Sunday, March 15, 1987
9:15AM
Hill Valley, California
"Take me awaaaaaay!!! I don't mind!! But you better promise me I'll be back in time!"
The loud, obnoxious alarm clock awoke a peacefully sleeping Marty McFly. He slapped the snooze alarm and lay his head back on the pillow. "Man, just leave me alone! I haven't slept in almost a week, and boy, is that song getting old!" he said miserably.
Marty had been studying for midterm exams for the past week and a half. Since his previous grades for the semester were somewhat pitiful, he was determined to get a few a A's out of this. The last thing he wanted in college was to have the same slacker reputation that he'd had in high school. Now, however, it was sleep Marty wanted and it was sleep Marty was going to get.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!
Marty shot up again. It was the stupid telephone.
"Somebody get it," Marty yelled. It didn't stop ringing. Marty remembered then that no one was home. His parents were out playing tennis again and Dave had an early meeting at the office. Linda was out with one of her boyfriends, either Greg or Craig. He couldn't keep track, nor did he really care. Marty reluctantly answered the phone.
"Somebody better be dead," he said.
"Marty, is that you?" came a wild, familiar voice.
"Doc! What's goin' on? Where ya been all week?" Marty asked.
"Working," he replied, "Listen Marty, I've made another major breakthrough and I'll need your assistance."
Where have I heard that before? Marty thought to himself.
"We need to find a safe place to meet. Any ideas?" Doc asked.
"Anywhere but the Lone Pine Mall. That place has bad luck for the both of us. Look Doc, can't this wait a few hours? I'm exhausted!"
"I know you've been working hard hard on your exams, Marty, but I guarantee you that you'll be thrilled over this. Look, forget the secret place. Just come by my lab at 11:00, okay?"
"Fine Doc, whatever. But this had better be good," Marty said.
The truck was in the shop having some break repairs done, so Marty rode to Doc's lab on his old skateboard. As he approached town, he grabbed on to the back of a jeep and coasted down the street, just like the old days! He waved by all the cute girls in town and in the aerobics center.
"Man, I've really missed this," he said. Within a few minutes, he was pulling up to Doc's driveway.
Marty walked in to find the lab a complete mess. It looked worse than when Marty had almost destroyed it with the super-amplifier. Finally, from under the rubble, appeared the white haired scientist. "Marty, you made it!"
"I always make it, Doc. So, what's this new invention of yours?" Marty asked.
"Ahh," Doc replied, "This is the big one Marty, you are just going to love this!" Doc walked over to a large apparatus that was covered by a big cloth. "Behold," he yelled. He pulled the cloth away, revealing a shiny, silver Delorean.
"Uhhhhhhh, Doc," Marty said quietly, "Call me crazy, but that's your time machine. We've been using that endlessly for the past few years, remember?"
"Correct," Doc replied, "But I've made several major modifications. Come closer and I'll show you."
Doc opened the gullwing door, revealing all the familiar gizmos. There were the flying circuits, the time circuits, the flux capacitor, and...wait a minute, there was something new there. Just beside the flux capacitor was a similar Y-shaped gadget, only glowing blue instead of yellow.
"Doc, what's that thing over there?" Marty asked.
"That's my latest breakthrough, Marty, the Virtual Capacitor! It makes time travel seem like small potatoes. With this device, it allows me to travel not only through time, but through dimensions as well. To other dimensions! Now, not only can we explore the past or future, but other worlds as well!"
"Woah! That sounds pretty heavy, Doc. Have you tested it out yet?"
"No, that's why I asked you to come here today Marty," Doc answered. "I would like you to assist me in the world's first inter-dimensional travel."
"Excellent! When can we test it out?"
"Well, seeing as Clara and the boys are out of town for a few hours, I'd say that now would be the best time to test my new device," Doc said.
Doc went over to the trash can and pulled out a few waste products, which he placed in Mr. Fusion in the back of the car. He then entered the car and turned everything on.
"So, where are we going? When are we going?" Marty asked.
"I don't see the need to travel too far into time, so perhaps only a few years will suffice. Say, 1985. Seeing as I have no knowledge of any other dimensions, I suppose I will just type a random setting into the virtual circuits." Doc entered his destinations into both keypads. Doc pulled the Delorean out of the lab and activated the flying circuits. The silver car glided into the heavens. The two braced themselves as Doc pressed the gas pedal to the floor, accelerating to 78... 80... 82... 84... 86... 87... 88! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Up in the hills lay the big Hollywood sign, gleaming for all to see. Suddenly, just above the sign, came three sonic booms. Instantly, the flying Delorean appeared to the scene. The car slowed down to a crawl and searched for an alley to land in. It found one after a bit, and Doc and Marty exited the car to explore this strange new world.
"Odd," Doc said, "The Virtual Circuits state that this section of California in this dimension is known as Hollywood. Must be an old Indian name or something."
The two left the alley and proceeded down the streets. The two noticed that the sidewalks had footprints of what appeared to be celebrities engraved in them. Doc and Marty walked for about a mile in the city, finding nothing interesting, when they came upon a large crowd exiting a movie theater.
"Wow, I've never seen so many people come out of one movie! It must have been a major blockbuster," Marty exclaimed.
"I agree," Doc said, "It appears to be the opening night of a major motion picture indeed. My, that's an ironic title. It's called Back to the Future. I wonder if it has anything to do with time travel."
Doc and Marty were so busy chatting that they did not notice the number of people walking by them. Suddenly, two of these people stopped dead on their tracks in front of them.
"OH MY GOD, IT'S THEM! EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY, LOOK, IT'S THE STARS OF THE MOVIE! IT'S REALLY THEM!!" they yelled. The entire mass of people stopped and turned around in disbelief. Their eyes all widened in amazement, at the sight of what they believed to be the stars of this new movie.
Doc and Marty stared at each other confused, but became anxiously aware that this situation meant trouble as the entire mob of people began chasing after them.
"Great Scott," Doc yelled, "Let's get out of here!"
The two ran back toward the Delorean as fast as they could go. The people were still chasing after them, and for some reason were yelling "Michael! and "Chris!" after them. No matter, all they knew is that they needed to get out of there. Almost out of breath, the two had barely outrun the mob when they reached the car. They got in and hung on.
"Damn, I don't have enough time to reroute the Virtual settings. Those people are coming by too fast." Doc yelled. The crowd surrounded the Delorean and began shaking it all around them.
"Who cares, Doc! Just set the time machine. Set any old date, just get us out of here!"
Doc typed random numbers into the time keypad and set the flying circuits. The car lifted above everyone, stunning them all, and soared away into the sky. One young man, with a faint moustache, stared at the vanishing flying vehicle and whispered to his girlfriend, "Man, when I grow up I have got to get me one of those!"
"Oh, shut up, Will," she replied.
The car appeared in the new time and landed in the same alley. Doc looked at some gizmos on the dashboard and realized that he needed gasoline in order to make the trip home. He couldn't risk taking the Delorean out in the daylight, so he decided it would be best to get it on foot.
"Just wait here and guard the car while I pick up some gas, Marty. We should be safe seeing as how that movie has not been released yet in this time," Doc said.
"Okay, Doc. Just hurry--this dimensional thing is just too weird," Marty said.
Doc grabbed his mini-tank and proceeded to the streets of Hollywood. After a few blocks, he found a Texaco and grabbed the first available tank. After filling it up, Doc paid the cashier and left the station. Just as he was leaving, he saw a familiar face standing in front of him.
"Marty, what in the name of Sir Isaac H. Newton are you doing here? I told you specifically to wait by the Delorean," Doc yelled furiously.
The young man stared back at the scientist in bewilderment. "I'm sorry sir, are you talking to me?" he asked.
"We don't have time for games, Marty. Come along and let's go before we get noticed." Doc said.
"Are you kidding?" he replied, "That's all I want to do now; get noticed! Look sir, I think you've made a mistake. I'm late for an appointment and don't have time to talk to weird old people."
"That's it, Marty. This dimensional transport is having some form of delusional effect on you. I need to get you back to Hill Valley right now."
Doc whipped out his sleep-inducer machine and zapped the young man he believed to be Marty. He instantly fell unconscious to the ground. Just then, an older man ran toward Doc and slapped the machine out of his hands.
"Just what in the hell do you think you're doing," he asked.
"I'm trying to get my friend out of here, sir," Doc replied.
"Look pal, I'm Mr. Fox's agent. I'm the only friend he's got here in this country. He's one of the most talented actors in the world. He was supposed to be auditioning today for a new family sitcom, but thanks to your interference, he'll now never get that chance. You'd better get the hell out of here now before I call the police!"
Doc was as confused as ever, but he obviously understood that the man on the floor in front of him was not Marty McFly. "I'm uhhhh sorry, this has all been a big mistake," he said. He then turned, grabbed the gas tank, and ran back toward the Delorean.
When he reached the shiny car, he was relieved to see his friend still inside. He went to the back of the car and filled the tank up, then got inside the car.
"Let's get the hell out of here Marty, this dimensional transporting is much more complex than I had calculated, you will never believe what just happen--GREAT SCOTT!"
"What? What is it Doc?" Marty asked.
"Marty, you're...you're completely different. Your face, your body, it's altered itself completely!"
"What the hell are you talking about, Doc?" Marty asked.
"I don't believe this. Why, you look like...like....that actor, oh, what was his name? Stoltz! You look just like Eric Stoltz! Great Scott!"
Tuesday, May 5, 1981
9:47AM
Hollywood, California
"What?!?"
Marty ran over to a nearby convenience store and stared at his reflection. "Holy crud!" he exclaimed, "Doc! What the heck is happening to me?"
"I dunno, Marty. I dunno. It seems that we've somehow altered this dimension to the point that we have changed your image."
"Well, how do we fix all of this?"
"I don't know! Marty, for once in my whole life, I have no clue what's going on! All I know is that we're trapped in another reality without any knowledge of what's going on!"
Marty stopped and thought for a minute. "Well, Doc. The way I see it, what we need is someone from this dimension who knows all about us to figure what's going on!"
"Marty! Be reasonable. Where are we going to find someone in this world who knows all about us!"
Marty shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard. After all, we've already been mistaken for a couple of celebrities I've never heard of. And there was something about a film that linked us. What was that title?"
Doc paused, scratching his head. " Back To The Future ," he finally said.
Back to the Future. Those words stuck in Marty's mind. Hmmm.... he thought. What could that mean...? Then it struck him. "That's it!" he yelled.
Doc looked confused. " What's it?"
"The movie title, Doc! Think about it. Back to the Future !"
Doc jaw dropped. "Great Scott! You don't think..."
"Yup," Marty replied, "Your 'great discovery' has just become the subject for a blockbuster movie!"
Marty and Doc slowly walked into the nearest video rental store. A perky young lady met them in the main hallway. "Yes?" she said. "Is there anything I can help you guys with?"
Marty and Doc glanced at each other and then back at the young woman. "Uh...yes," Doc said, "Do you have a copy of Back To The Future on stock?"
A confused look came over the woman's face. "Back to the...what?" she asked.
Marty sighed, "It's a movie. About time travel."
The young employee smiled. "Sorry," she said, "Never heard of it. But it sounds like a good idea. Maybe you should talk to Steven Spielberg."
Marty stared blankly at her. "Steven...who?"
By the time they had gotten back to the DeLorean, both Marty and Doc were confused and discouraged. "I don't get it Doc!" Marty said, "How can the movie not exist? We saw it with our own eyes! ' Now Playing: Back To The Future.' What's wrong with this picture?"
Doc looked over at the DeLorean. An realization suddenly struck him as he peered down at the time circuits. "Of course!" he shouted, "Why didn't I think of this before!"
"Think of what ?"
"Marty, do you know what the date is?"
"Sure. May 5, 1981."
"Yes! Exactly! Don't you see?"
"See what ?"
"Marty," Doc said, opening the DeLorean's front door, "When we saw the movie banner, we were back in 1985. This is 198 1 . Exactly four years before the movie was released."
Marty was speechless. "Don't you see?" Doc continued, "In order to find out how we are connected to this movie, we have to travel ahead in time to a point where it is already released!" Doc hopped into the time machine and signaled for Marty to do the same.
Once both were inside, Marty reached over to change the time circuits. "What year, Doc?" he asked, "1985?"
"No," Doc replied, "Better make it sometime a lot farther into the future."
"Why?"
"Well," he explained, "If we go back to 1985, we are most likely to become swamped with numerous mobs of adoring fans, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So, I believe that we will be most successful in our journey if we travel to later year when the movie's popularity is most likely to die down."
Doc reached over and set the date: September 4, 1998. 8:35 A.M. Hollywood, California. Marty peered down at the date. "1998?" he said, "Isn't that a little far into the future?"
"Marty, we both know that we can't afford to take any chances of arriving at date in which the movie's popularity is still high! Now, once we arrive at our destination we will quickly travel to the nearest video rental store and obtain a copy of Back To The Future . It most likely won't cause any suspension as that particular movie will be 13 years old."
Marty sighed. "You're the doc, Doc."
With that, the time-traveling DeLorean rose into the air and disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.
The DeLorean shot out of the sky in a fraction of a second, and came to a screeching halt on the nearby pavement. Once the time machine had cooled off, Doc and Marty both stepped out and looked around. "Odd," Doc mumbled, "This place seems different. Why, I don't remember that huge building."
Marty shrugged. "Well, what did ya expect, Doc? It's the 90's."
Doc stared confusingly at the huge walkway leading into what looked like a giant amusement park. "What does it say on that neon sign, Marty?"
The young teen strained his eyes. "Uh...it says... 'Universal Studios Hollywood.' "
"Odd," Doc said, "I've never heard of that industry before. Hey, what's that banner say right underneath it?"
Marty looked out. "You mean the one written in blue and orange?"
"Yeah, that's the one. What does it say?"
Marty's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh no!"
"Marty? Are you okay? You look a little pale."
"This can't be happening!"
"What! What can't be happening? Marty, what does the banner say?"
Marty answered his friend in a low, raspy voice. "Doc, the sign says 'Welcome To Future Fest '98' ."
Friday, September 4, 1998
9:37AM
Hollywood, California
Doc's eyes went wide as he looked at the sign. "Great Scott! We have traveled into a convention for the movie!"
"Now what do we do?" Marty asked him.
"Leave and go farther into the future at a time where the convention is over."
At that moment three fans walking past heard them talking. One came over to them. "Wow. You guys look and act just like Marty and Doc! Can we get a picture?"
Doc was about to say no when Marty got an idea. "Sure." he said as he walked over to two of the people, dragging Doc along with him.
"Marty," Doc whispered at him nervously, "what are you doing?"
Marty ignored him. "Smile, Doc."
The fan with the camera took the picture. "Thanks, guys," he told them.
"No problem," Marty said, still smiling. The fans turned away from the two time travelers and started walking down the street.
Doc turned to Marty. "That was a very stupid thing to do. We could have been mobbed again."
Marty shook his head. "I don't think so. We should be safe here. I bet they thought we were people pretending to be the real actors. We can go anywhere and people will only smile at us or ask for our picture. Besides, being at this convention could be more help to us than just watching the movies."
Doc opened his mouth to reply to Marty's comments but he realized that the teenager had a point. "Very well, lead the way," he told Marty as he gestured towards the park.
After getting a map of the park and hiding the time machine in a lot full of DeLoreans, they started to go towards the Back to the Future gift shop.
"First order of business is to find how the movie was made. That will probably lead us to a way we can change your physical form back to normal," Doc told Marty as they went into the shop.
As the door opened, Doc did a double take. Scribblers that looked like the sports almanac, multicolored reflective caps, and other items they had used in their first adventure two years ago decorated the room. "This is pretty heavy, Doc." Marty told him. Doc nodded and walked over to a shelf and took three movies called Back to the Future , Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III . He then walked up to the clerk.
"Excuse me, but me and my friend would like to buy a couple of books and magazines giving outline information on Back to the Future and maybe a history of Universal Studios. We would also like to get these movies." Doc said as he dumped the entire trilogy onto the checkout counter. Doc sighed with relief when he saw that the money in his wallet was no different than the money in this world.
"Now what do we do?" asked Marty once they got outside.
"I read this book and try to find a solution to this mess." Doc enlightened him as he sat on a bench and started to read. Marty sat down next to him and tried to read over his shoulder but Doc was going too fast for him to keep up.
Marty gave up and sat there for five more minutes until he said, "I'm going to have a look around. O.K. Doc?"
Doc nodded and mumbled, "O.K."
Marty knew Doc wasn't listening and if he had heard what Marty had said he never would had agreed but Marty was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He started to walk away from Doc with a smile on his face.
Marty was having a ball. Because most of the patrons in the park were here for Future Fest, the lines to the other rides and shows were fairly short. He had visited the Courthouse Square, looked at some BTTF memorabilia, and was now walking in the general direction he thought he had left Doc.
As he was passing by a large building, a very familiar car came into view. It was the time machine. He gasped in surprise and ran over to it when he realized it wasn't their time machine at all. People were lining up to get their pictures taken in the drivers seat. There was a sign outside on the car. Marty looked at it. The sign said this was the actual DeLorean used in the film. He sighed in relief and then took a good look at it. As far as he could see it was identical to the one that got destroyed by a train on October 27, 1985.
Marty then looked up at the large building in front of him. A sign blazed "BACK TO THE FUTURE ... THE RIDE."
Sounds like fun, Marty thought.
At that moment a man came up to him. "There you are, Eric. The fans need you in there."
"Hey wait a sec..." Marty started to say as the man pulled him into the Institute of Future Technology building.
Doc was so into the magazines that he lost track of time. It was amazing. With each book he learned more and more. It seemed that the fiction of this world was the reality of his. King Kong in New York, the terror of Jaws, even the adventures of the Ghostbusters were only movies or books here.
At last Doc looked up from his reading material. "Marty this is incredible..." he began looking at the seat next to him. It was empty. Doc looked at his watch. Two hours had passed. "Oh no." Doc whispered under his breath. Marty must have gotten bored and wandered off. Doc put the magazines in his a bag and started looking around. At that moment Marty walked by.
"Great Scott, Marty. I been looking everywhere for you," Doc told him.
His friend laughed. "Yup, sure pal," he said in a voice that was definitely not Marty's. He walked away, laughing to himself.
He must be a person dressed up to look like Marty, Doc realized as he thought back to what the teenager said earlier. This would be harder then he thought. As he turned into the crowd he saw two Biffs, a Jennifer, and someone who looked like him.
Doc sighed as he pulled out the map. "Now where would Marty be?" he asked himself. His mind zeroed in on one attraction. "The Institute of Future Technology-BACK TO THE FUTURE... THE RIDE!" it displayed.
A ride based on us? Marty will most likely want to ride it. He might be there, Doc thought. He is probably having himself a great time.
Marty was in hell. After spending 20 minutes trying to convince this man that dragged him in here that he wasn't Eric Stoltz had been forced to go on the Time Travel simulator over and over again. It was fun the first few times until he started to feel sick.
As he started going to the washroom, a man that looked like Biff walked in. "I'll take care of this, Eric," he said more kindly then anything Marty had heard him or any of his ancestors say.
As Marty walked down the hall he heard the man that led him in here say to the Nicer Biff, "Hi Tom." This Tom said something back but Marty was too busy running to the exit to hear it. He had to get out of here. He saw the exit sign and door just down the hall. Marty doubled his speed.
The door opened just as he got to it. Doc ran into the building at a breakneck speed. Neither Doc or Marty could stop and they collided into one another.
"Doc is that you?" Marty asked him as he got up.
"It's becoming hard to tell but yes." Doc replied as he picked up his bag of magazines and movies. "I think I know what happened to you. Let's get to the DeLorean and get the hell out of here."
The duo left the building and made their way to the time machine. Doc explained about the realization he had when he was reading the magazine. "But how does this have anything to do with my transformation?" Marty asked him.
"I believe that when someone writes something in this world, it makes history in our world. It would be like if we killed the man who came up with the idea of King Kong before the movie was made in this world. It would change our history so King Kong never existed and wouldn't do anything in New York in 1930.
"Here is what I believed happened to you--I met a person that looked just like you at the garage I want to so I could get some gas. I believe that he was the actor that was chosen to play you before we arrived in the universe. I prevented him from ever getting his big break so he would never be a big star. Someone else was chosen to play your part in the movie so your form changed into that of the actor's."
"So what do we do?" Marty asked.
The DeLorean landed in an alley just two blocks away from the DeLorean that Marty's younger self was in now waiting for Doc for Doc's other self to get back with the gas
"Marty, stay here." Doc told his friend. He didn't want his friend to see what he was about to do. This "Mike Fox" who was supposed to become Marty and his agent was about to go down this road towards the gas station and the other Doc. He had to stop the car to prevent it to get to the gas station his younger self was getting the gas in.
A car came into sight. It had the two people he was looking for. Doc took a deep breath and stepped in front of the car. The driver hit the breaks and the car stopped an few inches from Doc. The agent came out of the car looking as nice as Doc remembered him. "What the hell are you doing stepping out in front of the car!?" he yelled at Doc.
"Relax," said the young man in the passenger seat. "He probably didn't see us."
"And I never wanted to see him!" the agent yelled. "Do you know who that is? That is Michael J. Fox, one of the world's best actors."
"Don't recognize him," Doc lied, stalling for time.
"That's because no one knows about him yet but they will once..." the agent looked at his watch in shock. "Damn. We're going to be late for the audition," he said as he jumping into the car and hit the gas. Doc barely had time to get out of the cars way. It race down the road speeding towards destiny.
The short walk to the DeLorean was torture. Every step Doc prayed Marty wound be in the car looking as he always did. He got his wish. "Marty! You're back to normal!" Doc yelled joyously.
"Yup! Now lets get back to the future," Marty said with a smile.
"You got it," Doc said as he got in the car and flew it into the sky.
Bob Gale walked down the street thinking. He and Robert Zemeckis just finished the second draft of the screenplay Back to the Future about a week ago but something seemed to be missing. He just needed to figure out what. By chance he thoughtfully looked up in the air and found himself surprised to see a flying car. His mind started to work in fast forward.
Three days ago he had the idea of making the time machine a car and he was about to talk to Robert about making a third draft with a DeLorean as the time machine. He now realized how stupid an idea that was. No one would watch a show about a time traveling car. The next draft would have a laser like the first two and nothing would change his mind.
Five seconds after these thoughts went through his head the car disappeared into the air.
The time machine appeared in a blast of light and Marty and Doc looked out the window.
"Hey Doc, where's your house?" Marty asked him.
Doc looked down onto the ground. "We must be over another part of town. It is difficult finding our where we are when we're in the air. I'm going to land."
The car dropped to the ground and made a soft landing on a futuristic street surrounded by weird cars and odd machines. Doc looked around "What the..." he said as he turned to look at Marty. He saw his friend turn ghostly white and looking straight ahead.
"What is it Marty?"
Marty pointed to a sign of to one side of the road. Doc looked at it. "Welcome to Elmdale. A nice place to live."
Sunday, March 15, 1987
10:24AM
"Great Scott!"
"Elmdale? What the hell is going on now?"
"I don't know, Marty. It looks like we have arrived at some strange version of 2015." Doc glanced down at the time circuits. "But it says that it's 1985."
"Could we be in another parallel dimension?"
"No, the circuits are set for our dimension. This is the right place and the right time."
"Then what the hell did we do?"
"I don't know. This could be real trouble. Let's have a look around."
Marty and Doc stepped out of the DeLorean. It was indeed a lot like the Hill Valley they knew from 2015. Even the clock tower stood in place. Only in this world it was 1985 and the town was called Elmdale.
"This is too weird, Doc."
"I don't understand how this could have happened. I think it would be best if we went someplace where we won't be seen."
"Yeah, I think it's a bad idea to say here at the center of town."
Doc turned towards the car, looking down and thinking. "Maybe the alley where we arrived when we first visited 2015 together is in this town."
"Holy shit!"
Doc was startled by Marty's rather loud exclamation. He looked up to see what was going on.
"Marty, what is--"
Then he saw what Marty was witnessing--the DeLorean was slowly fading into something else. When the metamorphosis was complete there was what amounted to a refrigerator with extensive wiring.
"What in the name of Sir Isaac H. Newton is happening?"
"This can't be good, Doc."
Marty and Doc turned to face each other. What they saw left them awestruck.
"What's wrong with your clothes, Doc? It's like the stuff you wore in 2015."
"I'm not the only one."
Marty looked down at himself and realized he was wearing an outfit very similar to the one he wore when impersonating his future son. With one exception--there was some sort of gun strapped to his belt. He picked it up and looked at it. "What's this?"
"Marty, put that away," warned Doc.
"This is pretty cool." Figuring out where the trigger was, he pointed it at a can lying near a bench in the Courthouse Square. "Check this out." Marty pulled the trigger and a beam shot out of the gun, incinerating the can. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed for the second time.
By now people had stopped and where looking at Marty and Doc like they were freaks.
"I told you, Marty. Now put that away. We have to go. Too much attention has been drawn to us already."
"Okay, okay, Doc. But how do we move this fridge?"
"Good point." Doc went over to the machine and inspected it. Almost immediately he saw a switch he recognized. He flipped it and the refrigerator that was once a DeLorean began to hover over the ground. "Hover conversion. Now lets get to that alley."
Before long Marty and Doc found themselves in the same alley they had arrived in on their first trip to 2015. Right away Doc opened the strange machine and peered inside.
"So, Doc, what now?"
Doc stuck his head out of the machine. "There is some good news. This is a time machine just like the DeLorean. It appears that it reaches 88 mph via rotational acceleration, as opposed to linear, though. Hence it's shaped more like a 'fridge' as you would put it and not a car."
"You lost me, Doc."
"Take a look."
Doc stepped out to let Marty take a look. Marty looked inside to find the same time circuits that were in the DeLorean. Along with the flux capacitor. The only difference is that there was a rather large, red button, right above the display. "What does this do?" asked Marty.
"Don't touch that! I would say that that is what you press when you want to travel through time."
"So, how does this thing reach 88, again?"
"It spins around, instead of going straight. A lot like the time lightening struck me in the original DeLorean and sent me to 1885. That bolt caused the car to spin around to reach 88 mph."
"I kind of get it. So what do we do now? Go back to the other dimension and put things right?"
"We have no choice, do we? Where can we start? Changes of this magnitude mean that whatever we disturbed had something to do with the most basic and first part of the creative process involved in making a film."
"You mean, like, writing the story?"
"That's it! Our actions must have interfered with the writer who came up with the story for Back to the Future. I believe I might still have some flyers from 'FutureFest' that might clue us into who wrote this."
"But won't the flyers have changed too?"
"Yes but the writers of the story will hopefully be the same. Let me see." Doc flipped through some papers he had in his pockets. He stopped when he found the one he was looking for and inspected it. "Ah ha! The writers were two men by the names of Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. Now it's just a matter of finding out what we did, which might be easier said than done. Can you think of anything?"
"Not a thing, Doc. I do have one question, though."
"What?"
"How come we had time to come back, park the DeLorean, get out, and talk before everything started to change? Everything happened to me instantaneously when I transformed in the other reality."
"Hmmm..." Doc rang his fingers through his mess of white hair as he pondered the question. "I suppose it's possible that if whatever changed happened shortly after our departure it would have taken the ripple effect a while catch up to us at this point in time."
"So you're saying that whatever was change had something to do with how we left the other dimension?"
"Great Scott! Of course. One of the writers must have seen us right as we departed their dimension and it inspired him to change the story!"
"Then let's get our asses back to that other dimension and convince them to change their story to what it should be."
"Yes! Come on, we have no time to waste."
Doc got into the refrigerator-like time machine and set the circuits. Marty stepped in beside him.
"I would just like to know what's up with this laser," Marty said, looking down at the peculiar gun on his belt.
"If everything goes according to plan, you won't even have that laser to worry about," answered Doc as he pressed the large red button. The time machine began to spin around, accelerating faster and faster until it hit 88 mph. Then, after a sonic boom and a flash of light, it was gone.
Tuesday, May 5, 1981
9:31PM
Hollwood, California
A violent sonic boom suddenly broke through the silent streets of California as the massive refrigerator shot into the past. It just sat there for a second, hovering slowly as it came to a halt. Suddenly, its passengers stumbled out. "Whoa!" Marty exclaimed dizzily, "What a rush!"
Doc followed him out of the crazy contraption and looked around. "Yep, this is it," he said, "May 5, 1981."
Marty rubbed his head. "Great, now what?"
Doc quickly reached into the fridge and whipped out his information book that he had retrieved from the convention. "Okay, Marty," Doc said, flipping through the pages, "The first thing we do here is find the guys who made this trilogy."
Marty glanced over his friend's shoulder and peered down at the written text. "Is that them?" he asked, "Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale?"
"Yup. Now all we have to do is find these two men and somehow convince them to put a DeLorean in their movies. You see..." Doc flipped a page in the book. "...it says right here that one point in time the writers of the movie actually considered using a car for the time machine in their movie. If my calculations are correct, we probably did something to discourage them from using a DeLorean."
"Right. So now what?"
"Now, we split up and look for these writers. Once we locate them, it is crucial that we somehow convince these men to change their movie. Remember, Marty. Both of our futures depend on this!"
"You don't have to remind me of that, Doc."
"Okay. Now, I'll meet back at the time machine in approximately one hour. Assuming the we succeed in our quest, the time machine should be instantaneously changed back into the DeLorean, and our future we be back to normal."
"Doc," Marty said with a skeptical look on his face, "What if don't succeed?"
A stern look came over his friend's face. "We must succeed!"
About five minutes later, Marty found himself stumbling down the strange streets of California. Marty tried his best not to look conspicuous, but it was hard when he found himself dressed like someone out of the future. Or at least his future! He couldn't help fingering the strange laser gun that he had on him, wondering what it was for.
Okay, he thought to himself, If I was a bigshot film writer, where would I be? Suddenly, the answer hit him like a bolt of lightning, so to speak. The studio. The place where the convention was held. What was the name of that place?
" Universal Studios !" Marty mumbled to himself, "That's it!"
"Ummph!"
Collecting all of his energy, Doc pushed his palms to the heavy fridge and began to push it out of sight. In due time, the swift inventor had managed to get the odd time machine safely hidden in a back alley somewhere in town. Doc let out a deep breath, wiped his brow, and dusted himself off.
"Whew!" he mumbled to himself, "Sometimes time travel is not all it's cracked up to be. Now let me see..." Doc grabbed the open book that lye next to him on top of the fridge. "May 5, 1981," he read aloud, "On this special date in movie history, Mr. Bob Gale and Mr. Robert Zemeckis changed the way people looked at movies when they presented their newest film novelization to the board of directors appointed at Universal Studios, Hollywood . It was from this presentation that marked the beginning of the ever- popular film series: Back To The Future."
Doc's face brightened with excitement. "Great Scott!" he exclaimed, "They're at the studio!"
Marty found himself standing uneasily at the front gates of the movie studio. He cleared his throat as he pushed the talk button on the outside intercom. A snooty female voice echoed over the static-filled microphone system. "Yes, may I help you?"
Marty hesitated for a second before answering. "Uh...yeah," he finally said, "I was wondering if you'd know where I could find a Robert Zemeckis or Bob Gale..."
There was a slight pause. "I'm sorry," the woman's voice returned, "Mr. Zemeckis and Mr. Gale are currently busy pitching their new film idea to the board. Can this wait?"
"No!" Marty answered, feeling somewhat annoyed, "It can't wait! This is an emergency!"
Marty heard a unimpressed sigh come from the intercom, followed by the woman's squeaky voice. "Sir, if you'll just give me your name and number, I'll see if I can schedule an appointment for you with the two gentlemen."
Marty rolled his eyes, giving up. "Fine," he said, "My name is...uh..." He racked his brain trying to come up with a false identity that wouldn't get him into too much trouble. Suddenly, it came to him. "My name," he said, "is Michael J. Fox. I'm an actor interested in working in their new movie."
There was another short pause. "Okay, Mr. Fox. I'll let them know you called." "But..."
"Goodbye, sir."
The young lady's voice slowly trailed off, leaving only static left. Marty sighed. "Great, just great!" The young time traveler slowly leaned back against the side wall, and began thinking of an alternate plan. Suddenly, he was cut off by a familiar voice. "Psst...Hey, Marty!"
Marty turned his head to find a familiar figure standing in the shadows. "Doc!" Marty exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
"The same thing as you. Listen, Marty. We got to get out of here fast !" "Why, what's up?"
Doc ran forward and showed his friend the bookmarked page in his magazine. "That's why! Those men will be out here in no time! If they see the result of their film before it is even created, it could cause a major paradox!"
Marty bit his lower lip. "Uh...yeah. Right."
Doc raised an eyebrow. "Marty? Have you interacted with anyone else besides me today?"
Marty slowly backed away from the studio doors. "Well...uh...I might of...kinda...well...let the film writers know that I was looking for them."
Doc's eyes went wide. "Great Scott! Marty, what did you say to the studio?"
The young teenager gulped. "Well..."
Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale walked sluggishly down the halls of Universal Studios , a look of despair and frustration on their faces. Their meeting with the board of directors wasn't completed. Somehow, the studio couldn't quite grasp the idea of a scientist and a teenager unearthing the power of time travel. There had to be more. Something about the movie that would attract people to the film. Yes, it was clear to them now that they needed a gimmick. But what?
The two tired writers made their way to the front desk of the studio. "We're punching out," Mr. Zemeckis said bluntly to the perky young secretary sitting at the side desk.
"Oh, wait!" the young woman said, "Before you go, I've got a message for you two. Some young guy was here wanting to audition for your new movie. Said his name was Michael J. Fox."
Mr. Gale paused, rubbing his chin. "Hmmm..." he said, "Michael J. Fox, huh? Well, we'll have to give this guy a tryout. Maybe we can find some part for him in our movie..."
And with that, Mr. Zemeckis and Mr. Gale made their way outside to the front of the studio, where a sudden shock lay before them. "Hey!" Mr. Zemeckis exclaimed, "What the heck is that thing?"
"I dunno," Mr. Gale answered, "Looks somewhat like a fridge with a laser attached. And look at those two guys standing by it!"
"You mean the two in the space attire?"
"Yeah, don't they look ridiculous?"
"I'll say! What do you think they're doing here ?"
The confused man shrugged. "Beats me. Hey, I bet the studio sent these guys over as some kind of a visual aid for our presentation to the board."
A sour look came over Mr. Zemeckis' face. "Sheesh!" he said, "What were we thinking, Bob? Those boys look like a couple of nutcases! And the fridge is no better! I've seen better props on the late, late show. Is this what is to become of our 'brilliant new movie phenomenon'?"
"Well, we could always change the film."
"Yeah? How?"
Mr. Gale stopped for a second. "Well, I've had an idea kind of floating around in the back of my head."
"Well, why didn't you say so? What's your idea?"
Bob Gale took a deep breath. His next words would change the way people look at movies. "Say, Bob. What do you think about DeLoreans?"
"Marty!" Doc exclaimed, "How could you even think of doing something like that? Didn't you realize that you could of caused an intergalactic incident! Why if you were spotted by any of..."
Doc's words suddenly froze in midair. "Marty!" he said, "Look at you!"
"Huh? What?" Marty looked down at himself to find that his clothes were suddenly changing back to normal. And when he looked back up, he found his friend to be going through a similar change. "Doc!" he yelled, "It worked! We're back to normal!"
Doc stared at his clothes with a wild sense of amazement. "I don't believe it! We've must have somehow changed this alternate reality to the point that we are back to normal! Marty, I don't understand what's happened here, but no matter! Let's go home!"
Marty and Doc turned around to find that the strange refrigerator had been changed back into the familiar DeLorean time machine that they were accustomed too. Doc hopped inside and set the time circuits. Marty followed the brilliant scientist inside and glanced down at the time circuits to find that the date they departed from...was not there. "Hey, wait a minute, Doc! Why didn't you set the time machine for 1987?"
"Cause we're not going to 1987!"
"What?!?"
"Don't worry, Marty. It'll just take a second. We're just going ahead a few years in this reality to make sure that our future is completely sound."
Marty sighed. "You're the doc, Doc." With that, the small time machine lifted into the air, accelerated into the air, and went back to the future.
The DeLorean skidded out onto the crowded streets of the 1980's, weaving to prevent hitting any of the hundreds of people filling up the block. Finally, the famous car came to a stop outside the nearby movie studio.
Marty let out a deep breath as he stepped out onto the busy neighborhood. "Geez Doc," he said, gesturing to the crowd, "What's going on here?"
"I dunno, Marty. According to my calculations, this unplanned celebration has something to do with the success of our movie."
Marty rubbed the back of his head as he peered out through the crowd. "So what now?"
"Well," Doc answered, "I think it's pretty apparent that our reality has been properly repaired, as well as this one. So, I guess we can go home."
"Great." Marty turned to the enter the DeLorean when suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder and jerked him back.
"There you are!" an unfamiliar voice called from behind him, "The studio's been looking all over for you two!"
Marty and Doc turned around to face a large, bulky man in a security uniform. "Uh...," Marty started, "Hold on a second! There's been a mistake. You see, I'm not..."
"Look, Mr. Fox!" the security guard interrupted, "We don't have time for this! They're expecting you at the studio gates in five minutes."
The large guard then grabbed both time travelers by the arm and began dragging them through the excited crowd. Marty's ears were pierced by delirious screams by numerous fans thinking he was Michael J. Fox. Everywhere he turned, mobs of fans shot out after him, autograph books in hand. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of movie buffs, the tough guard hauled Marty and Doc onto the front stage right outside the Universal Studios front gates. Marty huffed and puffed, trying to regain his strength. It took him a little while to realize what was going on. The young teen gulped as he found both Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale standing to the right to them, each holding a microphone.
Marty turned back to Doc, who shrugged in his general direction. What the heck's going on here? His questions were quickly answered as Mr. Gale stepped forward on the stage, raising the microphone to his mouth.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," he said, "Let me just say that Bob and I truly appreciate the support you fans put behind the film. It is your consideration that helped start this movie's fame. And I certainly hope you'll feel the same way about the upcoming sequel."
Sequel? The truth finally hit Marty. He let out a low groan. He and Doc had just crashed a production party for their own movie!
"And now," Mr. Gale said proudly, "To truly begin the fantastic process of creating Back To The Future Part II, here he is, playing the part of the infamous Marty McFly, Michael J. Fox." The man gestured to Marty, who slowly walked up and reached for the microphone.
"Uh..." the young man stuttered, "Well, I'm...uh...really glad to be a part of the movie sensation. It's a real great story line, and I...uh...am glad to come back for another movie." The crowd erupted in cheers as Marty stepped back to his seat.
"Nice speech," Doc mumbled.
"Thanks."
Right then, Mr. Zemeckis stepped forward with a thick pile of papers in his hand. "Back To The Future fans," he said, holding up the papers, "I give you the continuing adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown. Thank you and Good Afternoon!" Mr. Zemeckis and Mr. Gale then made their way through the unruly crowds, leaving Doc and Marty alone on stage.
"C'mon," Doc said, getting up, "This is our chance. Let's make a break for the DeLorean."
"Right." Marty hopped off the stage and began running down the now-empty street corner when his eyes caught something familiar laying on the ground. It was the group of papers Mr. Zemeckis was carrying. Marty reached down, picked up the small pile, and began flipping through the pages.
"Hey," he said to himself, "This is the movie's script!"
A look of excitement appeared on his face as he read through the pages of his past. Suddenly, his eyes stopped on a page that grabbed his entrance. Written on the page was: Ext: Day. Marty finds himself walking down the bizarre streets of Hill Valley in the year 2015. He glances to his right, where he finds a small antique shop, carrying a certain sports almanac that will later arise to his attention."
Marty grimaced, remembering how much trouble was caused by that little book. Suddenly, an idea blossomed in his head. With a devilish look on his face, Marty reached over and tore out that page of the script and stuffed it in his jeans' pocket. "There," he whispered, "That outta fix my reality a little." He then put the rest of the script back on the stage where the writers would be sure to find them.
"For once in my life," Marty said, "I can't lose!" He then turned around and headed toward the DeLorean, where his friend was waiting.
Doc Brown looked around the familiar streets of Hill Valley and smiled. "You know Marty," he said, "As tempting and alluring as time travel may seem, I'm sure glad that we're back to our normal reality."
"Yeah, you can say that again...ouch!"
Doc turned to his friend. "Marty! Are you all right?"
"I don't know. Suddenly, my wrist started hurting." Marty rolled back his jacket sleeve to find that a swollen, bruised spot had mysteriously appeared on his forearm.
"Strange," Doc murmured, "Do you know what could have brought this on?"
"I don't know. It was fine right before we left the alternate future."
"Hmmm...What on Earth could have brought this on?"
Suddenly, if answering the scientist's question, a crumpled piece of paper fell of Marty's jeans pocket. Doc quickly picked up the fallen document. "And what's this ?" he asked, reading the printed text.
"Uh...souvenir?"
"A piece of our history? Hardly recreational reading material!"
"Yeah, I know, Doc. But this time it's different. This time I've changed history for the better !"
"The better?!?" Doc exclaimed, raising Marty's left wrist up into view, "You call this better?!?"
"C'mon, Doc. You can't possibly think that my sore arm has anything to do with me changing the script!"
"Marty, what exactly did you change?" Doc said in an angry voice.
"Relax, Doc. All I did was delete the Almanac."
Doc's eyes shot open. "You did what?!?"
"Hey, c'mon, Doc. I thought you'd be happy. Now, we didn't have to worry about Old Biff changing our present, right?"
Doc didn't answer, but in stead swung around and began running down the street with a heartbroken look on his face. "Hey!" Marty yelled, "Wait up!"
It took Doc nearly ten minutes before he reached his final destination. Doc huffed and puffed as he leaned against the rock walls of the old Delgado mine. This can't be true! It can't be! Doc slowly walked forward into the old Boot Hill cemetery. Suddenly, a shaky voice broke the silence of the old burial ground.
"Doc!" Marty limped his way to the good scientist with confusion. "Doc," he repeated, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Doc gulped, as he pointed to a gravestone ahead of him. Marty looked over at it, and became pale. It read: "Clara Clayton Died: September 2, 1885 Fell Into Shonash Ravine On A Runaway Wagon"
Sunday, March 15, 1987
9:27AM
Hill Valley, California
"Doc, Doc, what is it? What the hell did I do?"
"You altered the course of history! Indirectly of course, but..." Tears were beginning to form in Doc's eyes. "For crying out loud, Marty, couldn't you have just asked me if it was okay to do something like that?"
"Yeah, but all I did was take out the part in the script about the almanac,
not--"
"Don't you understand? It was because of the almanac that we traveled
back to 1955! It was because of the almanac that the DeLorean was
accidentally struck by lightning! And it was because of the almanac that I
met Clara and prevented her from falling in to the Shonash Ravine!
Because you took out the essential part of the sequel, you ultimately
prevented me from ever travelling to 1885!"
Marty's eyes grew as the Doc explained what had happened. "It's all my
fault... this whole blasted thing is my fault!"
"Don't worry, Marty. You didn't know, you didn't realize the possible
problems of your actions. Unfortunately, we must now travel back to 1988
in the parallel dimension and somehow work the almanac back in to the
script. Let's go!"
Doc and Marty blasted out of the warp and into the familiar setting that they had just left. After hovering around for a few minutes, Doc finally chose to land in an alley next to the building in which the impromptu meeting was taking place.
"This alley was the perfect place to land," Doc said as he got out. "It's close to our destination, our other selves will never notice it, and it will be easy to enter and exit the building quickly."
"Now Doc, explain to me again why we arrived back here a few minutes earlier. And you still haven't told me why arm is all bruised up."
"As for your arm, I can't give any explanation as to why that occurred. But I do know that if your other self never notices the script, he will not be tempted to remove that page. Now, I need you to try and remember where you were when you picked up the script, so we can remove it and cause your other self to just continue walking on."
"Uh, you mean, hide the script away so that I never see it?"
"No, not exactly hide it. After all, that could just cause more problems if the Mr. Gale or Mr. Zemeckis can't find it. I mean just move the script towards a more obscure location. Obscure to you, that is, but not to anyone in charge of production."
"Well, if you say so. You're the doc, Doc."
"Right."
Marty and Doc quietly snuck in through a door that was located near where they had parked. Moving through the lights, movie cameras, and stage props, they finally reached an area of the building that looked familiar to Marty.
Marty saw the script, and was just about to move it when they heard a strange voice saying, "What the hell are you two doing back here?"
The two turned around. It was a security guard!
"Run Marty!" screamed the Doc as he broke into a sprint.
Marty quickly grabbed the script and dashed the opposite direction of Doc. He had heard that in cases like this, it was better to split up so as to confuse the pursuer.
Doc hurried through a few more rooms in the building before he finally made it out to the DeLorean.
"I knew we should have brought along the walkie-talkies," Doc grumbled to himself as he waited by the time machine. "If anyone comes by, I'll have to find some way to disguise the car's renovations. If I end up being forced to move the car, Marty will never know." Doc sighed. "I hope the kid's all right."
Marty hurried through more rooms in the building. It seemed that the security guard had chosen to trail him instead of Doc. He spun around a corner and found two sets of stairways: one set going up, the other going down. Thinking quickly, Marty tossed the script on to the stairway going down, and then raced up the stairs a higher level. There was an open door up there, so Marty hid behind it.
The trick worked. The guard saw the script on the lower stairway, picked it up, and hurried down. Marty smiled.
Success, Marty thought as he came out of his hiding place. The guard now had the script, his other self would never run into the script. Marty quickly headed down the steps and began to walk towards the room where he first picked up the script. Then he heard it--first the talking, and then the all-too familiar sound of Marty's own walk.
"Oh crap," Marty exclaimed as quickly turned and saw his other self walking out the door behind him. Marty looked down the lower stairwell, the one the security guard had gone down. The guard had closed the door, but even though it would make noise if it opened, Marty figured it was his best move.
He quickly jumped over the guardrail and on to the fifth step of the lower stairway. Inching toward the door, Marty looked through the glass window on it and noticed something that was even worse than the former predicament. The guard was coming back!
Marty hurried to the other side of the door so that when it opened, Marty would be between the wall and the door. The guard swung the door open and neglected to see Marty in his hiding place. Marty sighed a sigh of relief--only to gasp in terror when he noticed what had happened: the guard had gone up the steps, had seen the back of Marty's other self, and had begun to silently pursue him!
Michael J. Fox walked out the back of the studio, and out towards an old alley. He had been working all day, and had really needed a break for some fresh air. Because of that impromptu news conference that was going on, now was the only time he would get to take a break.
As Michael exited the studio, a strange yet familiar figure popped out of seemingly nowhere and grabbed him. "Marty," the figure exclaimed. "Did you get the script?"
Figuring the guy, who looked oddly enough like Christopher Lloyd, was a writer that had sent him the script for an upcoming movie, Michael answered that he had.
"Great! Now let's get out of here. We can't risk anyone see us!" With that, the strange figure grabbed him by the arm and proceeded to drag him towards a large scale model of the famed DeLorean time machine.
"Whoa! Wha--"
"Marty, we must go now! No time to sight see!"
"Waitaminu--"
"Oh Marty, just for once do what I tell ya!" The figure opened one side of the time machine replica, pushed Michael in to it, and then closed it.
"Is this some sort of kidnapping?"
"No, Marty. I apologize for my swiftness of actions right now, but if we stay any longer, there is a good chance that someone will notice us! Now let's go!" The figure got in to the other side, took the prop into the air, and blasted the two of them off into another time era...
Marty had by now snuck up behind the security guard. It appeared that the guard didn't want Marty to run away again, and was going for a surprise attack. Marty knew he had to think of some way of at least delaying the guard long enough for his other self to return to the DeLorean. Thinking fast, Marty picked up a prop--one of the hoverboards that would most likely be used during the chase at the beginning of the sequel--and continued to stalk the guard.
Just as Marty's other self had gone through a door, Marty swung the board and nailed the guard in his shin. The guard angrily spun around, but Marty was ready for him with a quick punch in the guard's face. The guard fell over, knocked his head on a few of the other props, and was out cold. Marty then noticed the script in the guards pocket. Just to make sure his other self didn't hear the noise and decide to turn back through the door and discover the script, Marty grabbed the script and raced the opposite direction.
He accidentally bumped into someone.
"What the...? Oh, Michael, I was looking all over for you!"
"Huh," Marty inquired.
"Break's over kid. It's time to go back to filming! Oh, I see you've been preparing study your lines! Excellent! Now let's get back to the run through."
"But, but.." Marty stammered.
"Oh, don't worry. It's not like we aren't letting you use the script!"
"Er, uh.. Sure, okay, just, could you hold on a minute?"
The man whom Marty bumped into, Mr. Zemeckis, nodded. Marty muttered his thanks and raced back to the alley where he was going to meet Doc. And to his horror, he found both Doc and the DeLorean gone.
Sunday, March 15, 1987
11:15AM
Hill Valley, California
Three sonic booms shattered the air. The DeLoreon appeared above Doc's lab. He quickly landed in the driveway and pulled into the garage.
"Well, Marty, mission accomplished. Now I'm gonna destroy this Virtual Capacitor. It's caused too much trouble!" Doc looked at Marty for a minute. Something's not right. Marty seems a little confused. "Marty, are you ok?"
Michael J. Fox stared at the man. Why does this guy keep calling me Marty? And where am I now? This does not look like Hollywood. "Listen buddy, I don't know who you are or what you want, but you better get me back to the studios! We're in the middle of filming a new movie!"
Doc gasped. "You're not Marty?"
"Who's Marty? My name is Michael. I'm an actor. I played a character named Marty McFly in Back to the Future if that's what you are thinking."
Doc smacked his head with his hand. "Damn! I've made a big mistake! Now Marty is stranded in that other dimension. I gotta fix this. . ."
Michael stared at Doc quizzically as he started up the DeLoreon again and took to the air. He imputed the date, time, and place and sped up to 88.
Marty sat on the curb, wondering where Doc could've gone. Had someone taken the DeLoreon or moved it? But then wouldn't Doc be back by now? Questions flew through his head, which just made him more upset.
Looking around, he noticed a short man in a suit heading over to him. Oh god, I hope this guy isn't looking for me to finish filming!
The man called out, "Mr. Fox! Please, sir, Mr. Zemeckis is anxious to get back to filming! If you would come with me, we can get on with the run-through." The man had pulled Marty up off the curb and started to lead him down the sidewalk to the studio.
"Wait, wait! I'm, uh, waiting for a friend. Can you tell Mr. Zemeckis to give me 5 more minutes? It's very important. I'll be back there at twenty of." He looked at his watch. It was 10:35. Doc better come back soon!
"Alright, Mr. Fox, but you better get there at 10:40 on the dot! You know how Mr. Zemeckis gets." The man walked away briskly and entered the studio a few doors down.
No sooner had Marty sat down again when an oddly familiar car pulled up in front of him. "Doc! Is that you?" He got up and walked over to the car.
The driver-side door swung open and Doc jumped out. He looked at Marty quickly, and was relieved that he had stayed near the alley. It would've been hard to find him if he had wandered off.
"Doc, thank god, you're back!"
Doc replied breathlessly, "No time Marty! We have to get Mr. Fox here back to the studios to finish filming!"
Michael had gotten out from the passenger side and came around to the sidewalk. Doc cleared his throat. "Uh, Mr. Fox, I'm sorry for the mix-up. You see, I mistook you for my friend here." Marty smiled at him.
Michael nodded. "Yes I guess we look sort of alike. You know, at first I thought you were my co-actor Christopher Lloyd. Isn't that funny?" He chuckled softly. Doc laughed along.
Marty remembered the filming and spoke up. "Well, Mr. Fox, a guy came out here looking for you. I think you better get over to the studio fast. They want you there in, like, 2 minutes!"
Michael glanced at his watch. "Oh geez, you're right! Hey, thanks for getting me back on time. No hard feelings. Bye, guys." He rushed down the sidewalk and disappeared into the studio.
Marty turned to Doc. "Is everything back to normal now?"
"Everything should be fine, as long as you replaced that page into the script."
Marty nodded. "Sure did! Now let's go home!"
Doc grinned. "Good idea."
They took to the air in a matter of seconds. Marty leaned over and typed in the day and set the time for 20 minutes later than the original time they had left, since Doc had returned with Michael during that time. He looked over at Doc, who in turn looked back, both of them hoping everything was back as they had left it . . .
"Everything looks normal so far, Doc," Marty said as they drove to Doc's house.
"Well, let's just hope Clara and the boys are ok. Then I'm definitely going to get rid of this Virtual Capacitor."
Doc's house came into view on the right, and he slowly drove up to the house. He jumped up and ran to the door. "They must be ok! If they didn't exist, I wouldn't have this house!" he said nervously, more to himself. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door successfully. Marty had caught up to him and together they entered the house.
"Clara?" Doc broke the silence of the house. "Boys? Are you there?"
After a few moments, Verne came running to the door with Jules close behind. "Father, you have returned! Oh, hello Martin!"
Verne ran to Doc and hugged him. "So, what'd you do this morning?"
Doc and Marty looked at each other. "Well, boys . . . it's a long story!"