Chapter 1

Dad. . .this isn't going to work. . .can't you see the way he's looking at me. . .He KNOWS!. . .pull me up pull me up pull me up! THIS ISN'T GOING TO WORK!

Biting his lip, Dib struggled against his bonds and tried not to cry out. The alien was crouched in the darkness of the corner of the room, watching him. His huge, pupil-less eyes terrified Dib. He'd had been exposed to endless amounts of pictures and research footage, but somehow nothing had prepared him for this.

Dib was supposed to say something. . .talk to the alien. His father was watching – the entire research team was watching. This was a momentous occasion, the culmination of a fifteen year project that would surely end in horrible failure if he couldn't get himself under control.

In a vain effort to end his shaking, Dib closed his eyes. He was supposed to say something. He opened his mouth. All that escaped were sobs. Tears were running down his cheeks.

"P-please. . .please. . ."

With a fierce growl the alien jumped onto the table to which Dib was strapped, and was then immediately thrown back by the protective force field.

Yes! See! He knows! You've got to lift me back up now, Dad! Da-aaad!

Dib's relief at his imminent rescue began to melt into dread. His father didn't lift his table back up into safety. The alien was circling the room, his keen eyes searching. It only took him a few moments to find the table's weak spot and another few moments to tear out its power supply cable with a tool that Professor Membrane's research team didn't know he had. The force field deactivated with a crackle.

The alien was right on top of him. Helpless, Dib squeezed his eyes shut and screamed.

Dib had no idea how long terror had rendered him insensate, but when he came to he found himself being carried through a narrow passageway by strong, wiry arms.

"Stupid, horrible, scummy scum. . .filthy planet of worms. . .their filthy worm faces. . .I hate this stupid planet of hideousness. . ."

Dumped unceremoniously onto a pile of rags, Dib scrabbled backwards and found himself up against the wall in a deeper part of the habitat.

"You may rest easy now. Zim has rescued you from the hideous clutches of the human scum." The alien proclaimed, fists on his hips.

Still speechless, Dib cowered and began to cry again. Why hadn't his father saved him?

The alien, Zim, seemed disgusted by his tears. He grabbed Dib by the collar and gave him two sharp slaps across the face. "Get a grip on yourself, soldier!" He shouted in his face, then dropped him back into the rags.

Shocked by the brief pain on his cheeks, Dib stared up with eyes wide at the irate alien.

"I've known every kind of torture those pitiful apes can dole out, and none of it's bad enough to lose your head over. You don't even have any gaping wounds!" Said Zim, giving him a brief look-over.

Dib shook his head. The alien's words were finally sinking into his brain. It's working – it's actually working. He thinks I'm one of his kind! Dib stood up unsteadily.

Zim seemed pleased. "What's your name and rank, soldier?" He asked.

"My name's Dib. Um. . .I don't have a rank."

The alien's eyes narrowed at him and Dib winced, sure that he'd blown it.

"No rank? Smeets are ranked ten minutes after birth. Where, might I ask, did you come from?"

"I. . .I was stolen from my, uh, place of birth, right after I was born." Dib's brain finally lurched to the rescue. It even sounded vaguely like the story he'd been given by his father's researchers.

It was the alien's turn to be shocked. His eyes became round and his antennae lay down flat against the back of his head.

"That. . .that filth. The insolence of those HIDEOUS slime-worms!" Zim shook with rage. With a violent yell, he struck the wall with his fist hard enough to make a tiny dent. Still growling, he advanced on Dib, who drew back instinctively and fell onto the ragpile.

Kneeling in front of Dib, the alien leaned in and began to inspect him more thoroughly. His eyes still burned with rage, but his touch was surprisingly gentle.

"Have you never been to Irk? Never seen our glorious empire?" Asked Zim as he ran his fingertips over Dib's forearms, then pulled back his eyelids to examine his eyeballs.

"No." Replied Dib. He had gotten very used to doctors' poking and prodding, but this was different somehow. They were human, with their human eyes and their human skin, their human clothes and voices and smells. This being touching him now was not. "I've never even met someone. . .like me." He'd heard it was useful to blend truth in with his lies. It was.

Zim looked into his eyes. His mouth drew into a line. "You have my pity." He said. "It is. . .very good to see another of my species, after all this time."

Zim stood up. Dib followed suit. Zim gave Dib a salute that Dib hesitantly mimicked. It seemed to satisfy Zim.

"Well, smeetling. My name is ZIM. My rank, Invader. And my expert eye tells me that you're cut from invader material as well. From this moment forth you may consider yourself to be under my protective wing. Fear not, smeetling! Though we find ourselves in the temporary clutches of our diabolical enemies, Zim will teach you to conduct yourself as befitting an invader of the Irken Empire, and soon, together, we will make our glorious ESCAPE!"

End of Chapter 1