Chapter 9
Tuesday, February 4th, 1986
Hill Valley
1:04 P.M.
It was two days later when Doc and the tentacles were forced to make a second outing. Doc was fixing some timing issues with his breakfast maker when he sent Jules to get him a drink. Jules returned with a bottle of Pepsi and some news. We appear to be running out of food products, Father. The fridge seems to be at no more than 15 percentof its capacity.
Doc frowned as he processed this. I see. Well, I haven't had a chance to restock it since late January, when -- He shuddered. You four know. I'm probably low on food in general.
Albert checked the pantry for him to make sure. The cupboards are better stocked, but not by much, he reported. I estimate they're at 30 percent capacity.
I see. Then I guess we're going shopping as soon as I'm done here.
At the mall? Tommy asked curiously, handing him a screwdriver.
Nope, at the local ShopNSave. The mall doesn't carry groceries.
Oh. Tommy looked sad for a moment, but quickly perked up. At least we get to go out. Will we be carrying you again, Father?
Doc chewed it over for a moment, looking out the window. It was a bright sunny day, and he could hear quite a bit of traffic going up and down his street. Traveling by tentacle in the dead of the night was one thing, but doing it in broad daylight was another. What if he incited mass panic?
Then again, it is an awfully long way to walk. . . . And I'm sure everyone has already seen me on the news and such. All right, you can carry me there. The tentacles squeaked happily and redoubled their efforts on the machine.
A few minutes later, it was done. Doc set the components back in place and tested it. Everything ran perfectly. Doc smiled. "We did good, kids."
The tentacles nodded. Tommy grabbed Doc's coat for him, eager to get outside. After a moment of struggle, Doc slipped it on. "We'll be back in a little while, Einstein," Doc said, scratching his dog's head. "You be good now."
Einstein wuffed, then went over to his doggy bed and lay down. "Good boy. We'll see you shortly." Doc grabbed his keys and headed out the door.
There were a lot of cars in the driveway he shared with Burger King, he noted as the tentacles opened the gate for him. The fast food restaurant was doing a booming business. Unfortunately, that meant a lot more people gawking at him. Doc felt a little self-conscious as he heard the first cry of "Look! It's Dr. Octopus!"
Why do they always make such a big fuss? Albert wondered, looking around at the gathering crowd. Are we really that weird?
It's the fame factor, Doc explained. Dr. Octopus is a very well-known comic book character. I don' think anyone ever suspected he'd make the shift from fantasy to reality.
I don't like it, Verne admitted, also looking at the crowd. All that talk about us being evil will start up again. It's almost like they want us to be evil.
What can I tell you? Humans are very strange creatures.
That we well know, Father. That we well know.
"Dr. Octopus!"
"Don't get too close!"
"Wow, look at those tentacles!"
"He must be off to rob the bank."
"Actually, I'm going to go buy groceries," Doc sighed, as the tentacles squeaked their displeasure.
"And you'll buy them with the money you get from robbing the bank, right?"
Doc rolled his eyes. Comedians. . . . Come on, kids, why don't we put some distance between ourselves and these gawkers?
Obligingly, the tentacles embedded their claws in the concrete and elevated Doc. The crowd quickly parted as they set off in the direction of the ShopNSave. "Don't forget to rob the bank!" the comedian called after them. Doc somehow fought off the urge to flip him the bird.
It only took Doc and the tentacles ten minutes to reach the grocery store. The tentacles put him down in the parking lot, much to the excitement of the shoppers. Doc ignored their yells and started walking to the entrance. The tentacles, hoping to make everyone calm down, started to slide under his coat. Don't bother, Doc told them a bit sadly. They'll act like this whether they can see you or not. I don't want you to have to hide. The tentacles nodded and stayed out.
Doc grabbed a cart on his way in and paused near the entrance. What was in my fridge? he asked Jules.
Half a gallon of milk, seven carrots, two stalks of celery, a package of baloney, a quarter-full jar of mayonnaise, a full bottle of ketchup, a carton of juice, and a wedge of cheese, Jules reported.
In the pantry I found seven cans of dog food, a six-pack of Ramen noodle soup, and various canned foods, Albert added.
Thank you. We'll start in the produce aisle and go from there. Doc steered his cart into the maze of fresh vegetables and fruit. Anything in particular you four want me to get?
We like what you like, Verne said. We experience all flavors through you, after all.
You have no preferences at all?
Well -- I did like bananas. . . .
All right then, grab some. I could always use some more fruit in my diet. Verne did so, causing a few startled squeals from the other shoppers. Doc ignored them. Anybody else have a preference?
Can I get some tomatoes? Tommy asked.
Okay -- get three. And make sure they're bright red and firm. Jules, could you grab a package of lettuce?
Of course. Jules made his way over to the shelves. A nearby shopper -- a rather rotund blond woman -- eyed him suspiciously. Jules nodded to her and picked up a package of lettuce --
Only to have it snatched out of his pincers by the woman. "I want this, freak," she snapped, haughtily tossing it into her cart. Jules just stared, frozen by surprise.
Albert hissed. What a rude woman!
I know, Doc thought, selecting some apples. Maybe she thinks I can't hear her through you.
Still no reason to act like that, Albert said, doing his best to glare at her.
Tommy returned with a bag of fresh red tomatoes. Will these do, Father?
Perfect, Doc grinned, taking the bag. Tommy clacked his pincers happily as Jules grabbed another package of lettuce and quickly retracted away from the nasty shopper. Okay, now I need one of you to grab some peppers. . . .
They finished the produce and deli sections pretty quickly in this manner, and moved onto the aisles of prepackaged food. The tentacles did the best to stay out of the way of the other shoppers, who stopped and gawked openly. Why don't they just put us in the zoo and be done with it? Albert asked darkly as they walked into aisle seven.
Don't let it get to you, Doc said. There's really nothing we can do about it. He glanced around at the rows of chips and cookies. We really don't need anything from here. Let's move on.
Something suddenly poked him in the back. Puzzled. Doc turned to see Verne holding a bag of Doritos. I said no.
But you love Doritos! Marty brought them all the time when we were in the hospital!
And cookies! Tommy added, snatching up a package of Oreos.
We don't need any junk food!
But it was too late. The tentacles had realized where they were, and they were on a mission to fill his cart up with snacks. Look at these, Father! Says "filled with real chocolate chunks!"
We could get a different kind of Dorito if you want. There's lots of flavors.
These say "low-fat," would they be acceptable?
Or we could try a different kind of chip -- Lays, Pringles. . . .
No! We need cookies, not chips! Or candy! We like candy!
Yeah, candy! Can we get a package of 5th Avenues?
Or something with caramel?
"Enough!" Doc yelled, causing the tentacles to start in surprise. "We do not need any junk food!"
But Fa-therrrrr. . . .
"Put it all back," Doc said firmly. The tentacles sullenly returned the foodstuffs to their proper places. Doc noticed a woman nearby staring at them, while her own child tried to sneak some cookies into the cart. Doc shrugged and grinned weakly. "Kids. . . ."
The mother glanced at her own child and returned the gesture. "Matthew, put those away."
"I did put them away, Mommy," Matthew replied, the paragon of innocence.
"I meant on the shelf," the mother sighed, grabbing the package. Having a thought, Doc turned just in time to see Tommy attempting the same trick. The tentacle slumped. Damn it.
Why can't we have some junk food? Albert whined. We know you like it!
One package won't hurt, Jules nodded.
Yes, but if it was up to you, we'd buy nothing else. Let's finish the healthy shopping, then we can see about some treats. Doc led them into the next aisle.
They finished the rest of their shopping without incident, the tentacles sulking a little over Doc's insistence on health. They perked up, however, when Doc entered the frozen foods section. Can we get some ice cream, Father?
That's actually one aisle over, but yes, we can, Doc thought back, picking out some frozen vegetables. And after that we can go back to your favorite aisle.
Goodie.
Tommy suddenly spotted something on an end display. Hey, these look good! Can we have some of these, Father? he asked eagerly, presenting a package for inspection.
Doc snorted in laughter. Um -- Tommy -- those are Milkbones. That's dog food. But grab a package anyway, Einstein loves them. Tommy did so, looking a little embarrassed. I told you his AI isn't as advanced, Jules said smugly.
Don't start again, Doc warned. Or we'll leave with just what I have in the cart now.
You know, you can't really stop us from grabbing what we like, Albert commented.
I can if I tie your pincers together with some steel rope.
You don't have any steel rope, Albert accused, although not without a note of uncertainty in his voice.
Maybe not now, but it would be very easy to obtain some. Behave, all of you.
We will, Father, they promised, obviously disturbed by the idea of having their movement limited. Doc mentally filed it away as future reference for punishments. Can we get ice cream now?
Yes, yes, we can get ice cream now. Doc wheeled his cart into the proper aisle. The tentacles gaped for a few moments at all the brands and flavors. Wow. And we have to pick just one? Why can't we get one of each?
Where do you think I would put it all? Doc thought, amazed.
There must be room in the freezer! We can get more than one flavor! Look, we can get Peanut Butter Chunk, Rocky Road, Chocolate Chip, French Silk --
Stop right there! We are getting ONE carton of ice cream. And if you keep on like this, we'll skip the junk food aisle completely.
All right, all right. The tentacles discussed it among themselves for a bit, then finally settled on a carton of Rocky Road. A quick detour back to the junk food aisle to pick up some Doritos and a small bag of Chips Ahoy, and they were ready to check out. Doc pushed his cart into one of the lines. The people in front of him uneasily glanced at his tentacles and moved. Doc looked after them, shrugged, and moved up.
Jules nudged his shoulder. Father, look. There's that mean woman who took our lettuce.
Doc glanced over. Sure enough, there she was, one line over. She noticed him looking, gave a disgusted sniff, and put her nose in the air. What is her problem Albert wondered, hissing softly. Nobody else has reacted like that to us.
I get the feeling she acts like that to anyone she doesn't approve of, not just us, Doc thought, annoyed. Just try to ignore her.
The woman reached her line's cashier. "And how are you today, ma'am?" the man said politely, starting to ring her in.
"I'd be much better if that wasn't in the store," the woman said haughtily, pointing directly at Doc.
That. Not they -- although, really, that was a long shot even on a good day. Not he. That. Doc felt a surge of anger. He was no more than a thing in this mystery-woman's eyes? The tentacles rose up, hissing softly.
The cashier glanced between them, obviously feeling rather ill at ease. "Well, ma'am, he's still welcome to shop here. He hasn't done anything to hurt anyone."
"I don't care. Something like him shouldn't be allowed out in public. If my son had had his way, those ghastly tentacles would be in the garbage bin."
The hissing became louder, prompting a few nervous looks. Doc soothed them, then turned to the woman. "These 'ghastly tentacles' happen to be my pride and joy," he said coldly. "And if you're talking about what happened in the hospital, they were merely defending themselves. They didn't want to die."
"Nonsense. They're just machines. They can't think."
We can too! Tommy yelled, curling over Doc's shoulder and chattering at her. The other tentacles nodded, glaring at her with their camera eyes.
"You didn't want them cut off," the woman continued, doing her best to ignore them. "You wanted to be able to terrorize all of us. You're just bitter because you're the town freak."
She's just bitter because she's fat and ugly, Albert snapped.
Doc was sorely tempted to state Albert's sentiments out loud. But he decided to go with a different tactic. "If I'm so dangerous, why insult me when I can hear you? Aren't you afraid of what I might do to you?"
This actually seemed to get through to the woman. She eyed his tentacles a little more nervously. "So now you're threatening me, like you threatened my Stanley?"
"Stanley?"
"That intern you attacked -- Stanley Carlyle. I'm his mother."
Doc still didn't recognize the name. The tentacles did, however, and provided him with some footage their cameras had captured. "He came after them with a chainsaw!" Doc said as he watched their memories. "The only doctor to do so, I might add."
"He was the only doctor intelligent enough to see that those things needed to come off, no matter what the cost." The woman turned her back on him. "Ring these up and make it snappy. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."
Glaring, Doc turned back to his own line. Disgusting bint.
What right does she have to talk about us like that? Verne demanded. We haven't done anything to her!
She stole our lettuce, Tommy added.
And we didn't even touch her son, Jules agreed. He persisted in being obstinate, so we had Albert give him fair warning of what we might be forced to do. He followed it, and we left him alone.
That may be true, but only we know it is, Albert said, depressed. Most of these shoppers would probably agree with Stanley's mother. Nobody understands.
Marty does, Doc said.
No he doesn't. Not really. He can't hear us like you can. He may not believe we're truly alive.
Give him credit for not abandoning Father, Albert, Jules argued. He's willing to accept all of us, and to not doubt Father's word.
That's true. Albert perked a little. Maybe things aren't as grim after all.
They usually aren't, Doc assured him as they reached their cashier. "Hi, how are you?"
"I'm good sir, and you?"
"Fine." Doc began unloading his cart, the tentacles assisting (and doing their best to move the junk food to the front of the line). The cashier watched them as she scanned in items. "Well, they must be useful."
"They are," Doc grinned. "The best assistants you could ask for." The tentacles squeaked happily.
"And they don't get in the way or anything like that?"
"No, not really. They're very adaptable."
"Er -- Dr. Brown? Why is this one looking at me?" The bagger pointed to Verne, who had come over to investigate.
"He wants to know if he can help," Doc said as Verne nodded.
"Help?" The bagger looked at Verne. "Well, I guess it -- he -- could put the bags in the cart." He handed a bag to Verne, who did precisely as asked. "That's odd that -- he -- would want to help."
"They were built to assist people. And they love poking their pincers into things. They're a lot like small children."
As if to prove his point, Tommy noticed the gum and candy racks. Oooh! Buy us some candy!
"I already bought you Doritos and Chips Ahoy! Give it a rest!"
Come on, just one Fifth Avenue bar? Please? Doc could swear the tentacle was giving him puppy eyes.
"Okay, okay." Tommy gleefully picked up a bar and put it on the belt. "But that's it for junk food," Doc added sternly.
"It never is, a faceless voice commented from another line. "Believe me, I know."
Doc and the tentacles had to laugh at that. "Your total is $110.42," the cashier said, watching the tentacles again. "Uh -- this is going to sound weird, but -- can I touch one?"
Jules presented himself for a pat. "Sure. They're rather affectionate, actually. Go ahead." The cashier grinned and stroked Jules for a minute. "Cool," she said.
Jules buzzed happily. I like her.
So do I. It's nice to see someone who's interested in you, as opposed to merely scared. Doc happily paid up, waited for Verne and the bagger to finish with the cart, then headed out, followed by the stares of his fellow consumers. "Have a nice day now!" he yelled back to the cashier.
"Thank you sir, you too!"
The tentacles loaded themselves with bags as Doc returned the cart to its proper place. Would you prefer us to remain free so we can carry you back home? Albert asked, indicating himself and Tommy.
No, that's all right. I might as well use my own two feet. It's a pretty nice day out, after all. Albert and Tommy nodded and grabbed some more bags.
As they left the parking lot and started down the main road, Doc noticed a little boy staring at him. He and his mother had also just left the grocery store, judging by the bags they carried. Doc frowned as he observed the child through Albert's camera link. He seemed awfully familiar. . . .
Verne suddenly jerked up. What's that noise?
What's what noise? Doc asked, confused. I don't hear anything.
It's coming from further down the street -- must be out of the range of your hearing. Verne increased his audio input so Doc could hear too. The faint but growing wail of sirens filled Doc's ears. That's either a police car or an ambulance, he throught, frowning. There must be an emergency somewhere. Don't wander into the road to see, though -- we don't want to obstruct them.
Understood, Father.
As the sirens drew nearer, more and more people on the sidewalk stopped to listen and wonder. The little boy following them tugged on his mother's dress. "Is there a fire somewhere, Mommy?"
"I don't know," the woman admitted, sounding rather concerned. "There might be."
"I wanna see the fire truck," the boy announced, wandering to the edge of the road.
"Daniel, come back here!" The woman tried to go and retrieve her son, but a crowd had formed to watch for the source of the sirens, blocking her access.
It also blocked Doc's way home. Not feeling like fighting the crowd, Doc turned to watch as well. The tentacles were getting very curious about the noise, and frankly, so was he. There seemed to be a lot of sirens for whatever was happening. . . .
The scene finally reached the main road. Now Doc could see that it was a high-speed chase between a beat-up Datsun and four police cars. The cars were weaving all over the road, forcing innocent motorists to pull over and get out of the way. "Tch," Doc muttered. "A high speed chase on residential streets? How irresponsible."
As if to proved his point, as the Datsun and the cruisers made another sharp turn, one of the officers lost control of his car. It screeched along the opposite sidewalk for a moment, watched closely by the crowd. Then, suddenly, it managed to hit something -- Doc couldn't see what, even with the tentacles -- at just the right angle to become airborne. The crowd screamed and ran as the cruiser came flying towards them.
Doc felt a sudden thrill of horror as the car soared through the air. Doing a quick trajectory analysis, he calculated that the car would land --
Right where the little boy still stood watching! Great Scott! Go! Help him!
Thought became deed. The tentacles shed their grocery bags and sprang into action. Tommy shot toward the boy, whipping his inner tentacle around the child's waist and pulling him safely into his claw. Jules and Verne arched upward and grabbed the police car, stopping it in midair. Inside, Doc could see that the policeman was frightened but alive. He sighed in relief as Tommy retracted toward him, carrying the boy. Good work, you four. But where's Albert?
Albert slithered out from behind him, loaded down with the bags the others had shed. Someone had to take them, he said almost sheepishly. My brothers had the situation handled. And this way we didn't lose any groceries.
Doc chuckled. Very true. Good job, Albert. He directed his attention back to the child Tommy held. "Are you all right, kid?"
The boy nodded, looking at the tentacles with interest. "You're the moon car man. Are they to help you get to the moon?"
Doc abruptly realized where he had seen the child before. It was none other than Daniel, the little boy he had met the day this whole mess had started. Doc grinned at him while the tentacles made puzzled noises. "No, they're just my assistants."
"They're cool."
"Thank you."
"Daniel! DANIEL!"
Daniel's mother came roaring through the crowd, her eyes wide and terrified. Jules and Verne gently put the police car down as Tommy unwrapped his tentacle from around Daniel. "Here I am, Mommy!" Daniel called, waving.
"Danny! Oh, Daniel, my little darling," the mother said, scooping Daniel into her arms. "Oh, sweetie, are you okay? This is why you should never wander away from Mommy. You could have been killed!" She covered him with kisses. Tommy made a few gagging noises, earning himself a look from Doc.
"I'm okay, Mommy," Daniel said, squirming a little under the barrage of affection. "The moon-man saved me. I'm sorry for going away."
"The moon--man--"
Daniel's mother finally seemed to remember that Doc was there. She stared at him, apparently trying to reconcile her previous image of him with the fact that he had just saved her child's life. The rest of the crowd stared as well, apparently amazed that he, as "Dr. Octopus," wasn't automatically evil. Doc began to feel uncomfortable. I wish someone would say something. I don't think it's that incredible that I still feel compassion.
It's like, even now, they expect us to attack someone, Verne said, fidgeting.
Finally, Daniel's mother spoke. "T-thank you," she said, starting to smile. "Thank you so much."
"You're quite welcome," Doc replied, feeling relieved she hadn't tried to twist things to put the blame on him. She nodded and pushed her way back through the crowd, still holding tightly to Daniel. The little boy waved cheerfully at them. Doc waved back, as did the three free tentacles.
Doc's attention then shifted to the police officer, climbing out of his car. "Are you all right, sir?"
The officer nodded, looking shaken. "Thanks. Nice catch." Reaching for his radio, he added, "I'd better call in so they know I'm all right. Thanks again."
"Good idea." Doc turned back to the gawking crowd. "Well, I hope your families enjoy the story. I'll be heading home now, if you don't mind." Jules, Verne, and Tommy elevated him and took him away, the crowd parting to let him pass.
As he left, a young man in a dark brown jacket and a cap reading "S.A." turned to his neighbor. "Who was that?"
"Not from around here, are you?" the man replied with a smirk. S.A. shook his head. "That was Dr. Brown. He's Hill Valley's local mad scientist."
"Wow. And he turned himself into Dr. Octopus?"
"Yup, although he claims it was an accident. He was kidnaped by Libyan terrorists too, and forced to work on a bomb -- apparently he sabotaged it, and something backfired -- it was all over the news."
"I see." S.A. looked thoughtful. "Do you know where I can find his address?"