It´s About Time

Marty climbed out of the car. He was still shaking. Biff really drove badly with this leg. Several times he´d thought they would lose the street altogether. It was almost a miracle that Biff didn´t cause an accident already.

Now Biff was gone and Marty glanced out of the dirty glass of the garage door. As soon as he was sure Biff wasn´t there anymore, he pushed to open the door. It swung out a little but that was it. He tried again but the result was the same. The damn thing was locked. Dammit.

Desperately he looked around. There were some small windows but they were blocked with iron fence. Someone really had to be scared of burglars. No chance for him to get out.

He took his walkie-talkie.

"Doc." he called. "Doc, come in, Doc."

"Marty." Doc answered. "What´s the report?"

"Biff´s gone." he told him. "I´m locked in Biff´s garage. You must come with the DeLorean. Get me the hell out of here. The address is 1809 Mason Street."

"I can´t take the DeLorean out at daylight." Doc responded. "But don´t worry. As long as you stay near Biff´s car everything will be all right. I´ll come over there as soon as I can."

With that he switched off and was gone. Marty just couldn´t believe it.

"Yo, Doc, wait a minute." he shouted, not knowing that outside somebody heard him. "Doc? Hey, Doc. Doc!" But he got no answer. Frustrated he slid the antenna back. "Perfect." he cursed. Perhaps it was not as funny as he thought, to be a secret agent.

He was about to sit down – after all it seemed that he had to wait for a while – when he heard a tabbing sound outside. It did not come from the door. It was on the back wall, as if someone was sneaking around the garage. Carefully he snuck to one of the windows and listened, carefully. Suddenly a head appeared in the window. Just a silhouette against the sunlight. Until it started to speak.

"Marty?" a by now familiar voice asked. "Are you in here?"

"Jessie?" Marty just couldn´t believe it. He climbed up a box to have a better look at her. It was really her. She sat in a tree right in front of the window. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing there?" she asked right back and for a moment he was lack of words.

"That´s … difficult to explain."

"Is it a part of your secret mission?"

Marty tilted his head. "You could say that." he shifted on the box. "Hey! Could you do me a favor? Go around the garage to the door and see if you can open it for me."

"Okay." she said and climbed down the tree.

"Be careful." Marty called after her. "Don´t let Biff see you."

When she was gone he jumped down from the box and went back to the door. Outside he could hear her footsteps. She stopped in front of the door halted for a moment. And then she just ran away again. The speed with which she was back at the window, startled even Marty.

"Whats the matter?" he asked, when he was back on the box.

"There´s a lock on the door." she told him.

"Damn." Marty cursed. "You don´t know how to pick locks by any chance, do you?" he asked hopeless. Jessie only frowned at him. "Didn´t expect that." he admitted. God dammit. "How did you even get here so fast?" he asked her. "You were in town last time I saw you."

"I bought me a scooter." she told him with a wide smile. "Like the one you drove yesterday."

Marty looked down and saw a wooden scooter leaning against the tree. The same type like the one he´d borrowed from the boy in town. Marty couldn´t help. He smiled. Unbelievable how fast such a little one was adapting sometimes.

"I heard you call Doc before." she said, changing the subject again.

"Yeah." he said surprised.

"Do you know him, too?" she asked.

"Why, Doc, you mean … Doc Brown? Is it that what you mean?"

"I know him."

He found himself grinning. "Of course you do."

"Is he coming back soon?" she wanted to know.

Marty remembered the safe house, T had brought him and Doc to, after the attack of the T-1000. But of course he couldn´t tell Jessie about that.

"Soon." he said instead. "He´s coming back soon. Uhm, listen. You shouldn´t stay here. It could be dangerous for you. You better go home. You don´t want Biff or his Grandma to see you."

"No." she agreed.

"Well, then you better go now."

"What about you?" she asked.

"Don´t worry about me. I´ll get out of here."

"Sure?"

"Trust me." Marty said with his most convincing smile.

And even though she wasn´t happy about it, she obeyed with a tiny: "Okay."

She climbed down from the tree and left with a last wave. Marty returned the wave. Then she was gone. He hoped.

...

Doc cursed under his breath. It had taken him way too long to organize this bike and the disguise, and by now it was already turning dark. And finding this damn address hadn´t been the easiest thing either. But then at last he saw a house matching Marty´s description. The only thing that didn´t match was the garage. It wasn´t locked like Marty´d said. And Marty wasn´t there either.

"Marty!" he called for him, but no one answered. Where was that kid?

"He´s gone with Biff." an unexpected voice made him cry out in fear. When he turned around he almost believed to dream.

"Jessie?"

The little one smiled, happily and threw her arms around his legs. "I knew you´d be back!" she started jumping in joy, with her arms clamped around his knees.

"I knew it."

Her happy jumping made him almost lose his halt on the bike, so he made her stop. The bike slipped out of his hands anyway and dropped to the ground. Little Jessie skipped back, hiding her hands behind her back, guiltily.

"Sorry."

"It´s all right, honey." he assured her and regarding the child before him now – someone he had seen as an old woman once – he couldn´t help but chuckled. "That´s how I know you." he remarked and the kid smiled again.

And all the sudden Doc remembered why he was here.

"Jessie." he went down to his knees. "Did you just say something about Biff?"

The girl nodded, readily. "Marty was spying on him. It was a secret mission. I kept an eye on the perimeter while he was trapped in the garage."

"Aha."

"And then they drove away again. You just missed them. They left just when you came."

Doc´s head flew aside, to glance down the road, but he only saw a beige car drive by – didn´t he own one of those once in his life? – and there was no sign of Marty or Biff.

"Do you know where they went?" he asked but rebuked himself a moment later. Of course she didn´t. How would she know?

"They go to the dance." Jessie told him proudly. "Biff looked like a real jempelman. But that´s just a disguise.

Doc found himself laughing. "You´re very smart, Jessie." he agreed with her judgment. "But it is really late and you shouldn´t be out here by yourself." he got up. "Come with me, I´ll bring you home."

"Shouldn´t you help Marty?" the girl asked, following on his hand. "He´s on a secret …"

And that was when the man suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, his steel blue eyes staring at Doc just as cold and merciless as he remembered them. He didn´t even have the time to gasp in shock when he was already lifted off his feet. The T-1000 held up his arm, and it transformed into a long glistening knife.

Jessie screamed.

The T-1000 flinched unnoticeable and frowning looked down on himself. Doc followed his gaze, only to find Jessie, kicking the lethal cyborg´s leg with her tiny feet. The T-1000 moved his leg effortlessly, and Jessie squeaked, flying to the pavement. After that distraction was removed the T-1000 was ready to eliminate his target. He wound up, ready to strike, and Doc tensed expecting the pain.

A shot rang out through the night and the knife-arm exploded into a dozen silver drops. The T-1000 frowned, irritated, but only until he heard the engine of a motorcycle closing in. Another shot hit him in the back and Doc got dropped to the ground.

He didn´t wait to see what would happen, but crawled over to cradle Jessie, protectively in his arms. Behind him he could hear the howling motorcycle, and then yet another shot. And another. The next thing he knew, was that someone grabbed him from behind, and lifted him off the ground.

He screamed, clinging to Jessie like she was the only blade of grass in a raging river. And then he was the one who was cradled, between two strong arms in a leader jacket. In the corner of his eyes he saw the T-1000 get back up and a shotgun that was aiming over his head. He quickly covered Jessie´s ears, before the shot rang out – way too loud. The girl squeaked again, and clung to him in fear.

A moment later the motorcycle drove off, leaving the murderous Terminator behind.

...

That was so not good. Marty hurried to get out of Biff´s car. He was at the school and he shouldn´t be at the school. It was a miracle that they had even made it to the school. This guy was crazy driving like that. Each time he changed the gear, Marty had believed to buy the farm. They had just about missed a god damn truck, for Christ´s sake. Future Biff was lucky to have lost only a leg!

Dammit!

But that was exactly the point, wasn´t it? Biff had gotten away with a lost leg. Someone else hadn´t been so lucky. Miles Dyson and his family. Marty wondered where they were by now.

Wherever they were now. He had the bad feeling he knew where they´d be as soon as Biff decided to drive away from here, back home.

He was about to follow Biff, when something made him halt. What? What was he even trying to do? He didn´t have to follow Biff. He knew what he would do. And he had absolutely no business interfering with that. No sir, not at all. If he had learned anything from Doc then that he should stay away from past events. Especially his own past.

But what he really needed to do was make sure Biff wouldn´t drive home tonight. And that meant he had some business with his car.

Of course, that was it. All it would take was some messing with the wheels and everything would be okay. Biff would have to catch a ride with someone else, and hopefully no one would get hurt anymore. Or maybe he should steal his car altogether? Just to make sure Biff wouldn´t cause any accidents at all until his leg was better.

Yeah, that´s what he´d do. He knew how to hot-wire the car, it was easy especially with an old model like this. He was just about to get in, climbing over the door, when somebody shouted, over the parking lot.

"Hey, who´s that guy at Biff´s car?"

Marty flinched, and lost his balance. He fell and miraculously landed right in two pairs of not gentle arms.

"Hey, that´s this bug, Calvin Kline." one of the guys announced.

"Seems he needs a lesson in good behavior." the other one agreed.

And before he even knew what happened, Marty found himself dragged behind, away from Biff´s car.

...

"You said you´d stay behind at the clock tower." T rebuked him when he stopped at the curbside, just outside the school´s parking lot.

Doc was still shaking, but by now it was from anger, at T for bringing them here, at himself for letting this happen, at everything that had gone wrong since they got here. In his arms Jessie was very calm. Her big eyes looked about curious as always. And god, he envied her for this youthful and fearless attitude.

He struggled to get off the bike.

"What happened?" T wanted to know. "Did something change the plan?"

"Nothing changed the plan." Doc put down Jessie. "I´m still at the clock tower."

T only looked at him, no change in his face. But somehow Doc could tell that he was confused.

"I am not the Doc Brown from your time." he explained to him and remembered Jessie just in this moment. She looked very confused, but also very interested. It was not a good sign that she hadn´t started to ask half a dozen questions already.

Doc inched a little closer to T, trying to speak quiet. "You uhm. You must carry on with your mission." he told him. "And I´ll take care of mine. Okay?"

T was still not moving. He only looked.

"If you are the Doctor Brown from the future …" he ignored Doc´s angry gestures, trying to keep him from speaking out loud in front of the kid. "Something must have interfered with my mission." the Terminator decided. "It´s the only logical conclusion."

"No it is not. There´s nothing wrong with your mission, as long as you just return to it now." he made a gesture, inviting T to simply walk away from them. "Really. Thanks a lot for your help, but I can handle things alone from here."

"Negative. My mission is to protect you."

"You can´t protect me very good, if my past self gets killed while you´re not at your post!" Doc shouted, losing his patience. T didn´t respond. "The T-1000 will be here soon, and he will be after Marty." he informed this stubborn machine, and beside him Jessie gasped. "I´m ordering you to accomplish your mission, and to protect him. Just like you did it the first time around."

The Terminator was still not responding. "Are you sure?" the then asked and Doc exhaled.

"Yes, I´m sure. And now go, before it´s too late."

"Yeah, please." Jessie agreed. "Before it´s too late."

And this time, thanks god, the machine with the mind of a five year old, turned away and headed for the school without another objection.

...

Marty struggled, with everything he had, but against three guys, laughing and pulling him in three different directions, he had no chance.

"Let´s see what Biff thinks about you." one of them laughed directly into his face. "He´s not far, just wait."

Marty knew he wasn´t far. But dammit, if they busied Biff with him now, Biff might actually be late for his meeting with George and Lorraine. God, please, he had to get out of here.

"Stop." a deep voice said, as if it had heard his plead, and the three guys halted.

Marty caught a brief glance over his shoulder, and there he was. T. The one and only.

"What do you want, grandpa?" one of the guys dared, but instead of giving an answer T simply pulled out a gun.

Marty was dropped instantly, and the three guys ran. A hand was held out for him, and Marty took it, instinctively.

"You abandoned your mission." T mentioned after he helped him up.

"What? No. No, I …" Marty halted, realizing his mistake. "Uhm, I mean, no. No, I´m still on it."

T stepped closer, looking at him with this unmoving expression, and for a moment Marty felt naked under this stare.

"You wear different clothes." T observed, giving him yet another once over. "And your tissue is several days older than it was before. You´re the Martin McFly from the future."

Marty was speechless. Was that bad? He just didn´t know.

"What´s all this about?" T wanted to know, and he actually sounded like someone who´d had enough.

"Listen." Marty began. "I really don´t know if it is a good idea I told you. You see … Doc always says it´s not good to … to interfere with past events. So I probably do too much by talking to you now."

T simply nodded. "Doctor Brown instructed me to protect you." he told him, and it took Marty approximately three seconds to realize what he´d just heard. Doc! He was here!

"All right." he said, thinking fast. "And you did. But you know … you will have a lot more to do in about … ten minutes from now. On the other side of the building, over there." he pointed and T followed his finger. "Because the T-1000 will be here soon, and he´s going to kill me. So do me a favor and protect me over there, okay? Okay?"

He padded the Terminator´s shoulder, and rushed away from him, quickly.

God, he only hoped he hadn´t messed up everything already.