Chapter 11 – Back to 1955
The sight of Lyon Estates in 1955 brought such a huge relief to the observing eyes of George and Lorraine, who preferred not to see any more of that dystopian version of their hometown ruled by an despicably corrupt and immensely powerful Biff Tannen.
"Oh, this is heavy, Doc. I mean, it's like I was just here yesterday," Marty commented as he and Doc climbed out of the DeLorean, while Doc responded, "You were here yesterday, Marty, you were. Amazing, isn't it?"
At that moment, George and Lorraine realized the fact that there would now be two Martys in 1955. The Marty in the video and the one who had helped them fall in love. It was such a peculiar thing to think about. Then again, time travel itself was quite peculiar.
"You go into town, and track down Young Biff and tail him. Sometime today, Old Biff will show up to give Young Biff the almanac. Above all, you must not interfere with that event. We must let Old Biff believe he's succeeded so that he'll leave 1955 and bring the DeLorean back to the future," Doc instructed Marty.
George and Lorraine understood the importance of Doc's instruction to their son. If Old Biff were to notice Marty, there was a good possibility he wouldn't return to the future as he did originally, which would result in Marty, Doc, and Jennifer being stranded in 2015 after all.
"Once Old Biff is gone, grab the almanac any way that you can. Remember, both of our futures depend on this," Doc stated, to Marty's understanding.
The future of everyone in Hill Valley depended on Doc and Marty's mission, George and Lorraine acknowledged.
"George's life depends on it," Lorraine mentally added. "And the lives of our entire family."
Giving Marty a pair of binoculars and a walkie-talkie, Doc announced that he would stay behind and try to repair the short in the time circuit. That way, they wouldn't risk anyone else stealing the time machine. George and Lorraine could hardly imagine anyone using the DeLorean much worse than what Biff had already done with it.
"And I won't risk accidentally running into my other self," Doc added, while George and Lorraine realized he was referring to his younger self.
"There are now two of me here, and there are two of you here," Doc pointed out to Marty. "The other me is the Dr. Emmett Brown from 1955, the younger me that helps the other you get back to 1985."
"The other Marty, the one George and I thought was 'Calvin Klein' all these years," Lorraine mused.
"The first Marty would be so confused if he encountered this Marty while they're both in 1955," George thought.
Reminding Marty of the lightning bolt at the Clock Tower, Doc warned the teenager to be careful not to run into his other self.
Considering what they'd seen happen to Jennifer earlier, the McFly couple knew it wouldn't be a good idea for Marty to encounter the version of him from the first time he'd been in 1955. The last thing they wanted was for their son to have his own fainting episode.
As Doc gave Marty some money from a briefcase, George and Lorraine noticed that the scientist had bills from various time periods through the 1800s and 1900s. Did that mean Doc had done a lot more time-traveling than what the video, which clearly followed Marty's point of view, had already shown?
After Doc instructed Marty to buy himself some inconspicuous clothes, the video shifted to Marty, while contacting Doc via walkie-talkie, observing a house that belonged to a 'Gertrude Tannen' (which George and Lorraine recognized as the name of Biff's grandmother) from across the street. Lorraine thought her son looked quite nice in the black fedora, dark sunglasses, and matching leather jacket he was now wearing, while George likened Marty's appearance to that of a spy from a movie. They hoped the outfit would be enough to prevent Biff, young or old, from recognizing him.
"Typical Tannens," George thought as Marty's binoculars focused on a sign on the fence of the house that read 'NO TRESPASSING! VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED, THIS MEANS YOU!". Lorraine wasn't particularly surprised by the sign either. But what exactly did the Tannens' interpretation of 'prosecuted' really mean?
The McFly couple couldn't help the disgust they felt upon seeing Biff, the younger version, come out of the house as his grandmother, from inside, gruffly demanded to know where he was going. As an annoyed Biff told her he was picking up his car, his grandmother asked Biff when he was coming home since her feet hurt and she wanted him to rub her toes some more. "Shut up, you old bag," was Biff's exasperated response.
"Disrespecting grandparents seems to run in the Tannen family," George noted, recalling Griff's treatment of the elderly Biff back in 2015. "Or it's a classic case of karma perhaps."
Lorraine felt some sympathy for Biff's grandmother. The woman might've had her own set of flaws, but Lorraine imagined that it couldn't have been easy at all for Mrs. Tannen having to put up with a grandson like Biff on a daily basis.
As the next part of the video showed Biff taking a ball from a group of children playing outside and callously throwing it onto the roof of a house, George and Lorraine felt their blood boil with red-hot rage. Granted, the McFly couple knew firsthand what kind of person Biff had been back in their youth, but his treatment of those poor children, complete with his remorseless laughter and yelling at them to "go get it!", felt even worse than all the times that Biff had harassed George or Lorraine.
The video shifted to the disguised Marty discreetly following Biff through the main street of the Courthouse square.
"I should've done more than just knock him out," George thought furiously as the video showed Biff knocking a hat off of a kid's head.
Biff approached his convertible as Terry, the local mechanic, informed him that the car was "all fixed up just like new" and the bill was $302.57. George and Lorraine started at the sight of Old Biff hiding behind a tree, secretly observing his younger self. They were angry at the elderly bully, who was directly responsible for the creation of that hellish alternate reality.
"Three hundred bucks!" an outraged Biff exclaimed. "Three hundred bucks for a couple of dents?! No, hey, that's bullshit, Terry!"
As Biff argued with Terry over the price, George and Lorraine didn't have the slightest bit of sympathy for him. For one thing, Biff's horrendous actions in the alternate 1985 were still fresh on their minds. Secondly, what happened with Biff's car had been his own fault when he chose to chase Marty around the square.
"If I catch the guy that caused this, I'll break his neck!" Biff shouted furiously as he and Terry headed into the Western Auto Shop.
George and Lorraine knew exactly who Biff was referring and hoped that Marty would be very careful not to be spotted by either of the two Biffs.
"The manure. I remember that," Old Biff expressed to himself with some amusement, while George and Lorraine were thankful that the elderly bully had turned his head away from the scene at the time that Marty, unnoticed by anyone, climbed into the back of Young Biff's car.
Biff and Terry soon exited the auto shop with four cans of Valvoline, which Terry pointed out was better than nothing. Biff angrily insisted he was entitled to a case of oil for a three-hundred-dollar job, while Terry, without an ounce of sympathy, commented "I couldn't even have lunch in the shop" because "it smells worse than the bathroom".
George and Lorraine winced inwardly as Biff threw the four cans of Valvoline into his car's back seat as they landed on top of Marty, who let out two small groans of pain while hiding under a sheet. Nevertheless, the scene did nothing to alleviate the McFly couple's anger towards Biff.
As Biff accused Terry of "robbing" him, Terry angrily retorted, "The smell's never gonna go away, Biff. Never gonna go away. Last time I do you a favor. Last time!"
George and Lorraine tensed as it seemed that Biff was about to notice the covered Marty in the back seat of his car, only to suddenly turn his attention to two females who were laughing excitedly and gushing over a dress that one of them had just bought.
"It's me and Babs! I just picked up my dress for the dance later that night!" Lorraine realized. The sight of her carefree teenage self felt like a breath of fresh air after having witnessed her horribly abused and mentally shattered counterpart from the alternate 1985.
"It's so refreshing to see the teenage version of Lorraine after all that was shown in that horrible alternate reality," George mused, hoping he would never have to lay eyes on 'Hell Valley' ever again.
"Well, lookee what we have here," Biff announced as he approached Teen-Lorraine, who was with her best friend Babs. As Biff commented on Teen-Lorraine's dress and remarked she would look better wearing nothing at all, Teen-Lorraine, with great annoyance, retorted "Biff, why don't you take a long walk off a short pier".
The current Lorraine felt a wave of disgust, remembering that incident all-too-well. The reminder that she had actually married Biff in a different reality made the scene even more disturbing. Thankfully, she was actually married to George, who genuinely loved Lorraine as she was and would never in a million years ask her to change anything about herself.
George, on the other hand, was seething with intense rage while having to watch his despicable adversary harass the girl who would eventually become the love of his life.
"Listen, Lorraine, there's that dance at school tonight. Right now, my car is all fixed, I figure I'd cut you a break and give you the honor of going with the best-looking guy in school," Biff said to Teen-Lorraine, who clearly wanted nothing to do with him.
"Can't you take the hint, Biff, and realize she isn't interested in going out with someone like you," George mentally snarled, while the current Lorraine scoffed inwardly at Biff's 'best-looking guy' comment.
As an exasperated Teen-Lorraine told him somebody had already asked her to the dance, Biff assumed it was "that bug George McFly", only for Teen-Lorraine to firmly respond, "I'm going with Calvin Klein, okay?".
"Little did I know here, it was George, not Calvin... or Marty, that I was destined to marry and spend the rest of my life with," the current Lorraine mused without a trace of regret.
"Calvin Klein? No, it's not okay. You're going with me, understand?" Biff snarled as he forcibly grabbed the angrily protesting Teen-Lorraine and lecherously neared his face towards hers. "When are you gonna get it through your thick skull, Lorraine? You're my girl."
"That's never happening, Biff!" George continued to seethe. He was strongly confident that Marty and Doc Brown would succeed in preventing Biff from ever using the almanac in the first place.
"In your dreams, Biff!" the current Lorraine mentally exclaimed, though the memories of what she'd seen in the alternate 1985 continued to perturb her. "And my very worst nightmare, unfortunately..."
"Biff Tannen, I wouldn't be your girl even if... even if you had a million dollars!" Teen-Lorraine declared passionately, before kicking Biff in the leg and hitting him on the head with the box containing her dress.
George praised his wife's teenage self's defiance of Biff's unacceptable advances, while her younger self's statement made the current Lorraine shiver at the reminder that Biff had, indeed, become much more than a millionaire with the sports almanac.
"Yes, you will! It's you and me, Lorraine!" Biff shouted like a madman, while Teen-Lorraine and Babs ran away from the bully. "It's meant to be! I'm gonna marry you someday, Lorraine! Someday you'll be my wife!"
The current Lorraine shivered again, reminded of her marriage to that horrible version of Biff Tannen in that nightmarish reality. On the bright side, Lorraine was highly thankful her life hadn't turned out that way, but she would always feel great sympathy for her alternate 1985 counterpart, even if that specific version of her would no longer exist.
Biff headed to his car, only to find an old man sitting in the driver's seat. As Old Biff told his younger self "you always did have a way with women", Young Biff angrily exclaimed "get the hell outta my car, old man!".
Although George and Lorraine didn't like either version of Biff, the McFly couple found their interaction quite amusing, particularly the two Biffs calling each other 'butthead' and the irony of Young Biff saying "nobody can start this car but me" when Old Biff did exactly that.
After Old Biff instructed his younger self to get in the car and told him today was his lucky day, the video shifted to them arriving at the Tannen residence as Old Biff parked the car in the garage. George and Lorraine hoped neither of the Biffs would notice Marty, who was still hidden in the back seat.
"This cost me three hundred bucks!" Young Biff cried out, while Old Biff sharply told the former to "shut up about the car". Neither George nor Lorraine were surprised by the hostility between the two Biffs. It was clear that Old Biff was annoyed by his own younger self, who very likely reminded the elderly bully of his grandson Griff.
As Young Biff wondered how the old man knew where he lived, Old Biff claimed that the two were related and he had a present for Young Biff. Something that would make him rich.
Lorraine tensed as she noticed Marty, from the back seat, curiously sticking his head up. It wouldn't end well at all for her son if either of the Biffs saw him. In fact, it would probably derail the entire mission of making sure Young Biff couldn't use the book.
As Young Biff laughed skeptically, Old Biff got straight to the point by revealing the almanac. "You see this book? This book tells the future. Tells the results of every major sports event 'til the end of the century: football, baseball, horse races, boxing. The information in here is worth millions and I'm giving it to you."
Young Biff wasn't going to believe the old man's words that easily, George and Lorraine figured. Neither of them would if they were in the same position.
"That's very nice. Thank you very much. Now why don't you make like a tree and get out of here," Young Biff said sarcastically to the old man.
George and Lorraine were taken aback as Old Biff slapped his younger self on the back of the head. "It's 'leave', you idiot! Make like a tree and leave! You sound like a damn fool when you say it wrong!"
Yep, it was clear that Old Biff wasn't fond of his younger self. Admittedly, George and Lorraine found Young Biff getting put in his place quite satisfying. Not that Old Biff didn't deserve it as well, though his comeuppance came in the form of getting erased from existence after returning to the future.
"All right then, leave! And take your book with you!" Young Biff exclaimed, angrily tossing the almanac back to Old Biff, who, with frustration, responded, "Don't you get it? You could make a fortune with this book."
"Not after Marty takes it away," George thought, while Lorraine shivered yet again at the reminders of the disastrous consequences that had resulted from Biff's fortune.
Old Biff turned on the car radio, which was broadcasting a football game between UCLA and Washington. As Old Biff betted that UCLA would win the game, nineteen to seventeen, Young Biff was skeptical, since UCLA was currently trailing, sixteen to seventeen.
George and Lorraine tensed, realizing that Young Biff was about to be convinced that the book's ability to 'tell the future' was genuine.
As it turned out that Old Biff's prediction came true, Young Biff was amazed, wondering how the old man knew what the score would be. "I told you it's in this book. All you gotta do is bet on the winner and you'll never lose," Old Biff handed the almanac to his younger self, who agreed to take a look at it and threw the book in the back seat.
George and Lorraine were filled with happiness and relief that the almanac landed next to hidden Marty, but those feelings were quickly replaced by disappointment as Old Biff grabbed it. They should've known it wouldn't have been that easy.
"You damn fool!" Old Biff shouted furiously at his younger self. "Never... never leave this book laying around! Don't you have a safe? No, you don't have a safe. Get a safe! Keep it locked up! And until then, keep it on you, like this!"
The desperation in Old Biff's voice and movements was glaring. He was extremely determined to ensure he got wealthy. Perhaps George and Lorraine wouldn't entirely blame him if they weren't aware of the kind of person that Biff was, let alone everything he'd done after successfully amassing a huge fortune with the almanac.
"And don't tell anybody about it either!" Old Biff urged, as Young Biff shut the garage door. "Oh, and there's one more thing. One day, a kid and a crazy, wild-eyed old man who claims to be a scientist is gonna come around asking about that book. If that ever happens, get rid of 'em!"
George and Lorraine shuddered at Old Biff's grim advice to his younger self. As the McFly couple had already witnessed, Young Biff remembered all-too-well what his elderly self had instructed him to do in the aforementioned situation.
Trapped in Biff's garage, which was locked, Marty contacted Doc via walkie-talkie. He reported that the Biffs were gone and asked Doc to get him out of the garage. Doc pointed out he couldn't take the DeLorean out in the daylight, but promised to help Marty somehow.
"I hope Doc gets Marty out of there before Biff finds him first," Lorraine mused worriedly. She felt a pang of sympathy for her son as Marty called for Doc on his walkie-talkie, only to receive no response, to the teenager's frustration.
"Situations like this can never be so simple," George noted.
As the video shifted to Biff preparing to go to the dance later that evening, George and Lorraine wondered if that meant they were going to once again revisit the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. If so, neither of them minded that, since witnessing the events that led to them falling in love would certainly be a refreshing change from certain other events they had witnessed. On the other hand, Lorraine wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing her teenage self kiss Marty or Biff's sexual assault on her again.
Biff drove off just as Doc arrived at the former's garage on a bicycle to find no sign of Marty there. "Damn! Where is that kid?" the scientist muttered in frustration.
"Just missed him," George mentally answered as he and Lorraine appreciated Doc's efforts to rescue their son.
"Papa Loves Mambo" by Perry Como played from the radio of Biff's car as Marty contacted Doc on his walkie-talkie, only to lose reception as Biff drove through a tunnel. George and Lorraine felt that Marty should wait before contacting Doc as they were worried that Biff would hear him and realize Marty was right behind him. Their son was definitely taking a huge risk at the moment.
Meanwhile, Doc had arrived in the Courthouse square, amazed and nostalgic to see the setup for the Clock Tower experiment that would help the first Marty return to the future. As Doc peeped under something that was covered in a tarp, George and Lorraine realized it was the DeLorean from the first time that Marty had been in 1955.
The video shifted back to Marty, who contacted Doc on the walkie-talkie again. As Marty reported that he was in the back of Biff's car and Biff was on his way to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, Doc mentioned the possibility of aborting their entire plan as it was getting much too dangerous. Marty assured Doc that he would grab the book from Biff's dashboard as soon as they got to the school.
"Assuming Biff doesn't take the book with him," George mused, since Old Biff had vehemently advised the younger Biff to keep the almanac on him at all times.
"I feel like it isn't gonna be as easy as it seems," Lorraine thought, hoping she was wrong.
Doc urgently insisted that Marty be extremely careful not to run into his other self, reminding Marty that his mother was at that same dance with him. George and Lorraine started as they noticed 1955 Doc Brown appear in the background. That Doc would be in for a shock if he noticed the 1985 version.
"Marty, whatever happens, you must not let your other self see you. The consequences could be disastrous," 1985 Doc reminded the teenager.
"Looks like Doc needs to take his own advice right now," George mentally pointed out.
"Excuse me, sir," 1955 Doc called out to 1985 Doc, who immediately realized who the former was and made sure his younger self couldn't see his face.
George and Lorraine tensed, hoping the encounter between the Doc Browns wouldn't lead to anything that would cause even more problems.
"Not only does Marty need to be careful, but Doc Brown as well," Lorraine noted.
After fetching a wrench from the toolbox that his younger self asked him for, 1985 Doc commented that 1955 Doc was conducting some sort of weather experiment. 1955 Doc wondered how the older man knew that and 1985 Doc, still making sure his face couldn't be seen by the former, stated he happened to have had a little experience in that area.
"I wonder if the older Doc remembers this specific conversation and realize it was him all along," George considered.
"Well, I'm hoping to see some lightning tonight, although the weatherman says there's not gonna be any rain," 1955 Doc stated, while 1985 Doc confidently responded, "Well, there's gonna be plenty of rain all right. Wind, thunder, lightning... it's gonna be one hell of a storm."
"That thunderstorm certainly surprised us all back then," Lorraine recalled.
"Nice talking to you. Maybe we'll bump into each other sometime again in the future," 1955 Doc said, while a departing 1985 Doc muttered, "Or in the past."
As 1955 Doc watched the older man ride off on the bicycle with what seemed to be a bewildered look, George and Lorraine wondered if the younger Doc had suspected something about the 1985 Doc. The McFly couple wouldn't be surprised if 1955 Doc figured out he was conversing with his own future self.
The video shifted to Biff arriving at the school and getting out of his car. For a few seconds, it seemed that Biff had forgotten about his almanac, giving George and Lorraine the hope that Marty would simply grab it and take off. Unfortunately, Biff suddenly remembered the book, fetched it from his car, and took it with him into the gym, where the Enchantment Under the Sea dance was in full swing as "Night Train" by Marvin Berry and the Starlighters was playing. Marty discreetly followed Biff, making sure he wasn't seen by anyone.
"I can't believe Marty was literally at this dance twice," Lorraine thought with astonishment. "Such a special evening for all of us."
"There I am again, waiting for the big moment," George noted as Marty observed Teen-George dancing in a corner of the gym through his binoculars.
"Meanwhile, I'm with the other Marty in Doc Brown's car," Lorraine thought.
The McFly couple weren't surprised to find one of Biff's gang members pouring liquor into the punch bowl, while Biff himself was reading a girlie magazine called Oh La La. As Biff and his gang noticed Mr. Strickland eyeing them suspiciously, the four bullies headed out of the gym, while the unnoticed Marty followed them. The sight of Strickland reminded George and Lorraine of his overly aggressive treatment of Marty back in the alternate 1985. Their anger towards the school principal quickly resurfaced as the McFly couple recalled Strickland's threat to shoot Marty in groin over a newspaper. That was one image from that horrifying nightmare of a reality they wanted to purge from their minds.
The video shifted to outside the school, as Marty observed Biff and his gang from where he was. Biff asked his gang members where 'Calvin Klein' was, but they didn't know. "Well, go find him. He caused three hundred bucks' damage to my car and I owe him a knuckle sandwich," Biff ordered angrily as Match, Skinhead, and 3-D headed off.
"You caused that damage yourself, Biff, not Marty!" George mentally defended his son.
Marty hid against a wall as the three gang members marched past him. While cautiously making his way towards Biff once the coast was clear, Marty used his binoculars to observe his other self – 1955 Marty – arriving in 1955 Doc Brown's car with Teen-Lorraine.
"That's Lorraine and the other Marty," George noted.
"This is very strange," the current Lorraine mused.
Noticing the almanac sticking out of Biff's pants pocket, Marty jumped down the stairs behind Biff, landing as quietly as he could. Marty tried to grab the almanac, but he had to retreat when Strickland confronted Biff.
Although George and Lorraine weren't exactly fond of the principal, the McFly couple really enjoyed watching Strickland verbally rip into Biff, calling the bully out for drinking liquor, confiscating what appeared to be the sports almanac, and threatening to have Biff in detention. If anyone truly deserved to be called a 'slacker', it was Biff Tannen.
As Strickland walked away with the almanac in hand, Marty followed him. George and Lorraine had already realized that the book Strickland took wasn't actually the almanac. It was the girlie magazine, which Biff had tried to conceal with the almanac's dust jacket. Both George and Lorraine had spotted the brief images of scantily clad women inside the book while a frowning Strickland looked through it. Unfortunately, their son was unaware of that and, thus, had no idea that following Strickland was essentially a wild goose chase, since Biff obviously still had the actual almanac on him.
Marty ducked as he moved past 1955 Doc's car, with 1955 Marty and Teen-Lorraine inside it. "Geez, you smoke too?" 1955 Marty asked incredulously, while an annoyed Teen-Lorraine remarked that he was beginning to sound just like her mother.
"It's quite interesting witnessing these events a second time from a different angle," George mused.
"This feels like a weird case of déjà vu," the current Lorraine thought.
Teen-Lorraine told 1955 Marty that she would let her children do anything they wanted. Anything at all. "I'd like to have that in writing," 1955 Marty responded, while 1985 Marty muttered "yeah, me too" before making his way inside the school.
George and Lorraine continued watching the video, thoroughly looking forward to the moment that Marty and Doc Brown would finally remove that troublesome sports almanac from their adversary's corrupt and criminal hands.