Brought to you by popular demand, prompt by Wolowizard.
"Come on, Morty, we gotta test it out," Rick pleaded.
"I said no, Rick!" Morty exclaimed in frustration.
Rick sighed and crossed his arms, trying to look stern. Morty copied the movement, letting Rick know he wasn't kidding. They glared each other down for a moment before Rick sighed, turning back towards the sketchy catapult he had built, which was unfortunately named the Mort-A-Pult. "So," he began. "You're telling me that if we get into another dangerous situation like yesterday, you don't want me to be able to catapult you to safety?"
Morty almost screamed in frustration. "Rick!" he exclaimed. "This is a dangerous situation!"
"Not if you wear the watch," Rick informed him.
"Oh right," Morty said sarcastically. "The watch is going to create a magic bubble around me to protect me."
Rick glared. "It's not magic, it's science."
Morty turned away. "I'm not doing it, Rick," he said.
"Wait," Rick replied. "If you won't test out my Mort-A-Pult, then I'm revoking your right to choose one in every ten adventures."
If looks could kill, Rick would have been vaporized on the spot as Morty glared him down. "You wouldn't," he challenged.
"I would," Rick replied, returning the glare.
"Fine," Morty spat. He stormed over to Rick's desk and put the watch on. Reluctantly, he climbed into the seat of the catapult. "What do I do if I end up on someone's roof?" he asked.
"The watch will send me your GPS coordinates, and I'll come get you," Rick replied, looking concerningly eager. "Ready?" he asked. Morty responded with a glare. Rick pulled the lever, and Morty went flying.
Sure enough, a protective forcefield appeared around him, but Morty could tell something was wrong. He was way too low and headed straight for Ms. Willford's window across the street. He closed his eyes and heard the sounds of shattering glass and Ms. Willford screaming. The bubble popped, and Morty landed on the floor, surrounded by broken glass. "What are you doing in here?!" she shrieked.
"I-I'm so s-sorry," Morty stuttered. "R-R-Rick-"
"I don't care what happened, but you owe me $2000 for that window," Ms. Willford said sternly.
Morty gulped. "Y-yes ma'am," he said before hastily jumping out the window he had crashed through. He sprinted back to Rick's garage, where he seemed to be fiddling with the catapult. "Do you have any idea what you just did?!" Morty explained.
"So we were a little low," Rick replied casually. "Nothing I can't fix."
"Rick!" Morty shouted. "We broke Ms. Willford's window! We owe her $2000 now!"
Rick shrugged. "Okay, I'll just portal us into a bank vault and-"
"No!" Morty protested. "We are not stealing! This is your fault, you've got to have some money."
Rick shook his head. "I'm afraid I spent the last of it on Szechuan sauce," he explained.
Morty stared at him in disbelief. Rick was starting to look vaguely guilty. He opened his mouth to say something, but Morty cut him off. "No. No. Fine. I'll take care of it myself. I'm always cleaning up after your messes, aren't I?"
He stalked out of the garage and slammed the door. This time, Rick had really done it, and he was beyond pissed. He had no idea how he was going to fix this mess, but he had to start somewhere. With a sigh, he made his way into the living room.
"Hey, sweetie," his mother greeted him. "Is everything alright?"
"No, actually," Morty admitted. "Rick and I broke Ms. Willford's window and we now owe her $2000."
Jerry whistled. "Well, you know I don't have that kind of money."
Beth looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but we just can't afford to give you and Rick $2000 whenever you need it."
Hopelessly, Morty turned to Summer, who hadn't even looked up from her phone. "Not a chance," she said. "Tell Rick to get a job."
With tears starting to form in his eyes, Morty headed for his room. It was getting late, and it was obvious that he wasn't going to get the problem fixed today. Tomorrow, he'd probably have to find someone to work his ass off for. He sighed. This wasn't going to be fun.
Morty was feeling so down that he didn't even bother to try to greet Jessica as he walked passed her. His mind was consumed with what was a very large debt for a fourteen-year-old. He sighed, forlorn.
As he reached his locker, he noticed a piece of paper stuck to it. Curious, he ripped it off and began to read it. At the bottom corner, a $2000 reward was listed. His eyes widened in surprise, and his heart started to beat faster. Could this be the answer he was looking for? He looked up at the top, which read: Women Only Science Fair. Discouraged, he was about to crumble up the paper when he had an idea.
Rick's Morphizer-Xe was sitting unused in the garage, and Morty bet their was an option to turn him into a girl and win this science fair. All their problems would be solved. It almost seemed too easy.
With a smile, he shoved the paper into his backpack. He couldn't wait to show Rick.
To Morty's utter frustration, Rick was still working on the Mort-A-Pult when he got home. He groaned internally but decided not to say anything about it.
"Oh hey, Morty," Rick said. "Can you hand me that screwdriver?"
Morty plucked the screwdriver off Rick's desk and handed it to him. "So," he began. "Theoretically, could that Morphizer-Xe be used to turn me into a girl?"
"Theoretically," Rick answered without looking up.
"Great!" Morty explained. He pulled out the piece of paper and handed it to Rick.
His grandpa took one look at the paper before handing it back to Morty. "Absolutely not," he said.
"Are you kidding me?!" Morty exclaimed. "The answer to our problem just fell into our lap, and you're going to say no?"
Rick sighed and ran his hands across his face. "You were right," he said. "It's my fault. So I'll get the money. Legally. In the mean time, don't you dare touch that machine."
Frustrated, Morty stormed off. He had no idea what his grandpa had planned, but it couldn't be anything good. His plan was so simple, but Rick had to go and make things difficult.
It was time for Morty to take matters into his own hands.
Later that night, Morty sat by his door, listening intensely. Finally, at about 3:00 a.m., he heard the garage door open and shut. He heard Rick's footsteps echo throughout the house, then the door to his bedroom open and shut.
Morty waited another couple of minutes, then sneaked out of his room as quietly as possible. He tip toed down the halls and slipped into the garage. The Morphizer-Xe was sitting in the corner, covered by a sheet. Morty uncovered it and used the flashlight on his phone to find the gender-bend switch. He flipped it and took a step back. His whole body felt like an electrical shock was running through it, then suddenly, it stopped.
With a smirk, Morty grabbed Rick's shrink ray and shrunk the machine until it was pocket sized. After pocketing both the Morphizer-Xe and the shrink ray, Morty looked down at... herself? She supposed female pronouns would do for now. After all, it was only going to be for one day.
Satisfied with her work, Morty snuck back up the stairs and into her room.
