The Doc encourages you into the port-a-potty and closes the door behind you. You take a moment to admire the spider's nest of tangled cables and blinking lights surrounding you. Doc Gray presses his face up to the viewport.
"Well? How is it? Can you see me, Mikey?"
"Yes Doc, it's a window. That's how windows work." you say, sardonically.
"Wonderful!" he says, skipping over to a panel lined with dials and levers. He begins fiddling with them as he explains.
"First, Mikey. Once you travel to the past, I won't be able to stay in touch with you, due to timeline discrepancies. No matter how much time you spend over there, it will be as if only 30 seconds have passed when you return."
"But wait, what happens if something goes wrong and I'm not able to figure out how to travel back?" you ask, suddenly regretting most of your decisions.
"Don't worry Mikey, don't worry! I've set the machine to automatically travel back to the present if 72 hours pass in the past. that's three days, Mikey. Do you follow?"
"I... think so." you say.
"So as long as you don't stay in the past for more than three days, you won't get stranded."
You gulp nervously at the mention of the word "stranded."
"What if I need to get back early doc? Like what if there's an emergency?"
"Don't you worry Mikey! Once you arrive at your destination, the machine will disguise itself as something that fits the scenery. You'll have to make sure to remember its location, Mikey. Don't forget!"
"Right..."
"When you want to come back to the present, just lay one palm on the side of the machine and say the password 'Klaatu Barada Nikto' and it'll pop right open, Mikey. Then all you need to do is step inside, close the door and it will automatically send you back!"
"So that's Klaatu... Barada..." you attempt to repeat, but you're interrupted when the Doc suddenly hits a large red button on his control panel and the port-a-potty begins to rumble and shake.
"Alright, Mikey, all systems are go! I'll see you again in 30 seconds! Farewell!" shouts the Doc, now barely audible beneath the thrumming of the machine. The cables around you crackle with energy and the view of the garages disappears, replaced by a swirling neon vortex filled with floating, ticking clocks of all kinds. They rush past you at an alarming speed as you travel towards a bright light.
"Can you still hear me, Mikey?" the Doc's voice calls out.
"Yeah Doc, I'm seeing some kind of time vortex, with clocks and stuff!" you shout over the cacophony.
"That's the loading screen I installed on the view-port. Pretty cool, huh Mikey?"
"Sure, I guess." you reply.
"Yeah it takes a while. You should be at your destination in about ten to fifteen sec-"
The Doc's voice cuts out mid sentence as the port-a-potty seems to rise three feet off the ground before unceremoniously crashing back down, causing you to lose your balance and fall back onto the toilet seat. Your clothing grows burning hot for just a second, before evaporating into white smoke, which leaves you coughing and spluttering as you fan it away from your face and eyes.
The noise dies down and after a few seconds of silence you hear a satisfied "Ding!" from one of the various glowing panels surrounding you.