2021/Time-Travelling Runaways

## Timeline

### Current

2021

*"I can't interact with my past self. Just like you can't interact with your future one. It can mess too much up."*
―Chase Stein[src]
This is a timeline of events that occurred in **2021** in an alternate reality created by the arrival of time-travellers Alex Wilder and Chase Stein.

## 2021

### August

#### 26th

* Alex Wilder and Chase Stein arrive through time from 2028.
* Nico Minoru meditates, hovering magically above the ground, before going to her phone. When there is a knock at her door, she finds Alex Wilder, to her pleasant surprise, and asks how he knew where she was. Wilder, in fact the Wilder from 2028, tells her that he has been there before and shoots at her with a Energy Pistol. Minoru freezes the bolt, leaving Wilder confused since she does not have the Staff of One. Minoru tells Wilder that she has leveled up.
* 2028 Stein arrives, knocks 2028 Wilder down, and closes the door. He explains to Minoru that he is from the future and so is the Wilder that shot her, having traveled back in time to kill all of the 2021 Runaways. Stein looks outside and finds that 2028 Wilder is gone. Minoru tells Stein that she was away studying magic with a Master, and notices a deep scar on Stein's neck. Stein says that someone named "Victor" gave it to him, but that it is not important for their current situation. He says that they need to gather the others, and Minoru mentions she was about to do that anyway.
* At the Hostel, the 2021 Runaways gather and 2028 Stein explains that he should not interact with his 2021 self, who is still in his workshop, just like how 2021 Alex Wilder should not interact with 2028 Wilder. He explains that one of them tried to kill Wilder in 2028 by putting a bomb in his office, and that 2028 Wilder does not know who planted the bomb so is coming after all of them on the day that Minoru originally brought them all back together in memory of Gert Yorkes. Stein warns that if 2028 Wilder cannot get to them, he will go after someone they care about. Karolina Dean wonders if he will go after Julie.
* Julie returns to her apartment and finds 2028 Wilder outside, recognizing him as Alex Wilder from Dean's birthday party. He says that he wants to leave something for Dean. Julie tells him that Dean will be home in about an hour, and Wilder asks if he can wait for Dean. Julie offers to text Dean, but 2028 Wilder pulls the Energy Pistol on her and knocks her out.
* Dean returns home and finds Julie on the floor. 2028 Wilder steps out and tries to shoot Dean, but Minoru enters with Molly Hernandez and 2028 Stein and uses a strangling spell to stop him. Stein confronts Wilder, but Wilder uses his device to time-jump away again. Julie wakes up and meets Minoru, then Dean then leads her away.
* 2021 Wilder enters the house, having waited outside so he did not meet his future self. Minoru realizes that Julie is Dean's girlfriend, and Hernandez reminds her that she was gone for 3 years and no one knew where she was.
* Dean explains to Julie that she has to do something with her friends and leaves.
* Stein says he has tracked 2028 Wilder's time travel to the day before they discovered PRIDE's Rite of Blood and became friends again. He gives the other Runaways time machines to travel to 2017 Atlas Academy together.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Prior to *Runaways*: Season 3, evidence pointed to Season 2 finishing in late January 2018. *Smoke and Mirrors* is said to pick up "36 hours" later (the second morning after). 2 days pass, then the team are taken to the Dark Dimension. In *Enter The Dreamland* and *Merry Meet Again*, it is said when the team return that they have been in the Dark Dimension for "6 months", which would take the season to early August 2018.
In *Merry Meet Again*, Dale Yorkes says it is now "Day 189 of living off the grid", making it either 188 or 189 days since the end of Season 2 (depending on whether Dale counts that final day of Season 2 as "Day 1", or the day after), matching with it being early August 2018. In the scene, behind Yorkes is a calendar open to a month beginning on a Wednesday, which matches with being August 2018. However, he has crossed off 22 days, suggesting it is August 23, 2018, not early August. The main events of *The Broken Circle* occur just a few days after this, then *Cheat The Gallows* shows the 3-year anniversary of those events to be during school term time, also suggesting the events of *The Broken Circle* should be late August rather than early August. So, Dale Yorkes' calendar August 23, 2018 date may be taken, thus meaning Season 2 in fact ended on February 15, 2018 (if "Day 1" was the day after) or February 16, 2018 (if that was "Day 1"), and the events of Season 2 should be stretched accordingly. To keep the stretching to a minimum, February 15, 2018 is chosen. Thus, Season 3 begins on February 17, 2018, and the main events run February 15-19, 2018, then February 19-August 22, 2018 for the "6 months" in the Dark Dimension, then August 22-26, 2018.
This means that when the team return from the Dark Dimension in *Enter The Dreamland* and see that Alex Wilder's computer has not been backed up for "6 months, 22 days, 4 hours", it is since January 31, 2018. This lines up as being during the period from January 14, 2018 to February 2018 where the Magistrate's Son was taking over Wilder, with January 31, 2018 indeed likely being the approximate time that the Magistrate's Son would have got near full control, and thus when Wilder would have stopped backing up his computer.
*Cheat The Gallows* shows the 3-year anniversary of the events of August 26, 2018, which would make it August 26, 2021. However, Karolina Dean is shown to have a "Summer 2022" timetable up, suggesting it is in fact 2022. However, with the firm evidence for Seasons 1-3 being set December 2017 (see 2017 references)-August 2018 otherwise, this explicit 3-year anniversary should be August 2021. So, it must be taken that Dean has finished her second year at college and it is August 2021, with her having a draft timetable for her April-June 2022 term already up 8 months early. The timetable includes "English Lit 301", the "301" suggesting it is a third year course. Karolina Dean is a junior during the course of the show (see 2000s and 2017 references), meaning she would graduate high school almost a year after *The Broken Circle* (at the earliest, could be delayed due to her time off school), so her third year summer term would indeed be just under 4 years after *The Broken Circle* rather than 3 years, further justifying that this is a timetable for the future, and it is August 2021. So, August 2021 may be taken, in alignment with August 2018.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 *Runaways: 3.10: Cheat The Gallows*