(a/n: Hello folks! This is just a little one shot story, i hope you like it. Takes place after season 2 of Rick and Morty. Just a little theory/story of how things could go down when Rick escapes prison. I'm not a fan of Steven Universe, but the show gave me an idea or two that led to this story. Enjoy!)

The Runaways

Steven awoke with a start. He was having a very pleasant dream, when a loud crash and a violent shake awoke him.

The young boy sat up and looked around. Everything looked fine and nothing looked out of place. The window was open and allowed a gentle breeze to roll in from the ocean. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but Steven couldn't help but shake this feeling that something is out of place.

There was another loud crash, followed by an earsplitting scream and a string of curses.

The young boy scrambled out of bed and went to the window. Out on the beach was a miniature battlefield. The white sand was littered by huge chunks of burnt, twisted metal and humans-sized insect bodies.

Down in the water was a man with wild, blue-grey hair and a lab coat, fending off a thrashing swarm of gigantic tentacles, armed only with what looked like a futuristic spear.

Steven watched in amazement as the tentacles lunged at the man. The man swore loudly and he ducked one that went for his head and rolled away from another. He jumped over another tentacle and he plunged the spear into a nearby one. An unearthly shriek exploded and in a blur of motion, the creature swiped the spear out of the man's hands and lashed out at him. The tentacle knocked him out of the water and onto the beach.

The man groaned aloud and managed to get back up.

The creature in the water emerged, revealing a horrific being that looked like a cross between a squid and a plant. The strange man brushed sand off of his clothes and he searched around for a weapon but found nothing. He swore loudly and he turned to face the monstrous squid, as it pulled itself closer to the shore.

As the creature drew close, Steven heard the man bellow at the squid "Well come on then! Co*burp*me on! Take your best shot!"

Steven's eyes widened in shock, What was this man doing? Was he really going to take on this squid by himself. He's going to get himself killed.

Steven had to do something. Without really thinking, Steven made a decision that would alter the course of his life. He bolted out of his room, out the door and sprinted down the beach as quick as he could. His heart hammered away like a beating drum and he poured all the energy he can into his shield and the energy construct appeared.

Steven forced more energy into it and the shield's size until it was big enough to cover the strange man and himself. The squid hurled its tentacles at the man in the lab coat and Steven launched himself forward with all his might.

The young boy rolled and he managed to position himself between the man and the squid, just in time as the huge tentacles crashed against his shield. The force of the crash sent Steven staggering backwards but he kept his shield up and held the tentacles at bay.

"What the hell?" exclaimed the man standing behind Steven.

Steven glanced over his shoulder to the man "Don't worry, I'm here to help"

The man looked a little taken aback but he managed to stammer out "U-uh, t-th*burp*anks kid but I'm afraid you're a little out of your weight class here".

Steven frowned in confusion "Huh?" before the man could answer, a tentacle managed to find an opening and sweep Steven's feet out from under him. The shield dropped and Steven was suddenly one tentacle pulled him into the air and hung him upside down. He felt the blood rush to his head.

The man stood there on the beach looking like a bat, staring at him and standing all upside down.

"I apprecieate the effort kid" said the man, his hand slipping into his coat pocket "But this is a Kinorio flesh eating squid, one of the many attack dogs that the Federation unleashes on those who piss them off. Or don't pay their taxes. Usually the latter or some other freaky crap they usually are up to." He drew a futuristic pistol that looked like a ray gun that Steven saw in an old science fiction movie a while back.

The man took aim and fired off a few bursts of dark green energy. The energy bursts burned away some of the tentacles and a few struck the squid square in the face. One went flying, narrowly missing Steven's face.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Steven "Watch it!" "Oops, sorry!" said the man, wincing a little, "I'm a scientist, not a freaking s*burp*sniper and I haven't been completely sober in like, twenty years". He squinted and aimed his weapon and fired another few shots.

Some went flying and missed, but one managed to burn away the tentacle holding Steven's ankle.

Steven fell and landed with a thud on the sand. There was a brief wave of pain and dizziness that rushed through Steven. He could hear the squid scream in pain and he could see more bursts of energy sailing over him and tentacles cut and burned by the man's weapon.

Fighting the dizziness, Steven got onto his knees and managed to stand up. The man appeared at his side, firing continuously at the screaming creature. Flesh sizzled and burned, the air became polluted with more screams and the scent of burnt squid.

Just when it looked like the squid was beat, the man's gun died with a hiss and a small puff of a steam cloud.

The man looked at his weapon "Crap". A small metal cartridge dropped out of the handle of the gun and the man moved to feed another into the gun. The gun and extra cartridge were sent flying out of his hands by one of the remaining tentacles.

"Double crap".

With a deep growl and a bit of exertion, new tentacles sprang forth from the stumps of the burnt and ruined ones. The alien squid lunged and entangled Steven and the stranger in its tentacles and pulled them off the shore and brought them close, until they were both staring the large creature in the eye.

"Triple crap" said the man.

Steven wriggled and kicked furiously, trying everything within his power to escape.

Unfortunately, the squid held on to them. The creature snarled and opened its mouth, revealing rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth and a foul breath that was heavy with the scent of rotted flesh and fish.

"What do we do?" cried Steven.

The man thought for a moment then shrugged "I-I don't know kid. Sorry, but these squids have a very high kill rate and I'm kinda stumped here" he smiled a little "On the bright side, its only going to strip us of our flesh and eat us."

Steven frowned "That's a good thing?"

The man nodded solemnly "Oh yeah trust me, th*urp*is is the better out come. The alternative…well, it suffices to say that you would need to be at least in high school for me to continue this discussion".

Steven frowned in confusion but his thoughts were returned to the current time. Fear flooded the young boy and he felt trapped.

"Well, it was nice knowing ya kid" said the man, grimly. He sighed deeply, closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath that sounded like a prayer. The man then bellowed at the squid "Well come on you mother f-" but his words were interrupted when suddenly the two found themselves plummeting into the ocean. Just when there were about to be swallowed up, the two of them ended up being dropped on the shore.

It happened so fast that Steven blinked and missed it. He looked and saw, to his joy, that Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst engaging the monstrous squid in combat.

"Wahoo! Yeah!" cried Steven

"Wha-What is it? What happened?" asked the man, who had his eyes shut.

"We're saved!" said Steven.

The man opened his eyes and was relieved to see that the flesh-eating beast didn't consume him. "Yeah! Suck it Thrax from cell group theta!" crowed the man triumphantly. He hooted with laughter and hollered to the sky joyfully, "That d-bag now owes me thirty thousand flurbos!"

"Steven!" shouted a familiar voice.

Steven looked and saw his father, Greg, rushing to his side. "Dad!" exclaimed Steven.

"I came as quick as I could" said his dad "I saw the spaceship crash and all the explosions and I thought that you might be in danger"

"Its ok" assured Steven "Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst got this"

"You sure?" cut in the man as he threw off the chunk of tentacle that still clung to the both of them. He got up and observed the battle carefully. The crystal gems bombarded the squid simultaneously with their attacks. The squid squealed in anger and lashed out, knocking Garnet aside and catching Pearl. Using Pearl, the squid chucked her and sent her crashing into Amethyst.

The man frowned "Looks like the mod squad is getting their collective asses kicked"

Steven's father frowned at the stranger "Who are you?"

"I'm Rick Sanchez," said the man coolly "And I'm the guy who's going to take care of business". He turned and jogged over to the wreckage and began sifting through the charred and blackened bits of metal. Steven and his dad shared a look and followed suit.

Rick dug through the slag and sand muttering, "come on, come on, be here…" until finally, after a few long minutes, Rick exclaimed, "Yes!"

Steven and his dad looked and saw that the strange man found a long, skinny metal box, half buried under some sand, metal and burnt insect corpses. He pulled it up and brushed sand and slag off of the lid chuckling "Oh baby, come to papa".

Rick clicked open the case and threw the lid open, revealing a sleek, green weapon that looked like a bazooka to Steven.

"What is it?" asked Steven, eyeing the weapon curiously. "A standard issue Federation antimatter cannon" said Rick, caressing the weapon almost lovingly "I used this baby and sold a few back in the day. You'd be surprised how much people would pay for this hot ticket item". Steven's father gave Rick an odd look but the lab coat wearing man didn't notice.

Rick pulled the weapon out of the case and flipped a switch and pressed a button on the side of the long, green cylinder. The weapon purred and hummed to life, which made Rick grin broadly. He knelt down and took up a firing position.

"On the count of three, tell your Power Ranger friends to get out of the way" instructed Rick "or else they'll be caught in the blast. Got it?"

Steven nodded.

Rick took aim and gazed down the sight. The squid was thrashing around wildly but kept a relatively stationary position. A beep sounded, indicating that the target was locked.

Rick took a deep breath "One…two…*burp*three!"

"Get out of the way!" cried Steven. The crystal gems looked at Steven and saw Rick kneeling there with the antimatter cannon. Without being told twice, the gems disengaged the squid and fled. "Smile, you son of a bitch!" growled Rick, as he pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to have stood still for a moment. Then everything seemed to speed up instantly. A blast of blinding light erupted from the cannon and struck the target dead center. The squid's screams died instantly and the light faded as quickly as it appeared.

Steven and his father rubbed their eyes and blinked away the spots in their vision. The squid was gone. There were no traces of it left, as if it had just vanished into thin air.

For a good moment there was nothing but the sound of the waves rolling ashore.

After the long moment of silence, Rick got to his feet and nodded in approval. "And that's the waaaaay the news goes!" declared Rick.

Steven and his father gave Rick an odd look.

Rick noted their looks and explained, "Thought I'd try out a new catch phrase, so far I'm thinking of sticking with 'Wubba Lubba dub dub'".

Rick returned the antimatter cannon to its case and set it aside. He scratched his chin and thought for a moment, murmuring under his breath then his eyes widened "Oh crap!" exclaimed Rick. He rushed away from Steven and Greg and started digging hastily through the denser part of the wreckage of metal.

As he dug madly through the metal, corpses and sand, Steven and his dad were joined by Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. They showed relief at Steven's safety and scolded him for recklessly trying to fight a monster like the squid on his own.

"Why in the world would you do that, Steven?" said Pearl, concerned. Steven nodded to Rick "Because he was in trouble".

The crystal gems looked at the man in the lab coat as he dug around the wreckage mad dog. "Who is he?" asked Garnet.

Steven shrugged "I don't know. He said his name is Rick". He squinted a little "He kinda looks like a scientist".

Greg frowned and scanned the wreckage of twisted metal and charred bodies.

"Maybe…maybe not" murmured Greg, shivering a little. Pearl nodded in agreement. Something about this Rick fellow didn't sit right with the gems or with Steven's father, but Steven thought otherwise. He watched Rick overturn a large block of metal and looked disappointed.

The man's white coat flapped in the gentle breeze like a cape, revealing a dark blue outfit trimmed with gold, which reminded him of a military officer or a soldier. Maybe Rick was a soldier or something and he was attacked by a bunch of monsters.

It was obvious, judging from his knowledge of the squid and of the weapon, the way he handled himself, Rick was a fighter of sorts.

Whoever he was, Steven thought Rick was one cool, mysterious dude and the young boy made it his mission to be cool like him.

Rick continued his search until he found what he was looking for. Half buried under some burnt gromflomites, was a familiar unmoving form.

"Oh God, Grom" muttered Rick. He pulled the blackened form of his partner out from underneath the pile of bodies, to see the damage. The mechanoid's legs were gone, loose wires, servos and bits of metal poked out. His arms were bent out of shape and hung uselessly at his sides. The mechanoid was clad in a similar, but ruined, uniform as he was covered in black soot and thousands of small holes.

His face was the only thing that had the least damage. His green hair was wild and spiked; his metallic green skin gleamed faintly in the starlight under the thin layer of sand and soot, even his pointy ears were barely scuffed.

"Damn it, come on Grom" said Rick "Don't you wuss out on me now. We made it this far didn't we? Come on!" he shook the mechanoid softly at first, then he should harder. The mechanoid was unmoving. The old scientist slammed his fist on the mechanoid's chest, hoping to trigger some of his internal workings.

Still nothing.

After a few more long moments of fruitless shaking and hitting, Rick gave up. Sighing with defeat, he reached into his coat and withdrew his trusty flask.

As he took a pull from his flask, he took quick stock of his life.

It had been year, at least it felt like a year, since Rick turned himself into the Galactic Federation. They locked him up in one of the toughest prisons in the galaxy and it actually felt like he was going to get stuck for a while, at least until the incident.

One day in the max security cafeteria, Rick suddenly snapped. He didn't know what it was, whether it was the crappy elevator music they played non-stop over the PA system or whether it was the constant crap he had to put up with, Rick couldn't remember. All he knew was that he had to get the hell out of dodge.

It took some careful planning, lots of wheeling and dealing and even some begging and bribing a lot of people but, Rick managed to secure a way out.

Grom, short for Gromulius, was a mechanoid who shared a table and had worked together to pull off their daring escape. Actually, working together was rather nice term. Rick actually used Grom as his personal assistant, bodyguard and verbal punching bag.

The mechanoid proved useful in handling any unruly prisoners who tried to eat Rick or sell him out.

Ruthless as he was, Rick learned that Grom was rather naïve. Probably because that he was originally programmed to be a translator-slash-tour guide at an amusement park but some sketchy weapon masters turned him into a sleeper cell assassin who could go from pleasant to brutal faster than someone could blink or call for help.

After swiping some Federation officer uniforms, tying up loose ends and breaking free from confinement, the two hijacked a transport and escaped.

Rick was able to jury-rig a portal engine to slip into a random dimension to lose the cops but the engine was badly damaged in the escape and had only one good jump left in it.

Desperate, they jumped. Fortunately, it worked and their atoms weren't scattered across the infinite expanse of the multiverse. Unfortunately, some of the Federation security ships got some gromflomite troopers aboard. Which led to the crash and the escape of the vicious squid from the cargo hold.

Rick was lucky to have the kid and the circus rejects to bail him out. He sniffed "Ya know, Grom, I…I didn't really want to say this but…you were a really good guy. You were…my only pal in that godforsaken place".

Rick's tired eyes began to water "The Federation, those bastards…they just keep taking everything from me: Birdman, Squanchy, my family and now you…poor little Grom". Tears began to flow down his cheeks and his voice broke "Damn it, Grom! Why did you have to die! Why couldn't it have been me? You lucky bastard!"

"Rick?" said a soft voice

"Why God?" screamed Rick to the sky "Why did you have to take him? He's just a kid! A stupid kid, yes b-but he's just a kid!"

"Mr. Sanchez"

"Damn it!" Rick hugged the mechanoid close to him and he looked down and stopped his lamenting.

The mechanoid stared up at him in confusion. "Mr. Sanchez?" asked Grom "What are you doing?"

"Wha?" said Rick, dumbfounded. The mechanoid's single eye blinked a few times then asked "How may I be of assistance to you today, Mr. Sanchez?"

"First of all, you can forget that this ever happened, or else I'll kill you for real this time, you little piece of shit" growled Rick, "Second of all, I need you to shut up and follow my lead"

"How so?"

"Just shut up and observe. We got company"

"Oh?" said Grom, his eye swiveled and locked on the approaching newcomers. "Shall I take care them?"

"No" said Rick "Just wait for a little bit. I think the yokels of this dimension may be our ticket out of here".

Steven, his father and the crystal gems reached Rick and a rather beaten and wounded form and they looked at them in shock. It looked like a man, his face was fine, covered with some soot but his arms were twisted and bent oddly and his legs were gone.

His face looked human but was colored a shade of green and he one of his eyes was cybernetic thing that looked like a sniper scope. Based on the injuries and bits of wire sticking out of him, Steven guessed that he was an android of sorts.

Pearl covered her mouth in shock "Oh my!" she knelt down beside the twisted form and inspected the damage. "Are you…ok? Are you in any pain?"

"No, I am not" answered the robot, politely.

"Who are you?" asked Steven "Are you a robot?"

The robot bowed his head a little "I am Gromulus, mechanoid model X-401 of the Ru'al Corporation, located in the heart of the beautiful-"

"Yeah, yeah and I'm Stannis Baratheon, first of my name, Lord of the Outhouse, blah, blah" muttered the man named Rick, impatiently "Save us the monologue will you, Robocop".

The three crystal gems gazed at the battered android and then to the rogue scientist with suspicion. After a few heartbeats worth of silence, Garnet asked, "Just who are you two?"

"I'm Rick" said Rick, rising to his feet. He nudged Gromulus with his boot "This chatter box is my mechanoid…sla-,uh,assistant, Grom. Long story short, we're kinda stuck here and we're not looking for trouble. Just point us towards the nearest motel and late night taco joint and we'll be good to go"

"Wait a moment, you can't just go" said Steven "Your friend is hurt and what if more another squid shows up or something?"

"Steven" said Pearl, in an almost warning tone.

Rick gave Steven a serious look "Look kid, I appreciate the help but you can't help us. The people we're up against are not nice guys. They'll leave you alone, just as long as you don't get involved. They do not mess around." He smiled "Besides, Grom here is a mechanoid, he'll be fine"

"Actually, several of my key systems are in critical condition" said Grom " and I'm afraid there is some serious damage done to my core-" his tangent stopped immediately when Rick nudged the mechanoid in the side.

Pearl folded her arms "Mechanoid or not, it looks like neither of you are in any shape to do anything at the moment".

Rick sighed a little "Yeah, I guess".

"Just who are they?" asked Steven's father "These guy's you're running from?"

Rick scowled "Like I said, a very bad crowd, who'll make your lives a living hell if you cross them".

Steven folded his arms "Well I don't care" Everyone looked at him in surprise "Steven!" exclaimed Pearl, shocked.

Rick looked at Steven in surprise then it turned into something that resembled admiration.

"Look, you need a place to stay right?" asked Steven.

Rick scratched the back of his head "Uh, well…" "Well we got an extra room if you would like a place to stay" said Steven.

Steven's family was taken aback. Noting their surprised expressions, he added, "If, you know, want to or not…"

Rick tapped his lower lip for a moment "Well…I guess so." He looked to the three gems "That is, if the Sailor Moon squad doesn't mind?"

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl shared a look and thought for a moment. "Well…I don't know" began Pearl. She glanced sideways at Steven, who looked up at her with big, puppy dog eyes. For a moment she just stared back at him but the pleading look in his eyes seemed to intensify and eventually her defenses crumbled.

"Alright, fine" grumbled Pearl "You can stay-"

"Wahoo!" cried Steven "-for the night" finished the gem.

Rick looked relieved "No problem. I'll be out of your hair in no time. I'll patch Grom up and we'll be back on the open road in no time"

"After we have consumed all of your alcohol and taken all of your valu-" began Grom but Rick nudged the mechanoid on the side of the head sharply, shutting him up instantly again. A broad, innocent smile appeared on Rick's face.

Greg and the gems relaxed a little, although they still harbored an cold, creepy feeling in the back of their minds.

Steven on the other hand, was ecstatic to have a cool new friend staying over for the night.

On the other hand, Rick was relieved and made a mental note to tweak Grom's processors so that he doesn't go blabbing something important, or something stupid, during their stay.

But it didn't matter, Rick was free as a bird and pretty soon, he'll be hitting the ol dusty trail and be home again in no time.

In the meantime, the rogue scientist began plotting out his escape plan and even came up with a few little things that could getting the Federation off of his back, and it all involved the three strange creatures who saved Rick and Steven.

Watching from the shadows, on a small outcropping overlooking the beach stood a tall, slim armored figure.

Clad in jet-black armor, a helmet with a smooth, shiny visor masking the wearers face completely, the silent observer watched as his prey chattered with some of the locals. The human, Rick Sanchez, and the mechanoid, Grom, were still alive and breathing.

They had indeed lost most of the Federation troopers in the crash, but not all. This armored creature was no ordinary trooper.

He was what was called a 'Fixer', one of several, employed by the Federation to fix things.

Which is why the prison that Sanchez was locked up in was so feared.

Many enter, few attempt escape and even a fewer catch a breath of freedom. Even if they become free, not a single prisoner was able to remain free for long.

Most of them either ended up dead or returned to the prison in no time.

The Fixer continued watching his targets from above, then as the small group of this dimension's natives helped Rick carry his mechanoid enforcer away from the wreckage, the Fixer faded into thin air like a phantom as it started its internal clock, signifying that its retrieval mission has just begun.

The End?

(a/n: So, what do you think? Well, that's it. This is just a little one shot and i'm not going to update it...maybe. I may add more, at least two more parts but if i do, it will be in the future. Also, the term Mechanoid comes from the series Red Dwarf. Anyway, please review and hoped you enjoyed it.)