Runaways

"Maybe we're more than a team. We're a family, and without one of us, we're not whole."

- Karolina Dean

The Runaways are a team of teenagers who banded together with the purpose of taking down PRIDE, a group formed by their respective parents. After witnessing them sacrifice Destiny Gonzalez, the kids made it their mission to thwart their parents' project. However, the Runaways were forced to run as they had been framed for the death of Gonzalez.

In spite of the difficulties of living in the street, the Runaways managed to find a shelter in the Hostel. They also had to deal with the arrival of Topher. The Runaways eventually teamed up with PRIDE to prevent Jonah from launching his spaceship, saving California. New ordeals arose with the LAPD strike team on PRIDE's payroll posed on them. Chase Stein elected to leave the team and to return home, joining PRIDE in the process. The Runaways were attacked by PRIDE to be forced to come home as well, which resulted in the capture of Gert Yorkes and Karolina Dean, leaving only Alex Wilder, Nico Minoru and Molly Hernandez free from PRIDE.

Shattered Friendship
Initially, the group of teenagers who would become the Runaways were the children of the members of the PRIDE. They used to be good friends together until Amy Minoru died, seemingly committing suicide. This heavily shattered the friendship between the teenagers, with Alex Wilder being notably criticized for his decision not to attend Minoru's funeral. From this point, the teenagers grew apart from each other to the point that they barely talked to each other.

Annual PRIDE Meeting
"We were friends because our parents were friends. We were just kids. We were always gonna grow apart." "Plus, it's kind of hard to stay friends with someone when all they care about is being the perfect church girl." "Better than the insufferable social justice warrior." "Or a dumb jock." "Yeah, or Molly... I've got nothing against you. You're really nice."

- Karolina Dean, Gert Yorkes, Alex Wilder and Chase Stein

Pressured by his parents, Alex Wilder decided to invite his former friends over to his house on the night of the annual PRIDE meeting. When he arrived at Atlas Academy, he approached Chase Stein in class about getting together but he refused; Gert Yorkes overheard the conversation and refused too. Karolina Dean was then brought into the conversation and got an argument with Gert over her religion, and abruptly left the classroom while Gert ultimately decided hanging out would be a bad idea. Defeated, Alex went to search for Nico Minoru to personally invite her over. After finding Nico in front of a picture of her sister, Alex confessed to her how much he missed her. However, Nico pretended to have not heard him and walked away. During the PRIDE meeting, Alex sulked about the fight that the others had refused to come. In his last attempt, he decided to text an old group photo to all of them, hoping it would sway them to come to his house. After being assaulted at a party, Dean decided she did not want to go home, so she left with Stein to take Alex's invitation. Meanwhile Molly Hernandez had a terrifying encounter with a dinosaur in her own home, so she urged Yorkes to take her to Alex's house as well. Nico had failed a Wicca ritual to bring her sister back from the dead, so she defeatedly arrived at Wilder Mansion around the same time as everyone else.

While inside the guest room, everyone began to argue over why they stopped hanging out together in the first place. After getting frustrated with talking about Amy Minoru, Stein left the guest house to go into Geoffrey Wilder's study for a bottle of liquor. Everyone else followed, and Nico was perplexed as to why she found her mother's purse in the room. Alex then went to go get a coaster for Yorkes' drink and it revealed a secret passage behind the bookshelves of the study.

Witnessing a Sacrifice
"Whatever happened, I think our parents killed that girl."

- Nico Minoru

The group decided to go into the secret passageway and discovered a balcony which overlooked a large room and contained a mysterious barrier. In the room, they saw each of their parents dressed in red robes performing some kind of ritual. They then brought out a girl, who Karolina recognized as Destiny Gonzalez from her church. Gonzalez was forced to drink a mysterious liquid which made her collapse, ultimately allowing the PRIDE to undress her and carry her into a box. The kids remained perplexed and Molly Hernandez accidentally set off her phone flashlight in the attempt to get a better look of the ritual. The flash confused the PRIDE but the kids were able to run out before being seen.

While Alex Wilder left to shut down power in the Wilder Mansion so that their parents would believe that the flash was due to a power malfunction, the other teenagers hid in the guesthouse. They argued about what they had seen, refusing to believe that their parents might have killed Gonzalez. As they needed to act normal in front of their parents, they pretended to be playing when Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder went to check on them. Once they left, the teenagers kept discussing about what they had seen before departing with their respective parents, pretending that everything was fine.

Meeting at the Beach
"We do some P.I. work and let cooler heads prevail. Hopefully in a couple hours we know that our parents are just weird, and not killers."

- Alex Wilder

In order to figure out what they had witnessed, Alex Wilder asked his friends to meet him at the beach so they could discuss their plan of action. Although Karolina Dean had received a picture seemingly sent by Destiny Gonzalez, the others were not convinced of its authenticity and decided to investigate themselves. Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes were tasked with searching the Stein Mansion, while Wilder would try to reenter the sacrifice room in the Wilder Mansion and Dean would look for Gonzalez in the Church of Gibborim. Meanwhile, Nico Minoru returned to the Minoru Mansion to inspect the Staff of One her mother Tina had wielded during the ritual.

Stein and Yorkes found the Dematerialization Box, but without Gonzalez in it. They then headed for the Yorkes Residence to investigate curious noises Molly Hernandez claimed to have heard in the basement, only for them to accidentally release a small dinosaur which seemed to obey Yorkes' commands. Also regarding supernatural abilities, Nico retrieved the Staff of One along with Amy Minoru's diary. Wielding the Staff, she accidentally triggered snowfall in Tina's office and called Wilder, who had failed to return into the sacrifice room, for help. Meanwhile, Dean could not find anything significant concerning Gonzalez, and Hernandez was found by Catherine Wilder, who suspected that she had witnessed the ritual. However, Hernandez managed to give a plausible explanation for the hairpin Geoffrey Wilder had found in his office.

Murders Confirmed
"So our parents are serial killers, and Karolina's mother hand-picks the victims?"

- Alex Wilder

Still struggling to figure out what they had seen, the Runaways had a group conversation to discuss the discovery of the body of Destiny Gonzalez by the LAPD and to share the results of their first investigations. They still disagreed whether this confirmed that their parents had killed Gonzalez: while Nico Minoru was willing to believe it, going as far as suspecting that the death of her sister Amy was connected to PRIDE's rituals, others were not convinced. The call was then ended without a consensus being made, although Chase Stein urged his friends to be ready to protect themselves.

Minoru decided to go the police in order to tell them that PRIDE had killed Gonzalez and that Amy's death could also be due to PRIDE, although Alex Wilder tried to convince her that it would not be of great use. Still, Wilder joined Nico at the Los Angeles Police Station to help her. However, they saw Victor Stein and Robert Minoru with Detective Flores, who had been put in charge of the investigation on Amy's death back in the day. Upon seeing this, Nico decided that they could not trust the police to help them against PRIDE. Meanwhile, Karolina Dean and Gert Yorkes, who still had a hard time believing that their parents could be criminals, went to the Dean Mansion to find another explanation. They found Leslie Dean's laptop, featuring an encrypted file related to what was called the Ultra Project, and decided to send it to Wilder so that he could decrypt it. As Yorkes left, Chase came to the Dean Mansion as well and Karolina decided to reveal her powers to him, much to Chase's amazement. Wilder and Nico went to the Timely Coffee, where Wilder successfully decrypted the Ultra Project file, which turned out to be a list of young people who had been welcomed into the Church of Gibborim. As Gonzalez's name appeared in the list, Wilder and Nico quickly figured out that it was a list of all the people killed by PRIDE during their rituals: runaways which were assessed by Leslie thanks to their intake forms so that she could select the perfect victim for PRIDE. As a result, they immediately called Karolina to tell her about her mother's involvement in the crimes.

Kidnapping of Alex Wilder
"I'm with everyone. We need your assistance to save Alex from some unidentified abductors."

- Gert Yorkes to Chase Stein

Upon leaving the Timely Coffee to check on his car, Alex Wilder was abducted by the Crips in an act of revenge against Alex's father Geoffrey. Although she could not see who the kidnappers were, Nico Minoru still witnessed the deed and immediately warned Karolina Dean, and later Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez. Using the Staff of One she had stolen from Tina Minoru's office, Nico managed to find which way the car taking Alex away had gone. The teenage girls decided to chase them while trying to reach out Chase Stein, who did not answer his calls.

The Runaways followed the trail indicated by the Staff of One and Yorkes eventually managed to call Stein, who was informed of the situation and agreed to join them. They arrived near a park and saw Darius Davis holding Alex at gunpoint in front of Geoffrey. As Davis took Alex away in his car, the Runaways chased him until Davis' car stopped at a redlight. Deciding to intervene, Nico stepped out of Dean's car and tried to use the Staff of One to break Davis' car's engine, but it did not work. Thus, Hernandez got out of the car as well and used her superhuman strength to lift the car from the rear, preventing it from moving forward. As they were confronted by Davis and his driver, Dean chose to use her powers as well and removed her Church of Gibborim Bracelet, emitting light beams which briefly stunned the Crips, making the driver flee and enabling Alex to join his friends. Davis then threatened to shoot them, but Stein arrived and fired at him with his Fistigons, knocking Davis several meters away. Still, Davis stood back and fired at the Runaways, but Nico managed to use the Staff of One to create an energy shield which blocked Davis' bullets. Davis fled, much to the Runaways' relief. Following this victory, the Runaways gathered at the Timely Coffee, discussing their recently discovered superpowers: Hernandez's superhuman strength, Dean light-based abilities, Nico's control of the Staff of One and the fact that Yorkes could telepathically control a dinosaur which had been bioengineered by Dale and Stacey Yorkes. However, Alex told them about Andre Compton, a young member of the Crips who he had wounded earlier. Alex suspected that PRIDE would sacrifice him and convinced his friends to try and save him.

The Runaways rushed to the Wilder Mansion, where Hernandez used her superhuman strength to break through the secret door of the sacrifice room. However, as they arrived, they discovered that the room was empty, as PRIDE was actually doing the sacrifice in the Church of Gibborim Executive Office. Distressed by the whole event, Alex confessed to Nico that he had shot Compton and that he felt responsible for his death. Nico comforted him and the two ended up kissing each other. However, they were interrupted by Dean, who informed them that Stein had found a camera in the sacrifice room. Alex analyzed the data of the camera and found out that they were being transferred to the servers of Wizard, the company owned by Robert and Tina Minoru.

Infiltration into Wizard Headquarters
"Okay, we three are Operation Tina Server Room. I'm not great at code names. I'm working on it."

- Alex Wilder to Nico Minoru and Gert Yorkes

The Runaways met one more time at the Timely Coffee to discuss their next move: hacking into the Wizard servers during a PRIDE gala held at the Wizard Headquarters. While preparing for the gala, Karolina Dean almost confessed her feelings to Nico Minoru before Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez joined them at the Dean Mansion. The group then picked up Alex Wilder and Chase Stein and they arrived at the gala, where they saw their parents being acclaimed by the crowd.

As the party went on, the Runaways decided to move forward, although Dean and Yorkes first had a conversation about who they wanted to be with, with Yorkes denying that she was attracted to Stein. Wilder, Minoru and Yorkes then headed to the building's elevators. Yorkes successfully distracted security member Earl, enabling Wilder and Minoru to take the elevator up to the servers room. However, Wilder discovered that he could not hack into it, meaning that they had to retrieve the file they were looking for directly from Tina Minoru's office.

Wilder and Nico managed to break into Tina's office, although Nico was suspicious on how Wilder managed to guess Tina's password. As they were downloading the file, they were alerted by Yorkes that Tina was coming due to needing some time alone after the reveal that her husband Robert was having an affair with Janet Stein. Wilder and Nico hid in the office, surprised to see Tina crying, but were ultimately able to go down to the lobby.

Meanwhile, Dean, who was upset by the fact that she could not be with Minoru and who had a hard time dealing with having strange superpowers, went to the building's roof where Stein found her getting drunk. Dean nearly fell from the roof, but her powers activated as she lost her Church of Gibborim Bracelet, enabling her to fly back to safety. Considerably relieved, Stein kissed her, much to Dean's surprise. The scene was also witnessed by Hernandez.

As they went back to the lobby, Stein and Dean learned about the affair between Robert and Janet. Chase saw his father Victor fainting and learned that he actually suffered from a brain tumor. However, he was forced to leave his father's side when Jonah arrived to cure Victor. Chase was reunited with Wilder and Nico, who told them that their mission was completed, and Chase told them about the affair between Janet and Robert. The Runaways then left the gala, but before departing, Catherine Wilder discovered that Hernandez, and possibly all the Runaways, knew about PRIDE's sacrifices.

A Team Divided
"I've got a busted laptop that says we're past the point of polite conversation." "Wilder, I said I was sorry." "Are you sorry, Chase? Tell me, what does that change, exactly? Thanks to you, we don't know what our next move is, or if we even have one. We can't win, not anymore."

- Alex Wilder and Chase Stein

Despite their success in obtaining the file stored on the Wizard servers, the Runaways teams had to face tensions and divisions while waiting for Alex Wilder to fully decrypt it. One of these challenges came when Molly Hernandez revealed to her friends that PRIDE might have discovered that she knew about the sacrifices. This led to an argument as some of the Runaways reproached Hernandez for not having disclosed that earlier, causing Hernandez to angrily leave the team. Karolina Dean later tried to comfort her.

During the Atlas Academy open house, the Runaways regrouped and saw Geoffrey Wilder, Catherine Wilder, Dale Yorkes and Stacey Yorkes talking together, suspecting that this had something to do with Hernandez. They also tried to figure out what would happen once the file would be decrypted and their parents would be arrested. When Gert Yorkes returned to the Yorkes Residence, she saw Hernandez arguing with Dale and Stacey and discovered that they planned on sending her away to Montebello to live with Graciela Aguirre. Although both Gert and Hernandez tried to persuade them not to, they were forced to accept this choice and Hernandez left Los Angeles.

Other tensions arose between Nico Minoru and Alex. Indeed, Nico was still suspicious regarding how Alex had so easily entered Tina Minoru's office in Wizard Headquarters. Although Alex claimed to have simply guessed Tina's password, Nico figured out that Alex actually knew it and demanded to be told how he had this information. Therefore, Alex reluctantly told Nico that he knew about Amy Minoru having hacked into the servers of Wieard, which could partly explain her death, something Alex felt responsible for. This angered Nico, who left Alex and returned to the Minoru Mansion where she found Amy's hidden backpack and phone, which she put on charging. Nico returned to Alex, who told her that he had decrypted the video files showing the sacrifices perpetrated by PRIDE. They were joined by the rest of the team, however, both Dean and Chase Stein were in favor of waiting before releasing the videos to the authorities. Alex disagreed and decided to disclose it nonetheless but Chase, fearing for the life of his father Victor whose life laid in the hands of PRIDE after he was shot by Janet Stein, took the laptop containing the files and destroyed it, despite the others trying to stop him. Although Chase apologized for the deed, this left the Runaways more divided than ever, to the point that the idea of the group splitting up was considered, which was rejected by Gert who argued that they had not even found a nickname for their team, although Alex's proposal - naming themselves the Runaways - was considered too dark. Still, the teenagers agreed to remain together and Gert persuaded them to go the dance held by the Atlas Academy.

The Whole Truth Revealed
"The school. They're using its construction as a cover." "The PRIDE meetings, the gala? It's all been a front." "Basically our whole lives, they've been planning on how to end the world."

- Alex Wilder, Karolina Dean and Chase Stein

During her short stay in Montebello, Molly Hernandez was given a letter by Graciela Aguirre, which had been left to her by her parents Gene and Alice. Thanks to the letter, Molly found a VHS tape and suspected that it might contain valuable information concerning PRIDE. Thus, she managed to leave Montebello and returned to Los Angeles. She reunited with the other Runaways at the Atlas Academy and explained her discovery. Alex Wilder then led his friends to the school's library so they could watch the video.

On the video, Gene and Alice explained that PRIDE's plan could actually cause immense damage across California, including serious earthquakes. Horrified by the discovery, the Runaways struggled to find what to do next about their parents and how they could stop it. They figured out that the PRIDE Construction Site on which PRIDE pretended to be building a school was at the center of their plan and they decided to infiltrate it to end their parents' activities. To that end, Wilder suggested to use the dance as a pretense to regroup before going and fighting PRIDE.

Infiltration into the PRIDE Construction Site
"We're a family." "We're a family." "And we'll fight you if we have to!"

- Stacey Yorkes, Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez

The Runaways arrived separately to the Atlas Academy dance. Gert Yorkes found Chase Stein and the two began discussing how they felt about each other, leading to them isolating themselves to dance in a separate room, where they began making out and eventually had sex with each other. As they emerged from the room, they stumbled on Karolina Dean and Nico Minoru, who had just shared a kiss after looking for them. The Runaways then got in their car and drove to the PRIDE Construction Site. Encountering Carl, who was in charge of the security, Karolina told him to call her father Frank to make sure that the teenagers were allowed to enter the site. once Carl let them in, the Runaways soon began to sabotage PRIDE's operations. Stein and Yorkes found the control panel and fried it with the Fistigons while Molly Hernandez used her superhuman strength to push a truck in the hole created by the Nemo Industrial Drilling Machine to estimate its depth. Then, Nico used the Staff of One to fill the hole by creating a local sandstorm. However, the process was stopped when Tina Minoru arrived with the rest of PRIDE, confiscating the Staff of One from Nico. As PRIDE tried to convince the Runaways that they had only worked for them, the teenagers refused to listen to them and claimed that they were ready to fight against their parents, with Karolina taking off her Church of Gibborim Bracelet to reveal her powers. The Yorkeses' dinosaur, who had been brought by Yorkes, arrived and joined the Runaways, much to PRIDE's astonishment who discovered their children's unusual abilities. Dale Yorkes engaged the hostilities by firing a tranquilizing bullet at the dinosaur, prompting Stein to retaliate with his Fistigons. However, the blasts were stopped by an energy shield created by Tina and the Staff of One. Karolina joined the fight, firing powerful light beams at the shield. As Hernandez tried to help her, she was attacked by Jonah, who had arrived into the site with Frank.

The Runaways were further attacked by Jonah, who knocked them all over with his own powers. As they stood back, Karolina realized that Jonah was only interested in her. She convinced her friends to leave her behind and get to safety, and although Nico initially refused, they all ran away while Karolina fought against Jonah, being eventually defeated and captured.

Rescue of Karolina Dean
"I didn't think I'd ever see you guys again." "We're not leaving anyone behind."

- Karolina Dean and Chase Stein

The Runaways retreated into the woods and discussed about what to do next. Although Alex Wilder was in favor of leaving Los Angeles to devise a more elaborate plan of action, Nico Minoru convinced her friends to try and rescue Karolina Dean who had been captured by Jonah. To that end, Wilder asked his friends to find new clothes so that they would be harder to recognize. As they could not afford to look after it while running away, they also asked Gert Yorkes to part ways with her dinosaur, which she begrudgingly accepted, naming the creature Old Lace. The teenagers went to the Timely Coffee, where they met with Church of Gibborim member Vaughn Kaye. The Runaways told Kaye that Karolina was in danger and that her mother Leslie Dean and the mysterious Jonah were involved, and that they requested his help into releasing Karolina. However, Kaye refused to believe their story and left the café. Therefore, the Runaways changed their plans to infiltrate the Church of Gibborim Executive Office: Chase Stein and Molly Hernandez posed as typical runaways who were usually welcomed into the Church. They were picked up by Frances and Aura and successfully entered the Church's office.

Meanwhile, Wilder managed to steal a van while Minoru and Yorkes stood watch outside the building. While they were filling their forms, Stein and Hernandez were approached by Kaye, who had secretly reported his encounter with the Runaways to Leslie and had been asked to help them. Kaye took them to Leslie's private meditation chamber and Hernandez used her superhuman strength to break through the door, enabling them to find Karolina. Together, the teenagers managed to escape the Church's security and reached the van driven by Wilder, driving away from the Church's office.

Forced to Run
"What do we do?" "We run."

- Nico Minoru and Alex Wilder

Having successfully rescued Karolina Dean from Jonah, the Runaways took refuge in the woods near Los Angeles. While Dean and Nico Minoru discussed the recent events and started a relationship together, Alex Wilder returned in town and called Darius Davis in order to make an alliance with the Crips against PRIDE. Davis provided Wilder with money and a gun so that the Runaways could survive on their own while being searched by their parents. Wilder then returned to his teammates and informed Minoru of this new alliance. The Runaways then went to the Los Angeles Bus Depot to take a bus and go far from Los Angeles, which enabled Gert Yorkes to be reunited with Old Lace. As they discussed where to go, a newsflash caught their attention: indeed, they discovered that they were suspected of having kidnapped Molly Hernandez and that they had been framed for the Assassination of Destiny Gonzalez. Left with no other option, the Runaways were forced to run, becoming wanted fugitives across the country.

New Home
"Guys, it's amazing up here." "Except for the bathroom, which is pretty gross. There's also no power or water." "Which would explain said grossness. Also, I think we have raccoons."

- Gert Yorkes and Chase Stein

The firts ordeal the Runaways had to face in their new life was the theft of money acquired by Alex Wilder and the Fistigons by Mike on a Bike. With Mike having escaped and the teenagers having no money to buy some food, they reluctantly decided to go to a PRIDE soup kitchen. During the meal, however, tensions began to arise as the team was suspicious towards Wilder, who they thought might be a mole as he constantly refused to tell where he had gotten the money in the first place. Wilder rejeted the accusations, and briefly left the group to meet with Darius Davis.

The Runaways then discovered that Molly Hernandez's cousin Graciela Aguirre was in danger because she had publicly claimed that she had evidence against PRIDE. They rushed to Graciela Aguirre's Residence but arrived too late as she had already been murdered by PRIDE. Shocked by this new crime perpetrated by their parents, the Runaways gathered in a homeless camp where they held a memorial ceremony for Aguirre annd comforted Hernandez for her loss. In the next day, the Runaways woke up hearing strange noises, and figured out that that they came from Mike using the Fistigons. They once again chased him up to the hills near Griffith Observatory, and this time, thanks to Old Lace's assistance, they were able to retrieve the Fistigons. Moreover, during the chase, Karolina Dean accidentally fell through a sky window of an abandoned underground mansion: the Hostel, which the Runaways decided to turn into their new home despite its disrepair.

In the next day, after a night spent in this new residence and a orning shaken by an earthquake, more tensions appeared in the group because of Wilder's secrets, and Wilder eventually admitted that he worked with Davis, much to his teammates' surprise. Still, wilder insisted that he had to continue on this path and left the Hostel. In his absence, in order to improve their life conditions in the Hostel, Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes were tasked with restoring power in the Hostel. During this endeavor, Stein found an abandoned car which would later become the grup's main means of transportation.

Training and Practice
"Hey, hey, hey! I did what you said! The Staff didn't work." "Not the only thing that doesn't work." "I assume you mean us."

- Chase Stein, Nico Minoru and Gert Yorkes

Meanwhile, the other half of the Runaways comprised of Nico Minoru, Karolina Dean and Molly Hernandez left for a mission to reclaim the Staff of One, as Minoru considered that they needed more firepower to fight against PRIDE. The three girls successfully infiltrated into the Minoru Mansion, ending up in a violent confrontation against Minoru's mother who, in the end, agreed to give the Staff to her daughter. Although Dean voiced her doubts about the whole enterprise after the brutal fight, Minoru insisted that the Runaways had to learn how to use their powers together as a true team.

Therefore, in the next day and in spite of Alex Wilder's absence and Hernandez being allowed to sleep due to having sneaked out of the Hostel, Minoru held a training session with Dean, Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes. However, things did not go exactly as planned: Yorkes suffered from violent headaches due to being deprived of her meds, and Minoru herself was hurt by the Fistigons when she failed to block Stein's attack, causing her to nearly attack Stein. Minoru thus regretted that they did not manage to work as a real team.

The group debated over the reasons of their failure, and some surmised that Wilder's absence was problematic, since his intellect could help them even though he had no superpowers of his own; nevertheless Minoru refused to agree. Dean then suggested that the Runaways were more of a family than an actual superhero team, only to be mocked by Yorkes, who ended up arguing with Stein, thus adding more division in the group.

Still, the Runaways soon got a real opportunity to put their powers into practice. Indeed, Minoru figured out that Wilder had been kidnapped by his parents, and they agreed that they had to rescue him since he was a valuable member of the team. Therefore, the Runaways drove to, where they successfully combined their powers to confront Wilder's father, and they were able to bring Wilder home, with Minoru attempting to make up with him so the team's leadership would be more peaceful.

Topher's Interference
"We're the ones hurting people now. He was suffering!" "Topher may have been suffering, but he was also dangerous. And you are my family, not him!"

- Molly Hernandez and Nico Minoru

During the night following the Rescue of Alex Wilder, another challenge came to the Runaways: Topher, a homeless young man who had followed Molly Hernandez back to the Hostel after she had sneaked out again despite Nico Minoru's disapproval. The Runaways thus had to debate over what they should do with Topher, either allowing him to stay in the Hostel or forcing him to leave, possibly after wiping out his memory thanks to a vial of Synnergy Serum. Eventually, they opted for the first solution, especially because Topher displayed superhuman abilities similar to Hernandez's, namely yellow glowing eyes and tremendous strength.

Despite Topher's attempts to gain the Runaways' trust, the group remained distrustful, except for Hernandez who saw an opportunity to really bond with someone. However, the Runaways were motivated by Alex Wilder to remain focused on their main objective: stopping PRIDE's plan. Wilder actually thought that Topher's unexpected arrival could help them in this regard, as he wanted to break into their former school, Atlas Academy, in order to steal a computer he needed to hack into the PRIDE Construction Site's systems. Therefore, the Runaways, except for Karolina Dean who left for a secret meeting with Jonah, and Topher headed to the school. The Runaways sent Topher into the premises, but a sudden earthquake led to the evacuation of Atlas Academy, with Topher being forced to go out as well. Therefore, the Runaways took the matter in their own hands and decided to steal the computer themselves. However, Gert Yorkes's attempt to get some meds from the nurse caused PRIDE to be alerted of the Runaways' presence in Atlas Academy, and the Runaways thus had to flee before taking the computer. Nevertheless, Topher was able to go back inside and to reclaim the computer, thus enabling the Runaways to return to the Hostel with their mission completed. However, despite Topher's assistance, the Runaways still distrusted him due to Minoru discovering that his powers came from strange rocks which he had to absorb, unlike Hernandez. Therefore, the Runaways asked Topher to tell them about his story and listened as he explained that he had found those rocks and discovered their powers by mere chance, and that it had saved his life. Seeing a possible connection with a discovery made by Hernandez's parents Gene and Alice on the construction site, the Runaways chose to believe Topher and allowed him to stay further in the Hostel. Nevertheless, in the next day, the Runaways soon discovered that Topher had concealed at least part of the truth, since he was nowhere to be found. Although Hernandez blamed Minoru for Topher's departure, the teenagers quickly figured out that Topher was headed to the PRIDE dig site in order to find more rocks. They quickly drove to the location and arrived in time to see Topher escaping from the site after having assaulted one of the workers to reclaim more works. They then tracked him down into a residential area, finding the car Topher had stolen parked in front of a house. Entering the house, the Runaways encountered Topher arguing with his family and learned the truth about him: he had found the rocks in the aftermath of the lab explosion which had killed Hernandez's parents, and the rocks caused him to stop aging. Topher, who had become increasingly agitated and violent due to his addiction to the rocks, thus entered into a confrontation against the Runaways. Although Hernandez attempted to convince him to peacefully come with them, Topher refused, forcing Minoru to attack him with the Staff of One.

Topher countered by throwing a dumpster at the teenagers, and when Chase Stein attempted to repel it with the Fistigons, he accidentally directed it onto Gert Yorkes, who had stayed in the Runaways' car. Yorkes was saved by Topher who pushed the car away, but this caused him to be violently hit and injured by the falling dumpster. With too many witnesses being around, the Runaways were forced to flee back to the Hostel, where Hernandez let her anger and frustration burst out, claiming that they were not supposed to be hurting people, and that Minoru's behavior towards Topher and his fate made her look like her mother.

More Divisions
"Maybe Gert and Chase had the right idea. Things are a little more complicated now, and if you're feeling suffocated, then maybe you should just find another room, too."

- Nico Minoru to Karolina Dean

To be added

Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site
"Teamed up with our parents to do something good."

- Chase Stein

To be added

New Enemy
"We have to find a way to get over PRIDE's head!" "So you're gonna let that asshole AWOL and his entire squad of assholes go free?"

- Alex Wilder and Molly Hernandez

To be added

Birthday Party
"We can't let our parents rob us of everything good just because they're bad. It's Molly's birthday. We're gonna have a birthday party. And not just any party." "A quinceañera?"

- Alex Wilder and Molly Hernandez

To be added

Leaver and Newcomers
"We don't have any idea what Xavin's motives are, and your mom is untrustworthy, to say the least." "No more roommates who aren't one hundred percent in. One is enough. I don't need to say his name."

- Alex Wilder and Gert Yorkes

To be added

Chased by PRIDE
"So it's not just our parents we're up against." "But a family of aliens as well." "And we're all that's left?!" "Hey hey! It's okay, all right? We're gonna figure it out. We have each other."

- Molly Hernandez, Leslie Dean, Nico Minoru and Alex Wilder

To be added

Alex Wilder

 * Name: Alex Wilder
 * Activity: 2017-
 * Description: Alex Wilder is the son of Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder. Devastated by the death of Amy Minoru, he felt nostalgic of his former group of friends, especially Nico Minoru who he had feelings for, and did his best to reassemble them. This caused them to witness the Rite of Blood perpetrated by PRIDE, thus sparkling the creation of the Runaways. Despite his initial doubts, Alex grew to accept the idea that his parents were criminals and was the most determined Runaway to bring them to justice. He became a natural leader of the team, organizing the investigation on PRIDE with his tactician skills and his hacking knowledge to compensate for his lack of superhuman abilities. Even after the Runaways were forced to abandon their old life, Alex remained adamant that their parents had to be imprisoned for their crimes. This however sometimes put him at odds with his teammates as some of his decisions, notably his attempt of allying with the dangerous AWOL, caused his leadership to be heavily questioned. Despite some initial suspicions that Alex could be a PRIDE mole, Alex remained exclusively loyal to the Runaways, although he sometimes relinquished leadership of the team to Minoru. Alex was actually the only Runaway to effectively have his parents arrested, albeit for a different crime than their murderous rituals. He is currently one of the three Runaways remaining free with Minoru and Molly Hernandez.

Nico Minoru

 * Name: Nico Minoru
 * Activity: 2017-
 * Description: Nico Minoru is the younger daughter of Tina and Robert Minoru. The loss of her older sister Amy deeply affected her to the point hat she distanced herself from her friends, isolating herself and embracing n beliefs, until Alex Wilder, with who she later developed a relationship, assembled the Runaways. Unlike the other teenagers, Nico could conceive that her parents were criminals, and took an active part in the investigation on PRIDE. In the process, she discovered the Staff of One, which would proved to be an invaluable asset for various missions of the Runaways. Aside of the investigation on PRIDE, Nico also pieced different information regarding the death of Amy, causing her to end her relationship with Wilder only to start a new and deeper one with Karolina Dean, insisting to rescue her before fleeing from PRIDE. While living on the run, Nico frequently assumed leadership of the Runaways when Wilder was unavailable, motivating her teammates to train to work with their superhuman abilities together. With the Staff of One, Nico was arguably the most powerful Runaway and was responsible for the apparent death of their great enemy and her sister's murderer, Jonah. She was a key element to defend the Runaways from other foes, including the corrupt LAPD strike team and PRIDE, and is currently among the still free Runaways with Wilder and Molly Hernandez.

Karolina Dean

 * Name: Karolina Dean
 * Activity: 2017-
 * Description: Karolina Dean used to be a prominent member of the Church of Gibborim until her life was turned upside down by two major reveals: that she displayed strange light-emitting abilities causing her to question her own nature, and that her mother Leslie could be a criminal along with the rest of PRIDE. Karolina feared that these two facts could be related and had a hard time believing that her mother could be a criminal. However, her investigation for the Runaways did indeed confirm it, causing Karolina to fear the origin of her powers, although her teammates did not change the way they saw her after she openly revealed it to them. Unlike the other Runaways, Karolina sought assistance regarding PRIDE's criminal activities outside of their group, alerting her father Frank without knowing that he would in turn inform Jonah. During a confrontation against PRIDE and Jonah, Karolian chose to remain behind to protect her teammates, especially Nico Minoru who she had started a relationship with. She thus learned that Jonah was her biological father before being rescued by her teammates and running away. Nevertheless, Karolina kept meeting with Jonah to learn about herself without telling the other Runaways, causing them to feel betrayed when they found out about it. In the aftermath of the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site in which her father was seemingly killed by Minoru, Karolina chose to take a few steps back from the team, although she still lived with them. She convinced her teammates to rescue her mother, a mission which had her become the new messiah of the Church of Gibborim. Later, Karolina was captured by Jonah and her family who threatened to consume her.

Gert Yorkes

 * Name: Gert Yorkes
 * Activity: 2017-
 * Description: Gert Yorkes is the daughter of Dale and Stacey Yorkes. Like the other future Runaways, she witnessed the sacrifice of Destiny Gonzalez perpetrated by PRIDE, but refused to believe that her parents could be murderers. During her investigation on PRIDE, she accidentally released a dinosaur, who she later named Old Lace, from her parents' lab and discovered that she could telepathically control the animal. Gert took part in the Runaways' efforts against PRIDE, also starting a relationship with Chase Stein shortly before they were forced to run together. During this time, Gert frequently acted as the Runaways' driver during their missions and insisted on how they should behave ethically so that they would never be drawn into criminal activities like their parents had been. However, despite receiving support from her teammates and especially her boyfriend, she briefly left the team to get some anti-anxiety medication she could not afford to be deprived of. Unlike the other Runaways, Gert had a clear vision of her future, planning college studies for after they could return to a normal life, although this project could not come to fruition as she was heartbroken by her boyfriend choosing to return home and the Runaways remained threatened by PRIDE's attempts to find them. Gert failed to escape from her parents during the Chase of the Runaways, but much to her surprise, her father Dale chose to take her away from both her friends and her mother as he had come to fear the latter's strange behavior.

Molly Hernandez

 * Name: Molly Hernandez
 * Activity: 2017-
 * Description: Molly Hernandez is the daughter of Gene and Alice Hernandez, two members of PRIDE who were killed in her childhood, causing Molly to be adopted by Dale and Stacey Yorkes. She is also the youngest member of the Runaways. Her young age often caused her to be a source of troubles for the Runaways, such as when she accidentally disclosed to Catherine Wilder that she knew about the sacrifices PRIDE had been conducting for years, or when she attempted a vigilante career after the death of Graciela Aguirre, which caused the Runaways' hideout to be discovered by Topher. Still, Molly was praised by her teammates who admired both her superhuman strength which Molly learned to control at will and her constant optimism and ability to see the bright side even in the hardest ordeals. Molly was the only Runaway to agree to let Topher stay among them at the Hostel, although this caused her to be devastated when Topher was seriously injured and left behind. Molly's superhuman strength was a valuable asset for the Runaway's missions and fights against PRIDE. During the Chase of the Runaways, Molly managed to escape from her parents, making her one of the only free Runaways with Alex Wilder and Nico Minoru.

Chase Stein

 * Name: Chase Stein
 * Activity: 2017-2018
 * Description: Chase Stein is the son of Victor and Janet Stein. He chose to give up on his former group of friends to find new and more superficial ones, but eventually reconnected with them thanks to Alex Wilder's efforts. Upon discovering that their parents could be criminals, Chase encouraged his teammates to be ready to defend themselves, as he himself created the Fistigons. This caused him to bond with his father Victor, thus putting Chase in a delicate situation as to whether they should have the members of PRIDE imprisoned. As a result, Chase eventually went against the Runaways' efforts to gather evidence against PRIDE, destroying an incriminating footage the Runaways had stolen. Still, Chase remained a member of the Runaways, starting a relationship with Gert Yorkes shortly before they were forced to flee. His engineering skills were crucial for the Runaways during this time, as he managed to restore power in the Hostel and repaired a car found in the garage, thus providing them with a livable hideout and a means of transportation. However, despite putting many efforts in his relationship with Yorkes, Chase was never truly able to cope with the fact that his old life was over. Upon learning that his father was dying again, Chase elected to leave the Runaways, thanking him for what they had brought to him but choosing to return home nonetheless, knowing that they would see him as a traitor. Being welcomed into PRIDE, Chase did his best to make sure that their parents would not hurt his former teammates, although he could not avert the confrontation between them.

Allies

 * Old Lace
 * Vaughn Kaye
 * Livvie
 * Leslie Dean - Former Enemy
 * Xavin

Enemies

 * PRIDE
 * Catherine Wilder
 * Geoffrey Wilder
 * Tina Minoru
 * Robert Minoru
 * Stacey Yorkes
 * Dale Yorkes
 * Janet Stein
 * Victor Stein
 * Crips
 * Darius Davis †
 * Jonah
 * Church of Gibborim
 * Frank Dean
 * Aura
 * Frances
 * Los Angeles Police Department
 * Flores †
 * Anthony "AWOL" Wall
 * Mitch
 * Vic
 * Jay
 * Mike on a Bike
 * Topher - Former Ally

Trivia

 * Alex Wilder proposes "Runaways" as the name of their group in honor of the runaways they could not save, but the idea is dismissed by the other members of the team as being too dark.
 * In the comics, the name is given to the team by the media and various super teams, which various members, Gert Yorkes in particular, finds distasteful.