The Dib human was coming. That he knew for sure.

Pasty green claws tapped against the chilled glass as the droplets descended. Despite his nervous twitching, the alien's expression feigned a convincing impatience.

"Gir!"

The command pierced sharply through the air. A few seconds later the repetitive clinking of tiny, metal feet responded to his call. With a high pitched squeal, the blue and sliver robot tore through the archway from the kitchen and into the living room, full throttle towards his master. Mere seconds before impact, Gir skidded to a screeching stop, a small clamp-like hand raising in salute.

"I married a monkey!" He exclaimed, wincing his cylindrical eyes and sticking out his tongue.

Zim stared flatly at the unit, shook his head, and continued with his previous train of thought.

"Gir, Where is the umbrella I commanded you to retrieve?" He held his hands out—palms up—clutching and un-clutching his claws. "Give it to Ziiiim!"

Gir's large eyes opened fully, iridescent blue glowing blankly. He blinked a few times, the wordlessly trotted off. A stupid grin plastered on his face.

As he waited, Zim returned his gaze to the window, crossing his arms.

A few, silent moments passed.

"RAIN!" Snarling, Zim pointed out the window in indignation, stance widening, sharp teeth bared. "Curse you infernal liquid from the sky!"

His eyes narrowed to magenta slits from sheer rage. How dare this natural Earth phenomenon challenge him? Him! The almighty Zim!

Stalking away from the rectangular pane of glass, Zim made his way to the couch. There, on the armrest lay his brilliant disguise. The FOOLISH rain had distracted him to the point where he nearly forgot about it. That would have been most inconvenient. Zim lashed his snake-like tongue beyond his lips. Even indoors the air was thick with moisture. Zim could taste it.

Ugh.

Face still set into a decisive grimace, Zim picked up one of the milky white contact lenses. With a steady hand, he peeled back his eyelid and placed it over own his pupil-less eye. He waited a moment, blinking quickly in an attempt to subside the discomfort, then inserted the other.

Zim had just tucked his spindly antennae under the black wig when Gir returned.

"Finally!" The alien hissed as Gir came before him, jumping up and down excitedly. Squealing, the robot presented the requested item, thrusting it above his head towards his masters scrutinizing gaze.

Odd.

With a questioning "Heh?" Zim took the contraption into his claws, turning it over and examining it closely.

It was an umbrella… Of sorts. It had no handle. Instead, two plastic rings joined with strips of the same material protruded from below the canopy. It was also impossible to close.

"What is this!?" The rain outside seen to fall with increasing frequency, Zim's frantic words match the pace. "This is not a standard model! How do I use this?"

Alternating from foot to foot in a funny little dance, Gir pointed to his own head.

"It goes on your HEAD!"

The living room filled with silence again. Zim stared intently at the hat-model umbrella, scratching his head with a free hand. The hand returned to the object.

"IT'S GENIUS!" Zim exclaimed, overly dramatic as usual. With a smug expression, Zim placed the umbrella over his head, twisting it slightly to secure it. It even left his hands free in case he needed to fend off the Dib-Human. Perfect!

"I shall now depart Gir, with my BRILLIANT rain shielding device. Make sure too keep the squirrels off the lawn. They've been chewing on the defense systems."

And with that Zim strode to the front door. Swinging it open, Zim saw exactly who he expected to see standing just outside his base's fence. There he was.

The Dib.