Morty lay on his bed, thinking. A lot had happened that day. He never would have guessed that one trip to the Citadel of Ricks-or what had been the Citadel of Ricks-would have led to him and his family ending up stranded there. He was lucky he'd come across another Morty willing to help. So there he was, lying on that Morty's bed, looking up at the ceiling with no emotion on his face.
Rick had lied straight to his face and Morty wasn't sure how to feel about that. Upset? Angry? Betrayed? Or D, all of the above? Rick's lies had cost Morty Jessica. Cost Summer her friends. Beth her job as a horse surgeon. And everyone Jerry. Rick was selfish. He didn't really care about anyone but him. Why else would he lie like that?
Morty turned on his right side to avoid Summer and Beth, who were sleeping on the floor. It was Rick's stupid fault that they were stuck in the dumb Citadel. In the dilapidated ghetto that was called Mortytown. Ugh. Stupid Ricks and their stupid superiority complex and their stupid class system. Though, from what Morty had seen tonight, there had been more than a few down on their luck Ricks living here too. But not his Rick. Morty wasn't sure whether he ever wanted to see his Rick ever again.
There was a small knock on the door and a creak of the door opening. "Uh... Beth? Summer? S-Sad Morty?"
Morty turned over again onto his left side and saw that it was the Morty who'd put them up at his apartment.
"It's me, Morty J-255-B." He said.
Summer sat up first. "Hey."
"I just brought some sandwiches. Nothing fancy. Jus-Just bread and butter. It's all I can afford."
Beth sat up. "That's very kind of you-um..."
"You can call me, uh, Peg-Leg Morty. Everyone else does." He handed the plate to Beth before struggling to sit down on the floor.
"That's not very nice." Beth took a crudely made sandwich from the plate and passed it to Summer.
"Well, you're lucky you're the only Beth on the Citadel." Peg-Leg Morty said. "There are hundreds of thousands, millions even, of me. And Rick. So we all have nicknames we go by. I'm Peg-Leg Morty because I have a prosthetic leg."
Morty sat up on the bed, his expression unchanging. "So what are you going to call me?" He asked.
"Well..." Peg-Leg Morty said thoughtfully. "You're the only Morty whose Beth and Summer are also here. How about... Family Morty?"
"Eh. Sure. I guess." Morty said with a sad sigh.
"Family Morty it is." Peg-Leg Morty said.
"So how did life here get so bad?" Summer asked, taking a bite from her sandwich. "I mean, I was there when Grandpa Rick murdered the Council of Ricks and took down the Galactic Empire-"
"Galactic Federation." Peg-Leg Morty corrected.
"Or whatever." Summer shrugged. "But how did it get this bad?"
"After the Council of Ricks, uh, went, there was a democratic election-for the first time." Peg-Leg Morty began. "A Morty won."
"I can't really imagine how that would be a bad thing. You know. For Mortys." Summer said.
"It wasn't at first." Peg-Leg Morty said. "But..." He inhaled sharply. "There's a reason I live here in Mortytown. And it's him."
"So how do we stop him? Evil Morty." Summer asked. "There's got to be a way, right?"
"I'm afraid the only person who can now is your Rick." Peg-Leg Morty said.
"But Grandpa Rick can't do it." Summer argued. "He's in a coma."
"Unless he's lying about that too." Morty said.
"Morty!" Beth admonished. "I know my father is a terrible person, but I don't think he'd lie about something like that. As a surgeon, it's my medical opinion that he can't-"
"You're a horse surgeon, Mom." Morty said. "Rick's not a horse. He's a horrible, lying, nasty fucking sack of human shit."
Summer rose to her feet. "Morty-don't speak that way about Grandpa Rick!"
"The sooner you accept it, Summer, the better it will be for you. He doesn't care."
"Just because he's not your original Rick, doesn't mean he doesn't care about you, Morty."
Morty rose to his feet. "Then why is there an Evil Morty running the Citadel like a dictatorship?! That's where hanging around with Rick will get me!" He paused, looking around at everyone staring at him. "I don't want to be like that."
"Grandpa Rick wouldn't want you to turn out like that either." Summer said quietly.
"Then how did Evil President Morty, as Rick's original Morty, turn out like that?" Morty asked.
"Each Morty is different somehow." Peg-Leg Morty interjected. "Maybe he was just... Predisposed to be like that."
"If that was supposed to make me feel better, it's not working." Morty said.
Peg-Leg Morty simply nodded and sighed. He gripped the bed and used it to pull himself up.
"Do you need any help?" Beth asked.
"No, I've done this before. I-I'll be fine." Peg-Leg Morty said as he stood on his feet, rocking slightly. "See?"
"So, uh..."
"Peg-Leg Morty."
"Yeah, Peg-Leg Morty. God it feels weird saying that." Summer said. "So Peg-Leg Morty, what's going to happen to Mom and me? I know we're not supposed to be on the Citadel. But we can't exactly get home. And I can't leave Grandpa Rick here like this."
"Well, I suppose you're going to have to stay here. In my apartment." Peg-Leg Morty said. "It's not a permanent solution, but it's better than turning you over to that cybernetic dictator."
"He's cybernetic?" Beth asked.
"If he's cybernetic, I bet Rick did that." Morty said.
Beth turned serious. "Has he experimented on you like that?"
"Uh... Aw jeez, Mom, you know, you can't expect me to-"
"Did he put cybernetic implants inside you, Morty?" Beth asked, this time more stern.
"No, not-not technically."
"Yes or no."
"Uh... No. No." Morty said quickly. The truth was, of course, that Rick had been experimenting on him. Mainly to try to turn him into a car, but who knows what else Rick had actually done. "If our Rick has cybernetic technology, then all Ricks do."
"Then why haven't they cured disease or disability or whatever?" Summer asked, shifting the subject slightly.
"They have. Rick J-19-Alpha-7 has cured cancer in his universe and Rick Alpha-250-Gamma has cured AIDS in his." Peg-Leg Morty explained. "Paralysis isn't an issue that tends to affect Ricks. Mental illness, I think they just don't care. And autism, well, all Ricks are autistic. Why would they cure, you know, what makes them Rick?"
"Grandpa Rick has autism?" Summer asked, eyes open wide in shock.
"Yeah. But we prefer 'is autistic' here on the Citadel." Peg-Leg Morty said. "You and... Beth and Allistic Morty and Birdperson are the only four non autistic people on this entire Citadel."
"Okay. So what about your missing leg?" Summer asked, looking down at Peg-Leg Morty's legs.
"Well... Landlord Rick gave me a super sophisticated robot leg. But it still doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like mine. I mean, I still have to take it off and my stump still gets sore and painful, but since you haven't lost any limbs, I don't think you'd understand."
Summer sat there stunned that in a city of super intelligent elderly scientists, none of them were either able to or didn't want to cure disability. Disease, sure, but not disability. She was left wondering really why that was.
Morty, meanwhile, was thinking about Birdperson. He definitely witnessed the human-bird hybrid alien thing get murdered by-ugh-Tammy and the Galactic Federation. But what if he'd survived? What if it was a different Birdperson? Would he still know him? Would he be able to tell him more about Rick and his motivations for lying?
Beth simply sat, eating her simple sandwich in the silence.
The thumping at the door startled everyone.
"Morty! I know there's a Beth and a Summer in here!" A Rick's voice called out.
"Oh shit, oh shit, aw jeez-we're done for." Peg-Leg Morty panicked.
"Open up! It's me! I-I-it's Landlord Rick!"
Peg-Leg Morty let out a sigh of relief and limped out of the room, leaving his guests. He went over to the front door and looked out of the peep hole. Sure enough, it was Landlord Rick.
He could tell Landlord Rick from his dirty, stained blue suit and his different hairstyle. While most Ricks had their blue hair up in spikes, Landlord Rick had cut his hair short and tried to look a presentable landlord. Only he was living in poverty himself, hence the filthy suit. But at least he tried.
Peg-Leg Morty opened the door. "H-hey, Landlord Rick."
"Where's the Beth and *urp* Summer?" Landlord Rick wiped the drool from his mouth with his sleeve.
"Uh..."
"I'm not gonna hur-hurt them, Morty." Landlord Rick said quietly. "I just want to kn*urp*w how they got to the Citadel."
Peg-Leg Morty beckoned Landlord Rick inside and shut the door after them "Their Rick is... C-137." He said in the quietest possible voice.
"Ro-Rogue Rick?"
Peg-Leg Morty nodded.
Landlord Rick ran his hand through his head. "Jesus... I-I heard he's in a coma. That, uh, that true?"
"Well, he has connections to President Morty." Peg-Leg Morty said. The two were still speaking in hushed voices to each other. "You'll probably hear about it on the Citadel Morning News tomorrow."
Landlord Rick grunted in agreement. "He'll probably use it for prop-propag*urp*nda." He looked around Peg-Leg Morty's apartment. "So the Beth and Summer...?"
"In there." Peg-Leg Morty pointed to his bedroom.
Landlord Rick nodded and walked over to it, opening the door.
Inside, Beth looked ready to fight, as did Summer.
"Come near either of my kids and I swear to you that I will destroy you-you aren't my father! You're just one of infinite versions of him and-"
"Hello, I'm Landlord Rick." He greeted, not fazed by Beth's outburst. "Welcome to my building and welcome to the Citadel of Ri-" He stopped himself from going further. "The Citadel. Breakfast rations are at seven am sharp at my apartment-it's 3.1. I look forward to seeing you."
Beth looked at this version of her father in confusion. "Wait... You don't want to turn us over to President Morty?"
Landlord Rick scoffed. "Why would I? I'm a Rick. A-and I'm just as m*urp*ch of a victim of Evil Morty a-a-as everyone else in this building. You three included."
"You're some kind of sanctuary, then?" Summer asked.
"Well... I s-suppose so." Landlord Rick shrugged. "Never thought about it that-that way before. Now, my-my Morty's D-Deaf Morty. He's the uh, handyman around here. Go to *urp* him if anything, you know, needs repairing. If you-you need any supplies, go to Shop Assistant Rick. He'll steal you what you need."
Summer put her hand on her hip. "Stealing is wrong."
"Yes it is." Landlord Rick agreed. "But letting you starve or go with*urp-* without fem-feminine items would be worse."
"Why are you being nice to us? You're a Rick." Morty asked.
"So Rick's can't-can't be nice now?" Landlord Rick asked. "Not all Ricks are the same. I mean, I-I've never uh... Never met a Summer before. And I do-don't have a Beth."
"Wow." Summer blinked.
"Yep. We're *urp*ll individuals here." Landlord Rick paused quickly. "I-to a-an extent. That's what's President Morty doesn't see-like to see."
"Grandpa Landlord Rick, are you drunk?" Summer asked.
"You would be too if-if," Landlord Rick wiped his drool away again, "you lost what I have. I-I mean, I got my uh, my Mortys. They're... All good. All safe. But-but I worry, Summer and Beth. Evil President Morty is planning s*urp*mething. I know it." He took his flask from his pocket and took a sip from it.
Beth watched on in silence, before speaking up. "So... What do I call you?"
"Landlord Rick."
"I mean, with an alternate you being my dad and all-"
"Landlord Rick."
"Landlord Rick?" Beth repeated.
"Yep."
"And what about me?" Summer asked. "Do I just call you Grandpa Landlord Rick, or-"
"Just Landlord Rick." He said. "You-You're not my daughter and granddaughter. You're Rogue Rick's." He paused in case either wanted to speak up again.Â
"Right, well... Breakfast is at seven in my apartment." He turned to leave. "Good to... Nice to have you around."
Rick opened his eyes groggily and pushed himself into a seated position on the floor. He put his hand to his head with a pained expression.
"Jesus Christ. What did that dumb ass fucking Morty do?"
"He tortured you, Rick." A female voice said.
Rick looked up, only to see Morty's friend Jessica. "What-what the hell are you doing on the Citadel of Ricks?"
"Rick, Rick, Rick." Jessica chuckled. "We're not on the Citadel of Ricks. Not any more."
"Are we on Earth?" Rick asked.
"No." Jessica shook her head. "We're in your brain. Which you shut down. Smooth move, by the way." She looked around. "Now I get why you didn't do this when you were in the Galactic Federation prison. I mean, it'd totally interfere with your plans to bring down the Federation and the Council of Ricks. How did that work out for you?"
"It worked out fine." Rick said defensively.
"Really?" Jessica chuckled lightly. "Alright then. Take a look around. We're trapped in your coma brain. Well... You are. I'm just a manifestation of your thoughts."
"Why are you my grandson's friend?" Rick asked as he pulled himself to his feet.
"I don't know, Rick." Jessica said. "Would you rather I take the form of your dearly departed friend Birdperson? Your grandson Morty? Your current Morty? Or how about your ex ex-wife-"
"Alright, alright, you've made your point." Rick growled. "Now let me out."
"Actually, Rick," Jessica began, "you made your bed. Now you're going to have to lie in it. At the Sanchez General Hospital's ICU, if I'm not mistaken."
"Morty wouldn't take me to hospital-not that I need it anyway. I know what I'm doing to my body-"
"If that were true, Rick, why would I be here?" Jessica asked to silence from Rick. "That's what I thought. But you're going to have to stop your grandson. Your actual grandson."
"I know." Rick said bitterly.
"Work with me here, Rick!" Jessica snapped. "Do you want to be trapped here with the sources of all your pain? The memories of 'Pers', your failing marriage, caring for Summer C-137?"
"Sum-Sum." Rick closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.
"Sum-Sum?" Jessica raised an eyebrow, before quickly shaking her head. "I'm not the Ghost of Christmas Past, Rick. I'm not here to help you deal with your troubled past and descent into suicidal alcoholism. But we are stuck here, so you have a choice."
"I don't want to think about it." Rick said.
"Oh of course you don't. That's why you attempted suicide in your daughter's garage after Unity left you again."
"How do you know that?" Rick asked defensively. "You're just Morty's friend! The stupid little idiot."
"I told you." Jessica said. "I'm not really Jessica. You know who I am, Rick. And you know you don't really think that way about Morty. Any Morty."
Rick clenched his teeth. "You're really getting on my nerves."
"Good." A chair appeared out of the whiteness surrounding the two of them and Jessica sat down on it. "A chair, Rick?"
Another chair appeared. Rick huffed and sat down. "This isn't going to be like Freudian therapy is it?"
"No. I was just offering you a place to sit. You know, since we're going to be here a while." Jessica said casually.
"How long?"
"You tell me, Rick. This is your mindscape after all." Jessica crossed her ankles. "Tell me about the Mulan McDonalds Sezchuan sauce."
Jessica was walking home from school. On the way, she passed by the Smith residence and noticed Rick's space cruiser in the open garage. She stayed there, standing on the sidewalk for a few seconds, just looking. Until Morty's father left through the front door with Morty's mother.
"Hey, Mr and Mrs Smith." Jessica greeted pleasantly.
"Oh, hello, Jessica." Jerry greeted.
 "I was just-Morty wasn't at school today. Is he on an adventure with his grandfather?"
"You know about that?" Jerry asked.
"I know about a lot of things." Jessica said.
"Oh relax, Jerry, she's Morty's only friend." Beth said. "Yes, Jessica, Morty's on an adventure with his grandfather. Is there anything you want to say to him? I could tell him you called by when he comes back."
"Oh. No thanks, Mrs Smith." Jessica shook her head quickly and hiked her purse up her shoulder. "I know Morty's not at school a lot but Mr Goldenfold set important homework."
"Well, I could give it to him." Jerry offered.
"I think I'd prefer to give it to him myself." Jessica said. "Just tell him I stopped by." She began to walk once again and waved to Morty's parents. "Bye, Mr and Mrs Smith."
"Will do. Bye, Jessica." Beth waved back.
"Yeah, bye." Jerry said.
As she walked up the street, Jessica felt something wasn't quite right. She didn't know what it was, but she definitely felt uneasy.
A/N: My first Rick and Morty fic, though I've been planning it since the end of season 2. It's a good thing that I held off because since then we've had season 3 and the wonderful episode The Ricklantis Mixup! On top of that, we've had in-universe confirmation that Rick is autistic and probably Morty too! Hooray! So I've incorporated that.
The story is based on the theory that our Morty is not Rick's original Morty and Evil Morty is actually Morty C-137, or Rick's original Morty.
This story will follow Rick, primarily. C-137, I mean. In his coma brain. And give insight into possibly how he ended up being the Rick he is-some are meaner, like the Council of Ricks and some are nicer, like Cop Rick. None of what I write is likely to ever become canon, so just take it as it is. However, other major characters will be Manifested Jessica (or the 'Jessica' in Rick's mind), Morty, Beth, Summer, Jerry, Beth's clone, Jessica, Jessica's friend (who here will be named Reagan after her voice actress) and Evil Morty, though we will get looks at other Ricks and Mortys on the Citadel (including Morticia and Cop Rick) as well as some other original Ricks and Mortys, like Landlord Rick and Birdperson. Where did he come from? Find out.
Not all the action will take place on the Citadel. Some of it (the bits without the Ricks and Mortys) will take place in the Replacement Dimension.
There will be portrayals of different kinds of disabilities, most commonly autism, but there will be a blind Morty, a deaf Morty, a few amputee Mortys (and Ricks) among others. So if you don't like to see disabilities not portrayed as tragic, this story isn't for you.
Cool?
Cool.