Chapter Text
“So, that new kid at school, The Collector…”
“What about them, Jo?” Said Luz as she, Amity and Aster puttered around the expansive basement of Jo’s mansion.
“You said that, once you were able to properly meet them, he explained to you, King and Eda how his family, The Archivists, were a bunch of psychotic nutbags.” Continued Jo as she tinkered on a large, circular device.
“Yeah.”
“And how they’re responsible for wiping out every Titan except King, to the point where King’s dad had to hide his egg before becoming the landmass we all go to school on.”
“Yeah…” Said Luz, not liking where the conversation was going.
“And yet, after all of that, once everything was said and done, you and everyone else just let The Collector go back into space, where they could’ve fallen back into the clutches of The Archivists, potentially leading them to the Isles in an attempt to finish their extermination of the Titans?” Finished Jo, giving Luz a side-eye.
“Well, to be fair, Jo,” Snarked Amity. “we were all pretty tired after everything with ‘The Tyrant’, and by the time any of us fully understood what The Collector was doing, it was too late to stop them!”
Sensing that a spat was about to occur between Jo and Amity, Aster stepped in to proverbially snuff out the flames. “So, Jo, what exactly are you building here?”
“Oh, this?” Replied Jo, falling for the distraction as she gestured to the device. “It’s a time travel device I call the Chrono-Pad.”
“Woah. Woah. Woah.” Said Amity in disbelief, holding up her hands for good measure. “Jo, from what Molly and the rest of your friends in the Roanoak cabin have told us, the last time you created something that messed with time, a whole heap of freaky things happened.”
“While yes, freaky stuff did happen, the MYSTY’s were created to track down and dispel the time anomalies around camp.” Explained Jo. “And besides, it wasn’t my fault that stuff happened, it only happened because Molly was manipulated by an eldritch monster named The Grey into increasing the anomalies' yield.”
“Hang on,” Said Luz. “I think the proper question we should be asking is: Why are you doing this, Jo?”
“...Ever since what happened at the magic talent show, I’ve been trying to think of a way to bring you… some sort of closure with what happened with your dad.” Said Jo after a moment. “And then it occurred to me, why not just bring you to a time when he was close to your age, so that you two can chat it out, and hopefully it can fill the void of not being able to be there for his final moments.”
“...Uh, Jo? Luz was there to say goodbye.” Said Amity, raising an eyebrow. ‘How can she forget such an obvious thing?’ She pondered.
“...Right.” Said Jo after a moment, before wiping her eyes. “Anyways, that’s why I created the Chrono-Pad. And one of the best things about it is that it runs by scanning photos, so you don’t have to waste resources like plutonium or Pym Particles, and things of their nature.”
“Oh, so is that why you had mami come over with the photo album as well?” Said Luz in realization.
“Well, that and my dads wanted to meet her. But it also allowed me to snag this.” Said Jo as she held up a photo of Manny and Camila, which was taken right before their first date. Jo then slotted the photo into a compartment on the Chrono-Pad, which began scanning said photo.
“Might as well get on this thing now, gang.” Said Jo, gesturing a thumb behind her. “It takes a bit for the photo to be fully scanned, and once it is, it activates immediately.”
Luz, Amity and Aster all stepped onto the Chrono-Pad, and after a few moments of just standing around, a thought crossed Luz’s mind. “Hey, if we’re traveling back to when my papi was my age, then maybe I can prevent him from getting sick and dying!”
Jo’s eyes widened. “Oh, uh… w-well you see-” She stammered, rubbing the back of her neck.
“It’s a Canon Event, Luz.” Said Aster.
“I’m sorry, it’s a what?” Asked Amity, just as confused as Luz and Jo.
“Canon Events, or, as it’s historically-scientifically called, Pivot Points, are events that must occur and cannot be changed across the entire multiverse, lest the cosmos go kaput. Everybody on the planet, even planet Earth itself, must experience at least one Canon Event in their life.” Explained Aster.
“For instance, Jo having her gender epiphany and subsequent transition was her Canon Event. Omar being shipped off to The Playroom, his nani dying in the process? That’s his Canon Event. And, unfortunately, your father’s death is your Canon Event, Luz.”
“...So that’s it?” Said Luz, despair in her voice. “No matter what I try to do, my papa is always destined to die?”
“Like I said, it’s very hard to break a Canon Event, and you risk the multiverse exploding or something if you do manage to break it.” Continued Aster. “And besides, even if you remove Canon Events out of the equation, is it really worth saving one person at the cost of losing everything you’ve gained?”
Jo then realized that Aster was saying all the wrong things, so she butted in to try and correct course. “But look on the bright side, Luz! There’s probably, like, a million things we can do without those pesky Canon Events getting in the way! Like, we can travel back and prevent your grunkle from getting killed by that evil mutant!”
But not even that was enough to sell Luz again on time travel. “Turn off the machine, Jo.” She said in a glum tone. “It’s not worth it.”
“Aw, but I wanted to experience traveling through time!” Exclaimed King in disappointment, popping out of Luz’s hair.
“King?!” Exclaimed Luz in surprise. Unfortunately, this gave the Chrono-Pad enough time to finish scanning the photo, and in a flash of white light, the five children disappeared without a trace.