Stan turned away from the smell.
"What are you talking about? The portal? It's not even mine. I was just trying to fix it."
Stan pulled away, but Rick grabbed Stan's collar tighter and reeled him in, staring him down, daring him to try something. Stan gathered his feet under himself and launched himself at Rick.
"Nyeh!"
They struggled on the gelid floor. Rick pinned Stan and punched him in the face. Hard. Stan's ears rang. He grabbed Rick's throat and squeezed, pushing Rick back at the same time. Stan's meaty palm fit neatly around Rick's neck. Rick flailed his arms and then clawed at Stan's fist. With his other hand Stan reached inside his jacket, grabbed a smoke bomb and slapped it to the cement floor beside them.
Smoke filled the workshop just as it had filled the Shack.
When it cleared Stan was frozen in place, arms raised and one leg up as if running away. Rick held a gun in one hand and was inspecting the fingernails of the other hand. He walked around in front of Stan and clunked him on the cheek with the gun.
"You like being frozen motherfucker? Huh? You like that? Yeah I bet you do. You're lucky I don't shatter you right here mother fucker. Now. I'm going to unfreeze you, and then you're going to tell me about your portal."
Stan melted to the floor. He rubbed his arms to get the feeling back, and then glared up at Rick.
"Where are my great niece and nephew?" Stan demanded. "I need to help them."
"Stan, everything's fine. You…you saved the day, you turned d…death into a fighting chance to live. You…uurrrppp…re a real Captain Kirk. Ju…just sit down and listen for a minute."
"Bill! I was fighting Bill Cipher. I have to get back"
"Don't worry; when we're done here you can get back to blowing that Eldritch corn chip you love so much. You saved the kids, bu…uuurrr…t you died. Well almost. In any other reality you're alive right now, but in Dimension 46'/ you die saving your family."
"Listen, I don't really know anything about the portal, my poindexter brother built it. Him and his robo-nerd degree. He's the one you want."
"But you were using it. Did you go to nerd school too? Huh, smart guy?"
Stan still had no idea what was going on, but he was not going to be trash talked anymore by this weird old man, this Rick Sanchez.
"I don't need any stuffy college. I figured out how to fix that portal on my own."
Rick's sneer softened slightly. He held out his hand to help Stan up. Stan looked at Rick's hand like it might be made of snakes and then got up by himself.
"Okay, Stan," Rick said. "Maybe I got the wrong guy. Maybe we need to take you back home. I can dump you back in the forest and have a talk with y…urrrp…our brother."
"Look, the portal was a mistake. Stan knows that now." Stan looked at the floor.
"Stan? Your brother's name is Stan too? What the fuck?"
"Yeah well…yeah." Stan didn't really have a good explanation.
"Alright, g…urrrrrp…get in the car."
For the first time, Stan realised that they were in a garage. There was a beat up hover car parked right in front of them. Rick walked over to the driver's side and got in.
Stan rubbed his head, walked over to the passenger side, and opened the door.
"Shleemies, huh?"
"Don't ask."
As Stan slammed the door, Rick lifted off and manoeuvered out of the garage. Stan gripped the sides of his seat as the car careened wildly through the air.
