Zayton was a normal human child on Earth until he was abducted by Krang at around 8 years old, to a distant planet called D'Hoonib, tasked to be a scientist. He has always taken an interest in STEM, so he diligently listened and tinkered around curiously.
This brought him closer to Krang, especially how Krang saw bits of himself in Zayton, they bonded as if they were father and son. To Krang, Zayton was his #1 scientist.
Somewhere along the lines, he got along with troublemakers Harold and Libby, whom he uses his "favourite child" privileges to help them out.
He doesn't hate the life he has in D'Hoonib, but he sometimes just wishes he could go back home. He brings this up to Krang sometime around his late teens, and asks if Krang could let him return just for a bit. Krang knows the risks of potentially exposing him to Earth and gives him a firm NO, and Zayton never asks him again.
However, his best friends Harold and Libby were determined to let him live his dream. They would build a teleportal device to Earth and send him through there. Since they have subcutaneous trackers in them there's no way that Zayton could walk around on Earth without Krang finding out. So, they will build a robot— the Simulated Anthropomorphic Lifeform (SAL), and transfer Honeycutt's conciousness into it while he's on Earth. This way his body can stay in D'Hoonib, while his mind can be on Earth and do Earth things, without Krang realising.
They stuck a remote camera on SAL so Zayton could watch over his body while he's on Earth, along with a remote telecommunications device that will help Libby and Harold communicate with him then. They also agree to always keep an eye on Zayton's body and the technicalities of everything on the D'Hoonib side— they never felt the need to return.
It took them about 20 years to finish the project— side gig and all— and by then they're in their late 30's. Zayton finally goes to his home, and sees his family under SAL's cloaking device. His family handles it surprisingly well, considering he was gone for about 30 years. They believe him, because stricken with grief they'll believe anything. He spends some time on Earth both with his family and alone, enjoying the things that he was missing all this time.
Along the way he meets and falls in love with Marra, and they start dating... somehow. I have ideas where they met in a park with Marra infodumping about her special interest to him. I love autistic people. Commencing comical romantic romcom that I honest to god don't know how to write... Marra takes Zayton's whole backstory quite nicely, because, well, in front of her is literally a robot explaining the situation, things couldn't get any weirder than this.
He leaves Earth through the portal, and goes back to D'Hoonib to tell Harold and Libby about his day on Earth. Then, a few days later, he goes back to Earth, to experience it again. He does this again and again, for years. And Harold and Libby were always smart enough to make sure Krang doesn't find out.
One day, he tells Marra about Krang's plan to terraform the Earth. Marra is disgusted, and rightfully calls it out as genocide. Zayton is confused and horrified— he was never taught this, nor the history of Earth— and Marra patiently explains it to him while progressively getting more angry. I could see her refusing to talk to him for a few days after that, too. But ultimately, she understands that this is a new concept to him and he probably never heard of it. He isn't evil, he's just... an idiot.
After this exchange Zayton goes back to D'Hoonib and has a good cry with Harold and Libby, telling them about the truth on Krang's plans. They, too, are horrified, with an "I knew it, Krang's screwed in the head" kinda reaction.
Instead of growing distant from Krang Zayton decides to get even closer to him, because he refuses to believe that Krang is actually this heartless, evil monster who wants to wipe out all life on Earth. So, he tries to change him, subtly hinting to Krang that he thinks that something is very wrong about his idea.
Now, Krang is not stupid. He picks up that Zayton has changed his demeanour somewhere along the lines, and wonders what is wrong with this guy. He starts plotting ways to spy on what Zayton is doing in his free time, at first he was convinced it was Harold and Libby's doing, and decides to find out once and for all.
Thus, while Zayton is out on Earth as usual, Krang pays the secret lab they made a visit. He finds out about everything they've been doing over the past 25 years. He was so angry at the secrecy and gall of these 'children' that in a fit of wrath, accidentally destroyed his top scientist's body and severely injures Harold and Libby who tried to protect him. Thinking they are dead, Krang leaves the place.
Krang tells everyone that there is a Fugitoid on the loose. He tells the other D'Hoonibians that the Fugitoid is very violent and dangerous, nearly killed Harold and Libby. He tells Granitor to go to Earth via Krang's teleportal device and track down this Fugitoid, wherever it is, and intentionally leaves out the fact that he was originally Honeycutt.
Zayton watches all this unfold on his remote camera, unable to do anything about it. And worse yet, once Zayton returns home, he finds his family dead. Burnt. The work of Granitor. He goes to Marra for asylum, and to maybe live at her place.
Zayton is filled with grief and anger, but at least he has Marra. She was his support for most of this and she urged him on to fight against what Krang was doing, because it was the "right thing to do." Of course, not before coming to terms with... everything that's changed. Stranded on Earth, with no family, no Harold or Libby.
He tries to find networks. He confides in the EPF, who agrees to track Krang's location and give him all the information that they can find on him. Since the Utroms and the EPF are under contractual solidarity they can't hurt them, but they track all Krang activity as much as possible.
He sneaks into TCRI. Surely, that must be the place where he could find the truth about Krang? Marra offered to follow him, but he tells her to keep herself safe because she has a job, a life, and God knows Krang is out there looking for the person who 'tainted' his top scientist and most useful asset.
And that's where we are at the start of the story.
