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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. Interested in technology and engineering, Stein created the custom made gauntlets Fistigons. He teamed up with his friends and formed the Runaways. Having been framed for Destiny Gonzalez's murder, and with no other choice, they were forced to run.
Stein sought refuge in the Hostel along with the other Runaways, still fighting against PRIDE and Jonah. He tried to be as supportive as he could towards Gert Yorkes, his new girlfriend who suffered from not taking her anti-anxiety meds, and was extremely upset when she went to a hospital and when he discovered that she had applied for college studies, both times without telling him, and their relationship became more strained. Moreover, Stein grew more and more dubious about the fact that the Runaways' struggle was well-grounded and, upon learning that his father was dying again, he elected to come back home. As a result, Stein was welcomed into PRIDE on the promise that he and his friends could take the reins of the organization, but he failed to convince his former teammates to follow his path and could not avert another direct confrontation between PRIDE and the Runaways. Eventually, Stein was captured by the Magistrate and his family, who threatened to consume him in order for them to survive.
Chase Stein was born in 2001 to Victor and Janet Stein.[2] He frequently played with the children of the other members of PRIDE.[3] Chase had a troubled childhood, resenting his father for the abuse he gave to his mother and him. He was ignored by his father, 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, the two argued, leading Chase to get punched twice.[2]
Once in the eighth grade, Chase and Gert Yorkes were astronomy partners, with Gert making most of the stargazing because Chase spent the entire time playing Candy Crush and flirting with Eiffel.[4]
"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?"
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.
Stein reunited with his former friends
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.[3]
"We checked the box. The box was empty." "Myparents 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."
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 Twister 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 boxDestiny 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.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
"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 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.[9]
"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."
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.[2]
Chase and Janet tried to help Victor, but Chase was surprised when PRIDE members Tina, Robert, Catherine and Geoffrey arrived upon Janet's request. Chase was told that the PRIDE members were very close to each other and that they would deal with the situation. Although Chase initially refused to go upstairs with his mother, Geoffrey insisted and Chase went along. He and his mother went to get a drink to recover from their emotions and discussed what had happened, with Chase insisting that it was the brain tumor which had caused the whole event. Although Janet was doubtful about it, she tried to comfort Chase and told him that he might be right.
Chase then remained alone in the house as Janet left to welcome Dale and Stacey, who she had also called. He went into his bedroom and searched through his WizPhone for someone to call. Chase initially called Gert, but as she did not answer, he contacted Karolina and informed her about what had happened, asking her to come. However, before she could actually reply, Chase changed his mind and declared that he should not have involved her before hanging up the phone.
Unable to remain alone doing nothing in his bedroom, Chase went downstairs and confronted Frank Dean, who had also come to the mansion and tried to keep Chase from going down into the lab where PRIDE was still trying to save Victor, who was actually clinically dead. Chase threatened to hit Frank if he did not let him through, but before he could do so, Karolina, who had sneaked into the house, told Chase to go back into his bedroom where Gert awaited him. When he returned, Chase was amazed to be faced with Gert's dinosaur, which she had brought along.
Stein suggests to the Runaways to wait before disclosing the video file
Later, Chase was informed by his mother that Victor had been taken by Jonah and PRIDE to be cured and replied that he wanted to have another chance with his father. Once Janet left, Chase was told by his friends that Alex and Nico had decrypted the file retrieved in Wizard's servers. They drove to join them to the Timely Coffee; however, Chase tried to convince his friends not to release the video out of fear that Victor could die.
This caused an argument within the Runaways as Alex and Nico were determined to have PRIDE taken down. Panicking, Chase attacked Alex and the two teenagers engaged in a fight. Taking advantage of Alex's distraction as he discovered the dinosaur in Gert's car, Chase seized his laptop and violently smashed it, thus destroying the only hard drive on which the Runaways had evidence of PRIDE's crimes. Having antagonized most of his teammates, Chase sadly apologized as he had felt to have no other choice.[4]
Chase prepared for another day at Atlas Academy while watching an interview given by her mother Janet, who explained that Victor would no longer make public appearances until he was healed from his brain cancer. Chase and Janet then discussed about what Janet had told the audience and Chase worried that his father could actually die. He tried to know more about Jonah, but his mother urged him not to ask questions about Jonah or PRIDE, arguing that it could put him in harm's way if he knew too much.
Stein is blamed for having smashed Alex Wilder's laptop
Chase went to the Atlas Academy, where several people, including Tezuka, Brandon and Stu, offered him their sympathy for what had happened to Victor. Chase then joined the other Runaways and apologized once again for having destroyed Alex Wilder's laptop. However, this did not erase the tensions within the group, and they went as far as considering the idea of disbanding the team. When Alex left, Chase and the others followed him and passed by Eiffel, who sold tickets for the upcoming school dance. She offered one to Chase, who declined as he was not sure he would come, and he smiled when Gert insulted Eiffel for her behavior towards Karolina Dean and declared that they would all come together.
Chase and the other Runaways were then approached by Molly Hernandez, who had previously been sent away to Montebello but had managed to return to Los Angeles. Hernandez showed them an old VHS tape left by her parents Alice and Gene and they decided to immediately watch it. As the tape was displayed, Chase and the other Runaways thus learned about the fact that PRIDE was trying to dig up something mysterious, which, according to the Hernandezes, could cause massive damage across California.
The Runaways discussed this new information and quickly figured out that PRIDE was using its construction site as a front for their true agenda. Chase insisted that they had to step in order to stop their parents since the situation seemed to go out of everyone's control, which was agreed by Wilder despite their recent arguments. They decided to use the school dance to gather in order to sneak into the construction site. Chase returned to the Stein Mansion to get ready for the party. Before leaving, he found Janet cleaning up Victor's blood in the garage and told her that they were going as a group, mentioning how he was becoming fond of Yorkes before saying goodbye to his mother.
Chase went to the dance and waited for his friends to arrive as well. He saw Yorkes and joined her. They began discussing their previous relationship, how Yorkes felt ignored by Chase while Chase thought that she considered him an idiot. Upon seeing Eiffel and Brandon together, Chase told Yorkes that he did not regret how things had turned out, stating that his previous life was a fallacy. Yorkes complimented him on his maturity and suggested that they shared one last dance.
Thus, Chase and Yorkes slipped out of the party to go into another room and began slowly dancing. Chase then confessed that he could never ignore Yorkes and that he had always seen her. They shared a kiss and began taking off their clothes, eventually making love in the empty room. When they walked out all tousled, they stumbled on Dean and Nico Minoru, who apparently just shared a kiss as well. They remained silent and joined the rest of the Runaways to drive to the PRIDE Construction Site.
Upon arriving, Chase confirmed to Wilder that he had taken the Fistigons with him. They approached the site's fence and were stopped by Carl, a member of the Church of Gibborim who eventually let them in after Dean told him to call her father Frank to make sure that they were allowed to enter the site. Once inside the compound, the Runaways found the gigantic Nemo Industrial Drilling Machine and decided to turn it off. Chase and Yorkes found the control panel, and while Chase tried to find a way to stop the drill, he was surprised that Yorkes apparently resented him for what had happened between them earlier, and that she considered it a simple one-night stand.
Deciding that they had more urgent matters to deal with, and since he was unable to normally stop de drilling machine, Chase used his Fistigons to fry up the control panels, successfully turning off the systems. He and Yorkes then rejoined his friends, with Minoru trying to use the Staff of One to fill the giant hole left by the machine. However, they were stopped in their endeavor by PRIDE, who had come to the site in an attempt to stop their children. While they tried to convince their children, Chase claimed that they were no longer on the same side as the Runaways openly declared war on their parents.[10]
The confrontation was started by Dale Yorkes, who fired a tranquilizing bullet at Gert's dinosaur, which she had brought along. In retaliation, Chase fired at PRIDE with the Fistigons, only for the energy beam to be stopped by Tina Minoru's Staff of One which she had reclaimed from Nico. Dean stepped up and tried to use her powers against PRIDE, but the Runaways were then confronted by Jonah. Along with the other Runaways, Chase was hit by a light energy ball, but he stood back and was ready to fight further against PRIDE.
However, Dean convinced her friends to leave her behind to fight Jonah while they would get to safety. Although they initially disagreed, Chase and the other Runaways accepted to leave and fled from the fight, which unleashed massive amounts of energy. They took cover behind their car as a powerful outburst surged across the construction site, frying up all electronic systems, including Chase's Fistigons. Although Nico insisted on finding Karolina, the Runaways figured out that PRIDE had captured her and that they were looking for them, prompting them to escape from the site.[11]
Stein and the other Runaways hid in the woods near Los Angeles in order to figure out their next move, as they were torn between two options: leaving the city in order to organize themselves or trying to rescue Karolina Dean from PRIDE. Stein mentioned that if he was in Dean's place, he would want his friends to leave. However, Nico Minoru categorically refused to leave Los Angeles without Dean, which eventually convinced Stein, as well as the others to stay as well to try and save her.
In order to go incognito, Stein, Minoru and Molly Hernandez went to a thrift shop to change their outfits. While trying new clothes, Stein and Minoru mentioned how they had admitted their feelings, respectively towards Gert Yorkes and Dean, and Stein confessed that he deeply loved Yorkes. They then rejoined the other Runaways and went to the Timely Coffee in order to find Vaughn Kaye, a member of the Church of Gibborim. They attempted to persuade him to help them, but Kaye refused to believe that Dean could be in danger because of her own parents and angrily departed.
Still, the Runaways decided to move against the Church of Gibborim. Stein and Hernandez, posing as typical runaways, were picked up by Church members Aura and Frances and taken into the Church of Gibborim Executive Office. While filling their intake forms, they were approached by Kaye, who claimed that he finally agreed to help them. Stein and Hernandez were brought upstairs, in front of Leslie Dean's private meditation room's door. Although Kaye regretted that he did not have the key, Stein replied that they did not need it as Hernandez could break through the door thanks to her superhuman strength.
Stein and Hernandez thus successfully found Dean and took her out of her room. While going downstairs, they encountered Aura and Frances, who figured out that there was something wrong and called the Church's security. Stein, Dean and Hernandez fled and managed to hide from the individuals chasing them. Before going further, Stein wore his X-Ray Specs to check whether they could leave, and Chase spotted Jonah, who appeared as an incredibly bright silhouette. Once Jonah was gone, Stein and the others reached the hall of the building and managed to get into a van stolen by Alex Wilder, thus enabling the Runaways to escape.[11]
Stein and the Runaways, now reunited, returned into the woods, where they spent the night, with Stein and Gert Yorkes sleeping next to each other and holding hands. In the next morning, the group went to the Los Angeles Bus Depot in order to leave town. However, while they were reviewed their possible destinations, they caught a TV newsflash claiming that the Runaways had actually kidnapped Molly Hernandez and that they were wanted for the death of Destiny Gonzalez. Thus, the Runaways, including Stein, were forced to hurriedly flee from Los Angeles.[11]
Personality
"Looks like my invisibility's contagious and that Brandon stole your life." "He can have it. That life was bullshit."
Having become a popular student at Atlas Academy and a valued player on the school's lacrosse-team, Chase often manifested the same swagger and despicable attitude than some of his friends like Eiffel, openly admitting to Alex Wilder, once his friend, that he made fun of people like him. Because of this, many assumed that Chase was a shallow individual with low intelligence, which was further displayed by his poor school grades.
Much to the contrary however, Chase has exceptional talent with engineering in a similar fashion to his successful father, Victor Stein. Initially, however, this was the only common point that Chase had with his father since he profoundly hated him due to the abuse he had suffered from Victor while growing up. Far from getting depressed or passively frightened by Victor's behavior, Chase began heavy physical training to be able to retaliate should his father lay his hands on him. In a similar way, when the Runaways discovered about PRIDE's crimes, Chase encouraged his friends to be able to defend themselves against their parents. Generally speaking, Chase was ready to do anything to protect those who he cared for. This sometimes made him do rash actions, such as when he destroyed the laptop containing the evidence against PRIDE to protect his father, who had been nicer to him for some time, out of fear that he could die if PRIDE's business were uncovered.
Upon witnessing PRIDE's activities and reconnecting with his childhood friends, Chase realized that the life he had tried to live until then was not what he wanted in the end, as he grew disgusted by his friends Brandon and Lucas, who had tried to rape Karolina Dean. Chase was willing to antagonize his whole gang of friends to protect Dean, who he had feelings for. Chase deeply cared for Dean but wrongly assumed that his feelings were requited until he realized otherwise. He then let his feelings for Gert Yorkes blossom as he had always noticed her, despite the fact that she criticized him and his attitude the whole time. When they finally admitted their attraction to each other, Chase was willing to go into a deeper relationship but was surprised that Yorkes considered what they had done a one-night stand. However, upon realizing that they were deeply in love with each other, Chase and Yorkes started a relationship. Despite all the ordeals that the Runaways had to overcome, Chase realized that he was satisfied to have found out who his true friends were.
Energy Blasts: While wearing his Fistigons, Stein can unleash orange concussive energy blasts from the gauntlets' knuckles, powerful enough to send back a fully grown human, seen when he blasted Darius Davis away thanks to the gauntlets' laser-aided weapon systems.
Laser Beam Emission: After upgrading the Fistigons, Chase Stein was able to emit a powerful stream of lasers, which could cut into Jonah's ship.
X-Ray Vision: Stein can see through walls while wearing his father's X-Ray Specs.
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."
Gifted Intelligence: While many write him off as a dumb jock, Chase exhibits flashes of untapped brilliance in engineering, not unlike his wildly successfulfather's. Karolina Dean has even described Stein as "super smart."[9]
"It's a hundred percent chance you're gonna be blown away by my engineering prowess."
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. With some tinkering, he was able to fix the gauntlets' offensive capabilities after their damage sustained during the battle with Jonah. Chase also managed to reactivate the Hostel's water and power. He is also versed in car repair, as he was able to restore a Rolls-Royce for the team's transportation. He also worked on a new design for the Nemo Leapfrog.
"He hasn't laid a finger on you in a while now." "Yeah, 'cause he knows if he tried, I'd kick his ass."
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,[3] and was confident in his ability to defeat his father.[5] His upper body strength from playing lacrosse and weightlifting attributes to his fighting ability, as he left Brandon with a broken rib.
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.[8]
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.
