The Great Chase

by EmmettMcFly55 and bttf4444

As Cliff steals Doc's time machine - with Jennifer - Doc and Marty follow him to 2017. After meeting up with Griff and picking up more girls, they hop into other universes - as Doc and allies chase him. Includes universes by EmmettMcFly55 and bttf4444.

27. Chapter 26

June 21, 1968
1:30 PM PDT
Clint Eastwood Universe

Martin Seamus McFly Jr Thirteen sighed, as he glanced at his three companions. They consisted of Marty McFly Srs One, Three, and Four. He then took a glance across the room, where his father and his father's counterparts were sitting on the couch - and they were accompanied by Calvin Kleins Eight and Nine, who were roughly about the same age.

"This music is so totally awesome!" Marty Jr Thirteen commented, to his counterparts. "I almost feel like a teenager, again. Well, one thing is for certain. You are never too old to rock!"

"That is very true," agreed Marty Sr One. "Even your father and his companions seem to agree with that. Hell, even Clint Eastwood seems to agree with that. Granted, they are all older versions of myself - but, still..."

"Speaking of which," commented Marty Jr Thirteen, "It's so hard to believe that all the other versions of me are teenagers. Ah, I sure remember being a teenager. It wasn't too bad, but it also wasn't that easy. I quite had a hard time finding a date, until Suzy came into my life - and then I had Griff Tannen and his gang to contend with."

"I still remember contending with Douglas Needles," Marty Sr One replied, softly. "I did date on and off, before meeting Jennifer - but... Man, sometimes I quite envy my son of his youth. Anyway, Junior Thirteen, you're actually not alone. Don't forget that my younger self is also here. He's sort of going through the same thing as you are, but in reverse."

"Actually, that sure isn't quite the case," replied Marty Jr Thirteen, as he glanced over to where Teen Marty and Teen Jennifer were. They were bonding with a few versions of young Marty Jr - along with a Mike, an Alex, a couple of Harmonys, a Stephanie, a Stacy, and a redheaded girl named Lisa. "None of the younger versions of me actually are... are me younger. If you know what I mean."

"I can understand what you mean," replied Marty Sr Three, nodding. "By the way, Me One, you just don't remember anything about this event from when... from when you were your younger self?"

"I can't say that I do," Marty Sr One replied, furrowing his brows. "It is actually a little something called 'temporal amnesia'. It's like a way to avoid time paradoxes. I actually realized something, though. Junior and Harmony had simply mentioned, in front of my younger self and younger Jenn, that they did just sneak off to a Foo Fighters concert at ten. I was out of town, during that time - and I simply wouldn't have had a problem with taking them to the concert. My wife, on the other hand, was..."

"Hey, the same thing happened in our world," gasped Marty Sr Four. "My wife was so busy, during that time - and she was real concerned about... Well, I'm sure that Jenn will know that she shouldn't disrupt history. After all, especially not when there are 25 - if not more - worlds involved. After all, doing so could create a massive time paradox - the result of which could cause a chain reaction that would unravel the very fabric of the space-time continuum and destroy the entire universe. The multiverse, in fact. At least, of all the worlds involved on this trip."

Suddenly, Marty Jr Thirteen felt so bad for the folks who originated from 1987 in the first world. Indeed, they really would have a major responsibility placed on them. He glanced towards his sons, who were bonding with a few other version of himself. On the other side of the room, he saw that Jennifer and the Sarahs were really bonding with the other Brown girls - including a Susan, an Emily, and three Marias.

"Chances are, our younger selves probably won't even remember the band's name," suggested Marty Sr One, "and I really do not recall them reacting much to the info. I think our younger selves were a bit too distracted with... with other stuff."

"Well, we did have a long trip," Marty Jr Thirteen pointed out. "You guys were on the trip for even longer than us, and I... So, at any rate, are you feeling any... temporal symptoms? You, your wife, and your kids are all..."

"I can't say that I do, as of present," replied Marty Sr One. "I really hope we are sent back to our worlds, soon. Had our younger selves stayed in 2017 for over 24 hours... Well, by then, the ripple effect certainly would have caught up - and our older selves, along with our children, would have been erased from existence."

"You guys sure do have it the worst," Marty Jr Thirteen replied, shaking his head. "For this trip, at least. I do still quite get the creeps, whenever I think of how my other self - from the Griff-horrific world - was... murdered."

The three accompanying Marty Srs grew very silent, and then a strangely familiar man joined the group. His name tag read "Emmett Eastwood". It was simply hard to discern his age, as was quite common in the 2047 of his world.

"Do you folks mind, if I join you for awhile?" Emmett E asked, smiling. "By the way, I'm Clint Eastwood's elder son."

"Sure, go ahead" Marty Jr Thirteen said, smiling. "I suppose that you're my counterpart, in a way, as I'm also the son of Martin Seamus McFly - who became Clint Eastwood in your world."

"You are?" Emmett E said, surprised. "I take it that you didn't come from 2017 like the rest of your other selves, then... or did your father move to 1955 from 1985, like my father moved from 1985 to 1885?"

"No, he didn't," Marty Jr Thirteen said, "although there appears to exist such a universe, and two groups have come from one like that - those older guys on the couch over there. Anyway, in our world, it was simply the case that we came from 2047. Cliff Tannen happened to make a detour to another time when he passed our universe, and thus, we're not from 2017."

Almost as if on cue, the four men stepped up from the couch - as they began to approach the group.

"Ah, I see" Emmett E said. "But, anyway... what was that about your other self being murdered? How did that come to be?"

"Well, that's a complicated story" Marty Jr Thirteen replied. "You see, in our world, Doc didn't move back to the future, staying in the 1800s. As a result, his garage remained abandoned throughout the decades - and in 2045, when my father had become an old man, Griff Tannen happened to find some plans to build a time machine there. He did so, and followed the same scheme his grandpa did in 2015 - go back in time, give his younger self the almanac, and create a horrible world in which I was shot dead, and Dad was locked up in an asylum."

Emmett E sighed. "In other situations, this comparison between Doc and Dad would've been funny" he muttered. "Now, it's simply horrifying. But what happened next? You're still alive, so obviously the mess was fixed. Did Doc come back for a visit and see what happened?"

Marty Jr Thirteen shook his head. "Dad and my son managed to fix a time machine along with Doc's granddaughter, Verne's daughter, who was living in the future. They went back in time, corrected the mess, ended up having to go even farther back, to the early 1900s, where Doc was picked up and they returned to the future two years ago. I've now got two sons, as the original one is still there."

"I see" Emmett E responded. "Quite an interesting story, as most of you have. But, anyway, I didn't mean to exclude the rest from our conversation, so maybe we should go talk with the others, too."

"Yes, we should" Marty Jr Thirteen said, blushing slightly.

"Say, Emmett E," Marty Sr One said, "how old are you? Not to be rude, but it's hard to tell your age in such an advanced world with rejuvenations and all that, and I'm kind of curious, given that you really are another version of my son."

"He's probably around 70" Marty Sr Four said. "Our sons were all born in 1998, and a hundred years earlier is 1898. Given that it's 1968 now, that would make him roughly seventy."

"Roughly, indeed" Marty Sr Three corrected. "Remember, the Old West isn't the same place to start a family as the 1990s are. With the earlier marriages and the society pressures, he would probably be born earlier, around 1891 or 1892 or so."

"Society pressures?" Marty Sr One responded, slightly disgusted. "I don't think we ever cared too much about that. We wouldn't have been friends with Doc otherwise. 'Cause, while there's nothing wrong with it, you can't deny that Doc is quite eccentric."

"Different times" Marty Sr Three replied. "And more importantly, it's in the past. Any attempt to go against the crowd in the 1890s would've created more potential for disrupting history, acting like a normal Nineteenth-Century young man would've been wiser. Then again, given how uncareful the EJ people are around those things..."

"It's better than lacking your own will and doing only boring things because it won't disrupt history that way!" Marty Sr One exclaimed back. "Doc didn't invent a time machine to walk on your toes so you won't disturb the dust on the pavement as much and potentially alter history a tiny bit, Doc invented a time machine to travel through time!"

"Yeah, and not for creating dystopias or realities you can't even recognise!" Marty Sr Three shouted back.

"Oh boy, not that debate again..." Marty Sr Four said, with a sigh.

"Um, guys? Me's?" Calvin Eight replied. "Wouldn't you be more interested in the answer to your question instead of arguing about something that your Docs have argued about several times and for longer than they would've liked?"

"He's right, you know" Calvin Nine added. "I don't consider it very polite to our new visitor to ask him a question and not listen to the answer."

Both Marty Seniors blushed. "You're right" Marty Sr Three admitted, and Marty Sr One nodded in agreement. "So," he continued, "what is the answer, um, Emmett?"

"I'm seventy years old" Emmett E replied. "I'm not quite sure why I was born relatively late, as my sister was just born one year before me. Maybe my parents wanted to keep up the memory of their original timeline's kids by matching this, too. A very lousy explanation, I know, but I don't have anything better."

"Yeah, I wouldn't know anything either" Marty Sr One muttered. "It's probably not all too important anyway." The other people in the room nodded in agreement.

"It's certainly nice to meet you, Emmett," Calvin Nine replied, smiling. "Indeed, Eight and I here are in a similar situation as your father. You see, in our worlds, we never made it back home from 1955."

"Yeah," Emmett E replied, nodding. "Marty Jr Thirteen was telling me about that. Of course, I'm sorry to hear about your situation - but it would be a complete lie to say that I'm not happy to meet you guys."

"We understand," Marty Sr Thirteen One replied, nodding. "I did spend a little time in the 1920s - which was a thought that I couldn't even began to fathom, back when I was seventeen. Initially, I even wanted to settle there."

"Hey, guys!" called out Calvin Jr, as he and Marty Sr Ten joined the group. "How are you folks doing? I'm Calvin Sr Eight's son, by the way."

"I guess that would make you my counterpart, then?" Emmett E asked, smiling.

"There quite should be no debate about it," Calvin Jr replied, nervously. "I'm actually not the same person as my father. I was even best friends with the younger version of my father, until he disappeared from 1985. We sure did have a lot in common, but there were also a few things we disagreed on. However, when you bring my children into the picture, things get a little more messy."

"What do you mean?" asked Emmett E, confused. "Wouldn't your son actually just be the counterpart of my son, Mike?"

"Generally, he would," Calvin Jr replied, nervously. "However, shortly after my father disappeared, Jennifer then started dating me. At first, I felt real uneasy about dating the very same person that my father once dated. Eventually, though, I got very used to it - and we ended up tying the knot. So that's why there's simply been some debate over whether my son is the counterpart of the Marty Jrs or the Marty IIIs - or, in your case, you or Mike. As for Marlene, there is not as much of a debate - mostly as there is no alternative person for her to be a counterpart of. That we know of, anyway."

"Uh, Jennifer, perhaps," suggested Marty Jr Thirteen, smiling fondly. "My daughter, Jennifer - that is. Then, again, they don't exactly look alike - so, then, maybe not."

"There's quite also the fact that Jennifer Parker," Calvin Jr added, "the woman who married my father in most of the other universes, happens to be their mother. That would be the major factor behind the... the debate."

"And, oddly enough," added Marty Sr Ten, "I'm really the only one of us, save for the Calvins, who didn't marry Jennifer. Marlene ended up not being born in our world. We ended up with twins, Marty Jr and George Anthony. So far, Marty Jr seems to be just like the... the Marty Jr of the other worlds."

"You forgot about Marty Sr Seventeen," Marty Sr Three pointed out. "The intelligent version of me. He actually married Clara Parker. Then again, I can see why you would forget, since Clara does resemble the Jennifers."

"That is interesting," Emmett E commented, softly, "As for me, I only have one child, Michael George Eastwood. I have no daughters"

"In our world," added Calvin Nine, "things sure get even more complex. Because I had amnesia, I quite ended up marrying... Lorraine. So, in a way, my son is me... and he's not me. He also has a twin, Arthur. Neither of them joined us. Their sons did, though. Marty Jr is Marty Sr's son, and Alex is Artie's son. Oh, yeah, and Marty Sr has married Jennifer Parker."

"That is quite freaky," Emmett E replied, shuddering.

"Yeah, I suppose so" Calvin Nine replied. "I'm used to it by now and view it as the most normal thing there is, but this trip has made me realize once more how weird my situation really is. Everyone I've talked to about it has reacted the same way you did."

"Well, that could've been expected" Calvin Eight said. "My son did marry Jennifer, as he said before, but I didn't marry Lorraine. That was because I didn't have amnesia, and Lorraine was already in love with George by then. Lorraine and George did have their arguments, and there were times that she took an interest in me again. However, it was never as extreme as it was before George punched Biff out."

"You never told me that before" Calvin Jr said, astonished. "Did Grandma Lorraine really regain her crush on you?"

"Not quite her crush" Calvin Eight ensured his son. "However, there were times in which Lorraine was around me more than usual, and insisted on sitting next to me whenever we were together. That could also be because she wanted to make George jealous, but she could have been interested in me, even if it was just a little. Luckily, George and Lorraine didn't fight often - and after Mary and I started dating, it never happened again."

"Odd" Calvin Jr said. "Why didn't you say this earlier?"

"Mostly because I disliked thinking about it" Calvin Eight responded. "It was never as serious as it had been in that one week, when Lorraine really considered me her boyfriend, and I got over it sooner than over the events of '55. You didn't have to know, anyway. I can keep secrets, can't I?"

"Well, sure, you can" Calvin Jr said. "It just appeared strange to me, that's all."

"Weird" Marty Jr Thirteen said, shaking his head. "I can't imagine ever dating Jennifer... or my son dating Suzy. It would just be too odd. It must be really weird, what you lived through."

"Yeah, only a few me's were spared that experience" Marty Sr Three said. "Can't recall them all right now, but I know there were some. Me Sixteen, I believe, and you, me Ten..."

"Oh yeah, the world without that first trip and the one where I was killed by Libyans" Marty Sr One said. "Yeah, in a way, they got lucky."

"I have to disagree with that statement" Marty Sr Ten replied.

"So do I" Calvin Nine said. "'Lucky' is a relative term. Dating Lorraine isn't too bad when you get used to it."

"You know none of us is ever going to agree with you, don't you?" Marty Sr Four replied. "You may be used to it, but I think all of us would prefer it if you don't talk about it too often."

"Right" Calvin Nine said. "There's plenty other things to talk about, after all."

"Yeah, like the subjects of the parallels between the descendants" Marty Jr Thirteen said. "What about this Clara Parker girl that Marty Senior Seventeen married? I believe she had a counterpart too in the EJ worlds."

"Yes, Jennifer's great-great-grandmother" Marty Sr One confirmed. "In world... Fifteen, right? In that world, she was taken to the future. I'm not sure if she's Clara's counterpart, though."

"Maybe we could track them down, and see whether they match" Emmett E said. "I believe they were both along on the trip. Clara N and Clara M, they were called."

"Yeah, they should be along" Marty Sr Ten said. "I'm not in for a search right now, though. I'm enjoying the music right now."

"Oh yes, let's not forget that" Emmett E said, amused. "This song was made by my brother, by the way. John Wayne Eastwood. He pretty much introduced rock and roll to our world."

"John Wayne?" Marty Sr Three said, grinning. "That sounds familiar. Sounds like a typical name for a son of 'Clint Eastwood', though. I could see myself giving a name like that."

"Well, you did" Emmett E said. "John has a son too, Sean Eastwood. I'm not sure whether you've seen him around yet, but his wife recently had a son. Their son is named Scott Eastwood, and he was born on June 11th."

"How do you..." Marty Jr Thirteen started, then slapping his head as he realised. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "Time travel, right? Gee, after two years, I still haven't gotten used to how easy that makes things sometimes. Of course, I never time travelled until I was 47, so I have an arrears on you guys and it's natural for me to not be so quick realising that."

"That's correct," Emmett E replied, nodding. "Also, Benjy Brown - a mutual descendant of Chris Brown and me - was born on April 12. Also, Harmony Brown will be born on July 25." With that, the mouths of Marty Srs One and Four grew wide. "What did I just say?"

"That's the same exact day Harmony Brown was born in our world!" gasped Marty Srs One and Four. "Well, except that it was thirty years later."

Marty Jr Thirteen felt stunned, as the whole group burst out laughing. It seemed hard for him to imagine marrying anyone else but Suzy MacArthur.

"That's, uh, interesting," muttered Emmett E, softly. "Harmony will be the daughter of Jules Brown and Olivia Theissen. Benjy is the son of Verne Brown and Mallory - who is John's daughter."

"Wow!" gasped Marty Jr Thirteen. "In our world, Verne simply has a daughter - named Sarah. Also, he now has two - since Sarah gained a duplicated from... from that other world. Both are dating the Marty IIIs."

"And, in our world," added Marty Sr One, "Verne, who married Linda McFly - not my sister, but my great-grandaunt - has two children. They're Serena and Benjy. Benjy was also born on April 12, but he's still only a tyke."

"Ditto for our world," agreed Marty Sr Four. "Also, Harmony is the daughter of Jules Brown and Patti Franklin. Olivia is actually Patti's grandmother, so her situation is probably similar to the... the Calvin III situation of World Eight."

"That's just what I was thinking," Calvin Jr added, nodding. "So, in this world, I guess Harmony will grow up as Marty Sr's close friend, rather than that of Marty Jr's."

"Great Scott!" gasped Marty Sr One. "You're certainly right! It makes me wonder if... if Harmony will end up getting a crush on... me. Well, it's a different world."

"True, it is," Emmett E replied, smiling. "Oh, I see John and Marie. I'll wave them over here."

Marty Jr Thirteen turned to where Emmett E was pointing. Indeed, Marie did look a lot like his sister. He figured that Marie had to be this world's counterpart of Marlene.

"Howdy, folks!" greeted John, as he and Marie joined the group. With a chuckle, he added, "Would you guys like my autograph?"

"I don't think you really exist in their worlds, bro," Emmett E replied, laughing.

"Aw, I knew that," John replied, smiling. "I grew up hearing rock and roll music, but only from Dad. He didn't think the world would be ready, until the 1920s. Anyway, I am John Wayne Eastwood. Emmett is also a musician. He plays the piano."

"And I am Marie Jennifer Eastwood," added the woman, nodding. "I was talking with some the Marlenes, earlier. It's so odd to think that... that they're me. It seems odd to think that they were born a hundred years later, some of them exactly so."

"She was such a tomboy," Emmett E explained, affectionately. "She really hated being constrained to the... to the norms of her gender. Mom and Dad had even let her wear trousers, as long as she didn't wear them to school. She always hated needlework."

"This is so funny," Marty Sr One commented, laughing. "Not the fact that she rebelled against gender norms, but... Well, the fact that the Marlene of our world has actually always been... feminine. Especially in comparison to Harmony. That is so weird."

"The same is true of our world," confirmed Marty Sr Four. "Then again, our Marly also grew up in an era when... when gender roles were less rigid. Thus, she did feminine things because she wanted to - not because they were expected of her."

"That would make all the difference," agreed Marie, nodding. "When I was a little girl, it seemed like so many adults simply expected me to do this... or to be that. Mom and Dad had brought me up to be an individual, so I really hated being told that I couldn't do certain things... just because I was a girl. Man, so much has really changed."

"So much has certainly changed" Emmett E confirmed. "Even more than in the original world, I gather. After all, the inventions we have now are really advanced... what time period did these things come around in your world again? 2040s?"

"Well, it's roughly comparable to our world's 2040s, yes" Marty Jr Thirteen said. "Of course, in our world, Doc came back later, so we're not quite advanced as most of the 2040s are, or more accurately, will be."

"Yes, that is also an issue" John muttered. "This is very strange. I mean, I knew that my parents' past was weird, but I never expected to be confronted with so many times it didn't go that way. It makes me feel like I'm not supposed to exist, because I don't exist in all of your worlds."

"Well, I've heard that thing before," Marty Senior One said, "and I can say for sure that it's not true. There is no such thing as not supposed to exist. If you exist here, then you exist, and the fact that you don't exist in other universes is an interesting tidbit, not something that means that this world is in any way wrong."

"Precisely" Marty Sr Three added. "Different circumstances, different kids. There are a lot of things that are 'off' to our perceptions in world seventeen, the one in which I'm a genius, but that doesn't mean they're wrong, they're just different. I'd like to think that in a society this advanced, people got over that narrow-mindedness."

"You're accusing me of being narrow-minded?" John said, smiling faintly.

"In a way, yes" Marty Sr Three replied. "You being here while you're not there in other universes is just a case of being different, not a case of being wrong."

"Couldn't have said it better" Marty Sr One agreed. "I highly doubt that my other self and Jennifer, uh, Claudia have taught you that you weren't supposed to be there."

"No, you're right" John said. "I know that it isn't true, it just felt that way. But, thanks for the support, I guess."

"You're welcome" Marty Sr Three and One both replied, simultaneously. They then looked at each other, and started laughing.

"Are you guys really that similar, or is this just a coincidence?" Marie said, laughing.

"That's a very interesting question" Marty Sr Four said. "Three, One, you guys have spent the most time together, I suppose, even if it was almost three decades ago... how alike were you then?"

"We were probably more alike than not," explained Marty Sr One. "To begin with, Me Three and his Jennifer really were already married - while I was merely still engaged to mine. Of course, they were also dating longer. Jennifer Three was actually born in Hill Valley, while mine really didn't move to Hill Valley until ten. Then we had attended separate schools, until grade ten. We actually first met, when we were paired up for a class assignment."

"That is right," Marty Sr Three confirmed. "We both met Doc when we were little boys, and really being tormented by some bullies. The circumstances of that were somewhat different, though."

"True," agreed Marty Sr One. "The most interesting difference, though - was probably with our bands. We both were in bands called The Pinheads, and we were the closest with the bassists. However, even though the band members actually all looked alike - they also all had different names."

"That is mighty interesting, indeed," John commented, nodding. "Dad thought that I should actually be the one to bring rock and roll into the world, as he figured that he would be a little too old for that. He is, of course, my greatest influence."

"I was six," added Marie, "while Emmett was five, when Dad had first introduced rock and roll to us. John was not yet born. Emmett had already started playing the piano, as he had asked Jamie Parker to give him piano lessons."

"That would explain the circumstance, then," replied Marty Sr Four, "as, in most of our worlds, Marty Jr - who would be Emmett's counterpart - was the one who decided to follow in my steps. By the way, John, I forgot to tell you. In my world, I simply have an additional daughter, named Melody. Now, she is just not to be confused with the Melody Brown of World One - of which Jamie Brown is her counterpart."

"I'll have to go track down Melody, then," commented John. "Indeed, that would be interesting. I imagine that she probably felt the same as I did."

"She did," confirmed Marty Sr Four. "Well, it's nice meeting you guys."

Marty Jr Thirteen smiled, as he was simply fascinated with this world's counterpart of himself. He had a hard time imagining himself playing the piano, instead of the guitar. Still, Emmett E had quite grown up in a very different circumstance from him. Indeed, things were beginning to get very interesting.

oooooooooo

Vincent McFly smiled, just as he glanced around at his companions. They consisted of him and his Marlene, Marlene One and Mike Hartford, Marlene Four and her Mike, Julia Belle Rundgren and her Mike, and Marie Seventeen and Clint Brown. It rather seemed odd to think of how the Mike Hartfords were his counterparts, while he really shared a last name with most of the Marlenes. It also seemed quite odd to think of how Marlene Four looked different from the rest.

"Are you okay, Vince?" Mike H One asked, laughing. "You seem a little lost in space."

"Well, you can't blame him" Julia Belle said, smiling. "There's so much to think about here. We're in another universe, accompanied by groups from worlds in which many of us don't exist. This is really something to think about. I can fully understand his sentiments."

"Yeah, so can I" Mike H Four said. "I mean, I'm dating the same girl as you are - well, the same name and roughly the same character. However, her looks are very different."

"Yes, definitely" Marlene Four said. "That's really odd. Unfortunately for me, Cliff and his companions were more attracted to me than to the other Marlenes, so they harassed me more. At least with the arrival of my look-alike, Kelly, that decreased a bit."

"Well, you are a very good-looking girl" Mike H Four said. "And with your counterparts looking a lot like Mr. McFly... well, that might've been strange to them."

"I suppose so" Marlene Four said, sighing. "So, what are you guys going to do today? Any plans, besides just hanging around?"

"I don't think there's much we can do" Vincent pointed out. "We're in another universe, and could cause trouble if we would go out. And staying inside the mansion and the fields around it rather limits our options. We could listen some music, as we've already been doing..."

"Or attempt to help the scientists in here in their attempts in getting us home" Mike H One said. "Most of us might not be able to do much, but we could make an attempt."

"You're probably right" Mike H Four said. "We could do that."

"No, we couldn't" Vincent said. "We'd probably be running in the way too much. I'd like to help as much as you do, but with so many people, the work that would be done is ruined. We couldn't produce much. I'd say that it's for our own good that we leave them alone."

"All right then" Marlene Four said. "Then what's next?"

"We could compare histories" Marie Seventeen said. "We've already done that a little, but not majorly - as we were, um, otherwise occupied. And I suppose that you guys didn't get anything done either, um, Mikes. And Vincent and Clint, of course. So maybe we can do that now. You know, compare notes. On what's different in the PF and EJ worlds, for example."

"Well, our world is probably drastically different from the normal PF worlds too, given your Dad's intelligence and all what changed because of it" Clint said. "However I still don't get why things like Clara Parker and Grandpa's lack of intelligence are also different, as they happened far before my Dad was born and lack any apparent connection."

"Let's not forget Jennifer Clayton, your grandmother" Marie Seventeen pointed out. "Yes, that's weird."

"Right," replied Marlene One. "I know that, in our world, Clara Parker is my... my, uh, great-great-grandmother - and, in one of them, she actually moved to 1985. In some of the other worlds, she drowned in Rusty River."

"Yeah," agreed Marlene Four, "and she really doesn't seem to be as intelligent as her World Seventeen counterpart. From what I recall, the folks from the other PF worlds weren't even aware of a Clara Parker - or, for that matter, a Jennifer Clayton."

"From what I can recall," commented Mike H One, "while the Doc from the EJ worlds who never met Clara actually ended up marrying a Jessica Hoffman, the Docs from the PF worlds who never met Clara married a Susan Clayton- or, in one case, a Julia Clayton. Julia was Susan's mother, if I recall correctly."

"It was from that world where Grandpa... or Dad... was stuck in 1955," commented Marlene One. "Man, with World Eight, it is quite confusing. Which one is Dad, and is the Marlene of that world actually my counterpart?"

"Not my world," added Vincent, as he realized how confusing everything was. "It is generally regarded as if, in a sense, Marty Sr and Calvin are the same person - and, in another sense, they aren't. Of course, it's just odd to think that most of the other Marlenes are... McFlys."

"Marlene of World Eight seemed to be like the rest of our PF counterparts," suggested Marie Seventeen. "She sure seems to have more in common with them, then I do with any of them. While I'm just not as intelligent as my brother and father, I do seem to be... well, more intelligent than all of my counterparts... from the PF or EJ worlds."

"Mind if I join you guys?" asked an older lady. As Vincent took a close look at her, she looked to be an older version of Marlene - and her name tag read "Marie E". "I simply wanted to meet more of my, uh, counterparts."

"Let me guess," commented Marlene Nine, "you must be Clint Eastwood's daughter."

"That's exactly right," Marie E replied, smiling. "I was born on August 25 of 1897."

"Hey, that's exactly a hundred years before I was born!" exclaimed Marlene One. "It seems so odd, in fact - thinking that you're exactly a century older than us. Well, the us from the EJ worlds, at least."

"I'm still confused about the EJ and PF worlds distinction," commented Marie E, "but I understand that, amongst the various differences - would be the family trees of the Browns, the Tannens, and the... the McFlys. I mean, prior to that of Dad and..."

"That's pretty much about it," confirmed Marie Seventeen. "Although, our world seems to be considerably different from the rest of the PF worlds. We actually came from a world where the intelligence levels of Father and Emmett Sr were switched."

"That is confusing," commented Marie E, furrowing her brows. "Well, it's nice to see that you have the same first name as me. Were you named after Marie Curie?"

"Precisely," replied Marie Seventeen. "You, too?"

Marie E nodded, just before adding, "Prior to being stuck in 1885, Dad was an aspiring rock star. However, for obvious reasons, that would've been impossible in the past. It was a... Well, with a little help from Dr. Brown's diagrams, he quite ended up creating this advanced world."

"That is interesting," commented Marie Seventeen. "Even though your father is rather less intelligent than my father - no offence, of course - he still became a scientist."

"Well, his situation did sort of force him into that," pointed out Marie E. "So, uh, what about the EJ worlds? Is one of them dramatically different from the rest?"

"I think that would be your world," JB pointed out, smiling. "However, I think all of them - including this world - stem from the exact same timeline... which would be, essentially, our world."

"In our world, there was no trip to 1955," Mike H Ten clarified. "As such, Marty Sr's life up until... until the Libyans... was quite identical to the original timeline of the other EJ worlds - and, to this day, there is no second past for Dad."

Vincent sighed, as this was a lot to take in. "So, Marie Eastwood, my Marly's grandpa is Calvin Klein - and, on top of everything, George McFly is my grandfather. Dad and Marty Sr ended up sharing a birthday, and Dad played rhythm guitar in Marty Sr's old band."

"Indeed, that is fascinating," agreed Marie E.

At that point, the room went mostly quiet, as no one knew what to say next. Vincent just concentrated on listening to the music that was being played. He'd never heard it before, of course, but it was really good. He just wished that he could stay somewhat longer in this world. Of course, that was possible - but he would come to miss his relatives, notably his own parents. Luckily, he did have Marlene with him, but that wouldn't remove the fact that he missed his parents.

"I wonder what my Dad is doing now" Marie Seventeen pondered. "Probably looking at the inventions of the Docs here, or helping them build a machine that can bring us home."

"Yeah, he's really enthusiastic with his inventions, isn't he?" Clint said. "Gee, I knew that Mr. McFly could go overboard with those things, but I don't think I've ever seen him act the way he acted today and yesterday."

"This is so odd, you know" Vincent said. "We all know by now that your world is drastically different from ours - but we can't yet grasp it."

"I understand" Marie Seventeen said. "I don't grasp your worlds' differences either." She paused. "But to return to the subject, what are your folks doing now? I haven't seen my Mom and Dad since early this morning."

"I have no idea, to be honest" Marlene One said. "They could be anywhere by now. I don't think they went to help with the project, though. Dad isn't qualified for that. They're probably sitting somewhere talking with some counterparts, just like we are."

"I was just with them, in fact," explained Marie E. "One of them was wearing a name tag that read Marty Sr One. Jennifer wasn't with him, though. Anyway, you needn't worry about them. They're just mingling, like you guys are."

"Well, that's true," replied Marlene Nine. "I suppose we should just relax, and enjoy the music. I do wonder where the Docs are, though. Did they go out to the garage, already?"

"Hey, I see them!" exclaimed Marie E, pointing towards the refreshment stand. "Man, it quite feels very weird to see many different versions of Dr. Browns - even though I should be used to the idea, since there are two versions of him in this world alone."

"Well, that's not quite the same thing," pointed out Marlene One. "They are, after all, the same person from different stages of his life. However, that's simply not the case of... Well, even though many of my counterparts are here, none of them are... Well, none ever have actually been me - or ever will become me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," added Mike H One. "Unlike how two of the versions of your father actually are the same person from different stages of his life."

"Suddenly," Marlene Four commented, sighing, "I feel so sorry for your parents - and, for that matter, the Doc of your world. After all, they actually are quite going through this experience twice. That has to be a little..."

"Great Scott!" gasped Marlene One. Then, with a little giggle, she added, "Man, I just cannot believe that Doc is quite rubbing off on me. Anyway, I never really thought of that aspect of it - but, now that you bring it up."

"Yeah, that just can't be real easy," Vincent replied, thoughtfully. "I guess they would have it the worst - although, on the positive side, Jennifer One does not get captured twice. So, after you guys return to your world, do you reckon that they will remember things... from both occurrences?"

"My guess is, probably so," Marlene One replied, softly. "The problem is, my parents and Doc - from 1987, that is - will really have to be careful not to change history. Or else, that really could... result in a major paradox."

The entire group grew silent, as Vincent mulled over what Marlene One suggested. It was simply an unnerving thought, indeed, to think of how the fate of over two dozen universes rested on the shoulders of the World One 1987 people. Indeed, that would be a huge responsibility for anyone to carry.

"Wow, Marly, you're actually thinking fourth-dimensionally," Mike H One pointed out, admiringly. Furrowing his brows, he added, "Or is it fifth-dimensionally?"

"Probably fifth," suggested Marie Seventeen. "If the fourth dimension refers to time, then the fifth dimension probably refers to parallel universes."

"That is a lot of heavy thinking," Marie E commented, sighing. She glanced over at the refreshment table, as she added, "Well, it looks like the refreshments are ready - and the Docs are getting ready to head out to the garage."

"Along with someone who looks like my brother," added Marlene One, "and someone who likes my father."

"They're definitely from our world," suggested Marie Seventeen, smiling. "I recognize them by their clothes."

"And I also see two people who look like a teenage George McFly," added JB. "They must be the characters from the Mind Warped Universe... and also that other..."

"Teens In Time," Clint replied, softly. "They simply must have it the hardest, since the situation would be even more unfamiliar to them - then it is to us."

"I would love to see the Teens In Time trilogy," Vincent commented, smiling. "I mean, I've seen Mind Warped, but I have never seen the other trilogy. It would be kind of cool."

"It is quite cool, I think" Clint agreed. "The Teens In Time trilogy is one of our favourite movie trilogies. Even Marie's Dad watched it in his youth - and, well, you know him."

"We certainly do by now" Mike H One replied. "Odd fellow, but he's not too bad. At least Marly's father had some foreknowledge and could fill us in on the issue. He'd stayed at the house of the Three's a few weeks in 1990, and when talking about alternate universes, the world with the smart him had been discussed the most."

"It's quite funny" Marlene One said, smiling. "Ever since I heard about the experience my parents and Doc had in the other world, I wished I could stay a while in another dimension, too. Now, I am here - with the people from that very world! It's very odd."

"Definitely" Vincent confirmed. "Strange indeed. But to go back to the subject of the Teens In Time trilogy, I'm kind of curious to hear about a story of time travel. Especially since the main protagonist couple matches up with my grandparents."

"Oh, not that touchy subject again" Marie Seventeen groaned.

"Just pointing it out" Vincent replied. "I wasn't purposely trying to remind you of it. I just wanted to say that it's true."

"Yeah, it is" Marlene Nine said. "I think that gives us an advantage when watching that trilogy, as it doesn't give the 'not right' feeling to us as it gives to you. So, did Todd and Kelly have any kids in the trilogy?"

"Hmm... don't remember if that was mentioned" Clint muttered. "Do you know, Marie Se - who am I kidding, of course you do. You're a genius's child, after all."

Marie Seventeen blushed. "Yeah, I remember" she said. "The third movie took place in the future, in the year 2085, and no descendants of Todd and Kelly were mentioned. It was just said that Kelly would get an unfortunate life after losing Todd. However, at the end, back in 1985, when Todd was back, he prevented one of the key events leading to that future, and that added to his continued presence made one of the objects from the future - a plaque of some sorts dedicated to Kelly because she had made some donation after her death - show that Todd and Kelly's lives had indeed changed, and that they had five children together. Both of them did die before 2085, though."

"Yes, I guess the Teens In Time universe doesn't have the rejuvenation techniques our world has" Clint said. "Now that you say it, I remember what happened. Should've thought of that before."

"Sounds like an interesting subplot" Vincent said. "Sort of like what happened to Marlene's father in your worlds in 1985, with that race with Needles."

"You know about that?" Marlene One said. "Yes, the event sounds rather similar to what apparently happened in Teens In Time. Maybe we'll be able to compare better if... or when... we see the movies. I'm sure one of the PF persons has the movies with them. I saw how messy that train was, and there's so many stuff inside, so it could include those movies."

"Yeah, I believe I saw them lying somewhere" Marlene Four said. "Didn't pay any attention to it before, of course. There were more important matters to deal with - most notably, one Cliff Tannen."

"Oh, yeah, about him," Marie E muttered. "Dad did mention about the bullies." With a sigh, she added, "What is it with the Tannen men, exactly? I mean, Jill Tannen simply was decent - as was Tiffany Gertrude, when she was younger."

"Wow, the Tannen family tree sure is different in our world," mused Clint. "Of course, our world is quite different from the other PF worlds - but I do suspect that the family trees are, more or less, the same. I mean, Gertrude - which, by the way, is really her first name - had married into the Tannen family, as opposed to being born a Tannen."

"If I recall correctly," replied Mike Ten, "that does seem to be the case of the other PF worlds. This isn't the issue at hand, though. We were talking about..."

"Cliff Tannen," Marie E replied, softly. "Yeah, even at only five years old, he's already a holy terror. Anyway, the Docs brought them out to the garage - and they are still in their shrunk state. They have probably regained conscious, though."

"Well, if they're still in their shrunk state," Vincent commented, as he began to feel a little uneasy, "they probably can't cause much trouble."

"Well, they're also contained," added Marie E. "That envelope is locked and, shrunk as they are, they can't cause much troubles." She suddenly paled, as she realised something. "But... what if they choke? If the envelope is locked, they wouldn't get any air..."

"That sounds horrible!" Marlene Four said, shocked. "I mean, sure, they did terrible things to us, but just letting them die like that is too much! Is there anything we can do about this?"

"I'll go over to my father and tell him to make tiny holes in the envelopes, if he hasn't done so already" Marie E said. "I hope this ends well. We wouldn't want to have someone's death on our hands... especially when they are supposed to be around for the sake of the space-time continuum." She hurriedly exited.

"Yes, that's a matter we have to think about as well" Mike H Four said. "And something else... I guess that the bullies will have to be grown again before leaving this place, because there are no shrinking devices in their home worlds. However, if they are their normal size again and awake, that could pose trouble."

"Maybe we could somehow make them grow gradually?" Marie Seventeen proposed. "I mean, make them grow in a very slow speed, so that they wouldn't be a threat until they have already arrived home? That could also resolve the issue of them being too small to tie up now, as they could just be tied up at a point where they are tall enough... oh who am I kidding, those ropes wouldn't grow along with them and would break, leaving them unchained. Hmm, that's still an issue to ponder."

"Well, I'm sure we can accomplish something" Vincent said. "We're with so many people here, after all, so together, if we just put our minds to it, we can accomplish anything."

"That is very true" Marlene Nine agreed. "We must be able to do something about this matter. We've gotten quite far already, after all."

"More importantly, though," added Marie Seventeen, "we don't want them to remember anything about this trip. How do we wipe their memories clean, though?"

"Even if they are big bullies," commented Vincent, as he felt a little uneasy about the suggestion, "I kind of can't help but feel as if the whole idea of messing with people's memories are a little, uh, unethical."

"Normally, I would agree with you," replied JB, "but this is so far from being a normal situation. As long as they're quite allowed to remember all this, the entire space-time continuum will be at stake."

"That's right," replied Marlene One, "and this actually goes back to what we were just discussing. After all, the Cliff of our world will have to grow up to give birth to Griff. It is just so... There is no other choice but to remove their memories."

"How would we go about doing this, though?" asked Marie Seventeen. "By the way, I also am not generally a proponent of messing with other people's minds - but, in this case, we really have no other choice."

"This really sounds like Sabrina Palmer's department," suggested Marie E. Then, with a gasp, she added, "But she's out of town, and we sure don't want to disturb her. I just hope that the Docs are able to come up with Plan B."

"I just hope so, too," JB replied, sighing. "Well, maybe we should just enjoy the music - and let the geniuses take care of everything. Also, aside from an occasional song, it all is so unfamiliar to me. The song that's currently playing, though, rather sounds like a fusion of glam metal and grunge. I think I really dig this song."

"I do, too," replied Mike H Nine. "Well, it looks like the refreshment stand is ready. I'm getting a mite hungry."

Vincent nodded, as he and his group headed to the refreshment stand. He saw two other groups were also heading over there. As interesting as the experience rather was, he began to feel homesick. He also hoped, rather desperately, that the bullies would stop being trouble - one everyone returned to their respective worlds.

oooooooooo

Dr. Emmett Brown Thirteen sighed, just as he and his six companions stepped into the garage. There were Docs One and Three - who, essentially, were the ones that really took command. There was also Marty Seventeen, who was quite the super-intelligent version of his friend. Brent Ross and Connor O'Connor, the scientists of the alternate trilogies that Michael J Fox starred in, were also with the group. The local Chris Brown was the one in charge. He felt very nervous about the big task that lay ahead.

"Well, it looks like we have a hard task ahead of us" Chris said. "I'm sure that we'll eventually find a way to send everyone back home, but it will take a while. I think that first, we should decide what we'll actually do."

"It is obvious that we can't just send everyone back the way they came" Doc One agreed. "Not everyone remembers their home dimension, and it would take long to figure it all out. I'd prefer that everyone can just leave from here."

"Yes, that sounds like a better plan" Doc Three said. "Maybe we could see whether there are characteristics specific to one dimension in the persons around? Regarding DNA, I mean?"

"Well, that makes it quite convenient that we're in such an advanced era" Marty Senior Seventeen said. "I suppose that the local version of you has information on whether this DNA researching possibility is available here in his neural systems and can rely that to us."

"Yes, I do" Chris said. "It shouldn't be too hard to get something like that. Too bad that none of us is a medical doctor, it might have helped. Well, I am sure that it won't be too hard. You'll be surprised how easy to operate DNA tracers are."

"I'm sure we will" Doc Thirteen said, speaking up. "By the way, I do know a lot about biology, as it was one of my reading subjects after I got stuck in the Old West. Around 1900, when I still used the time train frequently, I bought a few books on the subject in the future, 2035 to be exact, and brought them back to my home time. I read a lot in it, also about DNA."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," replied Doc Three. "You're the one who elected to stay in the past. Even if you did, eventually, move back to the future. I actually wondered about that, when we ended in your world in 1988. It's a good think you were there."

"Yeah, it sure is a coincidence," agreed Doc Thirteen, as he remembered the day quite well. "So, Chris, what did you have on mind?"

"All right, I have the laser devise over here," explained Chris. "It records the DNA of individuals, without removing any skin. It's effectively painless. Okay, since we have four of me here - let's start out with testing us."

"So far, so good," replied Doc One. "Since we are all, technically, the same individual - we should all have the same DNA. The only thing that would differ, would be the part of the DNA that gives our home location."

"That is exactly what I had on mind," agreed Chris. "Although, to be certain, I should also test the younger version of myself. Then, after that, we could simply take what we find - and then see if can, somehow, run them through the dimension tracker."

"That might quite work," agreed Doc Three. "Both One and I have a version of one. I do know that most of us are either from PF or EJ worlds." He then glanced at Brent R and Connor, and added, "Well, except for those two - which came from..."

"... trilogies that Michael J Fox starred in," finished Chris. "Man, it's so hard to believe that we ourselves are the subject of movie trilogy - in another universe."

"Well, there is a Julia," explained Doc One, "who originated from such a world." Then, suddenly, he gasped, "Great Scott! We can't send her back to the world of her birth - since she no longer lives there."

"While we're on that subject," added Connor, "I would also like for Todd Krebs, Brent Collins, and their girls to return to our world. You see, we ourselves were quite in the middle of an experiment."

"Then there are those who came from the Tannen-ruled worlds," added Doc Three. "It is a slightly different situation - but, still, we certainly do not want to risk sending them back to those worlds. That is, if they're even still intact."

"That should not be a real problem," assured Chris. "I could make some capsules that would transport you all back to the world you desire, even if it isn't the one you were born in. That should be quick and easy."

"Except for those of us from Worlds One and Three," pointed out Doc Three. "We do both have vehicles stolen from our worlds, so we will need to retrieve them. We sure have to have of how to return the train and bus back, at the same time."

"We could maybe harness the train to the bus," suggested Doc One, "and just return in the bus." He then gasped, "Great Scott! What about the bullies? Chris, are they in here? We cannot allow them to remember any of this!"

"That is a quite hard issue" Chris said. "I'm not sure how to fix it. As for your question - they're over there, in those envelopes in the cabinet."

Doc Thirteen walked over to the cabinet, fascinated. He opened the cabinet, and gasped as he saw that the bullies had indeed woken up - some of them had, at least. Cliff and Griff had managed to free themselves out of the envelopes, and Griff shrieked upon seeing Doc Thirteen. His father ignored the inventor, and, pulling Griff with him, he jumped out of the cabinet, down to the workbench.

"Help!" Doc Thirteen shouted, unsure of what else to say. "The bullies are escaping!"

"What?" Doc Three exclaimed, horrified. "How did that happen, Thirteen? I thought they were safely inside that cabinet!"

"I opened it because I was curious" the other inventor admitted, blushing. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have done that."

"Never mind" Chris said, running to a corner of the laboratory and taking something. "This is quite easy to solve. The fishing net I've got right here will take care of the task." And indeed, he easily caught the two escaped bullies in the net, shut it, and carried them back to the cabinet, which was shut behind them.

"Thanks" Doc Thirteen said, feeling somewhat obliged to say it, as it had after all been his fault that the bullies managed to get away in the first place. "I guess I'm really clumsy, ain't I?"

"It doesn't matter" Chris said. "What has been done is done, and we can't waste any time on it. We have more pressing concerns to take care of."

"Like the problematic fact of the knowledge that our villains currently have in their possession" Marty Sr Seventeen said. "I was about to say something about that, before Emmett Thirteen accidentally freed the concerned villains: I do, in fact, have a solution to this. At home in my world, I have managed to build a device that can alter memories or remove them, greatly aided by future technology. If you have the mind reading device the other Emmett, Emmett Three, had in 1988, I should be able to build it into a working mind wiping device."

"You think you can do that?" Doc Three said. "Ah, who am I kidding, of course you can. Should've expected you to come with a solution to that problem."

One could see Marty Sr Seventeen blush. "Well, I'm quite certain that I could do it" he said. "I've built a similar device before and the mind reader should have a lot of the basic components, and given how technologically advanced the current era is, it shouldn't be a problem to obtain the other elements that need to be incorporated. That is, of course, only if the mind reader is still around. If it is not, things would get a little more complicated."

"I can assure you that it is" Chris said. "Emmett should still have it somewhere. He got much closer to success than I did, but decided to abandon the project after I reminded him that while success with the mind reader might be close, he needed to make the time machine his priority or cause a paradox. He was sad to let it go, and has made me promise him that I will continue the project after his departure in 1985. Because of that, it's still around somewhere. In fact, it should be in this very garage."

"Oh, good!" breathed Marty Sr Seventeen, in relief. "Of course, I do comprehend the whole ethical issues of altering one's memories. Then again, the bullies are not ethical people. Well, that's another problem solved."

"I found it!" cried Chris, as he stepped out from behind one of the cabinets. "Are any of you willing to volunteer to let me read your mind?"

"Well, that's not really necessary, is it?" Doc One said. "I mean, it's not here for the purpose of reading one's mind today, but for wiping it of unwanted memories. Of course, it's still good to test it."

"That's what I thought, too" Chris said. "So, who volunteers?"

"I will" Brent R said. "I don't have any experience with the thing, but I'm curious to see what happens. My colleague-movie citizen here also invented a device that works with minds, but I never did, and I'm curious to see how it works."

"All right" Chris smiled. "Just sit down - it might cause somewhat of a shock - and let me install everything."

Doc Thirteen smiled with nostalgia, as the familiar procedures that he remembered from 1955 - which was now seventy-seven years in his past - were enacted upon Brent. His local counterpart then sat down on a chair, and began concentrating."

"Let's see" Chris said, tuning somewhat with the knobs on the mind reader... if the device worked anywhere like the one Thirteen himself had invented, probably to get a clearer view of the situation. "You're thinking about your home? No, it's not quite familiar to you... what's that with the advanced technology? And robots? Ah, there's more information... it's the home you owned on your trip to 2085! That's right, isn't it?"

"Exactly" Brent R confirmed. "What else do you see?"

"I guess it works a bit better than I thought," replied Chris, smiling. "I just need to fine tune a few things, and then we can continue with the task at hand."

"I could help you out, if you'd like," offered Connor. "I do have experience with that stuff, after all. Then again, there maybe are a few things that work quite differently in this world... I wonder if there might be several layers of fictionality? I mean, Todd and Brent - along with their girls - are probably one level up from us. Then, the folks from Teens in Time seem to be equal level with Melissa and me. Then, from the looks of it, you guys seem to be in fictional world of your own."

"I never thought about it," confessed Brent R. "I reckon it's because time travel is more my forte, while parallel universes is more yours. I seem to recall a discussion about the world from George Orwell's 1984 being real? I mean, that book had just given me such nightmares. I hate the idea of thinking that..."

"Sadly, I did visit a world just like that," confirmed Doc One. "At least, we manage to overthrow the government - and, the last time we visited, they were headed towards a... towards... almost a utopian society. Of course, they may quite be other versions of that world. After all, you never know."

"Good point, Doc One," replied Connor. "For that matter, I wonder if there are other versions of the world that I came from - as well as Brent, Todd, and their girls. For all we know, there might even really be a world where we were doing exactly what we were doing - and the only difference is, Cliff and the boys never landed into it. In fact, we really were considering visiting the folks from Teen In Time. Perhaps, in that world, we did end up doing that."

"That could be possible," agreed Brent R. "And, likewise, our world would probably be exactly the same - up until that point. Then, instead of Cliff and the boys stopping by - it would, in effect, be you folks."

"Indeed, the possibilities are endless," agreed Chris. "For now, though, let's just focus our attention on the worlds that are of immediate concern to us."

"I should probably apologize for all this," Doc One commented, softly. "I quite imagine that we sure caused you some great inconvenience - and, since everything started in our world, I can't help but feel a little responsible."

"Well, do not blame yourself," replied Chris. "Actually, I thought the experience was quite interesting. If anything, I think my younger self was quite the one who is more uncomfortable with the situation - since he's actually used to being a bit of a loner."

"That rather appears to be one thing my counterparts and I all have in common," Doc Thirteen suggested, as he mulled over everything that was mentioned. "Perhaps even including the... the less intelligent version of me. Well, what's all on the agenda?"

"Remove the memories of the bullies," replied Doc Three, "and find a way to send all of us back home. Well, except for the folks from our world and World One - since we have to return to our worlds manually. Also, we need to figure out at just what time we should return everyone."

"Well, I suppose to the same time they left" Doc One said. "Adding a few minutes, of course. The thing is, not many people will have remembered the exact time they left. At least it's a holiday season, with few pressing matters to be undertaken at a special time... or things would get nasty."

"They definitely would" Chris said. "Well, to start with the guys here, does anyone remember what time they left?"

"Well, Cliff and Griff kept resetting every time it got dark" Doc One said. "That having said, I believe I left roughly at 7 PM. It wasn't getting dark yet, as it was summer, but we were relatively late in the evening. We were the second group, after the ones from 1987. For them, the whole event happened roughly at 5 PM, I believe."

"You don't remember?" Doc Three said. "I guess it's that temporal amnesia of yours playing up again. Yes, that can be rather nasty." He paused. "Anyway, I should've told this before, but we can track down the departures with my train. It has a reset button next to the Last Time Departed, so we can track down every single hop it has made over the past day. It can hold up to fifty leaps, and I doubt Cliff ever made that much. We should probably get the locals of the dimensions along with us, to check. We don't want the whole system to be out of whack because Cliff made one random time trip forwards of one minute at some point."

"Wouldn't we remember it then?" Brent R said. "I thought your time tracker kept track of all the hops, not just those to another world."

"Oh, yes, that's correct" Doc Three said. "Sorry, I forgot that for a moment."

"How does the device work?" Connor asked, curious.

"It's very simple" Doc Three replied. "All that has to be done is to simply press the button, and the Last Time Departed that was there prior to the last hop through time will appear in full on the screen it would normally appear at, too. Every time you press the button, it goes back one hop. Anyone can operate it."

"That's very convenient" Doc Thirteen said. "It can also be an aid in tracking down the dimensions involved."

"Oh yeah, that's true" Doc Three said. "Hadn't thought of that. Boy, I'm really forgetting much today."

"It can happen to anyone" Chris said. "For now, the important thing is that we divide groups. "Connor, Marty Seventeen, you are going to build a mind-wiping device. Brent and I can operate this machine and then you, Doc One, Doc Three and Doc Thirteen, can work on the main task of tracking down the DNA. Is that okay with all of you?"

"All right" Doc Thirteen said. He smiled, as he then followed One and Three to the areas of the lab where they were going to work. Today was certainly going to be a productive day.

oooooooooo

Jamie Brown was relaxing, as she was listening to the music with all her old and new friends. This was certainly an unique experience, and she was enjoying it to the fullest. Still, it did kind of hurt her that there was just one counterpart for her, who even had another name. Also, the fact that Griff Tannen was still around troubled her - even though she knew that he was too small to bother her again, like he had done before.

Aside from her counterpart, Melody Brown - she was also joined by the girls from the Mind Warped and Teens In Time Universes. Kelly Greenwood and Mallory Ross were from the latter - while Trina Collins, Rachel Meyer, and Melissa Van Dixon were from the former. Indeed, that situation also felt odd to her.

"It was a little tough," Mallory commented, softly, "getting used to living in the past. I also felt a bit relieved, though. I mean, the time period that I came from just wasn't... Well, it wasn't exactly all fun and games. Besides, it's nice to be with Brent."

"Speaking of which," added Kelly, "he's out in the garage with the... the Dr. Browns. I wonder how he's dealing with it."

"I've been wondering the same," agreed Melissa, "about Connor. Of course, for all we know, the laws of physics may be a bit... altered... in this world."

"So, you guys were actually considering visiting our world?" asked Kelly. "I do wonder how that would have work out, if not for... Well, you know."

"It's probably best we not think about that, now," suggested Rachel. "We'll leave the heavy thinking for the scientist types. Perhaps, once we return to our worlds - then we could maybe give it another shot."

"I've a feeling Connor would rather object," Melissa pointed out. "After we return to our world, he would probably like to return you to your worlds, as soon as possible - and then take a little break from the whole dimensional hopping."

"I know that's just what I would prefer to do," Jamie replied sighing. She thought back to her first time travel trip, and added, "You simply couldn't pay me to return to the timeline that I came from - but, still, I remember can how much of an adjustment it was for me. Of course, for most of the time that I was in 1986, I had amnesia."

"It sure sounds as if you went through a lot," Melody B commented, sympathetically. Turning to Trina, she added, "So, Trina, what's Ellen been up to? I quite wish we had the actual original movies in our world, instead of just the Mind Warped trilogy."

"I think you're in luck, then," Melissa replied. "If I recall correctly, the locals of this world were making duplicates of all the movies for us. I, too, would like to meet Ellen - as well Sammy and Cassie. The last time I was in their worlds... Well, I wasn't exactly corporeal - and I could only interact with Todd and Brent."

"Ellen is still in good health," replied Trina. "She's such a sweet girl. I sure must admit, though. I sometimes am jealous of her. In a way, I sure think she's lucky that she will always be like a kid. She will never have to concern herself with politics, and she sure is impervious to peer pressure. She just enjoys sweets and rock music, especially Led Zeppelin. Whenever she gets agitated, playing Zeppelin usually calms her down."

"I would love to meet her, too," commented Rachel, smiling. "I did see the movie, and I... Well, I rather remember how Todd sometimes wavered between being doting and being resentful of her. Mostly, he was doting - but it was also during a time when..."

"... when his father was simply being so hard on him," finished Melissa. "He was a little resentful of how Ellen could do no wrong in their father's eyes - but, yet, he sure kept finding fault with Todd. Such as Todd's lack of interest in sports, which his father..."

"Uh, girls," Trina interjected, clearing her throat. "I understand that, to you, Todd is a fictional character in a movie - but you have to remember that... that he's really real."

"Trina's right," agreed Jamie. She tried to imagine how she would feel, if people talked about her as if she was a movie character. The feeling made her feel uneasy. "Well, it is very cool that Ellen likes Led Zeppelin. Come to think of it, I'd also like to meet her."

"Yes, I can understand that" Trina chuckled. "It's hardly possible, though. While it could be done, it would be a little too confusing... and I don't think that you should ask Dr. Brown. Any of them, for that matter. If they would allow you to do that, there would be hundreds of persons who wanted to meet somebody."

"Yeah" Melissa agreed. "There would be no end to it. I guess that must sound like I'm a hypocrite, but once you get started, where do you stop?"

"My point exactly" Trina agreed. "We shouldn't let anybody meet anybody. Having said that, what have you been up to, Mallory? You were talking about adjusting to 1985 after Brent took you back..."

"Yeah, that wasn't easy" Mallory admitted. "Especially with the various inventions that existed in the future. However, there were positive sides, too. In the future, things had gotten a little too industrialized, with no care for anything. Totalitarianism had taken over the country. We won the Cold War after World War Three in 2002, but that was about the only thing positive that had happened. The USA got rebuilding a little too fast, and by 2030, we had become an industrialized society without any care for nature as long as people were happy. And they were, so a dictator could rule the States unopposed. We had by the time already been eclipsed by China, and by 2085, the East Asian Alliance was the strongest power in the world, and the current dictator of the US was not too happy with that. He attempted several times to attack, and by the time Brent and I left, a crisis was occurring that was likely to spill into the Fourth World War - and the final World War."

"That sounds horrible!" Jamie exclaimed. "Is that really what your world is - will be like?"

"Well, Brent and I are determined to change the future" Mallory replied. "We haven't seen much result yet, but we're desperate to try. We haven't been to the future very often either, ever since we came back from 2085. Just a few times, to look around. Brent has probably seen it more than I have, because he often travels to the future to check on the technology."

"That sounds familiar" Melody B said. "Grandpa Brown also travels to the future a lot. He's very curious to what will happen, and yet he keeps telling us that he's doing it all for the time machine and that no man should know too much of his own destiny. I think he's just being hypocritical."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," agreed Mallory. "I wonder if it may be mostly because he's older than you, and it's his way of exerting authority. Well, technically, I'm also much younger than Brent - but only because I was born in a later time period."

"I supposed that could be part of it," mused Melody B. "Actually, he's even older than my future brother-in-law's father - who was one of his original best friends. Anything, I think it's rather more likely just that he was the one to invent the time machine - so, as such, he feels that..."

"How are you girls doing?" asked Harmony One, as she and Harmony Four joined the group. Harmony One was wearing a Foo Fighters tee-shirt, while Harmony Four was wearing a formal French outfit. "It's been so great, bonding with our other relatives, from other universes."

"Indeed, it has," agreed Harmony Four. "especially the Sarah, considering that they are sort of like my... my cousins. Of course, the Marias are also rather cool - as well as Susan. Then, of course, it was awesome bonding with Emily."

"I suppose Melody and I should bond more with them, as well," commented Jamie, as the idea sounded quite fascinating. "So, uh, are you enjoying the music?"

"I most certainly am," Harmony One replied, smiling. "If it wasn't for the fact that we are in 1968, I'd almost believe it was Alice In Chains performing this song."

"They do sound a little like Layne Staley and the boys," agreed Melody B. "Of course, as of 1968, he's still in diapers. I sort of wonder if Nirvana would still be a band in this world, considering that we seem to already have grunge and post-grunge in 1968."

"That is a good question," replied Harmony One. "If not, then it might be possible for Dave Grohl to form the Foo Fighters a few years earlier."

"Y'know, I have no idea as to which bands you're talking about," commented Melissa, chuckling. "The name Foo Fighters really cracks me up, though!"

"I do vaguely recognize those names," commented Mallory. "My great-grandparents were... will be... big fans of this... this grunge. The music that our generation had, though... Well, it plain sucked. All newly recorded music had to be government sanctioned, and they all contained subliminal messages about how great our government was."

"Man, talk about brainwashing!" muttered Jamie, as the very concept quite made her shudder. "I'm so glad Brent got you out of that world. I'll have to watch that trilogy."

"So far, we've only seen the first movie," explained Rachel. "I guess the sequels won't be released for a couple more years. Well, I'll be happy to see the sequels early."

"Well, I would hate to have Mallory's life," commented Harmony One. "I'm sure it's not as bad as George Orwell's 1984, though. I'm also looking forward to seeing the Teens In Time trilogy."

"Hey, you girls," called out an oddly familiar voice. As Jamie turned around, she saw a younger couple who looked like her parents - and her sister, for that matter.

"Dad!" gasped the Harmonys, in unison - as they glanced at the couple, looking quite shocked. "Grandma Liv!"

"Grandma?" gasped Olivia, as she burst out laughing. "I hardly think I'm that old!"

"Well, in our world, that's what you are to us," explained Jamie, as she felt stunned. "You're my mother's mother, while the man you're standing next to is... is Dad."

"I can't believe it!" exclaimed Jules. "But... Olivia is my wife! How... what... how could this be happening?"

"Well, you should know that, with you living later, you should be married to a different person" Melody B said. "You didn't think that you were still married to an older version of Grandma Olivia, did you? She'd be... forty years older than you! That's quite an age difference."

"Well, it has happened sometimes" Jules replied. "My own parents were thirty-five years apart. But yes, that's a large difference. It's just so strange to imagine that I'm married to someone else in your worlds... to Olivia's daughter, even! That feels like I'm married to one of my own kids!"

"Well, in some strange, interdimensional way, you would be the stepfather... actually the stepgrandfather... of my mother" Harmony One said. "Her name is Patti, by the way. Patti Franklin. She's the granddaughter of Olivia. My father married her in 1997, when he was nineteen years old."

"My older self really married that young?" Jules said, shocked. "Nineteen years old... and given that you are all from 2017, you weren't born much later, were you?"

"I guess they weren't" Olivia said, smiling. "Patti Franklin... my daughter married a Franklin? She's not, by any chance, related to the Benjamin Franklin, right?"

"No, she's not" Harmony Four chuckled. "To answer your question though, Dad: you're right, we were born pretty soon afterwards. My birthday is July 25th of 1998, as is that of my counterpart here. Jamie and Melody are our respective sisters - Jamie's mine, Melody's that of Harmony One. They are counterparts, even though they have different names. Both of them were born on August 5th, 1999."

"In the new timeline, at least" Jamie said, sighing sadly.

"What's the matter with her?" Olivia asked.

"Long story" Melody B replied. "In short, she remembers another past, much like Marty McFly Sr, in which she was the daughter of Miff Tannen instead, even if she didn't know it. She was less pretty in that world, and got bullied a lot. That was the result of Miff raping Patti - but after we went back to 1986, we managed to prevent it from happening... quite unintentionally, much like the experience of Marty's father."

"That sounds horrible!" Olivia exclaimed. "My poor granddaughter! Raped by a Tannen..."

"Hey, even Claudia Wells is part-Tannen" Jules reminded her. "She has Tannen ancestors, remember? The Tannens aren't all bad."

"That's correct" Olivia responded. "Yet, this remains a tragedy."

"Say, miss, um, Brown," Jules said, smiling, "what's your name? I guess that you're also my daughter - but you only told us your birthday yet."

"I did?" Harmony One said, confused. "Oh yes, I guess I did. How impolite of me. It's Harmony Brown."

"Harmony Brown?" Jules exclaimed, with Olivia being just as shocked. "But... that's my daughter's name! However, she hasn't even been born yet - and she's still in Olivia's womb! We only know, because Dad has taken some pictures along to show her to us, from the future!"

"I'm... in there... right now?" Harmony Four said, just as shocked.

"I thought Dr. Brown wouldn't do something like that" Kelly said. "Especially with how this world has been altered already... from what I've heard of him, it doesn't sound like something he would do."

"It isn't" Jules confirmed. "It was an exceptional case, though - when Dad was in a mood to give in, as one of his inventions had just succeeded." He frowned, and took a closer look. "Are you a version of Lorraine Baines? You're the spitting image of her, back from when she was young! I remember, because I was one of George's best friends in High School."

"No, I'm not," Kelly replied, softly, "and I do already know how some of you feel about this. Still, we're from an entirely different world."

"Yeah, I'm not sure how to explain this to you," added Melissa, "but some of us come from... entirely different worlds. Even more so than the... the majority of the other worlds."

"The thing is," added Trina, "some of us just came from... from worlds that you would consider as... fictional. Apparently, in some of the worlds like yours, we're characters in a movie trilogy called Mind Warped."

"Right," agreed Mallory, "and, in some of the others, Kelly and I are in a movie trilogy called Teens In Time. Both trilogies feature Michael J Fox as leads, who is..."

"I think I get it," Jules replied, stunned. "Dr. Eastwood did mention something about it. It'd be a lie to say it's not confusing, but..."

"...but almost everything is, around here" Olivia added. "So, I guess we shouldn't make a fuss of that."

"Right, right" Jules replied. "So, what are you going to do next? You can't stay here forever. I'm sure that Dr. Von Braun wouldn't be okay with that."

"He wouldn't be" Rachel agreed. "I heard that we're going to wait until the dimensional machine is ready to transport us more efficient, and then we're all going home. A lot of Dr. Browns are working on it, along with some other guys. So it shouldn't take too long anymore."

"I noticed you call the younger version of your father Dr. Von Braun" Melody B said. "He's no Dad for you, I suppose?"

"Well, considering that he's eighteen years older than I am, he could've been my father" Jules said. "But you're right - he's just not my Dad. I never learned about time travel until I was a grown-up anyway, and calling a second person 'Dad' then was too hard."

"Yes, that's right" Olivia replied. "Jules found out about the truth in 1957, and I did around the time of our engagement to each other. Jules' father, Doctor Brown, had insisted that I couldn't know earlier. He wanted to ensure that no ex-girlfriends would be getting knowledge of history. Strange, since he had seen in the future that we would get married."

"Well, the future is always changing" Jamie said. "That's what Grandpa always says. However, maybe it's not... this is still his past, right? Your father-in-law's, I mean. He won't go back 'till 1985, so maybe this future is not as insecure as our future is... yeah, time travel is really confusing!"

"Indeed, it is," agreed Mallory. "On one hand, we are working to bring a better future for our world." After a brief pause, she added, "I sure wonder if I'll be alive to see my younger self be born. I wonder how the... new me... would be different."

"Come to think of it," added Melissa, "I do wonder what the future in our worlds would be like. I would just hate to think of our future turning... dystopian. I understand that there is a niche genre of post-apocalyptic fiction. I'm sure reading that stuff can really give you... nightmares. Watching it on screen would probably be even worse."

"Let's not worry about that, right," suggested Olivia. "To be honest, there is a small part of me that rather worries about the increasing technology. On the other hand, though, there are organizations in place to preserve nature and such."

"Suddenly, I'm beginning to realize the importance of going green," replied Trina. "We do have to be mindful not to abuse the technology that we've been given. I really am curious of if there were other advanced societies, in the rather distant past. Such as, for instance, before the Ice Ages. Anyway, I'd hate to think of losing everything..."

"Well, I really don't know if Doc ever went that far back," replied Jamie. In fact, it was one thing that interested her. She was quite curious about the Atlantis myths. "Well, I think we should grab some more snacks. I am a little anxious to head back home."

"I'm definitely with you, on that," Kelly agreed. "I'll be happy to see my own bedroom, again. I am starting to feel a little homesick."

"Same here," replied Rachel. "Of course, we'll have to return to Connor and Melissa's world first - and then we can return to our worlds."

"Why don't you guys have some lemon drops?" suggested Jules, as he held out a bag.

"Well, how are you folks doing?" asked a man who looked like very familiar, as he was joined by a woman. "I see you guys are chatting it up."

"Hey, Uncle Verne," greeted Jamie, as she saw the man's name tag. She glanced at the woman, and read her name tag. "Mallory. Y'know, I'm not sure if I..."

"...if you'll ever get used to people having other names here?" Harmony Four suggested. "That's okay. My own mother is a different person. The fact that Dad married Great-Grandma Olivia is a little weird, to say the least. But that's what you face with interdimensional travelling."

"Yes, I suppose so" Verne said. "I remember that Dr. Von Braun told me that there is a version of my father around, who's married to a woman named Susan - and another version, who's married to her mother, Julia. So I guess that's a similar situation." He shook his head. "This is just so strange and complicated. We never expected this."

"I don't think anyone expected this" Jules responded. "Nice to see you again, by the way. It's been a few days, hasn't it?"

"Well, my work keeps me busy" Verne replied. "And so does yours with you, so I think that you have no reason to blame me for the fact that we haven't seen each other over the past time. But we're here, at least."

"Yes, nice to see you, Verne, Mallory" Olivia replied. "How are you guys doing?"

"Very good" Verne said, smiling broadly. "How's the baby, Olivia?"

"Still inside" Olivia said, looking down. "It'll be a few more weeks before Harmony will be born. How's little Benjamin doing?"

"Good" Verne replied. "Say, I heard that there's a girl from the alternate universes here who's sort of the counterpart to your yet unborn baby. Is that true?"

"You hear a lot of things, Verne" Jules said. "But yes, it's true. This is Harmony." He pointed at the girl.

"Please to meet you, uh, Verne" Harmony One replied. "There's actually two of me here. But please sit down."

Verne did so, and Olivia did the same as well. As she looked on, Jamie couldn't help but smile. Today certainly was a special day.

oooooooooo

Clint Eastwood smiled, as he looked out from the mansion. It was now 6 PM and the day was coming to an end. A lot of work had been achieved this day and he was certain that they would be able to transport the visitors back home the following morning. He should actually go back to work now, but he couldn't help but enjoy the beautiful view and the nice weather. Just a few moments wouldn't matter too much, would it?

"Sneaking away again, Clint?" a familiar voice said from behind him. The inventor turned around to see Christopher walking up to him. "In some aspects, you never grew up. You still remind me of the teenaged boy I hung around with in the 1980s in the old world."

"Well, I always vowed that I would not grow to become a crotchety old man," Marty replied, smiling. "It's so odd to think that there is a younger version of me here. The versions of me from the me from World Thirteen, as well as the versions of me who were stuck in 1955, come the closest to being my age - and even they are 21 years younger than me."

"I can imagine how that would make you feel," Chris replied, chucking. "I wonder how my younger self is doing. He's not used to being around large crowds, yet."

"We do have a lot of people here," agreed Clint. "It's sure nice to see my descendants actually bonding with everyone. Y'know, the last time I checked, I sure noticed that all the young female descendants of yours were really bonding together. It nearly seems as if they were some sort of... organized club."

"Well, it sure looks like this is a major year for people close to us to be born," chuckled Chris. "And to think that, a long time ago, I used to believe that I would never have a family. Man, a lot of things have certainly changed."

"Well, it still feels quite odd to of how that my younger self was born just yesterday," Clint commented, sighing. "I will then be in a similar situation to you and... Emmett. As it is, my younger self won't know that I'm... him older."

"At any rate," Chris replied, clearing his throat, "I just wanted to tell you that we are about done. I had a little talk with my younger self. He sure agreed to let our visitors spend another night here, seeing as how they really came here from various... times of the day. However, early tomorrow morning, we'll be sending everyone back."

"Okay, that works," agreed Clint. "I'm very certain they wouldn't mind, either. They can all grab something to eat, once they return. Anyway, I have all the films copied and packaged. That way, they sure can all watch the Michael J Fox films... that the Michael J Fox of their worlds had never acted in."

With that, the two old friends laughed. While Clint enjoyed meeting everyone, a part of him was looking forward to everything returning to their worlds.

"This might seem early," commented Chris, "but I think everyone should go to bed at eight. They can sleep in the same places they did, again. Then, at about six, we can wake everyone up."

"Why don't we give them a half hour notice," suggested Clint, "so that they could all really say 'good bye' to each other? Then, of course, the folks from Worlds One and Three were quite planning to return to their worlds manually."

"I doubt they could say 'good bye' to everyone in half an hour" Chris said. "Well, I guess they'll have to do some of that tonight, if they really want to. You can't just say bye to everyone when faced with 168 people... more, including those of our world."

"It's amazing how so many counterparts have been gathered together" Clint replied. "To think that we have to say 'thanks' to a group of our worst enemies for this occasion."

"It's strange, that's right" Chris answered him. "So, anyway, Clint, how do you feel now?"

"What do you mean?" Clint said, looking confused at his old friend.

"Well, you did turn 100 yesterday" Chris said. "Probably two months more, roughly, or even close to three... but it's the closest to a milestone as one can get. So, what's it like to be a centenarian? The point is approaching for me, so I'm curious."

"Will you believe that I never thought about that again?" Clint said, grinning. "To think that all these guys just showed up at the date of my hundredth birthday... well, it's certainly strange. Of course, there was a reason for them picking this date, but it was by no means connected to my anniversary. It did make it a quite special day."

"Today was very special too, for the same reasons" Chris reminded him. "But yeah, I can see your point."

The sound of footsteps made both men turn around to face Dr. Emmett Von Braun, who was shaking his head. "Very bad, Dr. Brown" he said, sighing. "I asked you to fetch Doc, and instead, you stay away too!"

"Yeah, and you'd better turn around, before you're caught up in our conversation too and a fourth person has to come by to take you away" Chris teased. "The nice cool weather and the beautiful sunset is quite addicting, I can tell you."

"What are you coming for anyway, Emmett?" Clint said. "Doc told me you guys were done with working. That's what he came for, by the way. That's what he said, at least."

"We're almost done" Chris corrected. "I never implied that we were fully ready. And yes, I came to tell you the news, but also to get you to come back with me and get your approval for a few final touches to the dimensional device and the stainless-glass cube we built. You know as well as I do that the devices must be in perfect working order."

"Certainly" Clint replied, shuddering. The idea of something going wrong and someone being transported to the wrong dimension, with no way to get back, and no way to tell what kind of dimension it was from beforehand, was appalling. Or worse, what if someone managed to travel to no dimension at all? Now that would be horrifying...

"We'd better go check right away" he responded, standing up. "Wouldn't want an error to tweak in. Are you coming, Doc, Emmett?"

"We're coming," replied Clint, as he and Chris followed Emmett. "So, uh, what about the bullies? How are we going to return them?"

"That is actually the other thing," replied Emmett. "The idea simply came to me, when Alex told me how he discovered two of the bullies. Of course, we'll have to wipe their memories clean - then we'll simply have to use the sleep inducer on them. I'm thinking that twenty minutes should be enough."

"I think so, too," agreed Chris. "That way, we'll simply be able to transport them from the cube, while they are unconscious. We just don't want them to be unconscious for too long, or else they'll be just too confused about why they were out for awhile."

"Right, exactly," agreed Emmett. "Anyway, we'll have to find a location that is close to a tree branch - so that they'll think they have hit their heads on a tree branch."

"Good thinking, you two," Clint complimented. "I suppose we could send them back before we send everyone else back home. While it is rather tempting to keep them confined here, doing so would create a paradox - since Cliff will be Griff's father."

"In the case of Charlie Penwell," Emmett explained, "Connor had requested that we rather remove not only his memories of him joining the bullies, but also his memories surrounding him leaving his world to enter Connor's. Thus, we would not be sending him back to the same world as the rest of the... the Mind Warped folks."

"Now that again" Chris sighed. "There's nothing wrong with Connor, but requests like this are making our job more complicated. If it was just a group of five or six people coming over, and not 168..."

"Hey, who's got to host all of them?" Emmett reminded him. "But, yeah, if too many of these special requests arise, that'd be really much work. But anyway, this is the cube."

Clint nodded approvingly, as he looked at the cube and the dimension displacement laser, abbreviated DDL. "That looks good" he muttered. "I don't suppose we can test it right now?"

"No, we can't, unfortunately" Chris replied. "We'll have to trust it. I do think that it will work out fine when we use it tomorrow, though. I've inspected it several times."

"I see" Clint said. "Where are Marty Seventeen and Connor, with their mind wiping device?"

"Right here" the former said, walking up to him. "It was quite easy to accomplish this task, considering that the appropriate supplies were widely available. The neural removal system appears to work, but we haven't gotten the chance yet to perform a scan of anyone's neural systems."

"Yeah, what he said" Connor added. "Would any of you like to volunteer for a test? Or perhaps any of the others..."

"I usually give that task to my male descendant one generation removed, Martin Einstein McFly" Marty Sr Seventeen said. "However, retrieving him appears to contain more work than is necessary to accomplish."

"Anyway," added Connor, "I'm sorry if it seems like I was making too many requests. It is true that, had the other bullies not stopped by our world - I would have had to take care of Charlie by myself. Still..."

"I understand where you're coming from," Clint replied, softly. "Anyway, you have been very helpful - so we should have no problem with taking care of your request."

Glancing at his watch, Chris added, "Why don't we let everyone stay up for two more hours? It should quite give everyone enough time to become acquainted with anyone who they've yet become acquainted with. As we mentioned before, they should sleep in the same locations."

"Okay, I think that'll work," agreed Emmett. "This time, though, we do want everyone to wake up at the same time. We could maybe set the alarm clock in all the rooms to go off at six o'clock. I think I can count on my counterparts to be responsible enough to make sure everyone gets up, and is outside within half an hour."

"I think that'll work," Chris replied, nodding approvingly. "Now, seeing as how we have nineteen groups to transport - Groups One and Three would just be returning to their worlds, manually - that make take us about an hour or so to complete."

"That is a lot of work," Clint replied, sighing. "I guess we can handle it, though. So, we might not be done until around eight. I know Group Three is planning to return to their world in the train - while Group One, from both 1987 and 2017, is planning to return to the bus. Then, after that, both groups have other final tasks to take care of - but they really don't concern the rest of us."

"Right," Chris replied, softly. "We were going to send the bullies back, first. That quite should not be a problem. Also, yeah, if we have to send Cliff back to World One in the year 1987 - then, yeah, we should have no real problem sending Charlie P back to the world that he originated from."

"Okay," replied Clint, flashing a lopsided smile. "Why don't I go inside, and make the announcement they have until..." He glanced at his watch. "... until nine o'clock to do some last minute bonding. That'll be a little over two hours. Perhaps, when we send them to bed, they can all take a bag of the refreshments into their rooms. That way, they will all have a little something to eat - after they get up. It won't be a lot - but it should be enough to tide them over, until they get back to their worlds."

"Yeah, that sounds about right" Emmett said. "You can make that announcement, if you want. Maybe you should ask right away if there's anyone who wants to test the mind reading machine. That way, we'll kill two birds with one stone."

"Poor bird" Clint joked. "Good idea, Emmett. Let's go inside."

As they entered the house, Clint had to gasp once again at how many people the house contained now. Everywhere, groups of youth or adults had gathered and were happily talking about all that they wanted to know from each other - and that was a lot. The inventor winced at all the noise they were making. A look at Emmett meant that his friend wasn't feeling too well either.

"I'm sorry that we had to use your mansion for this, Emmett" he muttered, sighing.

"What?" Emmett replied.

"I'm sorry we needed to use your mansion!"

"What did you say, Doc?"

"I said - never mind!" Clint shouted. He wouldn't get any message through this way. But that also brought a worse problem... if he couldn't tell Emmett anything, he certainly couldn't rely a message to the crowd.

Emmett, however, had got a plan - or so it appeared, at least. He walked over to the kitchen, and returned with a large amount of buckets and spoons. Clint, grasping the idea, started to hit the buckets with the spoon as hard as he could. Emmett did the same. Within a few moments, the entire room was silenced.

"Sorry we had to do this, but I need to tell you something" Clint said. "Tonight, you can make some acquaintances here and tell some stories to each other until 9 o'clock. Then, I'm afraid it's bed time for all of you. You have to be up tomorrow at six, when we'll send you home."

The entire tale had been received rather lukewarm, but the mention of 'home' got some cheers coming in the crowd. Home was something they were desperate to see again, after such a long stay in this world.

"Also," Emmett added, "we need to ask for a volunteer. You see, we have to erase the knowledge the bullies have about the time machines and this whole adventure before we can send them back. For that task, Marty Senior Seventeen and Connor have invented a machine that can remove memories. We need to have a volunteer to test it. Would anyone like to be that volunteer?"

With that, the multitude of people glanced at each other - as if all were sure none too unwilling to become the test object. Finally, one of the numerous young men who had resembled his great-grandson Alex stepped up. As Clint took quite a closer look at the young man's name tag, he saw that it was his younger self from World One in 1987.

"Uh, I'll be the volunteer," Marty '87 replied, softly. "Right now, I will do anything to get all of us back home."

"Good! Good!" Clint replied, with relief. "The rest of you can go back to your bonding, eating, and listening to music. We'll be out in the garage, in case you guys need us."

With that, there were a bunch of loud cheers - and then, once mansion, the mansion was as loud as it was when Clint entered.

"I just can't believe it," commented Marty '87, as the group stepped outside. "I simply cannot get over how there was a version of me that was sure stuck living in the past. I mean, I don't know how you could stand it. I mean, no rock and roll music."

"Well, it wasn't easy," Clint replied, grimacing at the memory. "At least, I had Jennifer with me. Although, in the intermediate timeline, I married Clara. She was the only one who understood my situation. I mean, I did have occasional dreams of..."

"Please, Clint," Chris protested, as he looked clearly uncomfortable. "Now is not the time for this. If we expect to get anything done, we must stay on task."

"You're right, Doc," Clint replied, nervously. "You're right. Well, it seems odd to think of how the younger version of me really looks like Alex. Anyway, as tough as my life might've been, I also have a lot to be grateful for."

"I guess you're right," Marty '87 replied, even though he still looked uncertain. As the group stepped into the garage, he added, "So, anyway, just what do you guys need me to do? It would be a lie for me to say that I didn't feel nervous."

"Nothing hard" Chris assured him. "All you have to do is just put this mind reader on – you know, just like we did in 1955, or at least, like I was planning to do. Then, you have to concentrate on something, and I'll read your mind - the mind reader should work ordinarily, but a test is always good, especially after allowing Marty Seventeen to work on it. After that, I'll simply wipe an unimportant memory. If that works, the experiment should be done."

"That sounds creepy" Marty '87 said. "I mean, you are a version of my best friend, but that doesn't make me comfortable with the idea of someone else peeking into my brain and finding out my deepest secrets. I'm not sure whether I would want that, but now I've already volunteered."

"That's right" Chris said. "And it's not bad at all. I'll just take a look at what you're thinking of at that very moment, and I won't attempt to uncover any of your secrets. If you're still uncomfortable, though, I could ask your own version of me to take my place. He should be able to do the job just as well, and it's just a minor thing anyway. Won't take very long."

"All right, I'll accept Doc as my helper" Marty '87 said. "I guess that would have to be his 2017 version, because it would be too much work to fetch his younger self."

"Yeah, no use in wasting time doing that" Clint said, putting the mind reader on his younger self's head and motioning that Doc One should come over. Doc One then put on the reading device, and started fiddling with some machinery.

"All right, Marty, just calm down" he said. "I'm going to read your thoughts. Are you ready for it?"

"Not sure, but I guess I'll have to be ready" Marty '87 said. "I could wait a while, but that would only complicate things. So, yeah, I suppose that I'm ready."

"All right" Doc One said, twisting some more dials. "Um, let's see, what are you thinking about... you're thinking about... the first experiment? Great Scott, you're remembering the Libyans chasing you through the parking lot!"

"Yeah" Marty '87 whispered. "I wanted to pick something you couldn't remember, because you weren't there. This was, unfortunately, the first thing that popped into my mind."

"I imagine that the event was horrifying for you," Doc One replied, sympathetically. "However, it's a little too important to remove - however much as you might wish to forget." After a brief pause, he asked, "Is there something you learned about the future, that has nothing to do with this trip, that you think you're just better off... not remember. Perhaps due to how remembering it might disrupt the very fabric of the space-time continuum?"

Clint chewed on his lower lip, as his younger counterpart did the same. Indeed, he figured that his counterpart would like nothing more than to forget the whole trip - which was, of course, not a good idea.

"I've finally got it!" exclaimed Marty '87, snapping his fingers. "Our future son... and Harmony... had admitted to sneaking off to a concert at the age of ten. It was for a rock band - which was called, I believe, the Food Fighters?"

"Foo Fighters," corrected Doc One, softly. Then, with a gasp, he added, "Great Scott! I remember the event. You were out of town. Your son and Harmony had claimed that they would be staying at a friend's house, and... As much as I am sure the Jennifer of that time would wish for us to prevent the kids from sneaking out... There just are too many risks in that. All right, then. Let's try this again."

Clint swallowed, as Doc again attempted to read Marty's thoughts. He clicked a couple of buttons, and twisted some of the dials again. Marty began to look rather catatonic, as if wasn't quite there. Clint hoped that his counterpart would be all right.

"We're almost done," explained Doc One. "Thankfully, it was simply a small scene that took place at the breakfast table. It's really gonna be a little tougher, though, for the bullies. Especially since we can't exactly expect them to cooperate with us. I can do it, though - while they are unconscious." Then, with a wicked smile, he added, "I'm not exactly concerned with their privacy."

While Clint understood where Doc One was coming from, he still couldn't help but find it to be unethical. It almost made him feel a little uneasy about his close friend.

"We do have to stay on task, though," Chris pointed out. "Even though I agree that it would be tempting, we should not probe back any further than the point Clint headed towards your house - or when the other bullies joined the group."

"You're absolutely right," Doc One agreed. He then turned the mind reader off. He pressed another button - and, once again, Marty '87 was alert.

"What happened, Doc?" Marty '87 asked, as he sounded stunned.

"The experiment worked," Doc One replied, triumphantly. "Thank you, once again, for volunteering."

"Wait a second" Marty '87 said, looking as if he wasn't all there yet. "What did you do? You were going to remove something, weren't you? What did you remove?"

"I can't tell you that" Doc One said. "You just agreed that you should not remember this incident - and from the information the mind reader provides, I don't think that you do. Just a little check, though - does the name 'Foo Fighters' ring a bell with you?"

Marty '87 thought hard, then shook his head. "No, I can't say it does. I guess it is something concerning the army? Did I, by any chance, join the military? But what for! I was never interested in that!"

Doc One chuckled, and shook his head. "No, that isn't it" he said. "You'll notice when the time comes. For now, I would like you to leave the garage, go back to the mansion, and tell your Jennifer that I need to speak to her here. Don't tell her why, though."

"You're the Doc, Doc" Marty '87 said, confused. "I'll do that." He then left the garage.

Doc One turned to Clint. "I hope you don't mind that I remove the memory about this incident from Jennifer's mind too? It's probably safer for the space-time continuum if I do, and it'll give me another chance to try this out."

"Oh no, not at all" Clint said. "Go right ahead. I'll sit outside until you're ready. It's just so nice out."

"Certainly" Doc One agreed. Clint then left the garage, and noticed Jennifer '87 coming up in the distance.

"Hi, Dr. Eastwood" Jennifer '87 said, apparently unsure whether to name him that way. "Is Dr. Brown in there? Marty said he requested my presence."

"He is" Clint said. "And no, I can't tell you what it is for. He'll tell you himself."

Jennifer nodded, and headed in. Clint then walked over to the chair he had put out earlier, and leant back. The weather was cool and the sky was wonderful. The centenarian felt himself coming to a state of rest, and before he could stop himself, he was asleep.