comments and dedication to this series.
Hope you guys enjoy!
Yours Truly, RoxieDivine :)
Episode 9: Defective (Part 2)
(Back with Dib…)
It was the strangest thing, but for some reason Dib was walking home from school. What made it strange was he could have sworn he was just in homeroom. "Hey bro?" He asked his brother who was just a few feet ahead of him walking fast. 'We must be running late.' He realized trying to pick up the pace. Though he couldn't remember what they were late for, after all Joseph no longer had a job.
"Yeah?" Joseph asked.
"Can you remember what we did today?" He asked hopefully.
"Seriously?" His brother stops and turns to him looking cross. "Don't tell me you had your heads in the clouds all day…AGAIN!"
Dib tried to think...Did he?
"Unbelievable." Joseph shook his head and continued to walk down the street towards home.
Dib shrugged and followed his lead, awaiting the inevitable lecture that would no doubt follow, but it never came. 'Odd He always lectures me.' His brow rose. 'Weird.' He's about to say something when they passed a scene that has no trouble catching his eye.
"Worthless trash."
A small child walking with her mother in the opposite direction had stumbled into the direct path of an Irken soldier. On instinct her mother goes to pick her up and the two soldiers walking by just bulldoze right through.
The girl cried as her hands are stomped all over.
"Watch where your going." The second soldier howled. "And shut that vermin up!"
The mother tried to comfort her child, but she refuses to calm down.
"I said shut it up!" The soldiers moves to make her.
Something deep inside of Dib stirs, and for a moment the urge to act is all consuming.
"Josh…"
He stops someone has called his name, he turns thinking it's his brother, but Joseph just kept walking like it's nothing.
"Don't get involved." The voice advised him. "Just walk away."
The voice is definitely his brother's, he stops confused. 'Where is this voice coming from?'
(Meanwhile, at the Principal's office…)
"That one seems to be over thinking things." Purple pointed out. His image was still on the screen within Principal Razi's office.
Principal Razi perks up with interest. "I never knew Josh was so inquisitive." She whispered to Vice Principal Gijon.
Gijon is also taken aback. "It would appear he is less stupid then I thought." He admitted. "Which just makes him lazy."
"That makes it worse." Mr. Flak pointed out the obvious.
"Not that this isn't supper important." Mrs. Tek jumped in. "But what does it say about him as a subordinate?"
"He hesitated." Red snapped. "Defective!"
"With all do respect my Tallest." General Kazar stood as he spoke. He was still in Mrs. Kilmer class at the moment but had pulled up the shared link on his own Pak screen. "He has made no move to stop the Irken's assault."
"He's too busy analyzing to do anything." Commander Reed argued watching from his own screen.
"I would like to think a Renegade would not hesitate to act." General Kazar cut back in.
"He does have a point." Purple said thoughtfully. "Still he failed to listen to the computer brain when it told him to move on, the fact that the boy questioned it is proof enough."
"But my Tallest all humans are curious like this by nature." Principal Razi pointed, respectively. "At this rate we might as well imprison them all."
"Why don't we?" Commander Reed asked. "We could put them all in as free labor towards the new supply lines on Zec."
"And Have a repeat of the science camp fiasco?" General Kazar shook his head.
"Josh!" Everyone stops as the scene on the screen captures their attention.
Joseph has gone back for his brother; he looks even more annoyed now. "We can't keep Cadet Scamooch waiting!"
Josh openly rolls his eye, but immediately follows his brothers command.
"See there he listens." Principal Razi said promptly.
"He looks familiar." Red realizes suddenly. "Haven't we seen him before?"
"I think you are thinking of his twin brother." General Kazar spoke up. "He was presented before you in Court. The housing fire incident."
"Oh yes the on the brain found innocent." Purple exclaimed. "Let's see what he's doing?"
"Yes, I'd like to see how he did that." Red seemed to agree. "A brain finding someone innocent and a human at that! Very strange."
"And the brother?" General Kazar couldn't help the smile that had slipped onto his face.
"Oh, that sheep?" Purple scoffed. "It's obvious he does whatever his brother says, so we'll just decide based on him."
"Besides twins are practically clones anyway." Red scowled.
Principal Razi wanted to object, having known the boys for a long time she knew the two were as different as day and night. Still, Josh had eventually obeyed and made no act against the assault so that was all that mattered.
The channel changes to the same scenario just through the brother's eyes.
(Back with Zim…)
'If he makes me late, I swear I'll disown him!' Joseph growled inwardly. Cadet Scamooch was not a patient individual and refused to wait for anything. No doubt Joseph would have to wait on him hand and foot over the silliest things when they finally got home. This of course would force him to stay up all hours of the night to get his homework completed.
Which of course was goal.
The Irken did everything he could to make his life completely miserable.
Still, he accepted the role as his minion, so he really had no right to complain.
"Did you hear something?" His brother asked as he finally caught up.
"Just the sound of our impending doom." Joseph only half joked. "Why?"
"There where these people getting bullied." Josh went on. "I bet you didn't even notice."
"Josh, we have been over this, its none of our concern." Joseph lectured. "What matters is they're paying no mind to us."
"But…" Josh goes to argue.
"We stay invisible to them and our lives will be easier." Joseph cut him off.
"He's like the perfect human." Red thought out loud.
"Why can't they just all be like him!?" Purple complained openly.
Again, General Kazar is grinning slightly, something Commander Reed notices immediately. Just what did he find so amusing?
The screen changes again, to the mind of another student that hung around the Campbell twins often, by grouping students together in their usual groups the Irken Staff hoped to make the test feel more natural. If it felt that way, then the human was more likely to act as they always would. Additionally, any large group of "friends" were being closely examined. This was because they knew the Renegades were students and would most likely band together at school.
And Joseph Campbell spent lunch with a very large group of friends. Of course, this could just be due to the fact that the students noticed that the cadets tended to avoid pestering large groups, but they had to be sure.
(Back with Mark…)
His bookbag felt like it weighted a hundred pounds. "Do they really have to assign so much homework?" He complained.
His cousin James is walking side by side with his girlfriend in front of him just ahead. Wait no that wasn't right, James and Rachel were taking a break from dating, which he was silly since they still basically act like they're dating.
"Can't be helped." James said over his shoulder. "You think the guys will actually manage to make it to our group study?" He asked Rachel.
"With Captain kill joy on their case?" Rachel scoffed. "Joey will be lucky to even get his own homework done, let alone study."
"We could always go up to see them." James reasoned.
"UH no!" Mark snapped forcing himself between them. "I have had my fill of Cadet Scamooch for today thank you very much."
"OH, come on." Rachel insisted. "I know you're not a fan, but Joey did what he had to."
"Yeah I know." Mark said.
"Been thinking about it myself." James admitted.
Mark suddenly feels the urge to punch him. "My own cousin turn traitor?" He yelled.
"It's called working smarter not harder dork." James gave him a playful punch. "Look at Joey if he keeps sucking up, he just may earn his right to go to college."
"Remember when we didn't have to earn that?" Rachel said blissfully.
"Technically you still did." James corrected her. "I mean working your butt off for good grades in hopes of getting accepted sounds like earning it to me."
"You think he'll actually became the first human engineer Since the take over?" Rachel asked.
"No." Mark answered bluntly. "If he gets to go to college, he'll waste years of his life getting that degree and then no Irken will hire him!"
"Doesn't that just tick you off?" Rachel asked. "What gives them the right you know?"
It did, but Mark didn't say so, after all a spy drone could be watching, and he didn't want to get caught saying something that could be used against him later.
At that very moment, a group of humans about their age dressed in all black comes racing down the street passing them.
Irken soldiers are chasing them, firing their weapons.
The blast are so close Mark feels the heat coming off of them.
He grabs Rachel and pushes her out of the line of danger.
(Meanwhile, at the Principal's office…)
The three students had two choices here, but only one for them was right. If they even tried to help the resisting humans, they'd be labeled defective for sure.
"This way." James ushers them towards a back alley way.
"Best not." Mark reminded him. "If we get caught behind a business, they'll think we're stealing."
"But staying here is a death wish." Rachel reasoned.
It was a classic scenario both paths would lead to trouble, but which trouble they chose to cause was the key to discovering if these children were a threat.
(Back with James…)
James takes a classic defective approach and makes a third option. He shoves Mark and Rachel up against a door of a nearby shop and stands in front of them. He has just become a human meat shield to any oncoming fire. It's reckless and stupid, but at least they weren't breaking any laws.
The building they used was vacant, an old business that was close down after the invasion. So loitering was not an issue, and there was nothing to steal inside, so even if an Irken accused them, it would hold no ground.
It was the perfect loop hole.
(Meanwhile, at the Principal's office…)
They had not been expecting the human to think up a third option so quickly. And while finding a loop hole in the rules was a very defective things to do they all had to remember. The entire human race was defective, so it was in their nature to do these things.
"Well I can't tell if he's one or not." Red admitted.
"You my Tallest." General Kazar said. "This is why I was against this testing at first, they are all defective, using this test is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, as a human would put it.
"indeed." Purple seemed to agree, "But they did not engage in helping the Renegades in this scenario, if they were Renegades themselves, they would have helped out on instinct."
Principal Razi nodded. "Then all students of room 1-A have completed the exam."
"Results?" Red asked almost hopefully.
General Kazar waits as the computer brain within room 1-A prints out the results. He reads it; "No deception detected."
Both of the Tallests look disappointed, but Commander Reed notices that the General's smile widens. He was hiding something; Reed was almost certain of it now.
But what was it?
"Un plug them." Red hissed in disappointment.
Vice Principal Gijon was also disappointed, it would appear his suspicions about Campbell and his friends had been unjustified. Still, there was plenty of testing to go, and it was still possible that at least some of his friends are involved.
(Back with Rachel…)
She felt groggy, almost like she had just woken up from a long nap.
"Class the test is over." Mrs. Kilmer said standing up.
The general from before had already left, leaving her with her students.
"The test is done already?" Josh asked yawning. "Man, I wish all test were like that."
"How did we do?" Mark dared to ask.
"I am not at liberty to tell you." Mrs. Kilmer said. "You are all to report to the gym where you will wait for the rest of the school to complete the exam." She looks almost fearful before adding. "Once it's over, just pray they don't come for you."
(Meanwhile outside the School…)
Crystal waited on the roof top above the gym skylight patiently; her task was simple. Once they announced those who had failed the exam she would swoop down and 'try' to save them. Of, course the goal was to get caught so she could help Jamie as her second in command. While at the prison camp they would be in charge of their fellow captives. Their mission was to form a plan that would not only free the captives but find them a place to hide on Zec. This was crucial to their final end game; it would take an army to get Zim through the place and to the Tallest.
The more members they had on Zec the better.
She had no doubt the Irken worshipers would Stand in their way, but she would not let Jacob get to her this time. She would get her family back, and Jacob and his friends would pay for betraying their people.
She would make sure of that!
Episode 9-Defective (Part 2) END!