Chapter 4
Friday, November 5th, 2004
New York, New York
10:13 A.M.
"Whoa. This is heavy."
Peter blushed with pride as Marty examined his stash of pictures. "Pete, these are incredible! I wish I could take photographs like these. Usually I end up putting my thumb in the way or something."
"Well, I've had plenty of practice," Peter said, a bit shyly. "I've been taking pictures ever since I got my first camera from Uncle Ben and Aunt May."
"It shows." Marty examined a picture of Spider-Man. "How much does Jameson pay you for one of these?"
"Standard freelance fee -- or so he calls it," Peter shrugged. "About 500 per photo-taking session. It used to be 300, but Robbie Robertson helped me negociate a better fee recently."
Jennifer frowned. "That doesn't seem very fair -- especially given you're one of the few people who can get a clear shot of Spidey."
"You haven't met J. Jonah Jameson. If he can underpay you, he will."
"Yeah," Mary Jane agreed, lounging on the couch in her apartment -- now hers and Peter's. "He can be a real jerk most of the time. I could hardly believe John came from the same family. John's a sweetheart."
"Maybe it's like the Tannen family we have back home," Marty suggested. "Every so often, the genes just match up right, and you get a nice one out of nowhere."
Everyone chuckled. "Yeah, that must be it," Peter nodded. "So how are you guys liking New York so far?"
"It's great," Jennifer grinned. "We've been here before, but it's nice to visit again and see more of the city."
"It's much busier than Hill Valley," Clara said, having one of the muffins that Mary Jane had set out earlier. "I have to admit, I don't like the traffic. I always feel like I'm about to get run off the road."
"I know," Peter nodded. "That's part of the reason I've got a motorbike instead of a real car. It's a lot faster and a lot more maneuverable." He smirked a little. "Plus it's just plain fun to ride."
Doc grinned back. "I know the feeling quite well. Back in the late 60s, I rode a Harley."
"No way!" Peter and Jennifer both gasped.
"Yes way. I have the pictures to prove it. The family and Marty have seen them."
"He's telling the truth," Marty said with a big grin. "It was a cool-looking bike too, with a red and orange fuselage. How come you got rid of it, Doc?"
"Safety issues. On August 18th, 1970, some idiot tried to run me off the road, for whatever reason. I crashed into the guardrail. Luckily, I always took basic safety precautions, so I was able to walk away with just a few bruises and a nasty scrape on my left arm. After that, I decided it might be best to have a real car."
"Ugh, yeah," Peter nodded. "That's the one big problem I have with the bike -- jerks like to try and run you off the road. I've already been in one accident. Only my fast reflexes prevented me from getting hurt."
"I see," Jennifer said, looking nervous.
"Daddy, can we have a Harley?" Marlene asked eagerly.
"We'll discuss that when you're 18," Marty told her as Jennifer turned pale.
Jules glanced at his watch. "We're going to see the Wagners later this afternoon, right Dad?"
"Yes, we are. I already telephoned ahead to make sure it was all right if we dropped by -- I wouldn't have blamed them if they wanted to be alone on their anniversary, of course."
"Do you know the Wagners?" Jennifer asked Peter.
"Through Spider-Man, yeah. Really nice people. Although Kurt did give me a shock when I first saw him."
"We were pretty surprised, too," Marty admitted. "It's not Kurt's fault, but blue skin and a tail make for a weird first impression."
"True -- but the man behind them is quite a wonderful person," Doc said. "I'm glad he and Ororo decided to get married. They seem almost made for each other."
"Amen," J.C. said, with a twinkle in her eye. "Besides, some of us find blue fur and tails quite sexy. Rowr."
"Don't mind her, she's always been the weird one in the family," Jules said with a wink.
"Well, tell them hello from us," Mary Jane said with a grin. "And give our best to their little furball of joy."
"We will," Clara said with a grin. "I'm looking forward to seeing their daughter in person."
"From what I've heard, she's basically a clone of her father," Peter said. "Though time will tell if she got his mutant powers too."
"Gee, I wonder who that reminds me of," Jennifer said, rolling her eyes. Marty and the twins blushed and giggled.
They continued the small talk over the muffins, then the Browns and McFlys prepared to head out to meet the Wagners. Peter and Mary Jane led them out. "We're meeting John and Louise for lunch and shopping," Peter said, adopting a "kill me now" expression. "I think I'll almost be hoping for a supervillain to come crashing through."
"Hey, Louise and I aren't that bad about shopping," Mary Jane said, playfully hitting him in the shoulder.
"You're pretty darn close then." Doc and Marty hid grins as their wives rolled their eyes.
The groups split up -- the Browns and McFlys each into a rental car, Peter and MJ onto Peter's motorbike. Doc gave them a thumbs up as they all merged into the traffic, which Peter returned.
Going from Peter and Mary Jane's apartment to the Wagner's house required going through Times Square. The twins pressed their faces to the window, watching the signs flash and change with wide eyes. Jennifer grinned back at them as they inched their way forward. "What do you think, kids?"
"Colorful," Douglas said, looking rather dazzled.
Marlene giggled. "Look at that man in the funny suit," she said, pointing.
"Now Marlene, it's not nice to make fun of people who--" Jennifer started, turning to look.
She stopped. Marlene was pointing at a rather elderly man, dressed all in grey and wearing a peculiar-looking helmet on his head. Suddenly nervous, she elbowed Marty in the side. "Ow! What is it?" Marty snapped.
"Look," Jennifer whispered, jerking her head toward the man. "Is that who I think it is?"
Marty looked. His eyes went wide. "Oh boy," he said softly, hitting the brakes. He saw Doc and Peter slow down too, apparently having spotted the man. "Yeah, that's definitely him."
"Who is he?" Marlene asked, curious.
Suddenly, the car behind them began to levitate. The twins screamed as it flew over their car. Marty winced. "Magneto. Sorry guys, but duty calls." He stopped the car and got out. "Jennifer, get the kids to safety -- and make sure you're away from anything metal!"
Jennifer nodded, kissing him. "Be careful, honey."
"I'm always careful," Marty grinned.
"No you aren't," Jennifer said, trying to grin back. "Just please -- come back in one piece."
"I'll do my best." Marty gave the twins a hug, then raced away from the car. Doc, J.C., and Verne had already abandoned theirs and were running toward him. Magneto had taken control of another car by this point, and was making them duel in the air. J.C. shivered as the people inside screamed. "Damn it, of all the days to pull this stunt. . . ."
"Well, at least we don't have to worry about him showing up later," Doc said philosophically as they ducked into a nearby alley. "Funny thing, though -- as we were getting out of the car, I saw Peter stop his bike and disappear down a side street."
"Looking for Spider-Man, probably," Verne said. "I don't blame him -- with Magneto, you need all the help you can get."
"Hell yes," Marty nodded. "Okay, everyone, grab hold."
Doc, Verne, and J.C. all grabbed Marty's arms. Marty took a deep breath -- and suddenly, the world went eerily silent. Marty smiled as he looked around at the now time-frozen world. "You know, no matter how many times I do that, I still think it's pretty damn cool."
"I know," Doc agreed, pulling off his shirt to reveal the yellow pleather of his costume. "Also damn useful for changing."
"Amen to that," J.C. nodded, revealing her own purple costume. "No matter where I am, if I change in regular time, I feel like someone's staring at me." Looking around as normal clothes were discarded, she added, "What do you guys think of the new costumes, anyway? I mean, this is really the first time we've gotten to see them on in a battle-type situation."
"I like them," Marty said, looking down at his new red-and-blue costume. "Red and blue have always been my colors anyway."
"I just like that they're not too hot underneath our clothes," Verne admitted, stretching. His costume was olive green, with a cat's head and a dog's head done in brown on the chest and both shoulders. "And that they're stain-resistant too."
"They were a bitch to wash before, weren't they?" J.C. nodded. "I was trying to consider some practical elements in the redesign. Thanks for being my guinea pigs for that."
"Not a problem," Doc said, slipping on his special gloves. "We all agree you did an excellent job. I'm proud of you, Josephine."
"Thanks, Dad."
They finished changing, adjusting masks and outfits. "All right," Marty said with a grin. "Let's go out there and kick some mutant butt."
"Just be careful," Doc warned. "We all know that Magneto rarely works alone. He's sure to have at least one of his fellow Brotherhood of Evil Mutants members with him somewhere."
"I'll keep the pigeons on the lookout," Verne promised.
"And I'll try my best to keep the civilians away from the action," J.C. nodded. "We ready?"
"We're ready," Marty nodded. "Hang on, everyone."
A moment later, the world started up again. Magneto was indulging in a laugh. This little stunt was sure to get at least a few of New York's local superheroes to show up. Then, with the help of his new associate -- and of course dear Mystique -- he'd destroy them. The world would truly know now that, once again, Magneto was --
Electricity suddenly crackled over the frames of the dueling cars, disrupting his magnetic fields. The cars started to fall -- but a moment later, they were mysteriously safely back on the ground. Magneto blinked a few times, startled. What the hell?
"You know, not all metals are ferrous, and thus, magnetic," a voice informed him casually. The supervillain turned to see a pair of costumed figures standing to his left. One, a tall, older man, was clad in bright yellow. The other, who was much shorter and younger, wore a bright blue costume with a red clock design on the chest. Both wore masks that covered most of their face, but he could see their hair sticking out in the back. Magneto scowled as he recognized them -- Lightning and Clockstopper, two later converts to the X-Men. Though they had never battled before, he had heard plenty about their exploits. Lightning smirked at him as he raised his hand. "However, they all conduct electricity."
Despite himself, Magneto felt a little disappointed. Here he was, trying to create a real spectacle, and he ended battling some of the lesser-known X-Men. His little distraction across town to keep the team separated and thus weaker must be getting out of hand. Well, at least they were fairly recognizable -- he could make do with them. He tore a lamppost out of the ground, intending to throw it at them.
Lightning smirked again. Electricity suddenly surged from his raised hand into the pole, forcing Magneto to drop it. Shit, he thought. I've never met anyone whose power directly disrupts my own. I'll have to bring my associates in a bit earlier than I thought. "Mystique!"
In the crowd of civilians watching the forming battle, a woman in a blue business suit suddenly morphed, the blue bleeding into the rest of her body. The people around her screamed and tried to flee as the true form of Mystique was revealed. Mystique made a lunge at an old woman, obviously intending to take her hostage --
When out of nowhere, a huge flock of pigeons came and covered her, all attempting to peck and claw at her. Yelping in surprise, Mystique began trying to fight them off. They just kept on coming, as if directed by some unseen force.
Of course, with a face full of pigeons, she couldn't exactly see the giggling blond man in green, cooing his commands to the birds. Sensing that perhaps the danger wasn't as great as they thought, the crowd began to move forward again. "Hey! Hey!" Clockstopper yelled, startled. "Go ahead and get out of here before things get really ugly! Damn it, what is it that draws people to danger?"
"I could answer that with a play on Darwin's 'survival of the fittest,' but I don't think they'd appreciate that," Lightning replied, blocking another one of Magneto's attempts to levitate something.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this," a female voice yelled from behind one of the recently-parked cars -- drivers fearing Magneto's wrath were abandoning their vehicles in droves. "You guys keep Magneto and Mystique busy."
A few of the civilians looked at each other, confused. Who was that mysterious girl, and what did she mean? The three X-Men they had seen seemed to be handling the situation quite well, actually. What was the harm in watching the show?
Then they heard the frighteningly familiar thunk. . .thunk. . . .
From around the towering skyscrapers, the resurrected form of Dr. Octopus appeared. He was in a terrible state, with scorched hair and red, blistered skin. The metal of his powerful tentacles was melted and twisted, exposing wire and servos that sparked with every movement. But they were still whole, carrying the supposedly-dead scientist high above the square. The crowd needed no further encouragement. Most of them ran for the nearest exit out of the square at once. Mystique did her best to detain a few, but the thick barrier of pigeons prevented her from getting her hands on anyone. Furious, she began killing every bird she could get her hands on. "Erik, help me!"
Magneto snarled. This wasn't going his way at all! He decided to punish these so-called "heroes" for their impudence. Calling on all his magnetic powers, he began levitating everything metal in sight. He was briefly confused when the Dr. Octopus tentacles didn't rise at his command -- then he remembered that Lightning and Clockstopper often worked with an illusionist called Dream. Well, that does explain how he appeared from nowhere. . . . He ignored the illusion and began "throwing" everything around. Lightning did his best to counteract Magneto's powers, but even he couldn't stop them all. A light pole crashed through an open window, a car did a somersault in the street, a traffic light smashed into the side of a building. Clockstopper began zipping around, doing his best to stop further damage.
Magneto suddenly noticed a woman and two young children slowly making their way through the remaining cars, obviously trying to get to safety unnoticed. Magneto smiled cruelly, then began levitating the cars around them. The family sprinted for safety, but a few carefully crashed cars blocked them in. At the same time, he ripped a number of sharp metal studs free from the light poles and signals he had downed and pointed them straight at Doolittle. He smirked at the heroes, who had blanched a little. "I don't think even your time-stopping power could prevent both events in time, Clockstopper." he commented. "So which do you choose?" With that, he released his magnetic hold on both.