The Masquerade
By Ael L. Bolt

Rating: PG
Genre: Supernatural/Drama
Summary: AU. Six months before the first movie, the Libyans kidnap Marty to get Doc to build them the plutonium bomb. Marty escapes, but has to make a choice between his humanity and his life.

Disclaimer: Back to the Future and all its characters belong to Universal Studios. I do not claim any part of them, and no matter how much I'd like to do so, there is no denying that the first movie came out the year before I was born, which would make it somewhat impossible. All I own is the specifics of the vampire subspecies. Katherine O'Conelly is based off a friend of mine who LOVES vampires, and often portrays herself as one in her own fanfiction. Rock on, DarkJediPrincess! "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" belongs to Tears For Fears, and according to my research it was one of the 1985 top singles.

Author's Note: This takes place in the first version of 1985, which means George is a nerdy wimp and Lorraine is a drunk, and all that stuff.

Author's Note #2: I wasn't going to post the first chapter so early, because I like to write a bit ahead before posting and I got stuck on chapter four. However, since Flaming Trails expressed an interest in reading the story, and since I had nothing better to do, here be chapter one.

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Chapter One – Early Awakenings

Tuesday, April 2nd, 1985
Hill Valley, California
7:28 AM

"Welcome to your life, there's no turning back, even while we sleep, we will find you..."

The sixteen-year old muttered incoherently as the music blasted apart his precious sleep, and he futilely tried to burrow back into his pillow and drown out the noise. Damn it, stupid alarm...I should probably get up or something, he thought to himself, yet made no move to get up or even open his eyes.

"...acting on your best behavior, turn your back on Mother Nature, everybody wants to rule the world..."

Finally, it penetrated the fog in his mind. Wait...my alarm? He lifted his head and groggily regarded the piece of machinery that was obliviously blaring away, squinting at the time. Seven-thirty...damn, I must've forgotten to turn it off for the week. He sighed and finally reached up to silence the alarm clock, resigning himself to getting up early. I may be hard to wake up, but once I'm up I usually stay that way, he muttered inwardly.

Within ten minutes, he was up and dressed – which wasn't that complicated, since he had a rather peculiar habit of sleeping in his clothes. He scribbled a quick note to his parents and left it on the kitchen table where they would be sure to find it. Then he grabbed his Walkman and skateboard on his way out the door, being sure not to wake anybody up as he closed it behind him.

The sixteen-year old skateboarded down the semi-busy street, cursing his bad luck as he went. Hill Valley High had begun its annual Spring Break the day before, and apparently he had forgotten to turn off his alarm again. If he'd been uninterrupted, he probably would have slept in well past ten o'clock.

There was a white pickup truck sitting at the red light, and as the light changed he grabbed onto the tailgate and ducked down a little to avoid being noticed. The driver of the truck, apparently unaware of his new passenger, accelerated far past what the skateboarder could achieve on his own.

As the truck turned a corner, the teenager let go and snagged the rear bumper of a red convertible. The car cruised along through town, and when it passed a certain Burger King, the car-surfer once again abandoned his ride. He narrowly missed tripping over two dogs and a cat, who were traveling together on the sidewalk for some unexplainable reason, but managed to step off his skateboard and walk normally to the nearby garage.

After unlatching the chain-link fence and slipping through, the teen knocked on the door and waited. Sure enough, only a few minutes passed before the door opened to reveal what appeared to be your typical, everyday mad scientist – complete with flyaway white hair.

"Marty!" the scientist greeted him with a smile, gesturing for him to come on in. "I haven't seen you up this early on your own since...well, I don't think I ever have seen you up this early on your own. Is something wrong?"

"Nah," the teen replied as the door closed behind him. "I didn't turn my alarm off again and couldn't get back to sleep, so I figured I'd come over and see if you needed help with anything." He eyed the menagerie of mechanical parts that were lying around on the garage floor and even strewn across the few bits of furniture. A scruffy dog trotted up next to Marty, who obligingly scratched the dog behind the ears. "Hey, Einstein. Looks like you've got more of a mess than usual, Doc."

"Yes, well, I was a bit busy trying to assemble one of my latest inventions and I haven't had time to clean up yet," Doc replied. "Would you mind helping me straighten things up a bit?"

"No problem," Marty answered as he kicked his skateboard underneath Doc's workbench. The teen set to work putting scattered microchips in a small cardboard box, moving his head in rhythm with the Huey Lewis tape in his Walkman. Across the room, Doc was gathering up various wires and cables from the floor near the couch.

"It's your annual spring break from school, isn't it?" Doc asked after a few minutes, taking care to pitch his voice loud enough that Marty could hear him over the music.

Marty glanced up at the question, and pushed back his headphones a little so that he could hear both Doc and the music at the same time. "Yeah, it started yesterday," he replied as he reached under Doc's jukebox for a microchip. "I woulda been out with the guys, but all of 'em went on vacation. Even Jennifer's gone off to visit relatives up in Washington for the week. I'd love to go somewhere, but you know my parents. They never let me go anywhere unless I can make it there on my own two feet...or my skateboard."

"What sort of places would you like to visit?" Doc asked as they worked.

Like you don't know already, Marty thought with a sigh. This must be the millionth time we've talked about this sort of thing. He decided to humor his friend anyway. "Oh, you know, Hollywood and the Grand Canyon and all that stuff. Pretty much anywhere but here, at least for a few days. Hill Valley's great and all that, but sometimes I just gotta get away from it all, you know?"

"I do indeed," Doc said, but there was a strange tone in his voice. Marty looked over at his friend, but couldn't pinpoint what exactly had sounded off. "In fact," Doc continued, "if I can get one of my inventions to work, I may be taking a short trip somewhere, myself."

"Where are you planning on going?" Marty asked casually. This is new...he's never talked about going anywhere before.

"Not too far," Doc assured him. "In fact, if it works out like it's supposed to, I won't be gone long enough for you to really even notice."

Marty shrugged, though inwardly he wondered at Doc's choice of words. Where could Doc go that would be that fast to visit? As he moved to stack the box of microchips on top of a toolbox, he caught sight of a strange metal contraption under the bed. "Hey Doc, what's that thing?" he asked, pointing at the invention. "I don't think I've ever seen it before."

"Mind-reading device," Doc admitted after a glance, continuing to gather up various bits of trash from the corners of the garage. "I tried to get it working back in the fifties, but it was a complete failure. I guess I never got around to getting rid of it."

Marty shook his head. I swear, Doc never throws anything away, he mused as he nudged the box further under the bed with his foot. "So what are you working on now?" he asked the scientist. "Anything promising?"

"Oh, you could say that," Doc replied with a grin. "I don't want to get your hopes up though, so you'll forgive me if I wait to tell you what it is until I can confirm that it works. That should be later this year, maybe around October. It all depends on how long it takes me to acquire a certain... component."

Marty was definitely intrigued at the idea of a secret invention. "Oh yeah? Don't suppose you'd at least let me look at it, then." He added the last bit as a bit of a teasing note, thinking about how mysterious Doc had acted about that new car of his. The scientist had purchased it a few months before, and had barely let Marty even admire it. Come to think of it, I don't even know if Doc's driven it anyplace, Marty thought, casting a quick glance over to the far corner of the garage, where the sheet-covered sports car was parked. Occasionally he could catch a glimpse of the silver-colored frame when Doc had apparently been tampering with something on the car, but Marty never got to see it up close. Hell, I'm not even sure what kind of car it is, Marty realized, looking harder at the indistinct form.

Marty was interrupted from his thoughts by Einstein nudging at his knees. "Hey Doc, do you mind if I take Einie out for a walk?" the teen asked, recognizing the pleading look in the canine's eyes. "I think he could use the exercise, you know."

"Oh, would you?" Doc answered, sounding somewhat guilty. "I'm afraid I've been neglecting him a little lately. Go ahead, take him to the park and play fetch or something. Both of you look like you could use some fresh air."

Marty laughed slightly as Einstein bounded up to get his leash, apparently in full agreement with his master. The dog offered Marty the old leash, and the teen obediently clipped it to Einie's collar. "We'll be back in maybe an hour or two," Marty said, throwing Doc a quick mock salute as he opened the door. The scientist waved absently to show that he'd heard, and so Marty and Einstein left the garage.

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A/N: Okay, so far there's one non-BttF reference to Michael J. Fox; just for giggles, see if you can find it. Also I apologize for the seeming lack of plot in this chapter, but I have a bad habit of jumping straight into the main plotline from the first sentence, so I'm practicing restraint. Don't worry, by chapter two the plot will be made apparent.