Prologue

Tak didn't care. Tak didn't even pay that much attention. No; Better yet, she paid absolutely no attention. No, not even when she could hear the siren song of the laser gun going off. It was coming for her. It was coming straight to her. And there was nothing that would ever be done about it. She barely felt the pain. No. She felt no pain. She was Tak. The female Irken could feel the warmth of her own blood seeping into the shoulders of her Invader uniform.

Still, no pain. Yes, she was partially surprised. She was not scared. Right. She could tell herself that over and over and over again, but no matter how many times she did, she always found a way to deny herself. The edges of her vision were slowly going black and fuzzy, dimming. She felt the sharp stones beneath her digging into

her knees. And that was when Tak fell.

Where am I?

The only thing Tak could really feel was the almost electrical sensation right in the center of her forehead. For several moments, she enjoyed it, the wonderful, numb consciousness. She shoved herself up, then swore vehemently in her native language as she fell backward again. She forced her violet eyes open.

Tak forced her eyes open, squinting at first, then gradually opening them further. She flinched. She could feel the IV in her hand, and winced slightly. The electrical sensation was now changing. It was burning. It hurt her. The hand that didn't have the IV flew to it, and she let out a terrible, high-pitched cry.

She could feel a tear going down her face, although her eyes were now clenched shut. Then it stopped. The pain was ebbing away to a dull throb. She could feel someone gently squeezing her hand. Her head slowly tipped, and she opened her eyes, staring into the face of Dib. He was older now. Then she remembered it had been nearly ten earth years. She tried to make the words come out, but her mouth didn't seem to work at the moment. Dib just rolled his chocolate eyes at her.

The next thing he said, she did not expect. "'You alright, Tak?" She looked at him, then sneered. "I do- don't need your help!" She swung her legs over, but fell. "Another reason Irkens are idiots." Dib muttered. "You should be dead by now, you know." He stated somewhat forcibly.

Tak let herself go back against the pillow with a sigh. "Tell me what happened." She didn't have the energy to fight right now. She wasn't even sure how she got here. Dib looked at her. "I think… Someone shot you with a laser."

Something rushed through Tak's mind. Everything flooded back. The memory was numb, but still there. The laser being fired… The blood… Urgh. The blood. It made her shiver. Then it hit her like a smack in the face. The one who had fired the laser… It had been… No… Not possible! But, it was. It was totally possible.

Yes… Now she remembered. The memory was clear. She remembered being there.

Flashback…

"There's a reason we have called all of you," Red's voice rang out among all of the Invaders, who were all in salute. All of the Invaders except Zim, of course. Tak's hand was raised to her forehead in salute. Her heart fluttered.

"We have decided… To give up on Impending Doom." The gasps of shock rang out through all of them, and they sent confused glances at each other. Then why were they here?

"The Invaders are no longer needed… And therefore…" SIR units began to come in, each taking a place behind an Invader. "You all have been labeled as defectives."

Tak, and all of the others paled as something was jammed into all of their PAKs by the SIRs. She blacked out immediately.

The next thing she remembered was the laser… Firing straight at her head. She had shown no fear. She could remember the sharp stones digging their cruel edges into her knees, then falling over altogether..

The rest of it was a blur to her. She did find tears running down her cheeks, however. Betrayed! Betrayed by her own leaders! She clenched her eyes shut, and immediately looked away from Dib, shamefully, even, so he couldn't see her crying.