Chapter Text
Morty was pissed. This asshole just thought he could waltz on into his and Rick's life then steal the latter right out from under him! Taking Morty's seat in the front, talking to Rick as if he was his grandpa, and rubbing it in Morty's face with every other thing he said. Morty hated Evil Morty more than words could muster.
When the two had just met, Morty had thought they could be friends. He still sometimes thought so- is infinity still worth it when you're alone? EM's offer at the citadel still sometimes popped into his mind. And when he and Rick argued, Morty secretly imagined what life would be like if he did accept. Even so, Morty knew he had made the right choice. He couldn't just abandon everyone he know, everything he was… Especially under the circumstances Evil Morty had left. Just trashing the whole citadel for his own gain? That wasn't something Morty could ever agree with. So he stuck with Rick and they moved on.
And then he just had to come back!
Sure, maybe they wouldn't have exactly made it out of that chamber without EM's portal gun- but they would've never even been in it if he hadn't shown up! And then he and Rick would still be hunting Rick Prime, and… Well. So on and so forth. But none of that mattered because Morty absolutely hated him.
Evil Morty was praddeling on about some stupid monster or villain or whatever he and Rick had fought. They were at a diner(Evil Morty ordered for both of them, the jerk) sitting across from each other, seated in a booth by the windows. All the other customers were happy familys or couples, so the tense air around the two Mortys set an unusual aura around their table.
"Well, you've seen me and Rick fight. Just took a minute to take her down." EM finished, smugly running his finger across the glass's rim. "With a… competent partner-" he emphasized "-so much more can be accomplished."
Morty felt his eye twitch "I am a competent partner."
"Didn't seem that way." EM tilted his head in false confusion, before taking a sip "Could've fooled me- wait, no, you couldn't have."
"Oh fuck you, you- pompous piece of shit! You think you can just- walk all over us but you can't! Me and Rick are gonna kick your ass!"
"Mostly Rick, I'm guessing?" Evil Morty looked Morty right in the eyes before continuing, "You could accomplish so much more without him. Why you insist on clinging so hard to Rick after everything is something I still question."
"Nope. I'm gonna fuck you up now." If looks could kill, EM would be paste on the floor.
"Oh?"
"You think you're s-soooo cool with all your fancy implants and tech bullshit, but if you take that away you'll be no different from any other Morty."
"So, you wanna fight then? No crazy tech, just two Mortys throwing punches?"
Morty continued his glare, EM's half-lidded expression and casual tone of voice only provoking him further.
"Meet me on Venzenulon 7 tonight." Morty spoke, before pointing to the milkshake EM was currently holding "Here's to the guy getting his ass kicked, and" then grabbing the second one and pulling it back to his own side, "The guy doing all the kicking."
~
When Rick had finally returned to the table he and Morty took off. Morty made sure not to mention anything to him. Knowing Rick, he'd probably try to convince Morty to sneak a couple weapons or juice up on some weirdo alien strength drug. Or, more likely, call Morty a fucking moron for even thinking about taking Evil Morty one-on-one. And Morty wasn't in the mood to be screamed at again, so the midnight meetup between two interdimensional teens was a secret.
Logically, Morty was getting a bit nervous. As much as he hated to admit it, EM was a force to be reckoned with… One that he was meeting alone. At night. Without telling a soul.
Fuck.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. But thinking back to everything that led up to the planned encounter, Morty couldn't just back out now. He wanted to see that jackass bruised and bloodied. It's not like they were planning on killing each other- even though Morty had previously relished in the thought- and he didn't take Evil Morty for stupid enough to try killing Rick C-137's Morty. Even if he did, he knew Rick had enough clone vats to bring him back, and… Why is he thinking like hes gonna lose? Morty slaps his hands to his cheeks and glares at his bedroom wall. He's not some wimpy kid anymore! And he can beat this guy! He will!
Steeling his nerves, Morty glances at the clock. 11:53.
Morty pushes himself off his bed and silently sneaks into the hallway, briefly pausing in front of Rick's door. He presses his ear to the wood, and… Bingo. The springs in Rick's mattress were getting pretty creaky, whining from the slightest movement the scientist made, and Rick had so far been to lazy to replace them. Hearing the noise confirmed to Morty that even if Rick wasn't asleep, he was at the very least in his bed. So the boy continued his descent to the garage.
Making his way into the lab, Morty spotted the portal gun laid across the main desk. Picking up the device, he quickly punched in the address and shot the glowing green portal into the air. It's now or never.
With a firm step, Morty leaves the Smith residence and instantaneously appears in an empty field.
~
The grassy field was illuminated by stars, unaffected by the light pollution that so plagued Earth, little twinkling clusters dotting the sky above. The pale stars shone down, bathing everything in a soft blue sheen.
Under different circumstances, Morty would've liked to bring his telescope to survey the different formations.
Raking his eyes over the surroundings did he spot his counterpart.
"Nice night out, huh?"
The boy was sitting on the grass, one leg extended and the other kicked up with his arm resting atop it. He continued looking up at the sky before tilting his head over to the other.
He then pushed himself off the ground to stand "So do you want a countdown, or-"
Morty Prime's fist hurdled twords EM's face. Evil Morty effortlessly dodges it, ducking to the side before bringing up his own arm to block the following punch.
The blows continue, knuckles smashing into the eyepatch boy's forearms- a decent amount of force behind them- before Morty shifts to the side and attempts to land a punch to the face.
EM successfully dodges again, before returning the favor and directing his own fist to Morty's side. "Ouf-" making swift contact does the fight really begin.
Morty backs off for a second, then barrels in closer again, swinging for EM's cheek which is again blocked. Evil Morty's arm raises and intercepts the fist, pushing the other's arm behind him, causing Morty's stance to become unstable. EM hooks a fist to Morty's stomach, and Morty briefly doubles over.
With the clear advantage, Evil Morty sweeps his leg and knocks over Morty. The boy hits the ground with another groan before scrambling and clawing at Evil Morty's leg- then sinking his teeth into the fabric "What the fu-" biting down hard enough to cut off EM's speech again. Morty grips onto the leg and yanks down.
Evil Morty falls to the ground, joining Morty in the overgrown grass. Morty doesn't squander the second of surprise that stuns his other self. He releases his leg and jolts over the boy, boxing him in, holding himself up with his knees pressed to the ground and his left hand planted next to Evil Morty's head.
He brings his fist down to EM's cheek.
Pain blooms out from the fresh red mark, another joining it as Morty goes in for a second punch.
"H-how do you like it, huh!? Huh?!"
Morty hits him again, grinning down at Evil Morty's bruised face, and raises his fist for a fourth hit.
He pauses.
"Why aren't you fighting back?"
Evil Morty squints his eye open, disheveled hair and bruised skin being painted pale blue in the moonlight. He doesn't say anything. Morty's half-raised fist trembles as hes struck with the image of himself, lying in this damned field, beaten and just fucking taking it.
Morty falls to the side and rolls on his back so he's also facing the sky.
"… Why'd you stop?" Evil Morty pipes up, quieter than usual.
Morty pauses. He spots a yellow star before a dim black cloud shifts to cover it.
"Why did you agree to this?" Morty threads his fingers through the tall grass, pinching strands between digits "You could probably kill me and not even blink." he plucks a few "You're not even… Trying."
Morty turned his head, staring into Evil Morty's one eye.
"So why?"
EM looks to the sky. The moon was nearly full and so, so beautiful.
"… I don't know." He finally answered, letting out a breath.
It was quiet. As if every other living thing was asleep, leaving the two as sole witnesses to the night. The cool wind brushed over them, sending a slight chill in the air.
"You were such a dick earlier today." Morty bristled out, tearing his eyes away and back to the sky "But if you're not even gonna fight back, I…"
Morty remembers the first time he lost control. That stupid purge planet Rick stopped at- he hated it, but something just… Snapped throughout the night. It wasn't the first time he had killed. But it was the first time he had enjoyed it.
"I can't hurt you."
EM chokes out a laugh, "Really? You weren't even hurting me now. You could keep hitting me until the sun comes up and I'd still be fine."
"Jackass."
Evil Morty just hummed back as a response. Millions of miles away a comet passed by.
"I guess I…" he paused a moment, "I just wanted to see if you would."
Morty glanced back to him
"If you had the guts to go against me. Like you did when we first met."
Stars glistened in the distance. So far away.
It wasn't exactly a great first impression. Morty shuddered thinking back to that torture wall of innocent Mortys, pulled from their homes, just because they were born Rick Sanchez's grandkid. Just because they were born a Morty. Just because of those stupid brainwaves that taunted him so.
It'd be lying to say Morty hadn't done fucked up things too. The people he's killed. The lives ruined. The planets destroyed.
"What's it like outside the curve?"
Evil Morty let out a breathy sigh, and smiles.
"It's everything."
~
The sun streamed down, golden rays washing the world with gentle warmth. Morty's eyes cracked open as he noticed the dew coating everything around him, arm raising up to rub the sleep from his eyes. He glances over to his right, and sees EM laying besides him, the same pose both of them held last night while they were stargazing.
Wait.
Wait.
"FUCK!"
Evil Morty jolts up with a gasp, hand instinctively raising in front of him, palm open as if he were about to fire a laser.
"SHIT! SHIT! RICKS GONNA BE SO PISSSSEEEDDDD…" Morty grabbed at his own hair, cursing himself. How could he fall asleep!?
Evil Morty seems to catch on, quickly looking around him "…Huh. Guess we fell asleep."
"NO SHIT!"
Morty stands up, eyes darting around the field, before spotting the portal gun he had… borrowed the night previously. He sighs in relief and picks the gun up, giving it a quick once-over- all the same minus a nearly imperceptible amount of fluid missing and a light layer of morning dew caressing the casing.
EM joins the boy standing and looks at the portal gun himself "I'm guessing you didn't get his permission?"
"Obviously n-not!"
"Well, it's about 8 now. You should probably be heading home."
Morty fully pouts at the other, eyebrows twitching to glare at him. But he couldn't be too mad. It was pretty cute seeing Evil Morty with bedhead.
"If I'm lucky enough he'll still be in bed. So I uh- yeah. I gotta go." he stuttered out, ignoring that last embarrassing thought he had.
Morty shoots a portal into the air, radioactive green blaring against the sleepy atmosphere of the sun-streaked plain.
He does a half-wave to Evil Morty, offering a shaky smile to him.
And to Morty's surprise, he gets one in return.
~
Thanking his lucky stars, it seems like Rick was still asleep when Morty got home. He portaled into the garage and with as much caution he could muster placed the portal gun right where he found it. He stills a moment, listening for the tell-tale noises of breakfast, but it seems like lady luck has taken pity on him! The silence outside the garage urges Morty to get back to his room and he obliges.
Silently exiting the garage and ascending the stairs(skipping the squeaky step) Morty is just one door down from his own when-
"The hell you doin' up?"
"RICK! N-nothing! I just- I just woke up!"
Very convincing Morty.
"So you're w-walking to your own room after just gettting up? Yep. Real convincing."
Fuuuucck.
Rick squints at the kid, and Morty about passes out. "I was watching TV and fell asleep on the couch..?" he offers, awkward grin on his face.
"Sure. I'm gonna go- go check with the garage"
"Y-YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT!"
"Uh-huh."
"I WAS ON THE COUCH RICK! I WAS!"
"Keep tellin' yourself that kid."
"RIICK!!"