Chapter 2

Mysteria Jones

Thursday, Halloween, 1985

Hill Valley

6:45 P.M.

Ahh, I love Halloween.

Mysteria Lilith Jones hummed to herself as she headed up the driveway to the Smith's house. Halloween was the one time of the year that she could be herself without any fear. She hated having to hide her true nature all the time. She understood it was for a good reason -- she'd had her share of run-ins with lunatics who knew vampires existed and were certain that they were all blots of pure evil on the earth. But it could get a little wearing at times, trying to bluff her way through questions like, "Why do you sleep all day?" and "What do you mean, you don't eat solid food?" On Halloween, she could show her true colors, and no one would even give her a second glance. Feeling quite good, she adjusted her costume -- it had gotten twisted in the car -- and rang the doorbell.

Her host, dressed as Frankenstein's Monster, greeted her with a smile. "Welcome, Mystie! It's good to see you! Come in and make merry!"

"Thanks," Mysteria returned. "It was really nice of you to invite me. I didn't realize my coworkers noticed me that much, considering I'm always on night shift. How are you guys doing?"

"Great, just great. Hey, just so you know, we're going to have a local celebrity coming over soon, if you're interested. It's George McFly, the sci-fi author."

"Cool, I'll have to see if I can get to talk to him." Pleasantries exchanged, Mystie drifted into the crowd of people.

A short time later, Mysteria found herself talking to another party goer about how she had made her costume and forcing down some punch. Just as she explained about her "custom-fit teeth," she felt eyes upon her. Probably some teenage boy with his tongue lolling out, Mystie though, annoyed. I probably should have made this thing less revealing.

The eyes went off her as she heard a stern voice ask someone if the punch wasn't to his liking. Wondering what her possible stalker looked like, she took a glance over.

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Standing by the punch bowl was a surprisingly handsome man. His white hair indicated that he was on the older side, but he had a good profile, and a life glow that was strong enough for someone half his age. Actually, perhaps I should have made it more revealing. Hello, good-looking!

The man glanced over at her again. Mystie tried to smile at him, but he seemed intimidated by the fact that she had noticed him and quickly redirected his gaze. Mystie frowned. Aw, he's shy. Well then, I guess it's up to me to make the first move. She prepared to walk over and say hello.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm. "Oh, baby, you look gooood tonight."

Startled, Mysteria snatched her arm back and spun around to see a 40-something man with bleached blond hair leering at her. Judging from what she could smell, he had more alcohol than blood in his veins at this point. A brief mind scan revealed some rather disgusting thoughts about most of the female guests. "Do I know you?" Mysteria said in her frostiest voice.

The man grinned. "The name'sh Biff Tannen," he said, leaning far too close for comfort. "And who are you, beautiful?"

"Mysteria Jones, and that's all you're getting," Mysteria said coldly, walking past him. Getting the attention of the sexy stranger would have to wait -- first she needed to lose this jerk.

Thursday, Halloween

8:19 P.M.

Arrrgh! What did I do to deserve this, God?

Mysteria couldn't believe that she still hadn't managed to shake this asshole! Every time she thought she had finally lost him in the crowd, he popped back up! What was worse, he kept getting drunker and bolder. No longer content with merely leering and trying to sweet-talk her, he had moved on to trying to cop a feel. Mysteria's vampire reflexes weren't about to let that happen, though. "Listen, Tannen, this is getting very tiring! Leave me the hell alone!" she snapped, looking around for another escape route.

"Don't be like that, baby," Biff slurred, once again reaching for her breast. Mysteria batted his hand away. "You know you want a man like me. You know you want me to give it to you."

"I'm not that kind of girl -- and don't give me that line that you could make me into one," she snapped, quickly reading Biff's mind. "Now leave me alone or I'll be forced to do something drastic. Preferably to the area between your legs." Giving him her best death glare, she turned and stalked off toward the punch bowl, leaving Biff to sulk and nurse his drink.

Suddenly, a voice caught her attention. "Damn! Damn damn! I've missed her again!"

Mysteria's eyes lit up. It's him! She turned to see him standing with two teenagers -- one, a boy, dressed as Renfield, and the other, a girl, as a stereotypical 50s rocker -- and frowning at Biff. Mysteria giggled as she noticed her mystery man was dressed up as Dracula. Oh, figures I'd attract someone like that. . . .

The girl spotted her standing there. She poked the mystery man in the ribs. "Not really," she informed him. "She just went over by the punch." She waved at Mysteria to show where.

The man turned to face her again. Mysteria studied his face for a moment. Some people might not have thought about him as handsome, but she liked what she saw. A nice strong chin, a straight nose --

And those eyes! Those big, gorgeous eyes, the color of liquid chocolate. She couldn't help but be captivated by them. I wonder if this is how my victims feel when I'm hypnotizing them. . . .

Unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to be captivated for long. The man quickly averted his gaze, blushing. Mysteria pouted. Come on, sweetie, I don't bite. Much.

The boy gave the man a push. "Stop acting like my teenage father, Doc."

Mysteria blinked a few times. What was that supposed to mean? She decided not to dwell on it -- it seemed the sort of phrase that would give you a headache if you thought about it for too long. Besides, the man -- Doc -- was looking at her again. She smiled at him, thinking, Come over here, you silly boy.

She realized an instant too late that she must have exerted a slight hypnotic pull on him, as he began walking toward her. Oops! Well, it's getting him over here, at least. Finally. . . .

He finally reached her, trying to pretend like he was just refilling his glass. Mysteria stifled a giggle. "Have you been watching me all night?" she purred, leaning toward him.

"Well, yes," Doc admitted, giving her a nervous smile. "I was just curious, as I've never seen you around Hill Valley. May I ask your name?"

Mysteria extended her hand. "Mysteria Jones. I'm a night janitor at the courthouse. Who are you, stranger?"

Doc wiped his hand off before shaking hers. Don't want to present her with a sweaty palm, she heard him think. Though, honestly, once she learns my name, I'm not going to have a chance. "Dr. Emmett L. Brown," he introduced himself. His smile lessened. "I trust you've heard about me and my reputation."

Mysteria had indeed. Dr. Emmett Brown was a popular subject around the courthouse, due to his past exploits with the Clock Tower. Most of her coworkers seemed to consider him a dangerous lunatic, trading stories of his odd behavior. Mysteria had found their gossip about him sickening. He didn't sound all that dangerous to her -- especially not compared to some of the people Mysteria had met in her 322 years. He had sounded intelligent, interesting. Someone that she would really like to get to know better. Especially now that she had seen what he looked like. Hmmm. Mysteria Lilith Brown.

I like it.