The Roaring '20s

A blinding blue/white flash went off inside the warehouse on the waterfront, illuminating out of the skylight windows for a brief second, before returning to normal evening lighting conditions. Meg and Stewie were stood inside the large, uninhabited building...surrounded by large wooden casks.

Meg looked around in a non-emotional way "Figures the machine wouldn't work...even with Merlin's help..." she snidely went

Stewie read the display "August 16th 1923...location...San Francisco" he went "right in the middle of prohibition"

Meg sighed "at least i don't drink...not since the 1800's, or more recently...King Arthur's banquets" she went, and then she then looked around and noticed the large casks surrounding them "wait a minute...did you say prohibition...?"

Just then, the wooden outer door to the warehouse suddenly splintered as a fireman's axe chopped its way through, then was kicked in by a large, stockily built man in a suit. A group of other well dressed men armed with Thomson semi-automatic guns rushed in and surrounded the two terrified occupants of the building. A smarter dressed man in a custom fitted suit and trilby walked in to the warehouse and looked around.

"Destroy these barrels...get rid of this filth" he ordered , then strolled over towards Meg and Stewie...who were being covered by a few of the men with their guns "and what do we have here...?" he asked as he started to walk around them slowly. The two of them had their hands raised and were shaking with fear.

"Please sir...we haven't done anything. We're just in the wrong place and the wrong time..." Meg went with a scared tone in her voice. The man just stopped in front of her, gave her a very stern look and went "I'll be the judge of that, little lady..."

The man turned to his associate and went "Take them away downtown...we'll see how long it takes before these birdies' sing..."

The man next to him pulled a pair of old-fashioned handcuffs out from inside his coat's pocket, and took hold of Meg's hands and secured them and marched her outside, whilst Stewie was picked up and carried out towards a Ford Model T Police wagon... behind them the men in suits were smashing open the casks and spilling the contents over the floor...whilst over the road, a man in a suit and hat was threw his cigarette down on the ground, stomped it out, and walked over towards a payphone to make a call...

Inside the police wagon, Meg and Stewie were being given a rough ride to the police station. "Damn this old truck...it's bouncy and terrible" Meg cried as she tried desperately to hold on to something to stop herself from falling around in the back of the paddy wagon. Stewie was just sitting on the floor, holding on to the folded time machine for dear life to protect it, but was sliding around on the floor of the truck. Further up the road, a group of four men in a Studebaker were waiting at the side of the road for the wagon to go past.

"We have to stop that wagon...my sources say that the Feds caught 2 guys in the warehouse...we best spring 'em before they talk" the lead man went to the other 3. The other 3 men pulled various guns out from under the cars seats...and the driver started the Studebaker up and started to follow the paddy wagon. The Studebaker pulled up alongside the paddy wagon, and 2 of the three men leant out with guns on show. The driver and guard onboard the paddy wagon looked surprised, and then the driver lost control as the guns blazed and shot up the front of the wagon, wounding the driver and killing the guard, before the wagon flipped onto its side and slid down the street before crashing into a lamp-post and springing open the back doors. The car squealed to a halt just behind the felled wagon, as Meg scrambled out through the doors coughing, followed by Stewie. The lead man got out of the Studebaker and walked over towards Meg and Stewie

"A girl and a baby...?" he questioned "I heard 2 men were caught at the warehouse"

Meg pushed herself up off the ground with her cuffed hands and went "I am SICK of this...I am FED UP of being dropped in random times, being constantly held AGAINST my will, being USED, and NOT seeing MY home!" she spat in anger

"WHOA...calm down, Miss" the lead man replied "we were sent to rescue the people inside that wagon...that means YOU"

"Us? Why?" Meg questioned

"I don't question orders, miss...right now, neither should you...now get in the car" he replied as he opened and held the back door open. She climbed into the back of the car and sat between the two men. One of the men turned to her and said "HEH...you were like a mad dog as you got out the mobile clink...what's your name, Miss?"

"Meg Griffin" she replied, then raised her eyebrow in a questioning fashion "why?"

"Meg 'Mad Dog' Griffin...the Boss is goanna like you" he replied, as the car sped off towards their hideout...

The Studebaker pulled up outside another warehouse...the driver beeped the horn, and the doors were opened up for them...he then drove the car inside and pulled up to a halt, the passengers all exited the car and stood waiting. From a doorway up on an elevated walkway, a slim, yet well defined woman in a ladies suit walked out with a muscular man in a striped suit and hat. The couple walked down the stairs and approached the 4 men and their rescued prisoners.

"These are them, Miss Orrelli. These two were in the warehouse when it was raided" the first man went as he introduced the two newcomers. Miss Orrelli looked at them and a small smile crept across her face.

"How old are you, my dear?" She asked, looking at Meg. Meg looked at the woman. She was in her mid 30's, tall for a woman, but her heels accentuated her height. She had dark hair in a neat French pleat that was covered by a large red hat, and a smile that sparkled menacingly behind her bright red lipstick. She wore a crimson red ladies suit and a trench coat, but with contrasting black shoes to break the red up.

"Old enough to know you must be in charge..." Meg replied, and then raised her cuffed hands towards her...indicating that she would like to be freed. The Lady nodded towards one of her men...who promptly removed them with a cutter. Meg rubbed her wrists after the cuffs fell to the floor and went "Thanks"

"I could use someone like you in my little organisation, my dear...someone with fire in their belly, someone who is not afraid to speak their mind...interested?" Miss Orrelli went

"Doing what exactly...?" Meg asked

"Messenger girl..." was the reply...

A few days later, Meg was sitting in the front seat of the Studebaker. She had been given a Ladies suit and shoes in pink, and had a matching Pink Ladies Trilby. She and the henchman in the driver's seat were watching a doorway closely

"This is the place, Butch" Meg went to the man

"Shall we...deliver the message, Miss Meg?" he asked, with a wicked smile on his face as he picked up a tommy gun and loaded the round bullet clip. Meg nodded her head and the two of them got out of the car and started walking towards the doorway. Butch walked in front of Meg, and stopped by the door. He checked the gun, and then kicked the door down hard, breaking it off its hinges. He walked forwards and entered the room, and fired off a few rounds from the gun...

"O.K everybody...listen up and listen good..." Meg went loudly as she followed Butch in to the room "This speakeasy is now under the control of Miss Orrelli...Questions?"

No-one spoke...no-one moved, there was an uneasy silence in the joint, until a few armed men piled into the room from a back room and stood there facing Meg and Butch

"You tell Miss Orrelli that Don Soldato don't take kindly to the likes of others trying to muscle in on his action... especially no dame whose daddy was killed for being a hot headed punk..." went the front man, then the sound of the guns being loaded filled the air.

"Umm...Butch...time to leave..." Meg replied nervously. They both started backing up slowly when the men opened fire. Butch and Meg dropped to the floor, so did all the patrons of the illegal drinking house. The bullets cut the walls to pieces above their heads, whilst Meg let out a squeal. Butch grabbed Meg by the back of her coat and started to move her slowly towards the door on her hands and knees, whilst Don Soldato's men continued to fire their guns overhead until they ran out of ammo. Just then, another door opened and a few more of Miss Orrelli's armed men came in...Followed by Miss Orrelli herself

"Tell me...what?" she asked as she walked towards the front man, and pulled a small handgun out from inside her purse and pointed it in his face

"That...err...Don Sondato...err...wishes you well...?" he stammered as she gently whisked the .38 revolver barrel slowly over his cheek, before pushing it into his mouth

"I am taking over this town...bit...by...bit" she went "now...you can either be with me...or against me"

The front man mumbles something, and Miss Orrelli pulls the gun slowly from his mouth

"My boss would kill me, Miss Orrelli..." he went, with a panicked look on his face

"So will i...but sooner than he would..." she replied, then pulled the hammer back on the revolver. The front man went "Lower your weapons, boys...Miss Orrelli's orders"

The remaining men stopped trying to reload and lowered their guns instead

"Good boys..." she went, and then added "give Don Sondato the message" as she walked away, putting the safety back on her gun and placing it in her purse. Her men opened fire on the other group, as Meg had to turn her head so as not to watch. Miss Orrelli approached and went "Well done, Meg...well done", then kissed her on the cheek before exiting the building

"Did she just...?" Meg questioned

"Yup...she killed them..." Butch went as he led her outside towards their car

A short drive later, towards Haight-Ashbury, the Studebaker stopped outside a large Victorian 3 storey Townhouse. Meg and Butch stepped out and headed in. Once inside, Meg went upstairs to her Apartment, whilst Butch headed to the kitchen for some food. As soon as she opened the door, Stewie accosted her.

"And just where have you been? I've been stuck here, waiting for you to return, so you can take me to get the bits i need" he went as she entered. "Not now, Stewie...my feet and legs ache, and I just took part in something I'm not happy with" Meg replied as she looked around at what Stewie had done. The room had been partially transformed into a steampunk-esque environment, with various mechanical and electrical equipment whirring, buzzing, clicking, hissing and pinging at regular intervals.

"well...while you've been out playing gangsters, I've been here trying to create a fixed point in time from which we can ascertain Temporal Co-ordinates to start from...as it seems that my Time Machine's home-point marker is fried...and has been since i picked up a replacement from the future. It seems it's not retro-compatible with this version of the Time Machine" Stewie explained. Meg sighed as she pulled her square heeled shoes back on her tired feet "fine...what do you need now?" she went as she picked him up and carried him towards the door...

Down on the Seafront Market, Stewie was rummaging through the various bits and pieces off the mobile junk karts nestled in between the fresh fruit, fish and meat stalls. Meg was leaning back against the railings, trying to ignore the crowds. Her head tilted back and eyes closed...thinking about home. 'Only 90 years to go...' she thought to herself, then thought 'what if we can't get home? What if we are just going to keep jumping from one time to another?' that thought panicked her and snapped her back to the present reality. Stewie was pulling on her suit's trouser leg.

"Meg...MEG!" he went, as she opened her eyes and looked down at him "we can go now"

Meg nodded, and bent down to pick him up. They then walked over to the parked up Studebaker Special Six, where Meg put Stewie in a booster seat up front, then climbed in herself and started the car's Straight 6 engine up with the floor starter button, before grinding the gears a little before making the car pull off and head for home.

"So..." Meg asked as she was driving "all this jumping through time...it won't cause anything to change when we get back, will it...you know, step on a butterfly, affect the future thing?"

"Hell no..." Stewie went "from what i can tell, Time is in a constant state of Flux, meaning nothing is set in stone...if anything has inadvertently been changed, it shouldn't affect the future TOO much..."

"That's good..." she replied quietly, thinking of everything that had happened to date "I'd hate to try and explain how we appeared in a history book in the county Library"

"We'll be back home soon, i promise. Once i install these last few Transistor Valves into my base unit, i should be able to calculate the right coordinates to get us back where we belong" Stewie reassured her

Meg stopped the Studebaker outside the 3 storey house. She got out, picked Stewie out of the booster seat and carried him into the house and up to their room. Once inside, Stewie went over and opened up a panel on his home-made apparatus and installed the valves into the sockets. He then turned to Meg and went "power please"

Meg flipped the power sockets switch, and the main panel powered up

"So...what is it then?" Meg asked, looking it over. It had a black and white monitor, an old typewriter keyboard and lots of wiring coming off of it, with the Time Machine at its heart, running everything

"This...is a Computer...albeit a very primitive one. I built it from parts available now...and i should be able to reprogram the Machine with it" he replied with a smug tone to his voice

"You know...i'm glad i found out my baby brother is really a super genius" Meg replied, as Stewie started using the typewriter keys to reprogram the unit. The black and white monitor started displaying various text and calculations, whilst Stewie's fingers were nimbly typing in new instructions which the Time machine accepted and started flashing it's various lights in sequence. Suddenly the machine stopped flashing and started beeping. Stewie smiled an evil, yet 'ive done it' kind of smile

"There..." he went "I've reset the temporal co-ordinates to this point in time...so the theory is that wherever we go to now, this point is now FIXED into the permanent memory ...so we will always be able to return to this point should we have another failed jump home"

"Great..." Meg moaned "so I'll forever be a gangster's moll...not to mention I'll be able to see myself being born in 1976...when I'll be celebrating my 68th Birthday!"

"It's not that bad...think of what we'd be able to witness first hand" Stewie replied " the kidnap of the Lindbergh baby, the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the great Space Race, the shooting of JFK..."

"Stewie!" Meg went "I know my History...personally i'd like to READ about it...not LIVE it"

"Unfortunately...i would like to read about it too..." Stewie added as he unplugged the Time Machine and pressed the button to unfurl it "let's see...Ionic Flux chamber...check. Temporal Incursion Displacer...check. Temporal Conduit Locator...OK"

Stewie looked up at Meg and smiled " the Machine is reprogrammed and ready when we are..."

Just outside the Townhouse, a Ford Model T Touring pulled up with a group of 5 gun-toting men inside. The groups leader looked up from the driver's side and went "this is the place, boys...let's grab 'er"

The 5 men pile out of the model T and head up towards the front door of the house. The biggest, strongest member swung his guns' butt at the wooden door and broke it down, and then they all piled in and started to cover the house room by room. Butch was taken by surprise, and was quickly decked by the biggest man to the floor with a stock strike...knocking him out. Meg and Stewie heard the commotion downstairs, and Meg opened the door to their room cautiously and peered out. She squealed and slammed the door shut and locked it tight.

"UP THERE...HURRY!" went the leader, as the other men ran up the stairs and started to pound on the door

"OPEN UP...DON SOLDATO WANTS A WORD WITH YOU. MAKE IT EASIER ON YOURSELF AND COME OUT" the leader shouted. Inside, Meg started to panic

"Stewie! What do we do? How are we going to get out of here?"

Stewie just smirked, and tapped the Time Machine "helloooo...means of escape here..."

Stewie put the Time Machine down on the floor, and started the machine's travel sequence

"Alright...i think i got it...Quahog, Rhode Island...year 2011, 3rd August...locked" he went, then extended his hand to Meg "get on...NOW!"

The machine powered up, it's sequence building...all the time the 5 men on the other side of the door were banging away, the hinges slowly giving out to the consistent bashing. Suddenly the doorframe gives out, and the door drops to the floor, and the men pile in to witness a strange sight...the young woman they were sent to capture, standing on an upside down metallic flower next to a baby, who was pressing buttons on a control panel. Suddenly a blinding Blue/White flash came from the machine, making all the men close their eyes and look away, or cover their faces to try and combat the flash...when their eyes recovered and they looked at the spot where the two of them and the strange metal flower had been...there was nothing but a smoking, blackened patch on the carpet...