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Morty wasn't stupid, contrary to what everyone around him always assumed.
He knew he was replaceable. He had seen first-hand just how easy it was for Rick to abandon a reality or build a robot of himself because he was pissed off at Morty. Even though Rick had started promising he would never actually replace Morty, the option was there and it would always be there.
But that wasn't the only thing worrying him.
No.
His current cause for concern was his evil counterpart. Evil Morty was everything Morty wasn't. His intelligence was pretty much on par with Rick's, as were his engineering and inventing skills.
He was only fourteen, obviously the same age as Morty, but he'd accomplished far more than Morty probably ever would.
Built his own portal gun.
Became President of the Citadel.
Helped track down and subdue Rick Prime.
Evil Morty might have said that he no longer wanted anything to do with Ricks, but that didn't mean he couldn't just drop in whenever he wanted.
And that's exactly what had happened.
Morty isn't sure when exactly it started, but one day he casually strolled into the garage, only for Rick to start acting shifty when Morty asked who he was texting.
As soon as Rick said he hadn't been texting anyone, Morty knew it wasn't true.
Rick was hiding something.
So Morty snatched his grandpa's phone away and, when he saw a text from his evil counterpart pop up, he felt his heart sink.
Why?
Why the fuck would Rick be texting Evil Morty?
"It's fine." That's what Rick told his grandson.
After all, he was just doing what Evil Morty wanted so the little shit wouldn't use the newly rebuilt Omega device to wipe out the family. Of course, he hadn't told Morty that, so his grandson was making it weird by overreacting and being all needy. But maybe Rick could use that to his advantage to bait Evil Morty.
"The fuck it's fine!" His grandpa claimed "it was fine". But this was as far from fine as it got. Evil Morty, who'd tried to kill them on more than one occasion, was now suddenly buddy-buddy enough with Rick to regularly text him.
And then it got worse.
Evil Morty showed up.
He portaled straight into the garage and Morty could feel his anger and jealousy boiling over as he watched his evil counterpart step out of that dreaded golden portal.
"What, you don't answer my calls now?"
Calls?
Rick and Evil Morty called each other?
He glared accusingly at his grandpa, who was ignoring him and pointedly looking only at Evil Morty.
Morty only got the briefest explanation of Rick and Evil Morty working together on off screen exploits, before they were turning to leave through the portal Evil Morty just came through.
Then his counterpart actually had the audacity to invite Morty along. Rick gave a subtle shake of his head, clearly hoping Morty would refuse, but he merely glared up at Rick and accepted Evil Morty's offer.
They ended up in his counterpart's lair, where Morty discovered the Omega device had been rebuilt to wipe out his entire family should Evil Morty feel like doing so. And the worst part was just how proud he looked, a smug grin on his face, as if wiping out Morty's whole family across infinity was the best plan he'd ever come up with.
When they first entered the lair, Morty suggested trying to take the other Morty down while they had the opportunity, but Rick didn't even seem the slightest bit interested in the idea.
And wasn't that a huge red flag.
It was almost as if Rick was looking forward to this, as if he enjoyed working with Evil Morty. And the more Morty watched them, the more certain he became that that's what was happening.
It first became obvious as Rick was flying them towards their goal, the multiverse eating entity. Rick forced Morty to put on the stupid Nano-mesh bubble suit. He tried to refuse and even demanded that Evil Morty wear it.
And Rick's response was-
"Evil Morty doesn't need the suit."
Which meant that he thought Morty did. Did he really believe Morty was so helpless and fragile that he needed a bubble suit?
As much as Morty hated to admit it, the bubble suit did end up coming handy later on. When The Collective began attacking Rick's ship, it ejected them on his command and the suit kept Morty safe as he fell.
He knew then that Evil Morty had only brought him along to flex on him, to show off just how well he and Rick worked together. Morty could only bounce around in the stupid bubble suit and watch as his evil counterpart and Rick effortlessly and efficiently battled The Collective together.
As much as it hurt him to watch them working together, Morty just couldn't bring himself to look away. There was nothing he craved more than to be like the other Morty, minus the evil part.
His counterpart was far more confident, powerful, and intelligent then Morty could ever hope to be. It wasn't hard to see why Rick liked hanging out with Evil Morty.
It brought Morty's fear of being replaced back to the forefront of his mind.
That fear became a reality when Evil Morty forced them to go to a diner after they saved the multiverse. As soon as Rick went to the bathroom, his evil counterpart basically admitted he had Rick wrapped around his finger, albeit through blackmail, and could steal Morty's grandpa if he so chose to.
It was only once they finally left Evil Morty and began heading home that everything became clear.
Rick excitedly and feverishly ranted about how he had screwed Evil Morty over good by getting rid of the Omega device for good, that Evil Morty had fucked up by growing too overconfident and how he'd likely be coming after them for revenge.
There'd been a lot said during that rant, but what Morty did get out of it was that Rick had been faking.
The blackmail part certainly hadn't been faked, considering Rick went out of his way to actually put the Omega device plans in the device itself, ridding the multiverse of it once and for all. But Rick had faked liking the time he'd spent working for Evil Morty.
It seemed like Morty's fears of being replaced by Evil Morty had been unwarranted.
Right?
As soon as they got home and entered the garage, Rick began prepping for Evil Morty's assault. It was going to happen and he had to be ready. He teleported the entire fucking house into a bunker dimension that he'd built for this purpose, complete with turret-armed houses and combat trained neighbors.
It was only after Rick had prepped the rest of the family on Evil Morty and how to handle him that Morty gathered enough courage to follow Rick into the garage and ask the question that had been on his mind.
"Do you wish I was smarter?"
Rick's answer was not what he was hoping to hear.
"Oohf, Morty. Have some dignity."
Morty winced at the mocking statement and tried not to let it upset him. He was sure Rick didn't mean for it to come across as hurtful. Though, he could never really be sure. "I don't know, maybe it was all an act, but he's powerful and confident. And you guys had real chemistry. I can't even do chemistry homework."
Rick couldn't believe he was actually having this conversation right now. He had literally admitted to Morty that he was faking, that he hated that arrogant, overconfident little prick just as much as his grandson did. "He wears a villain accessory, Morty. We are closing the book on this. Evil. Morty. Sucks!"
"You promise?"
The relief on his grandson's face was obvious and, as much as Rick wanted to roll his eyes, he knew he was one of the reasons Morty was so damn insecure in the first place, so he was willing to let Morty have this. "I promise."
Morty couldn't help the sigh of relief he let out and turned his attention to his next biggest worry: Evil Morty. "You sure he can't break in?"
Of course, right as Rick confirmed it was unlikely, the little shit had to show up and Rick tossed a gun to Morty.
Shoot to kill.
Those were Rick's words to his grandson. Their standoff with Evil Morty was going to end here, hopefully with them still standing and Morty's evil counterpart either dead or subdued.
Evil Morty was pissed, no doubt because Rick had not only outsmarted him, but also permanently destroyed his only method of blackmail.
Neither Rick or Morty's guns or the turrets firing from the houses did any damage and soon Evil Morty was standing right in front of them.
"You're gonna watch me kill him."
"Oh man, you sound as pressed as Morty was." Rick tried to keep his tone as nonchalant as possible, but Evil Morty's words sent a chill down his cybernetic spine. It was very reminiscent of Rick Prime threatening his grandson and, just like Prime, Evil Morty was more than capable of killing Morty if Rick wasn't careful enough.
Despite Evil Morty's threat against him, it seemed his counterpart was more intent on killing Rick than him. After destroying half the neighborhood, Rick and Evil Morty ended up in front of the house again and Morty didn't waste the opportunity. He tackled his evil counterpart to the ground, which he immediately regretted when Evil Morty removed his eyepatch so they looked the same.
Suddenly, two identical Mortys were standing in front of Rick and he glanced between the two of them as they demanded that Rick kill the other Morty.
"Shoot him, Rick! What the hell?!"
"What are you waiting for? Kill him!"
"Go on! Do it!"
"It's him! Just do it!"
They both turned on each other and began arguing. "Oh, fսck you!"
"You're really gonna do this? You're really gonna try to make him shoot me?"
"That's your trick? Just-- Just say your whole plan out loud so he doesn't suspect you?" Morty yelped as the bubble suit he'd forgotten to take off suddenly activated. His eyes shifted from the trigger for the suit, which was in Rick's hand, to Evil Morty's face and he couldn't help smiling at the look of disappointment and shock as Rick nabbed him with the net.
Rick knew the net wouldn't hold him for long, but he wasn't expecting Evil Morty to break out of it in mere minutes. The only good news was that his force field no longer worked. While Morty started taunting his counterpart, Rick began trying to figure out how to get Evil Morty into the house to spring the trap that'd been set.
Ironically, that actually ended up being the easiest part of the whole thing. The little bitch fled into the house, where he promptly got the shit beat out of him by the rest of the family. Just as Rick predicted, Evil Morty attempted to use time travel and the time police Rick tipped off showed up to arrest him. The look of defeat on his face as he was led out of the house in handcuffs was priceless. However, watching his grandson slap the shit out of Evil Morty was even more satisfying.
Rick wished he'd gotten a video of that.
With Evil Morty in custody, the Time Cops finished their investigation and began taking down statements from each member of the household. It was only when the lights on the ceiling of the bunker dimension began to dim, simulating the sun setting as evening began, that the Time Cops finally began leaving.
Wanting some peace and quiet, after the crazy fucking day he'd had, Morty had climbed up onto the roof of their bunker dimension house and was now laying back against the roof tiles, looking up at the metal ceiling far above. He wasn't sure why Rick hadn't portaled the house back yet. Maybe his grandpa was just feeling lazy.
Or maybe it wasn't over?
"Hey."
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
"Hey." Morty tilted his head back to see Rick slowly easing his way down the slope of the roof. "It's over, right? He's not going to come back?"
"It's over, for now." Rick knew that little shit wouldn't let himself be imprisoned forever. He would eventually break out and likely hunt them down for revenge. "He's not stupid enough to try a prison break on the first day."
Out of the corner of his eye, Morty could see Rick sit down beside him and look over at him, but he ignored the stare. Morty had a million questions, all of them insecure, but he stayed silent. Rick had already told him asking those kinds of questions made him look needy and that hurt Morty more than he would ever admit.
Because he was needy.
That had been proven long ago, when Rick left him for the two crows. It was a reminder that Morty was replaceable, even if Rick denied it. Maybe his partnership with Evil Morty had only been an act, but next time it might not be.
And that scared Morty.
"I wouldn't replace you with him."
Rick always seemed to know what he was thinking and Morty sometimes wondered if his grandpa was psychic, if he could actually read minds.
"Okay." That's all Morty could say. He didn't trust that answer, but he also didn't want to tell Rick that.
"I'm serious, Morty. Look at me."
Morty did not look at him, so he wasn't at all surprised when Rick got up and stood over him, blocking Morty's field of vision.
"Evil Morty is a punk ass piece of shit and I would never replace you with him."
"But....." He's better than me. Morty didn't dare voice that thought out loud. Evil Morty may have been just that, evil, but he was also superior to Morty in so many other ways.
"But what?" Rick knew. He knew what his grandson wanted to say. Had seen the jealousy in his expression on so many different occasions. He knew Morty wished he was more like his evil counterpart, even though Rick could give him an infinite number of reasons why being like Evil Morty would be a terrible thing. "Say it."
Morty shoved himself into a sitting position and glared up at Rick. However, the anger in his expression didn't match the way he was feeling and he anxiously picked at a loose thread on his jeans. "He's better than me, okay?! You guys worked together better than you and I ever have."
It hurt to admit it.
Evil Morty could hold his own. Morty needed that stupid bubble suit and Rick to take care of him.
Evil Morty could talk about physics with Rick as easily as some people might discuss the weather. Morty couldn't even do his physics homework without Rick's help.
Evil Morty had chemistry with Rick and bantered with him like he'd always been Rick's Morty. Morty always ended up fucking things up, which resulted in Rick either snapping at him or insulting him.
It was a miracle he hadn't been replaced by Evil Morty already.
"Do you wish I was more like him?"
"Fuck no. I know you think I think that about you, but I'm only going to say this once, Morty. Evil Morty is a narcissistic, sociopathic, psychotic little turd. He wanted to kill you just to hurt me. That makes him no different from Rick Prime. You don't need to be stronger, or smarter, or have some stupid ass Akira palm lasers, Morty. I don't give a fuck that you don't know anything about physics or chemistry or time travel. If I wanted the company of someone like that, I'd go find some Ricks to fuck off with or I'd build another robot version of myself."
Rick knew why Morty was so insecure about this. He'd threatened time and time again to not only replace him, but Summer as well. And at one point, he had replaced Morty, only to return when the pair of crows dumped him. Not to mention replacing himself with Robot Rick when he got butthurt over Morty calling him boring. But he did mean every word he was now saying. He would forever prefer his overly dependent and clingy, hesitant-to-kill grandson, over the psychotic evil Morty.
"I love you just the way you are, Junebug, all your dumbass faults included." Rick scowled at the sly smile on Morty's face. It was obvious his grandson hadn't been fishing for an admission of love, but he never let Rick forget it whenever he did say it. "Shut up, Morty."
Morty couldn't help laughing at that and collapsed back against the roof, the dumb happy smile still plastered across his face. He wasn't always sure if he could trust Rick's words, but his grandpa was always being genuine whenever he said 'I love you'. "Sure, Rick. Whatever you say."