Nighttime in Lawndale. Artie trudged desolately up the sidewalk to his next customer. This was his fourth pizza delivery job in nine months, and he was determined not to screw it up.
Not that it was his fault, of course. To him, it was the bane of his existence that kept costing him steady employment. "Those darn aliens," he kept muttering. "Why can't they leave me alone? I'm cursed!" he sobbed.
Sighing, pizza in hand, he reached the front door and rang the bell. As he waited, he glanced around. "This area sure looks familiar," he said to himself. Wondering where he'd seen it before, he reached for the doorbell again...
*FLASH*
"Aaaaaah!!!" he shouted as the painfully bright light stabbed down from above. Shielding his eyes proved useless; the brightness prevented seeing anything beyond it. Nevertheless, he kept searching for the source just as a loud thrumming sound started.
He swallowed, his throat dry. He'd heard that sound before...
"ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!"
Artie jumped, dropping the pizza on the ground. The aliens! They'd found him! There was no mistaking that hideous, other-worldly speech!
"YOU ARE ON THE WAY TO DESTRUCTION! YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE MAKE YOUR TIME!"
Frozen in his tracks, Artie found it impossible to even scream, so dry his throat was. He had to get away, warn the populace!
"HA HA HA HA!"
"Noooooo!!!!!" Finally finding his voice, he babbled incoherently as he ran down to his car as fast as his feet could carry him. After several tries at starting his car, accompanied by frantic shrieks each time, the ignition finally turned over.
Back at the house, two figures stood at the front door. One was dressed in red and black, holding some kind of electronic device. The other was attired in green and black. Both watched as Artie fled the scene as fast as his car could carry him.
With a sigh, Daria handed her friend a twenty dollar bill. "You win."
Jane smirked as she pocketed the cash. "Told ya," she crowed as she picked up the pizza.
"I gotta admit, you were right. Paranoid as he is about U.F.O.'s, I didn't think even Artie would fall for that 'Zero Wing' schtick." Her voice was laced with incredulity at the gullibility of some people. "Doesn't he go on the Internet looking for government conspiracies and stuff?"
"Who knows?" Jane shrugged. "You gotta admit, though: the right mood and the right equipment will do the trick." She smirked again. "And I always did want to find some use for Dad's high-powered photography lighting and Trent's novelty voice distorter thingy."
Daria almost-smiled. "You've done that," she admitted. "Scaring the wits out of gullible Mulder-wannabes is definitely your forte." She gestured towards the house. "Shall we?"
"Why not?"
And both girls went back into the house to enjoy their now-free pizza.