Marty opened the garage door, and his jaw dropped. Sitting there, alone in the garage, was the solid black 4x4 he had ogled the day before, not counting his time travel, at least. He approached it carefully.
"How 'bout a ride, mister?" a familiar voice asked. Marty looked around.
"Jennifer! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Marty asked, approaching her. He gently put his arms on her back.
"Marty… you're acting like you haven't seen me in a week," Jennifer said.
"I haven't," Marty said simply. Jennifer rolled her eyes, before a loud burst sounded behind the pair. Two more followed, and Marty watched the silver DeLorean knock over the trash cans on its way into the driveway. The driver's door opened, and the Doc came out, clad in odd garb.
"Marty! You've gotta come back with me!" he shouted, running towards the pair.
"Where?" Jennifer asked, her hands jumping to Marty.
"…Back to the future!" Doc said. His eyes widened as if he had remembered something, and he opened the trash can he hadn't knocked over.
"What are you doing?" Marty asked, watching the Doc sift through the trash.
"I need fuel," he said simply, wandering back to the DeLorean with four banana peels and a can of soda. He opened a hatch where the plutonium used to go, and stuffed the trash in.
"Doc, I'm not going back to the future with you. I just got up, Jennifer's here, we're taking the new truck for a spin," Marty said, holding up one hand.
"Bring her along. This concerns her too," the Doc said, finished with his trash-related business.
"Wait a minute, Doc, what happens to us in the future? What, do we become assholes or something?" Marty asked. The Doc noticeably hesitated for a second.
"Oh, no-no-no-no-no, you and Jennifer both turn out fine. It's your kids, Marty. Something's gotta be done about your kids!" the Doc said. He hurriedly pushed Marty and Jennifer into the DeLorean, before hopping in himself. He reversed out of the driveway.
"…Doc, you'd better back up. We don't have enough road to get up to 88," Marty said, resigned to travelling through time once more. Jennifer was still looking between the two as if they were speaking in another language.
"Roads? The DeLorean is no longer confined to roads," the Doc said. He pulled a lever by the steering wheel, and the car began to shake like a boat. Marty looked out the window. The DeLorean was flying. It rotated slowly, before zooming through the sky.
The DeLorean reappeared on a cloudy day. The Doc pulled two quick manoeuvres, as two lightning bolts narrowly missed the DeLorean.
"Forgot about this thunderstorm…" the Doc said, dipping the DeLorean closer to the ground.
"Doc… where are we?" Jennifer asked.
"When are we?" Marty followed.
"Descending towards Hill Valley, California, at 4:29 pm of October 21st 2015," the Doc said.
"2015?" Marty said in shock.
"The future… Marty, do you know what this means?" Jennifer asked.
"We could see ourselves in the future… this might get ugly," Marty said.
"What do you mean, what's wrong with going to the future?" Jennifer asked.
"I'm not sure. But last time I time travelled, I nearly caused myself to fail to exist. I'm not sure I want to touch the time stream after that," Marty said warily.
"Marty is correct, Jennifer. Meddling with time is a dangerous affair. However, you're going to the future, not the past. There is nothing you could do that could affect your existence in 1985. There is, however, a lot you can do to mess with 2015, so don't touch anything that didn't exist in 1985 unless you feel it's safe to do so," the Doc said, watching his flight pattern.
"So… are there flying cars in 2015?" Marty asked.
"Unfortunately, no. They won't be invented for another few centuries, as far as I'm aware. Neither will Mr Fusion. I went further forward in time to steal that stuff, to make time travel a little easier. I don't want to rechannel the lightning strike on the clock tower every time I go through time, and we did only have nine pellets once I got here before," the Doc said.
"What exactly is going on?" Jennifer asked.
"Well… it's a long story, and you could probably make it into a movie. In fact, I think it might have been the plot of Dad's book. But short version, you're in a time machine, and there were quite a few kinks here and there that Doc seems to have fixed," Marty said.
"Hopefully, we won't need anything dramatic to time travel again. Now, if you don't mind, I haven't mastered landing yet, so please be quiet," the Doc said. Marty and Jennifer looked on in awe, as the Doc dived down towards Hill Valley. The Doc flipped the switch that triggered the levitation, and the car slowly descended towards the ground, before crashing rather loudly.
"Is the car wrecked?" Marty asked.
"Shouldn't be… wait about five seconds," the Doc said. Marty looked up, and noticed the rain they had descended down into seemed to have dissipated.
"Right on the tick. Amazing..." the Doc said, smiling. He hopped out of the DeLorean, and inspected the sides.
"Just a few dents… shouldn't be too hard to fix. I really need to work on my landing… unfortunately, I haven't visited a time period with flying car licences," the Doc said, as Marty and Jennifer left the car.
"But…" Marty said, looking back where the DeLorean had come from. If he hadn't been to a time period where flying cars were commonplace…
Doc was unloading the trunk of the DeLorean. He pulled out a suitcase, and opened it. He looked up at Jennifer, his eyes scrunched up in thought.
"Doc… what's going on?" Marty asked.
"We have a mission to accomplish! Marty, you'll need to change. Your fashion sense is not the same as your son's, and you'll need to pass as him for this to work. Jennifer, you're not disguising, and I think you might be able to get away with wearing that outfit, so just wait here. I need to hurry off," the Doc said, rushing along to one end of the alley. Marty looked at the pile of clothes in the suitcase.
"Jennifer, you might want to look away," Marty said.
"I might not want to, but yeah, I probably should…" Jennifer remarked, looking away. Feeling highly exposed, Marty slipped off his top layer of clothes, and switched to the fashion of 2015. He suspected Jennifer had sneaked in a few glimpses, but he couldn't have done anything about that. The Doc came rushing back.
"Precisely on schedule," he remarked, reaching into the DeLorean's glove compartment, and pulling out a checklist. He checked the first item, and turned to Marty.
"All right, this is what you have to do. Go around the corner to the Café 80s. You know, one of those poorly-done nostalgia places? Anyway, go there an order a Pepsi. Here's a fifty, 2015 currency. Wait for a guy named Griff. He'll ask you 'Are you in or out?' Tell him you are out! No matter what he says, whatever happens, say no, you're not interested. And then come back here. And try not to take in too much of your surroundings," the Doc said.
"Wait a minute… didn't you say this has something to do with our kids?" Marty asked, mentally keeping track of everything the Doc was asking of him.
"This is what happens if your son says yes!" the Doc said, holding out a newspaper. Marty and Jennifer took one side each, and read the article.
YOUTH JAILED
The article itself was relatively basic. Martin McFly Jr (17) was charged with breaking and entering the Hill Valley courthouse, and was sentenced to ten years of jail time. Jennifer's eyes flew to the date.
"But… this isn't today's date…" Jennifer said.
"No, of course not. But the actual offense, breaking and entering, was committed on this date. I travelled further forward than now. After this, your daughter tries to bust him out and gets an even bigger sentence! This one event starts a chain reaction that destroys your family!" the Doc said.
"This is heavy…" Marty said.
"I know… but I have confidence in you, Marty. Remember, around the corner, Café 80s, guy named Griff, just say no!" the Doc said. Marty and Jennifer looked between each other, and nodded.
"The future…" Jennifer said, looking around. Marty followed suit. The clock tower, still frozen on 10:04pm, overlooked a majestic pond. People walked about their ways, wearing clothes that certainly helped Jennifer not look too much out of place. Cars were streaming by, the movie theatres were subdued… things didn't look too much different.
"This is it? Where are the flying cars? Where are the jetpacks?" Jennifer asked.
"We're all asking that, lady," a woman said, walking past with something in her ear, attached to something inside her shirt. Marty did a double take. Most people in the future seemed to have those buds in their ears.
"Wonder what that is, though," Marty said, pointing it out to Jennifer.
"I guess we'll find out. Which way to the Café 80s?" Jennifer asked. Marty looked both ways, and noticed the brightly patterned sign.
"Over there," Marty said. Jennifer looked up, and followed Marty into the café. They ordered their respective drinks (Marty a Pepsi Free, and Jennifer a light coffee) and took a seat in a booth with a clear view of the street. Marty was looking over his shoulder for Griff, while Jennifer gazed over the streets.
"So this is the world where we raise our children…" Jennifer remarked.
"Yeah…" Marty said dismissively.
"Hey, McFly!" an elderly voice called out. Marty's head zipped around, before he eventually found the speaker.
"Are you talking to me?" Marty asked.
"Yeah, I'm talking to you… you're Marty Jr, aren't you? How does it feel being named after a complete butthead?" the old man asked.
"Now who are you?" Jennifer asked, grabbing Marty's hand.
"Oh… excuse me, miss. Didn't see you there. The name's Biff Tannen, and I run my own auto-detailing service. It's a pleasure to meet you," Biff said, extending one hand to Jennifer. Jennifer nervously shook his hand. Marty was on his guard. He was very familiar with Biff Tannen, and not in a good way.
"What did you say about me?" Marty asked.
"I didn't say anything about you, Junior. I meant your father. The Loser with a capital L," Biff said.
"I happen to know George McFly is-" Marty started, but Biff cut him off.
"No, I'm not talking about George McFly, I'm talking about his kid! Your old man? Marty McFly Senior? The man who took his life, and flushed it completely down the toilet?" Biff asked. Marty and Jennifer shared a shocked glance.
"I did what?" Marty said softly.
"He did WHAT?" Jennifer asked louder, partly to drown out Marty's error. Any further information was forestalled, however, by the arrival of a tall man resembling the younger version of Biff.
"GRAMPS! I told you this before: two coats of wax, not just one!" the young intruder asked, drawing two or three eyes. The rest of the restaurant remained completely oblivious.
"Relax, I put the second coat on not even an hour ago," Biff said, holding up an appeasing hand.
"With your eyes closed?" the young intruder asked.
"You two related?" Jennifer asked, looking between the pair.
"Anybody home? Griff did just call me gramps… guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, McFly!" Biff said.
"Was that an insult?" Jennifer asked, confused.
"That's Griff?" Marty asked, starting to look worried. Jennifer tried to lean under the table and grab his thigh, but the table was too wide.
"GRAMPS! What the hell am I paying you for?" Griff asked, grabbing Biff's collar.
"Hey, kid… say hi to your grandmother for me…" Biff said, before being resigned to being dragged outside. Marty looked around the café: seemingly no-one had noticed the events, or maybe they didn't care enough about it to act.
"Marty…" Jennifer said.
"This looks bad…" Marty agreed. He heard a familiar jingle, and looked up. Two kids were fiddling with a Wild Gunman arcade machine.
"I got it working!" one of the kids said.
"My dad told me stories about these things… how does it work?" the other said.
"Here, let me show you, kid," Marty said, hopping out of his seat. Jennifer turned to watch him.
"What you do, is you put a quarter in here, and the game begins…" Marty said, sliding one of his own quarters in. The game loaded up.
"From there, you select the mode," Marty said, selecting one player. The desert screen popped up, and an outlaw appeared on the screen, walking towards the centre. The outlaw turned to face Marty, and Marty held out his gun. The word 'Fire' printed on the screen, and Marty's finger hit the trigger without a split-second's hesitation. The outlaw was blasted to the ground.
"Like that," Marty said, spinning the controller around, and presenting the handle to the kids.
"You mean there's not even blood? That's like a children's toy!" the kids said, turning and leaving in disgust.
"Wow…" Marty said to himself, turning back to the Wild Gunman machine.
"Pepsi Free!" Marty Jr called out. Marty turned back, shocked. He dropped the gun controller, and dived underneath his booth, under Jennifer's side. Jennifer smiled briefly, and shifted her legs so that Marty Jr couldn't spot him.
"Hey McFly!" Griff said, coming back inside, accompanied by three companions this time. The girl cast an agonising look in Jennifer's direction, before turning back to McFly.
"I thought I told you to stay in here!" Griff said.
"Griff, guys! How's it going?" Marty Jr asked, turning to Griff's gang. Jennifer felt something in the pit of her stomach, seeing her future son consorting with someone as unfriendly as Griff.
"McFly… your shoe's undone!" Griff said, shooting an uppercut at Marty. Jennifer's sorrow turned to anger. She would have gladly dished out twice what Marty Jr got to Griff, but somehow, she felt like that was probably a poor idea. Timestream-issues aside, it was still a four-on-one fight. Four-on-two, if Marty could get away with it.
"So, McFly… have you made your decision about tonight's opportunity?" Griff asked, grabbing onto Marty Jr's collar.
"Yeah, Griff… I asked Marlene about it, and we both agreed that maybe it was a little bit dangerous…" Marty Jr said. The girl in Griff's group stepped in front of Marty Jr, and touched her right index finger to his cheek. Jennifer spotted a spike-like accessory on said finger.
"What's wrong, McFly? Scared?" Spike asked, shoving her spike into Marty Jr's groin.
If that were Marty, that would be a huge rip in the timeline… Jennifer thought.
"What's going on?" Marty asked, looking around.
"Turn around… our kid's nearly getting beaten to a pulp!" Jennifer whispered, looking around for someone to intervene. A few eyes looked up, but many missed the obvious scenes.
"So, McFly, what's it to be? In? Or out?" Griff asked.
"I'm not sure that I should… I mean… I should really discuss this with my father…" Marty Jr said. Dead silence. Then…
"YOUR FATHER?" all four of Griff's gang shouted.
"Wrong answer, McFly!" Griff said, picking him up, and throwing him behind him. He landed on the seat opposite Jennifer, and vanished underneath the table.
"Wha…" Jennifer asked, affronted. She felt something moving underneath her legs, and looked up. Marty had come out from under the table.
"Now… let's hear the right answer!" Griff said, grabbing Marty's collar. Marty pushed Griff away, and grabbed Jennifer's hand.
"Since when did you become the physical type?" Griff asked.
"Answer's no, Griff. I've got a date tonight," Marty said, drawing Jennifer closer.
"Marty…" Jennifer said with concern.
"…No…" Griff said.
"Yeah, what are you? Deaf? Stupid? Blind? I said NO!" Marty said, turning to leave. Jennifer went with him, grateful to leave Griff behind.
"What's wrong, McFly? Chicken?" Griff asked. Marty froze. One of the other gang members had pulled out a weird, flat device, and touched its screen. A chicken sound effect played. It would've been comical had the situation not been so dire.
"What did you just say?" Marty asked, turning around to face Griff.
"Marty," Jennifer said, pulling on his sleeve.
"Chicken!" Griff said. The goon touched his device, replaying the sound effect.
"Nobody. Calls. Marty. McFly," Marty started, letting go of Jennifer, and rolling up his sleeves. Griff revealed a baseball bat, much longer than practical for the actual sport of baseball. Jennifer understood its intended purpose clearly, and apparently, so did Marty.
"…Chicken," Marty said, just to finish his thought, before turning around, and dodging Griff's first swing. He pushed Jennifer away, and turned back. Griff was standing over him.
"All right, punk," Griff said.
"Hey, look! Something dull!" Marty said. Griff turned to look, and Marty kicked him in the thighs. He was sent staggering back, and Marty got to his feet. He fled the scene, and looked around.
"Marty!" Jennifer said, passing Marty an odd, pink board that would've passed for a skateboard had it had wheels.
"What's this?" Marty asked.
"Doc slipped it to me just now! I didn't have time to learn that," Jennifer said. Marty threw it to the ground, and watched it push away to about an inch up.
"A flying skateboard… you've outdone yourself, Doc," Marty said. He heard one of Griff's goons, and jumped on the hover-board. He shot away, and Jennifer got to hiding from the group.
"Where is he?" one of the gang members asked. Another pointed to Marty zipping around on his hoverboard.
"He's on a skateboard!" the first one said.
"Grab our boards!" Spike said, rushing to Griff's car, and pulling out three regular skateboards. They jumped on, and skated after Marty. After about five seconds, it was obvious to Jennifer that Marty would be running rings around the gang even if he was riding a regular skateboard himself.
"Doc, this hover-board thing wasn't the best idea…" Jennifer said, watching Marty skate. He reached the Café 80's again, only to make a sudden turn in terror. Jennifer turned, and spotted Griff standing right beside her. Jumping, she turned back to Marty, to see him over the pond in front of the courthouse. His momentum vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Marty! Abandon the plan! That board's not going to work on water!" Jennifer cried out. Marty looked around, and started pushing forward with his foot to reach the nearest land. Griff reached into his car, and pulled out a box. He opened the box, and threw down a board. It went a foot into the air, and Jennifer realised what was happening.
Griff had a prototype hoverboard. Maybe they weren't so futuristic after all.
Regardless of the hoverboard's origin, the fact remained that Griff boarded it, and readied his bat. Jennifer cried out something deliberately indistinct, causing Marty to look up. Griff was now sailing towards him at speeds that could match a car on a highway, straight at Marty. Marty stood his… water, waiting. Just as Griff swung, Marty dived from the hoverboard into the water. Griff missed his shot, and started swerving uncontrollably. He was thrust directly into the courthouse window, smashing through it.
"Butthead," Biff growled, returning to the car. Marty swam through the pond, and jumped up to Jennifer. Without thinking, Jennifer grabbed his jacket, and started waving it around to dry it off.
"Thanks for the hoverboard, Jennifer," Marty said, choosing to ignore the fact that Jennifer had just stripped him in public, no matter how little.
"Told you, that was the Doc," Jennifer said, returning the jacket.
"Thanks, but I'm still soaked," Marty said. Jennifer smiled, and leaned in to kiss Marty.
"Hey, kids, how about a hundred bucks or so, to help save the clock tower?" an old man asked, intruding on their space.
"Sorry… if I had any money, it'd be soaked about now," Marty commented.
"What do I look like, someone who rakes in enough money for one hundred bucks to be throwaway? When I was… back in 1985, you'd be satisfied with a quarter," Jennifer said.
"Aye, that's how it is, though… back in the day. Surprises me you young 'uns know 'bout that, though… how I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self to save more money…" the old man said, walking off. Marty nodded vaguely.
"…Might be good, to have a safe nest egg…" Jennifer commented.
"Though… now that you mention it… we have a time machine. What if we wrote down a few scores from sporting events, and then go back in time to before they were played?" Marty asked.
"Marty… you're planning to cheat?" Jennifer asked.
"Cheat? Jennifer, Doc said something along the same lines… I think. Besides, I'm pretty sure there isn't a rule that you can't time travel to learn the results," Marty said. Jennifer giggled.
"We should probably ask the Doc, first…" Jennifer said, calming down.
"Yeah… I guess we should," Marty remarked.
"Hey, Marty!" the Doc called. Marty looked up, to see Doc waving from the DeLorean. Marty waved back, and the Doc landed.
"Should you be flying that in broad daylight?" Jennifer asked.
"Probably not. I've explained to more than one individual that this is just a test for future flying cars. After excited reactions, they'll just move on with their lives… refuge in audacity, refuge in audacity…" the Doc said, smiling. He turned, and noticed the commotion on the opposite shore.
"What in the name of Sir Isaac H Newton happened here?" the Doc asked, looking across the waters.
"Listen, Doc, my kid showed up, all hell broke loose!" Marty said.
"Great Scott! I knew I should've been more intensive… he must have gotten up on his own when I left… damn it!" the Doc said, whacking the DeLorean. The newspaper he had shown Marty and Jennifer earlier was jostled, drawing Marty's eye. Its cover had changed. Although its title had not changed, the article now detailed Griff Tannen's incarceration, rather than Marty Jr's.
"Doc…" Marty said. The Doc looked at the newspaper.
"…Of course! Thanks to Griff's hoverboard incident, Griff now goes to jail! Now the robbery won't take place, and therefore your son won't participate and get caught. Thus the timestream has been changed, and here is our proof! I knew it was worth it to pick up that hoverboard! This isn't what I planned, but no matter, let's go home!" the Doc said.
"Um, Marty…" Jennifer said.
"Right… Doc, would it be all right if I took back a few sports results?" Marty asked.
"Marty?" the Doc asked.
"What's wrong with placing a few bets?" Marty asked, concerned.
"Marty! I didn't invent the time machine for financial gain. That's why it can't really be mass-produced! The intent here is to gain a clearer perception of humanity. Where we've been, where we're going, our pitfalls, our possibilities, our perils, and our promise. And maybe we'll even answer the universal question: why?" the Doc said.
"I'm all for that! But making a few bucks on the side?" Marty asked.
"A few bucks on the side of what?" a female voice said. Marty and Jennifer turned around, to see two female police officers standing behind them.
"Nothing illegal… just talking about gambling," Marty said.
"Gamble responsibly there. And would you happen to be the one who helped us bring Griff Tannen to justice?" the other policewoman asked.
"Uh… yeah…" Marty said.
"Thank you for that," the second one said.
"So… would you happen to know a Mrs Jennifer McFly?" the first one asked, turning to Jennifer.
"Yes, why do you ask?" Jennifer asked.
"I'm an old friend of her. I've been preparing a birthday present for her for a while, but now I'm done, I've been unable to actually deliver it," the police officer said.
"But… my- I mean, her- birthday isn't for another week Thursday!" Jennifer said.
"…It was? I could've sworn it was September…" the police woman said.
"It couldn't hurt to deliver it early… with Tannen under police custody, I foresee several all-nighters. And plus, she could use the cheering up," the second woman said.
"Reese, it's been thirty years. I'm pretty sure she's used to it by now!" the first woman said.
"Thirty years since what?" Jennifer asked.
"…Oh, you're making a joke. That was in poor taste, but somehow, I don't see Jenny minding. Anyway, thanks for taking this," the first officer said, leaving the three.
"Jennifer… don't tell me you're not actually planning on delivering that present!" the Doc said.
"Why shouldn't I?" Jennifer asked.
"Because you shouldn't see your future self!" the Doc said.
"That's it?" Jennifer asked, shaking her head in annoyance. She turned around, and noticed a taxi. She hopped in, and headed away.
"Doc… why shouldn't Jennifer meet her future self?" Marty asked, watching Jennifer go.
"I foresee two possibilities. One, the shock of seeing her future self could cause her to descend into shock and she'd simply pass out. Two, the encounter could create a time paradox, the results of which could cause a chain reaction that would unravel the space-time continuum and destroy the entire universe. Granted, I may be exaggerating there… it may be limited to our own galaxy," the Doc said.
"What a relief…" Marty said.
"The point remains… we'll need to find Jennifer before she finds herself!" the Doc said. He looked up, and noticed a slew of cars heading in the general direction of Jennifer's taxi.
"Heavy traffic, there's supposed to be another thunderstorm on the way, and it's still broad daylight! We're never going to make it to Jennifer in time!" the Doc said.
"That doesn't mean we can't try," Marty said.
"That doesn't mean we can't try. And remember, Marty, I didn't invent the time machine to win at gambling, I invented the time machine to travel through time!" the Doc said.
"When your girlfriend's threatening to completely destroy the space-time continuum, gambling kinda takes a back seat, Doc," Marty said.
Jennifer got out of the taxi, paying the driver the full fare plus a healthy tip. She wondered vaguely about the 1985/2015 exchange rates, before looking along the street.
"Be careful there, miss. This is a rough neighbourhood," the taxi driver said, doing nothing for Jennifer's confidence. She strode to the door purposefully, and opened it. She looked around, before turning on the lights. She saw a nice picture, of the sort of garden she had hoped to have, pinned to one wall. She could vaguely see a girl upstairs.
"Now… what do I do to announce that I'm here for Jennifer?" Jennifer asked. Her eyes were drawn to a picture. Marty was smiling nervously, one hand in the air, and the other in a sling. Jennifer herself was in a wheelchair, neither arm raised, and a scar along her left cheek. Beside it was another picture, this one with an older Marty and two kids. Marty Jr was recognisable as Marty's carbon copy, while the other child resembled Marty to a great degree, despite appearing to be female.
"What, I don't pass down my genes?" Jennifer asked, annoyed. She looked at the picture of her and Marty, before pinching it.
"I'm sure, if I got wheelchair-bound at some point, I'd rather forget it…" she said to herself. She turned to the door, only to hear the doorbell ring. Feeling a sense of terror at being in a house uninvited, Jennifer instinctively dived to the closet, as Marty had taught her. She heard someone, likely the person from upstairs, come down to open the door.
"Grandma Lorraine!" the girl cried.
"Sweetheart!" Lorraine said. Jennifer peered through the door, to see Lorraine and George walk in. George was using a cane, and was obviously favouring his back.
"Are your folks home yet? I bought pizza for everyone," Lorraine said, pointing to the pizzas she carried.
"Who's going to eat all that?" the girl asked.
"I will," George suggested. Lorraine looked around at the house.
"So how's your mother holding up? Marty thinking about getting a ramp yet?" Lorraine asked.
"We're all begging him, but he says he can't afford it. To be fair to him, I don't know who installs a ramp inside, and I think it'd be horribly steep," the daughter said.
"Well, you see, Marlene, the easy way to get your father to do anything is to call him chicken. Try that," Lorraine suggested. In the cupboard, Jennifer was distracted from her rage at having both her children named after Marty upon hearing that Marty's chicken problem persisted into the future, without time travel.
"Calling my dad chicken? I've never heard that one before…" Marlene said.
"Did your father ever tell you about the time he crashed into the Rolls Royce?" Lorraine asked.
"Rolls Royce…" Jennifer said, shivering.
"Yes, plenty of times," Marlene said.
"Well, that all started when that Douglas boy called him chicken. And look at where he ended up! He got a broken hand, his wife permanently lost the use of all four limbs… if he had just ignored Douglas that day, that Caspar wouldn't have pressed all those charges, Marty would've been able to continue with his music, and your mother might've been able to follow her dreams instead of being stuck an invalid," Lorraine said.
"That just sounds cruel to Dad…" Marlene said. Jennifer wasn't worried about that. She stepped back from the door of the cupboard, and fell backwards, sitting on something that could be sit on. Marty wasn't a rock star, she wasn't… anything…
Marty McFly Jr sat down at the couch, watching Marlene help Lorraine carry the pizzas to the cupboard. He pulled out a small controller, like the ones on that Nintendo Entertainment System, but black, thicker and with more buttons. He pushed one of the buttons, and the screen's display changed to that of a title screen. Jennifer tried to take a peek at the name, before hearing the door open again.
"Hey there, Dad's home!" the older voice of Marty McFly sounded from the door. Contrary to Jennifer's expectations upon hearing about both her and Marty, this Marty was quite cheerful. Or at least, more cheerful than Jennifer had expected.
"Hey there, Ace. Playing your Xbox there?" Marty asked.
"Xbox ONE, Dad! Get with the times!" Marty Jr said. Jennifer rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well, Grandma was nice enough to get us pizza, so it's time to get to the dinner table," Marty said.
"Aw, but Dad," Marty Jr said.
"No buts, Junior. You can play your… whatever it is you're playing now when dinner's done!" Marty said. Jennifer watched Marty Jr put down the controller in disappointment, heading towards the dinner table.
"Don't give me that! You're this close to being grounded, especially after that hoverboard incident," Marty said.
You should know that was your fault, Marty! Don't be so hard on him! Jennifer thought to herself. She decided, right then and there, that she was going to have a good long talk with Marty to put him on the track to being a good husband and father. She didn't want this future to be hers. She heard an odd sound, and Marty returned to the living room. He pushed a button, and Needles appeared on the screen. Jennifer's thoughts about the conversations she had heard reminded her that Needles' name was Douglas.
"Hey, hey, big M! How's it hanging, McFly?" Needles asked from the screen.
"Needles," Marty said politely.
"So, did you get to see that business proposal I offered you?" Needles asked, gesturing to a small computer-like device on the living room desk. It was open to something with so many colours and numbers that Jennifer was clueless as to what it actually depicted.
"I don't know about this, Needles…" Marty said.
"What are you afraid of, McFly? If this thing works, all your financial problems will disappear! You'll have enough money to fix your arm, bring Jenny to her former glory…" Needles said.
"Don't you call her Jenny, Needles. And besides, if this thing fails, Needles, I'll get fired. It's illegal! What if the Jitz is watching us right now?" Marty asked.
"The Jitz will never find out, McFly! Just enter your number, and leave everything to the Thousand Needles to solve!" Needles said.
"…Nah. I'll get Jennifer back on her feet without your help," Marty said.
"All right, McFly. You want everyone in the division to think you're chicken," Needles said. Marty froze, and Jennifer's hand flew to her heart in shock.
Not again, Marty… you've lost so much… please, no, just leave it…
"Nobody. Calls. Marty. McFly. Chicken," Marty said, turning back to Needles.
"Prove it," Needles said. Marty stared at Needles at great length.
"All right. I'm sending you my number now. I'm in," Marty said, leaning down to the monitor, and typing in a twelve letter/number sequence. Jennifer bowed her head, and watched Needles disappear from the screen. A ringing sound sounded from Marty's pocket, and Marty pulled out a futuristic phone.
"'Yello!" Marty said. Jennifer heard the word 'McFly' shouted from the other end. It must have been loud for Marty, because he held the phone from his face before continuing on.
"Fujitsu-san! Konban-wa!" Marty said. Jennifer couldn't hear the rest of 'Fujitsu-san's side of the conversation, but from the way Marty's face fell, Jennifer had a good idea.
"Terminated? No! It wasn't my fault, sir! It was Needles! Needles was behind the whole thing! I didn't… it was a sting operation! I was setting him up! Please, no, I can't be fired… I'm fired…" Marty said, leaning back into his chair. Jennifer declared that she had seen enough, and left the cupboard. She treaded silently from the room, making sure to stay out of Marty's sight. In his depressed mood, seeing a younger, fitter Jennifer would certainly have consequences Jennifer wasn't eager to explore at the present. She reached the door, and opened it.
"Why, thank you, Marlene," a female voice said from the porch. Jennifer looked down, to see an old-looking lady wheel her wheelchair into the house. Jennifer's legs became paralysed, as she realised who she was looking at.
"…Jennifer…" Jennifer said. Her hands were shaking, brushing up against the gift that she was supposed to deliver to her older self. She reached for it, fumbling her pocket in tension.
"…Wait, you're not Marlene…" older Jennifer said, looking up at younger Jennifer.
"No… Jennifer…" younger Jennifer said, holding out the item she was entrusted to deliver.
"Oh… thank you… um…" older Jennifer said. Luckily, at that moment, the Doc came rushing up the stairs.
"Doc?" older Jennifer asked.
"Doc!" younger Jennifer said.
"Sorry about the disturbance, madam. My granddaughter's…" the Doc started, before grabbing Jennifer and bolting.
"Wait!" older Jennifer called out.
"Doc! I'm sorry for rushing off like that! I didn't realise how bad we were!" Jennifer said, as the Doc reached the DeLorean.
"No matter about that, Jennifer. Just as long as we haven't caused any time paradoxes, we're good. We've got to get back to 1985, we can't risk that happening again! I'm going to destroy the time machine!" the Doc said.
"Destroy it… wait, Doc? What about all that stuff you said about humanity? Where we're going? Why?" Marty said, looking up from his seat.
"The risk is just too great! And we were behaving responsibly! Just imagine what were to happen if the time machine were to fall into the wrong hands! My only regret is that I'll never visit my favourite historical era… the Old West. But time travelling is just too dangerous. Better that I devote myself to studying the other great mystery of the universe… women," the Doc said. Jennifer rolled her eyes. Marty shivered slightly. Everyone piled into the DeLorean, and the Doc hit the time circuits. Flying off into the moon, the Doc hit 88, and travelled back to 1985.