"Heat"

'Chapter One'

By: Emo Fox

It happened once every year.

It wasn't really a big deal; Zim was used to it by now, ever since he went through the change from the equinox he had to take a week off school and just confine himself to his house.

Sure, it made him irritated and more hostile than normal, but it was just him in his lab for that week so there was no threat of him trying to leave and do something about his discomfort and irritation.

This dreaded event was called, 'Heat' and Zim suffered from it once every year for an entire week before those disgusting needs died down.

He knew the basics; ever since he felt the stirrings within his body, felt his skin grow hot and his mouth dry with this unusual yearning he had done some research on the subject. At first he thought he had contracted some Earth illness; but now he knew better, after all, he had suffered through four of these cycles thus far.

Zim didn't know if he truly had anything to worry about. He wasn't even sure these human things were even compatible with his superior alien body. They might not even impregnate him for all he knew – but then again, he wasn't going to try and find out and just the thought of mating with any of these creatures disgusted him to no end.

Zim wasn't a female by any standard; he was a male for all purposes. However, being the warring race Irkens were the 'female' of the species was bred out of the genetic gene pool for the most part. Being a female was a genetic anomaly and didn't happen very often. Female bodies were weaker, smaller, and less durable than the male of the species. They were a conquering race, they had to be tough and strong and resilient to most everything so it was only natural they would weed out the weakness of their race.

Instead they had modified their genes; created the 'super organ' all Irkens had and created it so males would have the ability to bear smeets just like females. So, once every year there would be a great heat that would fall over every Irken and every Irken would have the uncontrolled urge to mate. It almost sent them into a frenzy to find a partner and get pregnant to further their race.

There were no mated pairs; useless feelings of 'love' and 'companionship' were not welcomed to a race made to kill and conquer.

It was merely a mating to continue the species. One Irken from every mated duo would be out of commission for about six months. The smeet would be born premature on purpose so that it would need the assistance of the nursery. From there the smeet would incubate for the remaining three months before cracked open by the control arm and harnessed with a Pak and given the shock of life.

By doing things this way it cut off the maternal instinct and wouldn't require the assistant of a 'parent' to grow and learn. The Pak gave the newborn everything it needed to know in that moment and gave it an advantage even by being so young and small with the added instruments the Pak had.

So even if Zim was compatible with one of the stink-beasts of the Earth; he had no idea how a hybrid thing would live. Would it need a Pak? Would it just live on its own? Would it be weaker than a normal Irken?

Zim didn't need to answer any of these questions because such an event would never occur. The time every year didn't change so it was predictable and easy to avoid. By his calculations his heat cycle would start tomorrow. Tomorrow was Saturday so he didn't even have to worry about school. School was already finished for this day; so all he really needed to do was double-check the locking systems on the lab for when he needed to use them tomorrow.

Zim turned off his computers with a tired sigh, not looking forward to tomorrow at all but there was no getting around it. The lab hummed in an eerie pink glow, high-lighting the purples on the walls and floor. Wires hung down in tendrils like thick snakes and slithered down over metallic canisters that stretched to the ceiling. As the alien walked further into his lab he passed large metal jars filled with green and purple goo; tables built for hideous experiments and murderous instruments that didn't even have names.

The green-skinned creature didn't care to take in the sights; he only had one goal in mind. He may as well just remain down here, it would save him the trouble from going back down in the morning where he might not want to. He didn't have his normal state of mind when infected with the hideous needs.

"Disgusting." Zim hissed to himself, "Nasty. Filthy. Gross. Icky."

The mere thought of coupling with something; even his own species, it sickened him to his core.

But tomorrow that thought process would change.

Tomorrow it would be the only thing he'd want to do in the world.

Which is why he put up all the necessary precautions. He didn't trust himself tomorrow, didn't trust himself to actually follow procedure and get down here in time before he wanted to do nothing else but roam and find someone to mate with him.

Zim made it to the back of his lab, stopping his strutting stride as he opened a smooth metal panel. A series of buttons were in place behind the door; the shine of their metallic surfaces reflected in Zim's bright magenta eyes. Mechanically he flicked the switches and pressed the buttons; the entire lab groaning almost in protest as the security shields went up.

This allowed no one in or out for an entire week.

He couldn't override it with his voice, or manually. He couldn't destroy the structure because nothing in his lab was strong enough to do damage to the security walls. Gir couldn't get in no matter how hard he tried.

This had been tested before, he had went through four of the cycles and he worked out any kinks that might have been in the procedure before hand.

The silver lining draped over the walls of Zim's lab, shielding the elevator and everything else. It merely looked like a gossamer shroud; almost like a liquid that showed everything beyond it but it was a high-grade Irken security net and the alien knew it wouldn't fail him.

His metal spider limbs could do nothing to it; neither could teeth, nail, or ray gun.

Safe.

He was safe.

Zim let out an almost contented sigh, his arms casually behind his back as he grinned to his own ingenious designs.

The alien started to walk back towards the bulk of his lab, towards his computer when he heard the noise.

Tink. Tink. Tink.

Zim's antennae twitched in response and he glared into the darkness of his lab. Shades of purple, red, and pink were hued with dark shadow the shine of the security net winking at him and making it even harder to see. He stared hard at the darkness, his body tense and alert as he strained his mind for what that sound could possibly be.

There was no one else down here.

He made sure to leave Gir upstairs, made sure to tie him to the couch. He knew the robot would get free of his bonds, but it gave him enough time to get to his lab undisturbed and Gir would have forgotten about him once he had made it that far.

No, it wasn't Gir.

Then…

Well, it couldn't be mini-moose either. Mini-moose let out involuntary squeaks, and that aside, was normally drawn to Zim's head for some reason.

Tink. Tink. Crash.

"Damn it!"

The color drained from the alien, his mouth agape as he continued to stare at nothing, still unable to make out any shapes.

That.

That was…

Dib.

Dib's voice.

--

A/N:

This story is going to be fun to write. Mpreg, drama, etc etc… The works. I know this chapter is short but I'm already working to post chapter two. If you're interested please leave a review.