July 18, 1986
5:07 p.m. EDT
"Dr. Catledge, the Overlorder's arrived," Gately informed his boss.
"Good, Catledge smiled darkly, "Have they armed it?"
"They're doing it is we speak, sir," Gately said, "Shall we go see it?"
"By all means; come on Haeckel," Catledge and his dog followed Gately into the elevator. "Next stop, ground floor, Gately said, pressing the basement button.
"I don't approve of humor," Catledge glared at him.
"Sorry sir," Gately apologized. The doors opened to reveal the basement hangar, and in the middle of it was a long gray vehicle that looked like a flattened bus with gun ports all over. "The finest military technology in its class," Catledge said proudly, running a finger along it, "And it's all mine to use on Green."
"ONLY one in its class," Gately added. "Have you got the plutonium rigged up?" he asked a technician.
"We put it into this missile here," the technician pointed to a bomb rigged to the vehicle's starboard side, "Just don't hit any buttons prematurely or it won't be pretty."
Catledge nodded and dialed the nearest phone. "Faraday, where are they now?" he asked his associate.
"They're only giving me an overly general position with the radar now, Dr. Catledge," Faraday told him, "But they're still somewhere along Florida's west coast. We're about twenty miles north of West Palm Beach about now, so barring traffic we'll be in Fort Lauderdale within the next hour and a half or so."
"Keep an eye on them for me and give me updates; I'll be joining you in Lauderdale soon," Catledge said as he hung up. "Haeckel, you're shotgun," he told his dog as he opened the Overlorder's door, which was similar to the DeLorean's in nature. Haeckel eagerly jumped up into the passenger seat. "How come he gets shotgun, sir?" Gately protested.
"He has seniority," Catledge told him, buckling his dog in, "You're navigator, Gately, so get in place."
Gately shrugged and sat down in a seat with a large control panel around the middle of the Overlorder. The interior was stainless steel and loaded with weapons control panels. "Engines start," Catledge told the main console as he took his place in the driver's seat. The machine roared to life. "Hang on tight," he said, throwing the controls to Drive. The Overlorder screamed out of the hangar and toward the main gate. "Boy sir, you sure know how to make a fast vehicle," Gately complimented him.
"Zero to eighty in five seconds is a concept I love," Catledge licked his lips, "As well as intimidating firepower. Let's just hope White doesn't cop out at the last minute."
July 18, 1986
5:31 p.m.
"All right, there's got to be a familiar highway or landmark around here somewhere," Newton shrugged, looking over the myriad maps that had been set up on the floor of the spacecraft.
"What landmarks?" Amy asked him, "This is Florida, everything's flat."
"I just knew we should have made that left turn at Albuquerque," Johnny-5 commented in a Bugs Bunny voice.
"Funny you didn't bring that up when we were around Albuquerque," Marty told the robot. Somehow they'd drifted off course since they'd last stopped, and Doc's compass had run out of power with its batteries. "Come on Max," he asked their alien benefactor, "There's got to be some sort of navigation thing you can do here now that you have your star charts back."
"I can…" Max started to say, but was distracted by something out the window. "You never told me you built a replica of Phaelon's Hall of Information," he exclaimed looking at a large familiar sphere in front of them.
"No, that's Spaceship Earth at Epcot Center," Doc informed him. The scientist looked relieved. "At least now we're getting somewhere," he said, "Finding Disney is perhaps the best bet we had landmark wise."
"This is all new," David was amazed by Epcot below him, "If this is Disney, than they've really built onto it since I was last here. I've got to check some of this out."
"So we now that we found Disney, where do we go now? "Wayne inquired as they now zoomed towards Orlando proper.
"Judging by what I've seen of Epcot's directional layout form the future, we should head that way toward the Gulf," Doc pointed to his right, "Luckily we should be on a direct line with the aforementioned Lowe's now. Once we're done there, we should probably hug the coast until we get back to Fort Lauderdale."
"Gotcha," David zoomed the spacecraft in the specified direction. It was ten minutes later when they touched down in a swamp behind the Lowe's. "Let me come with you this time," the boy requested of Doc as the stairs morphed out.
"I suppose we could accommodate that," Doc said, "After all, it's not like everyone in the country's after you. You can help us pick out the generators."
The Lowe's was far more crowded than Marty could have imagined. To make things more stressful, the electrical generators, as they found out from a clerk, were all the way in the back of the store. After all the stressful time spent trying to load them into their shopping carts, they also found that there was only one cashier on duty at the checkout. A long and tortuous wait began, with Doc constantly glancing at his watches and muttering something under his breath. It was almost forty minutes later when they reached the register. "Will you be paying cash or credit?" the cashier asked them as they heaved the generators up onto the checkout.
"Cash," Doc told her.
"OK, it comes to $145.97," she told him. Doc pulled some money out of his pocket with a free hand and gave it to her. The cashier frowned. "This isn't money," she told him.
"Well of course it is, it's certified…" Doc took a closer look at the bills he gave her. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, "I gave you some of my 1830s dollars by mistake."
"Your what?" the cashier raised her eyebrows.
"Um, uh, well, uh,…" Doc looked back and noticed there was no one behind him or heading for the register at the moment. "You know what, this is all just a bad dream," he said, and with that held the Alpha Rhythm Generator to her face. "Very nice Doc," Marty commented as the cashier slumped asleep on the conveyor belt, "Now you're really starting to overuse it."
"I couldn't think of anything else to do," Doc shrugged, pulling out 1980s dollars and putting them in the open register drawer to pay for the generators.
"Hey look Doc, we made the news," Marty pointed to the television the cashier had set up next to the register. A big image of the spaceship was behind the anchor as he announced the news. "…sightings have continued all today, and many Floridians have taken to watching the skies for this strange phenomenon," he was saying, "Officials have stated they have no idea what may be causing these appearances, and are not sure if the apparent flying saucers are life threatening. We'll have more on this story as it unfolds. In other news, an accident took the life of an intern at NASA this afternoon. Twenty-three year old Carolyn MacAdams was mopping the floor on one of the higher floor of NASA's Kennedy Building when she slipped and fell five stories out an open window. Officials are examining the cause of death for…"
"WHAT!?" Marty exclaimed at the top of his lungs, utterly shocked and horrified at what he was just hearing. He knew deep down that whatever had happened to Carolyn was not an accident as they were describing it.
"No!" if anything, David was ten times more horrified than Marty was at the news, "Carolyn! Why…?"
"I can tell you why in one word: Catledge," Doc said with grave and somber expression on his face, "He must have traced her to us and gone into his Gestapo information routine, which must have turned ugly. I've know him to have done the same to other people, and after the circumstances with her father and all, it was perhaps natural that he'd be too harsh on her."
"What happened with her father and Dr. Catledge?" Marty had to know.
"Back in the late 60s, her father Major MacAdams was part of Catledge's research team for weapons advancement," Doc explained, "Only Catledge didn't tell anyone on the project that. As far as they knew, they were working to create the next high-grade fertilizer. But what they were really making was Agent Orange. To make a long story short, Major MacAdams eventually became aware of the horrific effect this concoction was having on the ecosystem of Southeast Asia and tried to complain to Catledge about it. When Catledge told him through his aides that he was sure he was making the whole story up, Major MacAdams broke the whole story to the press, and for once in his life, Catledge was forced to abandon the project and scale back the military's usage of Agent Orange. But he also took the chance to wreck Major MacAdams's career, and at last check the poor man, after going all over the country to base after base, drank himself to death in disgrace up at a weather station in northern Alaska. Very tragic."
"She was the only friend I had here!" David burst into tears and buried his head in Doc's side, "She didn't deserve to die over me! Tell me you can change this, Dr. Brown!?"
"I think we can," Doc said with great resolve, "Assuming we can successfully send you back to 1978, this horrible event will be erased from existence, and Miss MacAdams will be alive and well. And because Catledge has to stoop to killing people now, he's given us the best ace in the hole we could have. Marty get the generators; we've got to make things right."
Marty nodded blankly and put them back into the cart. As much as he didn't want to see David die in the past, he couldn't let Carolyn's death in the present be the way things would turn out. He knew he had to put his reservations aside for the better.
July 18, 1986
7:16 p.m.
"Howard, you know I like the people I work with to be punctual," Scroeder told his associate over the phone.
"Scroeder, it's not my fault!" Marner protested, "There was a major accident on I-95 just south of Palm Beach, and we've been locked up in traffic for an hour. It's just starting to break up now. Expect us there in about a half hour or so now."
"You and the others better get here quick, Howard, because if I have to spend the night with Mr. Moron Tannen, I'll scream!" Scroeder growled. Then he added, "On a lighter note, Howard, we're all set up here in case they try to run for it or fight back when they show up."
"Be careful Scroeder, they do have Number Five with them," Marner warned him, "For all we know he's probably still malfunctioning."
"Don't be a worrywart, Howard, if that blasted robot moves its laser one inch I'll blow it clean into the scrap heap," Scroeder reassured him, "Where are they now, just so I know?"
"Uh, at last check, radar has them passing over the Keys and heading toward Miami," Marner told him, "They're going a lot slower now, almost as if something's on their mind."
"Well maybe they know we're coming and know what we'll do to them if they resist," Scroeder suggested, "Call me again when you're actually here in Lauderdale."
He hung up. "Duke, get Task Force B around the back of the house!" he yelled out the window to one of his aides, "They might not just land in front for us!"
"Bang, Baltic Avenue, you owe me rent!" Biff shouted excitedly from the floor where he was forcing the Freemans to play Monopoly with him.
"You can't take that much!" Mr. Freeman protested as Biff helped himself to a large portion of the money.
"Yeah, well, like I said earlier, I've got the gun and you don't, so you're just going to let me do whatever I want," Biff told him, twirling it for good measure. He rolled the dice and moved ahead four spaces. I'm buying North Carolina Avenue off you, toots," he told Mrs. Freeman, gesturing for the deed.
"Take it, take all of it," she sighed, tossing all of her holdings at him, "I'm folding."
"OK then, put on CBS while you're at it, I'm not missing the Price is Right Special at the top of the hour," Biff told her.
"Uh, I need to go to the bathroom," Jeff said abruptly, rising.
"Yeah sure kid, make it quick," Biff said, waving him off. Scroeder rolled his eyes and walked back outside to check his men's progress.
July 18, 1986
7:48 p.m.
"There's Miami Beach," Nick pointed at the waterfront below them in the sunset, "We're almost there."
"Good," Newton said, still looking exhausted even though he'd taken a nap, "This has been the longest day of my life."
"I'm still going strong," Johnny-5 whirled around in place like Tony Manero and doing several Saturday Night Fever dance moves.
"Glad we can count on you, Johnny-5," Doc said. The scientist was hooking up the last of the generators. "All finished here," he said, "If my calculations are correct, we've now reached the threshold of 5.78 jigowatts."
"Hmm," Max zoomed over and examined Doc's handiwork, "I don't know. It still doesn't look perfect. If we were doing it on Phaelon, it would be perfect."
"What are you saying?" Marty spoke up, "That you don't trust us?"
"It's not that I don't trust," Max told him, "Since I've never done anything like this before, I can only assume it won't work."
"It'll work," Doc said, "You can trust me on it. It HAS to work. A human life hangs in the balance for this."
"I don't know," Max did the equivalent of shaking one's head, "Human time travel is still just too dangerous to attempt in my opinion."
"We HAVE to try it Max!" David spoke up, getting emotional again, "If Carolyn ends up staying dead, I'd never forgive myself!"
"Hey, it's not your fault Catledge killed her, Dave," Marty patted him on the shoulder, "Don't go blaming yourself. We're going to try and send you back even if it kills us. We're going to make sure she's alive again."
"Please don't say that Marty!" Amy scolded him.
"Sorry," Marty apologized. "So anyway, Max, what're you going to do once we finish up with all this?" he asked the alien.
"I'll return all my other specimens back to the time and place I picked them up," Max said, gesturing toward the other alien life forms, "By now they're so hungry they could eat a zickzar."
"A what?" Wayne frowned.
"Kind of like a hippo, but with feathers," Max explained.
"Well, just make sure you don't leave any paradoxes when you return them," Doc said, "And in the future of this planet's continuum, if they need any more Earth subjects for research on Phaelon, try to take a non-human life form. It would be less detrimental. And besides, I really don't want to go through this again." He looked to the north. "Zero hour'll be within a half hour or so," he said, smiling at the thought of finally ending the paradox in the continuum, "We must make the preliminary preparations for the temporal displacement."
July 18, 1986
8:14 p.m.
"Great, new car!" Biff said as he watched Bob Barker introduce the next prize, "I bet they're going to play Drinko for it."
"It's 'Plinko,' and they don't play it for cars," Mrs. Freeman corrected him.
"You know, I really don't like the blatant cynicism I'm hearing in this house," Biff said, "If you're not careful, I might do something about it."
Scroeder came back inside. "Get on your feet, men, they're about to enter Broward County airspace!" he instructed them, "They should be here within fifteen minutes or so!"
"Sounds good, Scroed," Biff told him, "Care to join us while we wait?"
"Tannen, did the other son ever come back from the bathroom?" Scroeder inquired.
"Uh, not yet," Biff admitted, "He did have a lot to eat at dinner, so I can imagine…"
"Tannen, did it ever occur to you that he might have pulled a fast one on you!?" Scroeder said roughly, "Get off your lazy rear and find him. He could be helping them as we speak!"
"But the lady here could win a new car!" Biff protested, pointing at the TV screen.
"NOW!" Scroeder roared in his face.
"Fine, fine, have it your way!" Biff grumbled at loud as he rose to his feet, "But this is the last time I work with you!"
"Thank God!" Scroeder shouted back.
Biff sauntered up the stairs. "Hey kid, you in there still?" he asked, pushing open the bathroom door. It was completely deserted. "Come on out kid," he called looking in each and every upstairs, "Don't make Uncle Biff mad."
He heard a sizzle outside the window. He turned to see something bright whiz by. Nodding, he ran up the attic stairs and stuck his head out the window. Jeff was on the roof, trying to light firecrackers, but each one failed to go off. Biff smiled and climbed up onto the roof. "Hey kid, whatdya think you're doing up here?" he called to David's brother.
"Uh, nothing, really," Jeff said, looking nervous, "Just a little, um, bird migration thing."
"I don't think so," Biff drew his gun, "Why don't you just be a nice kid and come back into the house? It's not good to lie to somebody about using the bathroom when you're not going to actually use it."
"Look, I don't have time to…" Jeff tried to protest.
"No use arguing, kid," Biff put the gun right in his face, "Just do what Uncle Biff tells you and come on with me."
"Hey what's that!?" Jeff pointed up into the twilight sky. Biff fell for it completely and looked up. Jeff picked up the heavy firework box and biffed Biff in the face with it. "Oh waiter, can I have some menus here at Table 10?" Biff asked dazedly. Then he keeled sideways off the roof into the bushes below. Jeff breathed a big sigh of relief and went back to trying to light the stubborn fireworks...
On the other side of Fort Lauderdale, the spaceship had stopped. "Well, where's the sign they said was coming?" Stephanie asked, scanning the darkening skies for anything.
"Maybe we can't see it from here?" Amy suggested.
"Not likely," Doc told her, "This location in the sky offers a view of the entire Fort Lauderdale metro area. I know because the plane we flew in on for the convention passed right over this same vicinity. We would see something if they had it coming. I would prefer if we not hover around here like this, though. Catledge will probably have the nearest air force bases' jets up and running within minutes, and…."
"Hey Doc, look over there!" Marty pointed behind the tall building in front of them. Fireworks were exploding high in the sky. "I guess that's the sign."
"Yes!" David pumped his fists in delight, "Great going, Jeff. You came through for us."
"So I guess your brother isn't as bad after all," Marty asked him.
"Nope," David said, "I'll never underestimate him again, even when he does bug me."
Out in front of the Freemans, Scroeder ran out to the front of the yard and watched more fireworks go off. The security man quickly put two and two together. "They're approaching!" he shouted to his men, "Get those searchlights on now, go, go, go!"
His team threw the switches and aimed the searchlights at the now dark skies. There was a roar of engines as the NASA convoy arrived. "Scroeder, where are they?" Marner asked as he and Faraday ran over.
"We'll know in a minute or two, Howard," Scroeder said, "We should have visuals any second now."
Moments later, Catledge pulled the Overlorder quietly up to the side of the house. "Now we wait," he told Haeckel and Gately, "And if they run for it, we go after them. All we do is switch it to the Air/Space setting and follow them as long as it takes."
Up in the spaceship, Marty frowned as he and the others watched the searchlights illuminate the Fort Lauderdale sky. "That's not good," he admitted.
"Lights, searchlights, Twentieth Century-Fox," Johnny-5 buzzed, pointing at them.
"No, that's not Twentieth Century-Fox," Newton said dismally, "They've been waiting for us."
"Oh no!" David groaned, "Why won't they leave me alone!?"
"Because that's Dale Catledge's way," Doc told him, "They're all desperate."
"Well, at least we brought you home, David," Max told his subject.
"You call that…," Stephanie pointed to the dozens of security people running around on the Freemans' lawn, "…home?"
"What should I do, Dr. Brown?" David asked him.
"The choice is all yours, David," Doc said solemnly, "The choice is all yours."