Fly on the Wall - Pt 24

“Gaz is here”

Zim wasn't shocked to hear the computer announce this, especially after he said that Gaz had left her house immediately after her discussion with those investigator's. He once again replaced his pak upon his back and went to try and intercept her.

He didn't have to go far when he spotted her close to one of the lower base entrance's. He smirked  when he noticed she didn't look as dead as earlier, however his smirk dropped as soon as she yelled out his name. He didn't need to risk her getting too angry, especially in his base, “What?”

Gaz turned at him she wasn't tensed for attacking, and there wasn't a single hint of glow anywhere. Zim considered this a good sign. He didn't have much time to prepare himself for the question he knew was coming.

“What exactly happened last night? You clearly know more than you're letting on. Given your vague hints from this morning.”

Zim looked away from Gaz, he didn't like the look in her eyes, it was to close to the look he saw in them this morning. He wasn't sure why she cared so much, he thought the explanation he had given earlier was more than sufficient. Truth be told, he thought as he looked her over again, she'd been so unpredictable these past weeks he wasn't entirely sure how she'd react to the the whole story as he knew it. Once again his mouth decided to form it's own answer while his brain continued to think away, “No.”

“No?” Gaz spat back at Zim. “I didn't ask if you would?”

“You haven't given me a reason why I should either.” Zim stated matter of factly, not sure why he was trying to rile her up. Given what he'd seen last night he should be trying to keep her level headed. However seeing Gaz riled up like this was so much closer to what he knew as normal when compared to the mess of girl he'd seen this morning.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Gaz growled as her muscles began to tense again in a similar fashion they had been after she'd slapped him.

That's right she'd slapped him, “I don't need to explain myself to you.”  Zim snarled as he could feel his own anger rising as he recalled all her times of impertinence and disrespect. Here she was  giving commands like she was the one in charge. Then he saw what could only be described as a ripple go across the pathway wall. “Damn it,” he mumbled under his breath.  

Without warning the two were suddenly drenched in a strange purple liquid. Zim clenched his fists and ground teeth, he had a sinking suspicion that someone was once again acting without orders. He glanced over at Gaz who still looked angry but now was glaring at the ceiling, her clothes began to stick to her form.

“Apologies,” came the drone of the computer from above, “My sensors indicated potential for fire in the area and a suppressant was released as per protocol. Miss Membrane perhaps it would  be best for you to shower as soon as possible.”

“No kidding.” Gaz growled as her glare  focused on a descending misshapen arrow.

“If you would please follow the arrows. I'll reroute some plumbing to accommodate a shower for you.” The computer's voice seemed off somehow to Zim, he couldn't help clench his fists more when he realized that it was because it was sounding much more polite towards Gaz then it did towards him. He watched Gaz walk away, she sniffed her arm, perhaps trying to determine what exactly was covering him.

Once she was out of ear shot Zim growled to empty space, “what do you think you're doing?”

“Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather not test Miss Membrane at present. You said it yourself this morning, neither of us have much of a defense against her when she's fighting at her fullest.”

Zim could feel every single one of his muscles tighten. “DAMN IT!” He screamed from frustration.

Meanwhile Gaz walked down the hall following the misshapen arrows that would fall from the ceiling from time to time. She stopped and looked behind her when she swore she could hear Zim scream.

“You'll have to excuse him. He's just frustrated is all.” The computer suddenly spoke up echoing slightly.

Gaz grunted and resumed her course. It wasn't long before she arrived at a simple room, it looked like not long ago it had been some sort of closet but now it was simply an empty room with a closed off shower. It was at this point that something dawned on her. “Hey. What exactly am I supposed to change into?”

“I'll try to wash the clothing your currently have on as quickly as possible however if you finish before I do I'll think of something.”

Gaz growled under her breath, she hesitated before removing her current set of clothes unsure of what surveillance was like in this place. However seeing as she wasn't entirely sure what was just dumped on her it didn't seem like she had much choice. She stripped down and stepped into the shower to rinse off. She couldn't believe how much of an ass Zim was being, what right did he have to not tell her what happened last night. Maybe someone or rather thing might have an idea.

“Hey.” Gaz shouted at the ceiling, testing if the computer would even talk to her.

“Yes?”

“Do you know what happened last night.”
“I know about as much as you do granted this might be new to you,” the computer droned before a different female voice came over head, “Authorities believe there was a gas leak which led to a series of small explosions on several residential streets which led to the death of five high school students, whose names will not be release due to their being minors.”

Gaz let the water run over her, and sighed. For the second time today she was in the shower trying to piece together the events of the previous night, and just like before she was forming more questions then answers. Explosions? She doubted her ability to cause explosions however if that really had been her doing it could potentially explain Zim's hesitance to say anything. Damn him and his napoleon complex.

Gaz ran her hands over her hair and skin in order to test how well it was rinsing off. She didn't have any soap so it was all she could do. Not detecting anything she shut off the water and peeked outside the shower. Hanging nearby were a couple of sorry excuses for towels, she grabbed one it wasn't as scratchy as she would have guessed. She began to dry herself off as she further contemplated the infuriating Zim. So he wanted a reason he should tell her anything she'd just have to come up with one.

A flash of red in her peripheral caught her attention; she swiveled to the side. Gaz looked over the baggy red hoodie now hanging before her, it didn’t look to ratty, but this was definitely not one of Zim’s. Clearly this must mean her own clothes weren't ready yet. She briefly contemplated the possibility of it having been stolen as she pulled the hoodie over her head. It was much to big for her as the bottom of it almost reached her knees and her arms were completely swallowed up the sleeves.

“Gir brought it home with him after one of  his excursions.” The computer said as she attempted to roll the sleeves up to a more reasonable length. She rolled her eyes, the possibility of this being stolen just went up exponentially, of course Gir would run off and return with something completely random in his possession. Gir, that's it.
“Where's Zim at now?” Gaz inquired at the ceiling.
“Attempting to clean the residual suppressant from the pathway.”
Before the computer could finish it's statement Gaz was leaving the small shower room. Her bare feet slapped against the cool flooring as she tried to avoid running back the way she had come from in the first place. It didn't take long to see Zim on his knees, one jumpsuit shy of a clean room suit, scrubbing at the floor.

*   *   *

Zim was busy scrubbing away at the supposed suppressant the computer has released earlier when the computer's voice echoed through the pathway, “While I don't care if you two come to blows with each other, I'd appreciate if you'd avoid damaging any of MY components.”

Zim tried could feel a scream of annoyance building in his chest as he threw his scrub brush in a near by sudsy bucket. Why was he even cleaning this mess anyway? The one who caused it should be the one cleaning. Before he could say anything he heard what he could only assume was the sound of soft foot steps stopping behind him.

He sighed certain Gaz hadn't given up on trying to get him to talk. He removed his gloves as he stood up and turned to face her. He was not expecting to see her in a baggy red hoodie, it almost looked like a dress on her it was so big, and her hair hang almost limply by her face. She didn't look as angry as before, the look on her face seemed familiar but he couldn't place where he'd seen it before.

“All right Zim. You're going to tell me what happened last night.” She said as she crossed her arms. He couldn't believe her confidence in the matter he opened his mouth to retort but before he could make a sound Gaz continued to speak, “If you don't, I'm going to go and tell Gir just how much his pig friend upstairs probably loves mud holes.”

Zim felt his mouth go slack jaw, was she threatening him? He could only imagine the mess that Gir would make. It wouldn't be the first time he'd made a mess of the place all he'd have to do is clean up the place. He closed his mouth and was about to smile when once again Gaz spoke up.

“If that doesn't do the trick, I'm sure he'd love to be introduced to the world of crafts.” She said as she leaned her back against the wall. Zim raised an invisible eyebrow uncertain as to what she was hinting at. As if to answer his unspoken question she continued speaking, “play doh, paper mache, painting, wild life scrap booking.”

He could feel his eye twitch with every new idea that Gaz continued to list off. If she was serious, and he suspected she was, his life would quickly turn into a constant stream of cleaning up after Gir. He had a hard enough time doing that as it was. This was obviously not going to be a fight he'd win no matter how he went about it. “Damn it,” he growled.

Gaz glared back towards Zim, “well?”

Zim exhaled as he mentally tried to reinvent his loss as something he'd planned to do from the very beginning. “Very well, keep in mind I wasn't present for everything my own recollection isn't complete” He eyed Gaz for a reaction, she just glared at him. He then began to recount his evening starting at just after he got the sudden desire to which by extension excluded the portion regarding her brother and the briefcase of files.

Upon concluding his tale, he watched Gaz carefully, by this point she'd gone back to glaring at the wall opposite her. Her expression didn't seem to change. Wait was that a hint of a smile? It was. Even though it was just small, Gaz was most definitely smiling. This was not the reaction he was expecting.