Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for the things I own.
Author's Note: Chapter Eight, with some interesting news about Hill Valley 1985-A. As for Bttf 4444's comments, yes, Emmett Jr does not yet exist, and no, Marty is not committed. Biff knows he can't put his stepson in an insane asylum without Lorraine getting more than a little angry with him and pulling through with her plan of leaving him.
8: Chapter Eight
Marty had been expecting a lot of strange things when he entered the Courthouse Square of the alternate world. However, reality was stranger than fiction once more. The place was run-down and filled with bikers. The teen even had to jump out of the way to avoid a few. He also bumped into a bum who was looking through garbage cans for food. The bum turned around. "Hey, watch where you're going!" he called out. "Crazy drunk pedestrian." The seventeen-year-old looked around, and identified a lot more bums, also searching for food. He then heard a blast nearby, and turned to look.
The source of the blast was more surprising than anything he'd seen this far, even though Marty had to admit that he could've seen bits of its coming, given the state of this alternate world. It was a nuclear waste plant, right in the centre of town, and it was letting out fumes the teen didn't need his ultra-high IQ for to deduce they weren't healthy at all. "Great Scott!" he squeaked, his voice higher than usual because of the shock. He backed off a little, and then finally looked towards the centre of the square: the Courthouse itself.
The building had changed from how Marty knew it to be in his 1985. Usually run-down, it was now an immense casino, with at least two dozen stores above it. The letters 'Biff's' could be seen flashing above it in blue neon light. As the young scientist then looked at the centre of the building, he could see the building was called 'Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise'. Vast stairs led to the casino inside. In the centre of the name was Biff's face, smoking a hundred dollar bill.
"Great. Scott." Marty whispered, too stunned to say anything else. He then detected music coming from a building next to the Paradise. As he looked around, he could see that it was called the Biff Tannen Museum. The teen went over, not knowing anything else to do. The Pleasure Paradise had shocked him so much that he wasn't in full control of his movements anymore, and he was sure that it would take a while to recover his physical and mental capabilities to the fullest.
"Welcome to the Biff Tannen Museum" an announcer said at the building. As Marty looked over, he could see that it was a video being shown on a television. "Dedicated to Hill Valley's number one citizen and America's greatest living folk hero, the one, the only, Biff Tannen."
Fascinated (but in a largely negative way) by the video, Marty continued to watch as the video reported about Biff's family history and his ancestor from the Old West, Buford Tannen. About his 'first million dollars', which he had apparently won on a horse track in 1958. About the foundation of his corporation called BiffCo. About his love life.
"And how," the announcer then concluded, "in 1975, Biff finally got to marry his high school sweetheart, Lorraine Baines McFly."
The video then showed Biff and Lorraine coming out of a church, with wedding music being played. A reporter stuck a mike in Biff's face. "How do you feel?" he asked. "How do you feel, Mr. Tannen?"
Biff looked at Lorraine. "Third time's the charm" he replied, kissing her passionately.
Marty could stand a lot of things, but this sight he could definitely not take. "NOOO!" he screamed, backing off rapidly. "No! This isn't…"
Three men then seized control of his arms. As Marty struggled to get free, he recognized them as Biff's gang. "How did you get free?" the one asked.
"Listen, sunny, you're coming with us upstairs" the second – Match – informed him.
"Let me go!" Marty called out, frustrated.
"Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way" 3-D informed him. As Marty took the time to ponder that thought, he suddenly felt a bat of some sorts colliding with his skull. As he lost consciousness, he heard some final words:
"The easy way."
oooooooo
Marty felt sore, as he began to come to. His head hurt, and he was terribly confused. What had happened? Where was he? How had he ended up here, for that matter? He faintly remembered something about finding an alternate world…
He then detected presence nearby in – well, whatever room he was in. The shape was faintly familiar, and Marty figured that it had to be his mother. "Mother?" he tried. "Is that you?"
"There, there, now" his mother's voice replied, as she put a washcloth on his head. "You've been asleep for about two hours now. Just relax."
Marty groaned, rolling over and causing the washcloth to slide off again. He felt better now that he had confirmation that it was his mother talking to him, but he still didn't feel as good as he should. "I had a – terrible neural sequence that occurs during one of the sleeping phases" he muttered, struggling to remember. "It was about Hill Valley – and it was altered…"
"Well, you're safe and sound now" his mother said, putting the washcloth back on it's old spot. "Back in the Hill Valley we all know, on the good old twenty-seventh floor."
For a moment, Marty was about to accept that and roll over again. Then, he blinked. "Twenty-seventh floor?" he exclaimed. The light was then switched on, and as he sat up, stunned, he first got his look at the woman who had been tending to him.
It was his mother all right, but she was changed. She wore a long purple dress, looked old and worn-out, and it was clear she had a breast-implant or two done. "Mother?" Marty said, gasping. "That can't be you! You're so… you're so… big!"
Lorraine came over to him again, concerned. "Why, yes it's me, Marty" she replied, taking the washcloth away from the bed. "Are you hungry? I can call room service…"
"Room service" the teen repeated, still stunned. His mind went to work again. This was an alternate reality, and judging from Lorraine's age, it had to be 1985. Things had changed. He now remembered Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise from what he had seen before he had been knocked out by Biff's gang, and in a way, her mother's presence here made sense with the last images he had seen before losing consciousness, on the Tannen Museum video, the images of Biff and his mother marrying. It made sense, in a very twisted way.
"Lorraine!"
The woman who was being addressed gasped. "Oh my god, it's your father" she told him.
"My father?" Marty repeated, rapidly realizing who this had to be. If his mother had married Biff, then this voice could only belong to one man…
"You're supposed to be in Switzerland, you little son of a bitch!"
Biff pushed the doors opposite Marty's bed aside and headed inside, allowing Marty to get his first look at the alternate version of Biff Tannen. The bully had changed a lot from how he had been in the original reality, or in the reality Marty had just come from for that matter. Biff Tannen in this world wore a grayish suit, was a lot more aggressive, and just didn't compare to anything Marty had seen in his previous selves.
The forty-eight-year-old stared at Marty. "Did you get kicked out of that boarding school we sent you to? Damn it Lorraine, do you know how much perfectly good dough I've blown on this no good kid of yours? On all three of them?"
"Hell do you care, we can afford it!" Lorraine spit out, as she took a drink and headed into the room Biff had just left, a large room which was cluttered with gold and pink and had it's walls decorated with posters of barely-clad women. Marty looked back at his mother as he followed them out of the room. The forty-seven-year-old woman looked at Biff, depressed. "The least we could do is getting a better life for our children."
Marty's eyes went wide at that statement, given that the 'our' part implied that Biff was his biological father, and he had to admit that he was more than a little relieved when Biff immediately contradicted it. "Let's hold one thing straight," he said, "Marty is your kid, not mine, and not even all the money in the world could do anything for that geek! Look at him. He's insane and you know it, all busy with scientific nonsense and fantasies that will never come true. Just like his old man was."
Lorraine's mood abruptly darkened and she walked towards her husband. "Don't you dare to speak that way about George" she growled. "You're not even half the man he was."
Biff just stared at her for a while, and then pushed her to the ground. Marty used every bit of his self-control not to run out towards him and get even with the bully, but he did allow a: "Leave my mother alone!" to slip out of his mouth.
His 'stepfather' chuckled. "You want me to leave her alone, huh?" he challenged. "Why don't you come down here and push me away, then?"
Marty barely could take this, but somehow, he managed to refrain from walking up and kicking the older man. "I'm not stupid enough to start a fight when I'm out-numbered four to one" he bit back. "I'd push you away if I wasn't sure that I would get a push right back."
Biff chuckled again. "Ah, so you're just a little chicken, aren't you?"
The teenager shook his head. He had learnt himself a long time ago not to react to comments like this. "No, I'm simply not stupid" he replied. Under his breath, he added: "Unlike you."
The bully turned millionaire stared at him for a while, and then turned around. "Let's go boys" he said to his gang members, as they walked up the stairs and exited the room. Before he left, though, Biff turned back to Marty. "You'd better get out of here within two hours, kid" he replied. "Get back to Switzerland. I don't want to see you again before Christmas." With that, he left.
Marty stared after him for a while, then went over to his mother. Lorraine was back at the bar, and taking another drink. She looked up at him, and smiled faintly. "Thank you for defending me" she said, speaking softly.
"It's all right" the teen replied, sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders before looking around, trying to make sense of everything. "What happened, mother? Where is my father? Where is George Douglas McFly?"
Lorraine looked at him, stunned. "Marty," she said, confused, "are you feeling all right? Does your head hurt?"
"A little," Marty admitted, "but that's not the problem. Please tell me where father is."
Lorraine frowned, but she complied. "Marty," she replied, "George… your father is on the same place he's been for the past twelve years!" Saddened, she added: "Oak Park Cemetery."
The teen gasped and almost fell over. "Cemetery?" he repeated, horrified. "You mean… that… he perished?" Lorraine nodded, confused, which caused Marty to start crying. It wasn't much – he never cried too much during states of emotional duress, but he certainly got tears in his eyes as he thought about his ancestor once removed having died. He now remembered both timelines, both before and after he changed history, and he knew that George, while he had been a wimp in the original timeline, had actually been a rather nice person. And even if he hadn't been, his father was still his father, and Marty figured he'd mourn about him no matter what his character had been like. "We'll, unless it had been like Biff's."
"Marty?" Lorraine asked, confused. "Are you all right? You've known this for years!" She held him tightly. "They must have hit you over the head hard this time…"
"Mother" Marty responded. "What happened? Why has my father perished?"
Lorraine frowned, even more confused. "You know about that, Marty."
Marty looked at her for a long time, as a possibility popped into his head. His mother obviously thought that he was his local self. But she knew about his temporal field warping and displacement machine. If he told her who he really was… she might be willing to assist him. Such aid would be great for achieving his goal.
However, there was also a possibility that she didn't know. Marty doubted that his other self who was native to this reality had ever gone on a time travelling journey, let alone to 1955. If that was the case, Lorraine should not remember anything happening in 1955, because nothing had ever happened then besides her falling in love with George – no interference from her son, at least. It did make some sense, but the idea wasn't pleasing Marty too much.
Well, he'd just have to try. He certainly couldn't do nothing, and Lorraine was the best aid he was going to get. The teen broke the silence. "Mother?" he asked. "Do you remember… a boy named Clint Eastwood whom you met in 1955?"
Marty saw his mother frown – and to his immense relief, raise her eyebrow in suspicion. It was a brief movement, but it did suggest that Lorraine was on the verge of finding out who he was, which meant that she did remember. She stood up and walked away from the bar for a moment before addressing Marty. "You know that" she replied. "I told you the whole story before, didn't I? Clint Eastwood was the boy who helped your father and I fall in love. You know all about it."
Marty nodded, and stood up as well, walking over to the couches in the centre of the room. "Yes, I know" he replied. "I know how you parked with him in his uncle's car. I know how Biff showed up when he was talking to you and to my father." He suddenly stopped and looked directly into his mother's eyes. "I know what he told you after you had seen him without his 'alien' mask."
Lorraine's eyes went wide, and she stumbled backwards. "Are… you…how…" she managed to bring out.
Marty nodded, smiling mischievously. "It's me, mother… or should I say Lorraine?"
For a single brief moment, Lorraine just remained standing there. Then she ran up to him, hugged him (pushing the two of them over to the couch in the process) and started crying. "I can't believe you're back!" she called out. "I've been waiting for this moment for so long…"
"It's all right, mother" Marty said, patting her on the back. He helped her back in a normal position and they both sat down. "It's all right" he repeated.
"Why are you here?" Lorraine asked, stopping with crying to look into the eyes of the boy she'd, in a sense, last seen thirty years ago. "Did you come to fix history? To bring George back?"
"I certainly did" Marty said, sighing. "Mother, what happened? How could you marry Biff! Even if father died…"
"I'm sorry, Marty" Lorraine replied, staring to the ground in sadness. "I tried to survive on my own. Emmett helped me. But eventually, Biff got him imprisoned and I just couldn't keep up anymore."
"Biff put Emmett in prison?" Marty repeated, horrified.
"You don't know?" Lorraine asked. "How long have you been here? How did you come here, anyway?"
"I'm still not entirely sure" Marty replied. "I returned from 1955 to 1985 this morning. However, it was not this 1985 – it was the right 1985, where you and my father were still happily married. I went to the future as I had been planning, and after spending some time there, I went back to collect Emmett and his wife Jennifer for a visit. We stayed there for just two hours or so, and when we went back, everything changed."
Lorraine frowned. "Then this isn't the way things are supposed to be" she muttered. "I wondered about that, whether you had caused this change. I'm glad that you didn't – but then who did? If you went to the future…"
"That's what I've been wondering, too" Marty confessed. "After bringing Emmett and Jennifer home, I went to the house I lived in in the original timeline, only to find it being inhabited by a black man who talked about BiffCo trying to buy his house. I had never heard of BiffCo and the surroundings were different, so I knew something had to be wrong. I went to the Square, saw the casino and went over to Biff's museum to watch the video they showed in there. When the video arrived at the part of your marriage, I must have overreacted, because Biff's gang showed up and knocked me out."
Lorraine sighed. "I wish Biff would sent those three away from here someday" she muttered. "Living here and missing George is bad enough. Living here while constantly getting annoyed by them…"
"How can you stand this marriage?" Marty asked, shaking his head. "It sounds like a horrifying scenario to me."
"It is" Lorraine admitted. "Biff isn't even loyal, since he cheats on me out in the open wherever he can. I don't even try to protest, because if he's not out with those girls or in the casino, he's with me, and I can't say I prefer that. He's just got this horrible temper, and it's worsened ever since we married. He can't stand anything from me."
"What happened to me?" Marty asked. "Biff talked about me being in Switzerland…"
"You – or I suppose your other self – live in a special boarding school in Switzerland" Lorraine replied. "It's some kind of special education school. Biff selected it, and people with disabilities go there."
Marty frowned. "I thought that I didn't have a disability, not regarding learning at least" he replied. "I skipped several grades in my world, so…"
"It was Biff's choice, as I said" Lorraine muttered. "He thought that you were a strange person, and anything he calls strange, he views as lesser than the ordinary. As such, you were sent to the school. Initially, I thought that Biff was right and that you had been kicked out. You hate the place."
"I don't doubt" Marty replied. "No, I haven't been kicked out. I've come here to fix what Hill Valley has become, and I'm not planning to go away without success."
