Chase Stein

"As messed up as things are right now, at least we know the truth, who our friends are, who our parents are. It might suck, but it's real."

- Chase Stein to Gert Yorkes

Chase Stein is a former player of the Atlas Academy lacrosse team and the son of Victor and Janet Stein. Upon reuniting with his childhood friends, they discovered that their parents used PRIDE to cover up ceremonial sacrifices of the Church of Gibborim. He teamed up with his friends and formed the Runaways. Having been framed for Destiny Gonzalez's murder, and with no other choice, they are forced to run.

Childhood
"Time's Man of the Year? Wired's Visionary? Give me a break."

- Chase Stein to Victor Stein

Chase Stein was born in 2000 to Victor Stein and Janet Stein. After his birth, Victor was given the child by a nurse, brought to awe and briefly spoke with the nurse before returning to Janet's side. Lost of words, Janet completed Victor's sentence on Chase is everything to them. Victor told Janet that nothing else in the world mattered except Chase, stating he finally understood what everyone meant by that saying.

Chase Stein played with his friends Amy Minoru, Alex Wilder, Gert Yorkes, Karolina Dean, and Nico Minoru while their parents held secret meetings for the organization PRIDE.

Chase had a troubled childhood, resenting his father for the abuse he gave to his mother and him. Additionally, Chase was ignored by Victor, who was more focused on his work than anything else. One day, Victor promised Chase that he would make it to the city championship to see him play, but failed to do so. Chase won and received the trophy, waiting for his father to take him home. In the car, Victor noted his son's resentment, asking him what was wrong. Chase told him he didn't make it and mocked the idea that his father for being considered a visionary. Victor ordered his son to stop, but Chase cursed at him, leading to his father to punch him. Stunned, Chase cursed at him again when he dared him to say it again, leading him to get punched once more.

On the in eighth grade, Chase and Gert were astronomy partners, with Gert making most of the stargazing because Chase spent the entire time playing Candy Crush and flirting with Eiffel.

Reunion
"Whoa, are those the, uh, God, what did you call them, handblasters? It's so cool you're still working on it." "Handblasters? No, these would be bionic prosthetics using myoelectric sensors. I'm calling them Fist- Wait, why am I even talking to you?"

- Alex Wilder and Chase Stein

In the morning, while he was practicing, Chase was told by his mother Janet that she and his father Victor were expecting him for breakfast. Chase was praised by his father for his victory in a lacrosse game, but also heavily chastised for having a poor grade in a Spanish test. Once breakfast was over, Chase returned to his bedroom and prepared to leave for school, criticizing his father in front of Janet despite the latter's attempt to persuade him that his father still loved him somehow.

Chase went to the Atlas Academy and while he was sketching designs for his Fistigons, he was approached by Alex Wilder, who wanted to invite him and his other former friends over to the Wilder Mansion. However, Chase blatantly refused as he was no longer interested in hanging out with his childhood friends and instead left with his lacrosse teammates Brandon and Lucas, commenting on how he thought Wilder's attitude was laughable.

Later, Chase went to see his Spanish teacher Walter to get a better grade, but Walter refused to change it, causing Chase's anger who hit a locker room. This was noticed by Gert Yorkes, who suggested that they could meet in the evening at the Timely Coffee so that she could help him to learn Spanish. Chase agreed to this plan, but he was then approached by Lucas and Brandon who told him to come to a party given at Brandon's cousin's. Chase went to the party instead of joining Yorkes, although he did not enjoy it as much as the other young people did. He noticed Karolina Dean in the crown and tried to reach her, but he temporarily lost sight of her and only saw her again as she was being dragged unconscious by Brandon and Lucas. Chase ran after them and found Brandon and Lucas attempting to rape the still unconscious Dean. Therefore, he engaged in a brutal fight against his friends, causing them to run away. Chase and Dean left the party, but they were reluctant at the idea of going home. Having received from Wilder a picture of their former group of friends, they decided to go the Wilder Mansion, where Yorkes, Nico Minoru and Molly Hernandez had also come. However, Amy Minoru's absence was too hard to bear and the teenagers began to argue over the fact that they had grown separate. Although Chase was ready to leave, Dean urged her former friends to discuss about their relationship. Chase agreed to stay, but only if he could get alcohol from Geoffrey Wilder's office. Chase and the others went to the office, where Chase apologized to Yorkes for having let her down. As Wilder wanted to give a coaster to Chase, he accidentally opened a secret passageway hidden behind bookshelves. The teenagers decided to explore it and arrived in a mysterious room where they saw all their parents dressed up in red robes and protected by some kind of energy barrier. Chase then watched in complete shock as their parents apparently sacrificed a young girl by putting her in a mysterious box. However, due to Hernandez having taken a picture of the scene, they were forced to flee.

Investigation
"We checked the box. The box was empty." "My parents experiment on living things all the time. I mean, Molly said she heard something weird in the basement. What if Destiny is their latest test subject?" "I guess we could check it out."

- Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes

Stein hid with his friends in the Wilder Mansion's guesthouse while Alex Wilder briefly left, before returning and informing them that he had cut the power in the mansion so that their parents would thing that there had been a power shortage. Although Stein criticized the idea, the others approved it, but also figured out that they had to play along in front of their parents. Thus, Stein joined the other teenagers in a game, pretending to Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder that everything was fine.

Stein and the others then intensely discussed about what they had seen. Stein hypothesized that the weird box Destiny Gonzalez had been put in could be related to his father Victor Stein's work about time travel. However, he was also willing to admit that his father could also be evil enough to be a murderer. As they could not find a solution, they returned to the mansion's hall, casually discussing with the members of PRIDE who were thrilled to see their children reconnecting. Stein then left with his mother Janet to go back home. He then received a message from Alex telling the Runaways to meet in the next morning. Stein met with his teammates at the beach, insisting to wait for Karolina Dean to arrive as well. When she did, she showed them a picture seemingly displaying Gonzalez in London. Although Stein was willing to believe it, the others were in favor of deeper investigation in order to figure out what their parents were up to. Stein was tasked with searching through his father's lab for the Dematerialization Box, and accepted that Gert Yorkes came with him. Before leaving, Stein was asked by Dean about messages she had seen mentioning a fight with Brandon and Lucas, but Stein dismissed it as being no big deal. Stein and Yorkes searched through the Stein Mansion's lab, with Stein noticing that Yorkes was looking at his body with the X-Ray Specs. They located the Dematerialization Box and used the X-Ray Specs to inspect it, figuring out that Gonzalez was no longer in it. Although Stein concluded that their investigation was over, Yorkes suggested to look into the Yorkes Residence's basement, in which Molly Hernandez had perceived a strange creature. Stein agreed to go with Yorkes to investigate it.

Stein and Yorkes observed the Yorkes Residence from afar with the goggles, but as it gave no result, they eventually entered the basement themselves. While searching the place, they found a heavy reinforced door, through which the X-Ray Specs could not see. Although Yorkes advised him against it, Stein decided to open it so they could check whether Gonzalez was imprisoned behind the door. As soon as he unlocked it though, a massive creature burst out in the basement. Using the X-Ray Specs, Stein immediately identified the creature as being a small dinosaur. He told Yorkes that they had to leave, but the dinosaur blocked their escape and roared at them. Stein attempted to protect Yorkes from the beast as she was having a panic attack. However, it soon turned out that the dinosaur obeyed Yorkes' commands of calming down, much to their surprise. The dinosaur then left upon hearing a car horn and Stein hugged Yorkes to comfort her after such an incident.

Life Changes
"What I saw in them, I can't be a part of. And, hey, maybe I'm replacing lacrosse with something better."

- Chase Stein to Karolina Dean

Stein created a WizTalk conversation with the other Runaways to discuss the thin results of their investigation, as well as the recent discovery of Destiny Gonzalez's body washed out on the beach. As they still had trouble believing that their parents could be murderers, Stein reminded that Alex Wilder's father Geoffrey had actually been imprisoned for murder, although the charges were later dropped. Stein insisted that they should be ready to protect themselves against their own parents and ended the call. He then continued to work on the Fistigons he had started manufacturing.

In the next day, at the Atlas Academy, Stein was approached by Gert Yorkes, who wanted to thank him for having not revealed the existence of the dinosaur. The conversation was however ended when Stein was confronted by his lacrosse teammates Brandon and Lucas, who wanted him to apologize for beating them. However, Stein demanded that they apologized to Karolina Dean, who they had tried to rape. As they refused and insulted Dean, Stein assaulted them one more time, but the brawl was ended by their coach Alphona, who took the three students in his office. Stein later attended a team meeting in which Alphona urged him to set aside his problems with Brandon and Lucas because of the upcoming lacrosse tournament. Stein then went to the Dean Mansion, where he found Dean and Yorkes, who was just leaving. Remaining alone with Dean, Stein told her that he considered quitting the lacrosse team because of Brandon and Lucas having tried to rape her, although Stein insisted that he had intervened before they could hurt her. In gratitude, Dean asked Stein to come inside the house. Once in Dean's bedroom, Stein got to discover her light emission abilities. At first, Stein was a little afraid by it, but eventually yielded to his fascination and touched Dean's glowing hand, without being hurt in any way.

Stein and Dean discussed the latter's powers and their potential origin. As Dean expressed fear at it, Stein reassured her and told her that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Motivated by this discussion with Dean, Stein then returned to the Stein Mansion and decided to further work on the Fistigons in his father Victor's lab. However, when his father arrived, Stein was ready to leave the lab as he feared his reaction. Chase got angry when Victor picked up the Fistigons and threw them on the floor, but was then surprised as Victor asked him to tell him about his idea so they could work on it together.

Rescue of Alex Wilder
"We almost got shot back there, and now you want us to risk our lives for some guy that we don't even know?"

- Chase Stein to Alex Wilder

Chase and his father Victor further developed the Fistigons all the while discussing Chase's idea, with Victor expressing genuine surprise at his son's skills in engineering. While trying to assist his father, Chase accidentally dropped some equipment on the floor, he expressed fear that his father would berate him. However, Victor simply acknowledged that he had treated Chase harshly but only so he could give the best of himself, although Chase was skeptical that he could live up to his father's expectations. Later, as his father left for a break, Chase picked up his WizPhone and discovered that Gert Yorkes had unsuccessfully tried to contact her. Indeed, Alex Wilder had been kidnapped by the Crips and the other Runaways were chasing them. Therefore, Chase reclaimed his whole new Fistigons and drove to catch up with his teammates. He found them as they were facing Darius Davis and arrived in time to fire at him with the Fistigons which knocked Davis several meters away. Despite this achievement, which was awkwardly concluded when Chase high-fived Nico Minoru only to be thrown away because of his own Fistigons who fired once again. Chase stood back and rejoined his friends as Davis confronted them once again and aimed at them with his guns. However, the Runaways were protected by a shield created by Minoru's Staff of One, which caused Davis to run away. While Wilder briefly left his teammates, Chase went to the Timely Coffee with the other Runaways and they discussed their confrontation against Davis. When Wilder returned and explained that they had to save one of his kidnappers, Andre Compton, from PRIDE, Chase was surprised by this request as he did not understand why they should. They further discussed about the recently revealed superhuman abilities of the Runaways and eventually all agreed to save Compton. They ran to the Wilder Mansion, only to find the sacrifice room empty, meaning that they had failed in their endeavor.

Still, Chase searched through the sacrifice room and found he video camera he gave to Wilder, who tracked down its video feed to Wizard Headquarters. This prompted the Runaways to further discuss PRIDE's activities, and Chase suggested that their parents might have had a good reason for their actions, although he could not come up with a reasonable explanation as to why they were murdering teenagers. Chase returned to the Stein Mansion, where his father awaited him to work of an old invention of his own: a time machine designed to show images of different times. They gave it a trial, but the machine apparently did not work, causing Victor to angrily throw it on the floor. Chase was then worried to see his father kneeling on the ground because of a violent headache, and Victor confessed that he was actually suffering from a brain cancer. Chase tearfully hugged his father, who told him not to alert his mother Janet and promised that he would win over his disease.

Infiltration into Wizard Headquarters
"Saved Karolina's life. Well, tried to, but, hey, luckily she can fly." "Big night." "That's an understatement. You hear about our parents? They're having an affair." "What? My mom and your dad?" "No, my mom and..." "Oh, my God, and my mom?" "No, my mom, your dad."

- Chase Stein and Nico Minoru

Chase showed the Fistigons, which had been quite damaged by the confrontation against Darius Davis, to his father Victor, who complimented his son for having created functional gauntlets. He then told Victor that he had to go and meet his friends outside and before leaving he commented on how his father had begun to grow on him. Chase went to the Timely Coffee where he discussed the new Runaways' plan: infiltrating into Wizard Headquarters during a gala to retrieve the video file showing PRIDE perpetrating sacrifices. Despite some of them, including Chase, having second thoughts about the operation, they all declared that they agreed to it.

Chase and the other Runaways took a limo to arrive to Wizard Headquarters, where they saw their parents enjoying the party under the applause and the cheering of the crowd. As the party continued, the Runaways gathered and decided to launch their operation, which primarily involved Alex Wilder, Nico Minoru and Gert Yorkes while the other would remain in the hall to watch the party. Chase was asked by Karolina Dean to get some drinks and he gleefully accepted to get in line at the bar, unaware that he actually was at the center of a tense jealousy discussion between Yorkes and Dean.

While waiting in the line, Chase saw Dean mysteriously slipping away with a bottle of vodka. Before he could follow her, he was approached by Dean's mother Leslie, who asked him where her daughter was. Chase pretended that he did not know and that he would look for her and followed Dean up to the building's roof, where Dean was getting drunk on her own. Chase urged Dean to tell him what was wrong, but Dean got angry, sitting on the edge of the roof and lamenting over her powers. This worried Chase, who feared that Dean could fall and he suggested to return downstairs. His fear came true as Dean slipped over the edge, much to his horror, but as he tried to catch her, Dean's Church of Gibborim Bracelet was taken off, activating her powers and enabling her to fly, which greatly amazed Chase. Chase then saw Dean safely returning on the roof and put her bracelet back onto a wrist before kissing her in relief, claiming that he felt it as the right time to do it. After they shared a hug, Chase and Dean returned to the party.

Chase listened to the speech delivered by the PRIDE members. However, he was as shocked as everybody else when his father Victor publicly revealed that his wife Janet was having an affair with Robert Minoru. When Victor fainted immediately after, Chase rushed at him and accompanied him as he was being transported to a quiet room. Chase inadvertently revealed that Victor was suffering from a brain tumor, which Janet did not know. However, he also encouraged Janet to leave the room as her presence was doing more harm than good.

While Chase wanted PRIDE to call an ambulance for his father, Leslie told him that she had another idea and brought a mysterious man in the room to cure Victor. Chase, who did not believe it, refused to leave his father's side, but he was ultimately taken out by Geoffrey Wilder and Stacey Yorkes, who convinced him it was for the best. Chase found Alex and Tina outside and asked them about the mission, which was successful. In return, Chase informed them about Karolina's new ability and the affair between Janet and Robert. Chase then went to find his parents in the parking lot and was surprised to find them apparently getting along, and even more surprised when Victor hugged both him and Janet.

Attacked by his Father
"I am making you a man! But you don't want that, do you? You want to be a baby." "You did it again! You tricked me into thinking you changed, but you know what, I'm done now."

- Victor Stein and Chase Stein

Chase found his father Victor working in his lab and repeatedly called him until Victor eventually heard him and explained that he had solved a problem which had kept Nemo engineers busy for years. Chase was then surprised when his father explained that he would attend the Atlas Academy open house and his father hugged him. When Chase's mother Janet arrived and Victor left to take a shower, Chase asked his mother about Victor's strange change in behavior. He also commented on her affair with Robert Minoru and remained doubtful about Janet's will to keep her family together, leaving for school without any other word.

At school, Chase and Karolina Dean joined Alex Wilder and Nico Minoru, and were then approached by Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez, with Yorkes expressing jealousy at the sight of Chase and Dean hanging out together. Chase asked Wilder about the decryption of the file reclaimed at Wizard Headquarters and they discussed whether their parents could be aware that the Runaways had discovered their secret. At that moment, Hernandez revealed that she had accidentally revealed this to Catherine Wilder. Still, Chase could not help but notice that things had seemed to improve in his family since he had learned about the sacrifices. Chase then remained speechless as Hernandez left the group due to feeling infantilized.

During the open house, Chase and Karolina saw Catherine and Geoffrey Wilder speaking with Dale and Stacey Yorkes and figured out that they were discussing about Hernandez. Chase told Karolina to gather the others, only to be told to do it himself. The Runaways then discussed the potential consequences of PRIDE learning that their secret had been uncovered by the teenagers. Chase also asked Alex whether he knew what they would do once the file was decrypted and asked his friends to stay in touch in case anything happened in the evening, which did not help to reassure his teammates.

Chase returned to the Stein Mansion to keep working on his Fistigons in his father's lab. However, when Victor returned, he harshly told Chase that he was not allowed to be in here. Puzzled by Victor's new personality change, Chase blamed him for having made him believe that they could have a true father-son relationship, causing Victor to berate Chase for what he considered a childish attitude. Victor then attempted to hit Chase, but Chase avoided the hit and punched Victor back, causing him to fall on a table. Chase apologized, but an angry Victor picked up the Fistigons and fired at Chase, projecting him through a window. Chase, who was slightly wounded on the forehead, begged his father to stop, but Victor refused to listen to him and aimed at him once again. However, before Chase was hit - and potentially killed, Victor was shot by Janet to save her son.

Infiltration into the PRIDE Construction Site
To be added

Rescue of Karolina Dean
To be added

Running Away
To be added

Personality
Chase Stein is a popular student at Atlas Academy and a valued player on the school's lacrosse-team. This causes many to assume he's one of the "jocks" and therefore of low intelligence. Much to the contrary however, Chase has exceptional talent with engineering in a similar fashion to his successful father, Victor Stein.

Abilities
"How is it that you know all this, but you've never gotten above a B- in calculus?" "Calc's boring. I like practical applications."

- Victor Stein and Chase Stein

"He hasn't laid a finger on you in a while now." "Yeah, 'cause he knows if he tried, I'd kick his ass."
 * Expert Engineer: Despite lacking formal training as a full-fledged engineer, Stein's interest and natural potential toward engineering allowed him to design a piece of advanced technology that he called Fistigons. However, in order to transform his prototype into a full-working version, he needed his father's help to transform his ideas into practical functions for the engine.

- Janet Stein and Chase Stein


 * Combatant: Stein began training in boxing techniques after receiving abuse from his father. He was able to defend the unconscious Karolina Dean from sexual assault at a house party, and was confident in his ability to defeat his father . His upper body strength from playing lacrosse attributes to his fighting ability, as he left one of Dean's attackers with a broken rib.

Equipment
"I figure with the right L.A.W.S., these things will be able to shoot a drone out of the sky."

- Chase Stein to Victor Stein


 * Fistigons: These gauntlets are able to fire concussive orange energy beams capable of sending people flying through the air and are stated to have the potential to shoot a drone out of the sky.
 * X-Ray Specs: These specs can be used to see through walls, doors, and even through peoples’ skins.

Facilities

 * Stein Mansion: Chase lived in this wealthy residence with his parents Victor and Janet. Due to the abuse he suffered from his father, Chase tried to avoid him as much as possible when they were both at home and frequently trained in his bedroom so he could be physically able to retaliate in case his father hit him. Due to his project to create the Fistigons, Chase worked in his father's lab in the house's basement. He was joined by his father who helped him in this endeavor, but eventually attacked his son in this very lab during an anger attack.
 * Timely Coffee: Stein often met with the other Runaways at the Timely Coffee, where they would discuss their plans to take down PRIDE.

Family

 * Victor Stein - Father and Attempted Killer
 * Janet Stein - Mother

Allies

 * Runaways - Teammates and Friends
 * Alex Wilder
 * Nico Minoru
 * Karolina Dean - Former Love Interest
 * Gert Yorkes - Love Interest
 * Molly Hernandez
 * Amy Minoru †
 * Old Lace
 * Atlas Academy
 * Walter - Former Spanish Teacher
 * Alphona - Former Coach
 * Tezuka - Former Principal
 * Eiffel - Former Classmate and Former Love Interest
 * Stu - Former Lacrosse Teammate
 * Vaughn Kaye

Enemies

 * Brandon - Former Classmate, Friend and Lacrosse Teammate turned Enemy
 * Lucas - Former Classmate, Friend and Lacrosse Teammate turned Enemy
 * Geoffrey Wilder
 * Catherine Wilder
 * PRIDE
 * Leslie Dean
 * Tina Minoru
 * Robert Minoru
 * Dale Yorkes
 * Stacey Yorkes
 * Crips
 * Darius Davis
 * Jonah
 * Church of Gibborim
 * Frank Dean
 * Aura
 * Frances

Trivia

 * In the comics, Chase Stein was also known as Talkback. He had a telepathic link to Old Lace when Gert Yorkes transferred the link to him. He also had energy-conjuring gauntlets, boots, and telescopic x-ray goggles.

Behind the Scenes

 * Rj Wolfe, Owen Szabo, Michael H. Barnett and Ross Kohnstam were stunt doubles for Gregg Sulkin in the role of Chase Stein.