Disclaimer: I make no monies off of this fan-fiction; I do it for fun….
Thursday, September 26, 1986, 08:36 p.m.
Eighteen year-old Marty McFly almost never went to bed this early. Usually, by now he'd be watching Family Ties with his brother Dave or playing Nintendo with his girlfriend Jennifer Parker (somehow she always managed to beat his best times in Excitebike), but tonight he felt the need to rest. After the events of the previous day or so (in relative time, more than that for Allen and Marlene), Marty was truly exhausted. School would be starting again within days, and he had to be ready to face the challenges of his upcoming senior year at Hill Valley High School. So, as he drifted off to sleep, he was not at all stirred by a slight tapping at his window. The tapping persisted, however, and finally he was wide awake. The strong winds and gentle rain outside whipped the autumn leaves past the window, obscuring the view of the person at the window. It was already dark outside, and all Marty could make out was a shadow.
"Who's out there?" Marty called, sitting up in his bed.
"No one in particular."
"Show yourself!"
"You'll have to step outside if you wish to see me. Can't you recognize my voice? Come on, it's urgent."
Grumbling obscenities to himself, Marty rolled out of his comfortable bed and slipped on a pair of wrinkled jeans, a burgundy t-shirt, and a pair of white Nikes that he was sure he'd had for at least the last two years.
The mysterious visitor was waiting for Marty when he opened the front door. He was adorned in an impossibly long, dark, high-collared leather coat with a gray Fedora crowning his head. His face was obscured by the shadow cast by his collar and hat.
"Who are you, and why are you here? Do you know what time it is?!" Marty asked. "What is it that you want?"
"It is only 8:39 and forty-nine seconds, to be exact, Mr. McFly," the stranger replied, looking at a sophisticated watch resting on his right wrist. "But for someone like you, time isn't really that much of a problem, is it?"
"Enigma's overrated. What. Do. You. Want?!" Marty exclaimed.
"I need you to give this to Allen Thomas for me," the man said, pulling a small photograph out of his pocket. As he handed it to Marty, Marty noticed that the man's hands were shaking.
"What is it?" Marty asked curiously.
"See for yourself."
Marty looked at the photograph. It was a picture of Allen, only a few years older, standing in the Hill Valley town square near the "Welcome" sign next to a very attractive young woman with cropped, slightly curled black hair. A small child was holding the woman's hand that could have only been their son.
"So…this is from the future, right? Allen's future. What does this have to do with anything? Why are you here?!"
"Look on the back," the stranger said gravelly.
On the back side of the glossy photo, in thick, smooth gestures of black ink, was written:
"To my darling husband on the first birthday of our son Austin—
Forever yours,
Lorna
December 1995"
"'Forever yours, Lorna'?" Marty asked. "Who on God's green earth is Lorna?"
"You will find out soon enough, friend," the stranger replied. "Give Allen the picture, please. Tell him to be mindful of…his place in time. There are certain things that cannot be tampered with. Once this is understood…all will be as it should be."
"Who are you, anyway?"
"That is not important. My mission here is complete. I must leave now. Remember, the future is not set! Certain things, certain variables, they must be kept in check. Always remember!"
Before Marty could ask another question, the stranger ran off, disappearing into the night.
1995? Marty thought. That can't be possible. Allen wouldn't have been an adult in 1995…unless…he stayed here, in this time period…
The man in the Fedora had to be a time traveller, that was the only conclusion Marty could come to. Was he also from the future? Whatever this "Lorna" had to do with Allen's life, she obviously was important enough to him to cause him to stay behind instead of going back to the future. Doc had done the same thing, and so far there had been no repercussions on the space-time continuum that Marty could discern. What could have been so important that this man would pull such a desperate stunt like that?
Allen Thomas couldn't have been any more detached from the world. The McFlys' living room sofa was more than comfortable for him, and he was completely enraptured in sleep. He never noticed the small female hand hovering above his head…until it was too late. An overwhelming feeling of alarm caused him to jump suddenly when he felt a familiar wetness in his left ear.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Wake up, sleepyhead! It's 10 am!"
"Don't ever do that again!"
"We were supposed to go with Marty to that "Doc" guy's laboratory, remember? Going home? Returning to our normal, mundane lives? Any of this ringing a bell?"
"I know, I know! You didn't have to give me a Wet Willie, Marlene. Why not yell or shake me like a normal person?"
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, "normal" doesn't really run in my family," Marlene chuckled, pulling her long brown locks back behind her ears. After they had arrived at the McFly home, she had decided to wash the blonde dye out of her hair. The resulting "natural" look caused her to bear even more of a striking resemblance to her mother.
"You look…different," Allen said, sitting up.
"So is that a good or bad thing?"
"Well, that look really seems to…work for you."
"Thanks," Marlene said, blushing. "I had worn it the other way for so long, I had forgotten what my actual hair looked like. I think I'll keep it this way--"
HONK! HONK!
The newly repaired Toyota's horn was louder than ever, but it didn't seem to have any effect on Allen and Marlene. What could they be doing in there? Marty thought.
HONK!
After two more minutes that seemed like an eternity, Marlene and Allen finally came out to the truck.
"What took you guys so long?"
Marlene shrugged. "We had to change, how do we look?"
"Do you guys want to go home or not? You look fine, but I have a lot to do today!"
Seven minutes and fifteen seconds later, Marty and company were pulling into the driveway of the abandoned laboratory of Doctor Emmett Lathrop Brown.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Allen asked. "From what you've told me about this guy, I was expecting the place to be a lot…cleaner, even though no one's been here in over a year."
"Nah, the Doc always had it like this," Marty said, pulling up the creaky wooden garage door. "Aha! As I suspected!"
Sure enough, there was what looked to be a DeLorean automobile covered by a large sheet in the middle of the garage.
"Wow…you were right about this guy, Marty," Marlene said, pulling back the sheet. "He is prepared."
"And why wouldn't I be?" an aged voice called.
"DOC?!"
An older man with wild white hair and a long face had entered the garage from the back door. There was no mistaking it. Marty recognized him as Emmett Brown, the inventor of the Flux Capacitor and the DeLorean Time Machine.
"You mean to tell me you've been here all this time?!"
"Well, if by that you mean the past two weeks, then yes," the Doc said. "I haven't contacted you because I knew you'd be preparing for the new school term. I see you have made some new friends..?"
"Uh, yeah, Doc, this is Marlene and ah, Allen Thomas. We could really use that train you had. Something weird has happened and they need to get back to their own time."
"Great Scott, more time travelers?? How did this strange occurrence come to be? And how did your future daughter end up in the past?"
"Long story, Mister…Doc, but we really need to get back," Allen interjected.
"I see…Marty here referred to you as 'Marlene and Allen Thomas,' so does that mean that you two are in fact, married?" Doc asked with a twinkle in his eyes. "It always gives me great joy to see two young people in love."
"Uh…no," Allen said quickly, his hands squirming like snakes as he quickly clasped them behind his back.
"Oh, yeah…we're definitely nowhere close to that!" Marlene replied with a very nervous chuckle.
"Ah, well, I do hope things work out for you. I'm sure you've had "the talk" by this point in your lives, but let me just say that as a man with a certain amount of …shall we say, romantic experience, that it is much better in the long run to wait for--"
"Doc, there is indeed a lot of wisdom in what you are saying, but I think we have slightly more important problems right now," Marty snapped.
"Ah, yes, of course. You two clearly wish to return to your own time, right? I mean, why else would you even be here, talking to a senile old man such as myself?"
"Oh, well…I mean, you do seem a little…odd…but I'm sure you're not sen—OW!" Marlene yowled in protest as Allen's elbow came out nowhere, jabbing her side slightly.
"That's right, Doc. The future may in jeopardy as we speak. An acquaintance of Marty's has escaped to the future—our future—with the time machine we came here in—and we would really, really appreciate the help of you and this new DeLorean time vehicle that you have made."
"That really is a very kind thing to say, young Allen, but there is one small issue that we must first contend with…" Doc Brown finished removing the cover from the DeLorean. "…as you can see, this is no time machine, but only a normal DeLorean. I had hoped to save at least one original 1981 model for my collection, but I can see that fate had other plans." He sighed. "Luckily, I still have a portable fusion generator, but as for your trip home…you could be here for another whole week at the very least!"