Invader Zim, its concepts and personalities are copyrighted by Nickelodeon/Viacom. X-COM: UFO Defense, its concepts and personalities are copyrighted by Atari, Inc. I, BioKraze, own nothing save the original plot of this fanfiction and the Nanex Imperiuum. Please ask me first if you wish to use the Nanex Imperiuum in your stories.

The sleek craft rested in the middle of a street. Ten soldiers were scattered about the neighbourhood, seeking a single enemy. Each of the soldiers knew that capturing this alien would be the key to winning the war that mankind was fighting once more. A single alien versus almost eight billion humans. They had learned about the alien from a dying man, an investigator of the supernatural who had devoted his whole life to defending his race in a time when humans looked the other way. Now, before the alien scourge could take the planet by surprise, the humans had to capture the agent that had lived within their society for almost nine years...

It wasn't a game anymore. They were trying to kill me. I could no longer feel secure anywhere on Earth. They would find me eventually. My only hope was to evade them for as long as I could. They would surely win the war, but as long as I stayed free, I could keep winning the battle. Two of their number had already been wounded by glancing shots from my pulse cannon. Their wounds would surely be painful, but they would survive to fight another day. I could rely on no other person. I was utterly alone, abandoned by the others. It was a good thing that I had destroyed my base before I began the real war...

I had no allies. My rival had seen to that almost three years before. First my dysfunctional android, then my doomsday assistant. The first had sacrificed himself to save my life, taking a ten millimetre slug to the chest before exploding in a shower of shrapnel that took the lives of three bystanders. The second had blown himself up, along with half a city block. The blast had ensured that I wouldn't have to worry about my rival or his family again. Yet, somehow, he had found others to fight on for him. These humans were smarter, more prepared for the war than I expected. They knew how to fight aliens. They knew how to fight aliens and win. I wondered where they learned their tactics from...

I ducked behind a building, silently thanking the Mother for my short height. For once in my life, being a little above three feet worked to my advantage. I checked the charge on my pulse cannon. I needed every advantage I could get. The charge was almost empty. Three shots from now, my weapon would be no more than a fancy club. I had to make my shots count.

The sound of armoured feet alerted me to the humans. I held my breath and aimed down the alleyway. A shadow drew closer. I counted to three, then squeezed off a shot. The human passed into my line of sight before the pulse of energy slammed into his side. He twisted in agony, half his stomach vapourised by the powerful blast. The stench of burning flesh mixed with the smell of ionised atmosphere, and I almost gagged. Blood gushed from the massive torso wound, and the human's pupils contracted as he recognised his mortality. He collapsed, his blood still spilling from the partially cauterised fatal wound, and I knew that he would not rise again. I ran, trying to hide again before the others found their dead ally.

I ran behind a fence, pausing to take stock. Two shots left. I looked to the sides. No humans. I sighed in relief. I heard a gasp come from somewhere behind the fence. I cringed. They had heard! What to do, what to do...? I ran for the other side of the fence when I tripped over a rock. I saw a glimpse of blue steel.

"There it is!" A shadow loomed over me. I turned over and saw an armoured human. His rifle was slung over his back. This, I thought, was a good thing. Unfortunately, the long staff he held was a very bad thing. Grinning ferally, he raised the two foot long rod and swung down hard.

The last thing I felt before I saw the void of unconsciousness was a rather painful electric shock...