All characters involved in sexual situations in this story are 18 years of age or older.
Piper snuck into the dimly lit Experimental Quantum Physics Laboratory and, after checking to make sure no one was around, cautiously lifted an instrument from the far counter.
"Digital probe?" she thought, as she tried to read the label in the dimness. "Who the hell are they probing with this thing?"
A flash of light startled her and she dropped the fragile instrument, wincing as it smashed on the hard floor.
Peeking through the window behind her into the dark chamber where the flash had come from, Piper was surprised to see an old wooden wagon in the room. There was a dark shape bundled on the floor of the cart, and she took a step backward when she realized it was a man.
"Hey, security?" she whispered into the phone. "Yeah, it's me, Piper. I'm up in the fifth floor lab, some homeless guy has snuck in here."
Suddenly, the phone was snatched out of her hand and she saw the stranger towering over her. He was dressed in filthy, brown rags and his dark hair and beard were wild and unkempt.
"Security?" he said into the phone. "This is Professor Carl Gates. False alarm, the janitor didn't recognize me in the dark."
As he hung up the phone, Piper stared at him in disbelief -- he was Professor Gates! But no wonder she hadn't recognized him. When she'd seen him talking in his office with two women half an hour earlier, he'd been clean-shaven and wearing a shirt and tie.
She peered closer, knowing it had to be a fake beard but amazed at how real it looked. And then she stepped on a piece of glass and noticed the shattered instrument by her foot.
"I...umm...accidentally broke your probe," she said.
The professor picked it up. "It's a digital
strobe
, not a probe."
"Well, whatever it is, I just picked it up and -- "
"It doesn't matter," the professor said.
"It matters to me, and I'm going to pay -- "
"I don't care about the strobe!" the professor shouted, and slammed the broken device down on the counter.
Piper stepped back, startled by his violent outburst.
He turned to look at her, and she could see the despair in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I shouldn't have done that."
"It's okay," Piper said, slowly backing away. "I should be getting back to work anyways. I'll, uh, just lock the door on my way out."
The professor watched as she turned to leave, but as she walked away an idea flickered in his head, turning the shadows of despair into a glimmer of hope.
"Wait!" he cried. "You've got to help me."
Piper turned around and pointed a finger at her chest. "Me?"
He hurried toward her, and she backed away when he got too near.
He stopped and held up his hands to reassure her. He knew he must have looked and sounded like a madman, and the look in her eyes confirmed it. He took a deep breath, and said, "What I'm about to tell you is going to sound unbelievable, and you're going to think I'm crazy, but please let me finish before you say anything.
"I've invented a time machine, and I need you to come back in time with me to help rescue Professor Elizabeth Carr."
Piper rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, I get it...real funny. Who put you up to this, the guys down in security? Are they watching me now?" she said, looking for hidden cameras.
The professor narrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Is who watching us?"
"I don't know, you tell me. You're the one dressed up as Doc Brown, with the wild hair and the time machine, getting ready to take me 'Back to the Future'."
"Who?"
"You know...Doc Brown...'Hello, McFly?'"
The professor stared at her, completely bewildered. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm serious -- I have a time machine and I want you to come back in time with me."
Piper crossed her arms; fine, she'd play along with the practical joke. "Okay, when do we leave?"
The professor blinked, surprised at how easily she was convinced. "You believe me? You believe I can actually travel through time?"
"Sure," she said sarcastically. "Why? Is it dangerous? Are there dinosaurs?"
"No...I mean, yes, there were dinosaurs, but we won't be traveling back that far. And while actual time travel is very safe, I just can't guarantee that the...umm...times we travel to will be."
Piper smiled and nodded, impressed at how convincing he made it all sound. And the professor rambled on.
"My assistant, Deidre Hopkins, and Professor Elizabeth Carr accompanied me on the maiden journey. Deidre was...lost, and Professor Carr is stranded in the first century. I desperately need your help to rescue Betty; the dangers for both her and the time stream are incalculable if we don't bring her back to our time as soon as possible."
Piper pretended that she was hanging on to his every word. As soon as he stopped talking, she said, "Great! Where's the time machine? Let's go!"
The professor sighed in relief; for a second he'd thought she hadn't believed him. He led her back into the testing chamber and clambered onto the wooden cart. Kneeling, he glanced up at her and she could see the excitement in his eyes. And as he pulled the floor of the wooden cart back, a hidden, gold-plated console was revealed.
As Piper stared at the polished controls and flashing indicators in wonder, the professor exclaimed, "Behold, the time machine!"
She knew it was all a hoax, but she was amazed at how authentic the console looked. "So...this thing can take us back in time right now?"
"Yes...but there is one more thing I need your help with, and when I ask please don't be offended; I assure you it's
absolutely
necessary."
"Okay...what is it?"
"I know you're going to be offended when I ask. Please promise me you won't leave?"
"I promise -- I won't leave! What is it?"