The quiet after the battle in the Shattered Realms was a fragile thing, like a glass about to crack under the slightest pressure. The rebellion had managed to stabilize the multiverse's wounds, to hold back the chaos that threatened to consume them all. Morty, Rick, and Summer stood at the edge of their victory, exhausted but alive. But even as they regrouped, even as they took stock of their win, Morty felt an unsettling chill crawl up his spine—a feeling that something wasn't right.
Morty's gaze lingered on the spot where Evil Morty had disappeared, the chaos of the Nexus Point collapsing in on itself. He'd thought they'd finally gained some ground, finally found a way to strike back against his darker counterpart, but it was too clean. Too simple. Evil Morty had vanished, yes, but not in defeat. He had left with a purpose, like someone who knew they had backup plans waiting in the wings.
Morty clenched his fists, his mind racing through the details of their encounter. There had been a look in Evil Morty's eyes, a flicker of something that Morty couldn't quite place—confidence, maybe, or something more. It was like he wasn't fighting alone. Like he knew something they didn't.
"Morty?" Summer's voice broke through his thoughts. She was watching him, her eyes filled with concern. "You okay?"
Morty blinked, forcing a small nod. "Yeah, just… thinking. That felt off, didn't it? The way he disappeared?"
Rick grunted, rubbing the back of his neck as he adjusted his lab coat. "Off? Morty, everything that bastard does is off. But you're right. He didn't exactly look like a guy who just lost. More like a guy who's setting us up for something worse."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Morty muttered, his mind still turning over the encounter in his head. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something—some crucial piece of the puzzle that would explain why Evil Morty had been so confident, even in the face of a setback.
The rebellion forces were already gathering their wounded and regrouping, preparing to head back to their base. Morty watched them work, his eyes drifting across the faces of the people who had become his allies, his family in this war. They had fought so hard, given so much, and still, he felt like they were fighting a ghost—a shadow that slipped through their fingers every time they thought they had a grip on it.
As they made their way back through the portal to their base, Morty's mind kept returning to one thing: Evil Morty had allies. He knew it now, deep in his bones. There was no way he could've orchestrated something as massive as this on his own. Morty's gut twisted with the realization that there were others out there, hidden in the dark, pulling strings alongside Evil Morty.
The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Back at the base, Morty found himself in the war room, staring at the map of the multiverse that flickered with unstable zones and known safe havens. Rick was at his side, going over the data with a scowl, muttering to himself as he always did. Summer was nearby, rallying the teams to patch up the damage and prepare for whatever came next.
But Morty's focus wasn't on the map—it was on the words that Evil Morty had said. The way he spoke, the way he moved with that eerie calmness. He wasn't desperate; he wasn't scrambling to recover. He had looked almost… certain.
"Rick," Morty said suddenly, breaking the silence. "He's not alone."
Rick paused, raising an eyebrow. "What're you talking about, Morty?"
"Evil Morty," Morty continued, his voice filled with a mix of frustration and fear. "He's got partners. Allies. I'm sure of it. The way he acted back there—it was like he knew he had backup. Like he wasn't worried about us stopping him because he knew he had a safety net."
Rick's face hardened, his eyes narrowing as he considered Morty's words. "You think he's got a team? Some kind of secret club for evil geniuses?"
"I don't know exactly," Morty admitted, running a hand through his hair. "But I'm starting to think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg. We've been so focused on stopping him that we haven't even considered the possibility that he's got other people out there, working with him, helping him pull the strings."
Summer joined them, her expression serious. "You're saying there are more like him? More versions of us—Ricks and Mortys—or maybe even something worse?"
"Maybe," Morty said, his voice quiet but firm. "Or maybe it's not Ricks and Mortys at all. Maybe it's something else entirely. But whoever they are, they're out there, and they're helping him. And that means we're in way deeper than we thought."
Rick let out a long, frustrated sigh, tossing his tools onto the table. "Great. Just what we needed. A goddamn multiversal conspiracy. Like one evil Morty wasn't bad enough, now we've got to worry about his buddies?"
Morty's eyes never left the map, his mind racing through every possible scenario. "We need to find out who they are, Rick. We need to figure out who's helping him, and why. If we can do that, maybe we can finally start to unravel this whole mess."
Rick's expression softened, just a bit, and he nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're right, Morty. If he's got allies, that means he's got weak points too. People he relies on. And if we can find them, we can hit him where it hurts."
Summer crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing with determination. "Then that's our next move. We dig into every lead, every bit of intel we have. We find out who's pulling the strings alongside Evil Morty, and we take them out. One by one."
Morty felt a surge of determination wash over him. For the first time in a long time, he felt like they were on the right track—like they had a chance to do more than just react to Evil Morty's moves. They could finally start to go on the offensive.
But even as that hope flickered in his chest, Morty couldn't shake the feeling that they were dealing with something bigger than they had ever imagined. Evil Morty's confidence, his certainty—it wasn't just bravado. It was the assurance of someone who knew he had powerful allies waiting in the wings, ready to step in and tip the scales in his favor.
Morty clenched his fists, his jaw set in grim determination. Whoever those partners were, wherever they were hiding, he was going to find them. And when he did, he was going to make them pay for everything they had done.
"Let's do this," Morty said, looking at Rick and Summer, his voice filled with resolve. "We're going to tear apart every lead, every connection, every hidden thread in this web of lies. We're going to find Evil Morty's partners, and we're going to bring them down."
Rick's grin was sharp and cold, like the edge of a knife. "Damn right, Morty. Let's show those bastards what happens when they mess with our multiverse."
As they began to mobilize their resources and gather their allies, Morty knew one thing for sure: the battle against Evil Morty had just taken a new turn. It wasn't just about stopping one rogue version of himself anymore. It was about unmasking a hidden network of enemies—partners lurking in the shadows, each as dangerous as the last.
And Morty wasn't going to rest until he brought every single one of them to light.
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