The Fallen Invader

Chapter 17: Bid Veil

We kept in contact with Skoodge, but unfortunately, he didn't have any new information. He did offer to come to Earth to help deal with whatever impending threat was on the way, but I told him it would probably be best to stay put. We already had a close call with Zim almost being exposed, and with Mip going to skool, I had her to worry about as well.

Zim and I opted not to tell her about Skoodge's warning, at least not right away. After all, it would take a while for whoever the Tallest were sending to get to Earth, so it was better to not have her panicking for six months.

Mip seemed to actually be enjoying skool to an extent. Though she had to deal with Ms. Bitters (I can't believe she's still teaching), she befriended one of her classmates, Louie.

Unfortunately, she was also classmates with Moofy. Yep, there was no getting rid of that girl.

Mip assured me that she didn't suspect anything, but alien or not, Moofy already hated her, which wasn't a good sign. Still, as long as she was careful, hopefully the extent of her relationship with Moofy would just be that of a normal human girl that gets bullied by her.

Everything was fine until Parent-Teacher Night.

It wouldn't have been a problem if that little brat wasn't in her class, but I knew if I showed up as Mip's parent, she'd know something was up.

I tried to think of anyone who could go in my place and pose as her parent, but I couldn't think of anyone that Moofy didn't already know, and Zim's Roboparents wouldn't be able to fool her.

My only option was to go in disguise.

I borrowed some of Dad's clothes, whatever he had that wasn't a lab coat, smothered my head with hair gel to keep my scythe hair down, and replaced my glasses with a pair of blue colored contacts. I couldn't see very well, but it was good enough.

Zim came over as I was getting ready, and he burst out laughing.

"Dib... your new look... it's bad." He said, in between his laughter.

"It's for Parent-Teacher Night. I'm dressing like this so Moofy doesn't recognize me."

At the mention of her name, Zim stopped laughing.

"Wait, that little monster's gonna be there!? I'm going with you! I'll just go grab my wig and-"

"Hold it. Your crummy disguise isn't gonna cut it this time. We'd better go with the hologram route."

I didn't tell Zim, but around the same time that my dad was making Mip's hologram disguise, I asked him to make one for Zim as well, just in case. I knew he would insist that his wig and contacts were good enough, but after the lab incident, making him look more human wouldn't hurt.

With the hologram chip attached to his PAK, Zim looked like a normal preteen boy. His hair and eyes still matched his old disguise, but he had a human skin tone, ears, and a nose. His Irken uniform was replaced with a magenta hoodie, and his PAK was replaced with a light pink backpack.

"It's not completely terrible. But did you have to make me so... hideous?" Zim asked.

"You don't look hideous, you look human."

"Is there really a difference?"

When Mip came home from skool on the day of Parent-Teacher Night, she was surprised to see human Zim and me dressed strangely.

I explained the plan. I would be Bid Veil, though she would call me 'Dad,' and Zim would be 'Miz,' her older brother who goes to middul skool.

I figured she would have questions, but I couldn't have anticipated what she was about to ask.

"Dib, if you're going to this with me, that means you're my parent, right? Shouldn't I be calling you 'Dad' all the time?"

"Oh! Well... of course you can call me 'Dad.' I just didn't want to force it on you, since Irkens don't really have a concept of family, and I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable with it. But if you want to, you can!"

She smiled for a second, but then it faded. "Why don't Irkens have families?"

I wasn't qualified to answer this one, so I turned to Zim. He hesitated, but then approached her.

"I'm not sure how much you remember about Irk, but things are very different there than they are here on Earth. I know you must be curious about where you come from, but believe me, you're better off here with us."

He ruffled her fake pink hair, and I couldn't help but notice how human-like he seemed to be behaving.

Mip ran off to the kitchen to get a snack, and I smirked at Zim.

"The mighty Irken warrior sure has taken a liking to Earth, huh?"

"Oh, no, this planet's disgusting, but it's tolerable enough to where I can put up with staying here if it means I get to be among people who actually appreciate my superior being! And... it's not such a bad place for Mip to grow up. At least here she actually gets a chance at life, instead of... well, you know..."

It wasn't something I thought about often, I actively tried not to, but if Mip didn't end up with us, she likely wouldn't have survived. Even if she wasn't abducted by the Planet Jackers, she wouldn't have lasted much longer on Irk. According to Zim, defectives were seen as absolutely worthless to society. She would have died an infant, rotting in a garbage dump, and no one on Irk would've cared.

The three of us headed to the skool, and just like when I was a kid, the cafeteria was filled with students, parents, and teachers.

"I should go talk to Ms. Bitters. Zim, show Mip where the cookies and punch are."

At the mention of food, her eyes lit up, and she grabbed Zim by the hand and ran off with him.

I didn't have to look far for Ms. Bitters. I heard the sound of rattlesnakes behind me, and there she was.

"You must be Mip's father. She's very enthusiastic. It sickens me. Wait, don't I know you from somewhere?"

"No ma'am. My name is Bid Veil." I offered my hand for her to shake it. She didn't.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Ms. Bitters left, and I turned around to go look for Zim and Mip. However, I bumped into someone who looked exactly like me.

"You're Bid Veil, huh? That's funny, because I could've sworn that was my name. And it looks like you stole my appearance as well."

Huh. Who would've guessed?

"Wow! Okay, that is... what a crazy coincidence! Heh, so, uh, which kid is yours? I'm Mip's dad."

A boy with brown hair and glasses ran over and looked back and forth between us.

"Uh... Hi, Dads!"

"Mr. Veil, this is my son, Louie. I believe our kids are friends, though I still don't think it was appropriate for you to copy my identity."

Louie smiled. "Oh, you're Mip's dad? This is so cool! Where is she?"

I glanced over at the snack table, and I didn't see her or Zim. Not a good sign.

"Alright. Enough of this nonsense. Who are you really?" Bid asked.

As if on cue, my hair scythe popped up. Louie was practically bouncing off the walls.

"You're Professor Membrane's son, aren't you? That means... Mip's a Membrane! Yes! This is awesome! I'm such a huge fan!"

Man, that kid is loud.

Before I knew it, I was crowded with people. None of them actually cared about me, just my dad.

I was bombarded with question after question, though I didn't bother to answer any of them. I was too busy looking for Zim and Mip.

I felt a tug at my sleeve. "Dib! We have to go."

Zim was at my side, his hologram turned off. He had his arm around Mip, who was quietly crying.

"Everyone, I must be going! I'm needed elsewhere! Science!" I announced, doing my best impression of Dad, which is admittedly not very good.

I escorted them out of the building. I had a feeling I already knew what happened, and I didn't like it one bit.