- "It's the pure conversion of matter to energy in a form that can be absorbed by the human body. The math has existed for a while, but no one's actually done it until now."
- ―Victor Stein[src]
The Dematerialization Box, also known as Energy Conversion Pod, is a device designed by Victor Stein from Gibborim technology that converts matter into pure energy. The box was originally used in the PRIDE's human sacrifices in order to restore Jonah.
History[]
PRIDE Sacrifices[]
- "What I wanna know is what Victor is gonna do with that Box."
"Brooks here is going to get into it. It's going to be beautiful. Just follow the light, Brooks. When it comes for you, go with it." - ―Tina Minoru and Leslie Dean[src]
Jonah translated the Abstract for Victor Stein when he was designing the Dematerialization Box.[1] Two Dematerialization Boxes were developed by Stein in order to be used by PRIDE in their rituals meant to revive Jonah. While Jonah's decrepit body would be put into one of the Dematerialization Boxes, another person chosen to be sacrificed would enter the other Box and their body would be converted into pure energy, which was then assimilated by Jonah, causing him to be restored to his youth. Brooks Watten was the first one to be sacrificed through the use of the Dematerialization Boxes.[2]
Malfunctions[]
- "It's the damn box. It's having dematerialization problems."
"Yes, I see that. But you'll figure it out, right? The PRIDE meeting is tonight. Maybe you could reach out to someone? Fresh perspective might be good. It's okay to ask for help."
"Help? Is that a joke? Who could possibly be able to help me?" - ―Victor Stein and Janet Stein[src]
PRIDE kept using the Dematerialization Boxes for their sacrifices. However, Victor Stein began to experience some troubles in keeping the Box functional. Prior to another ritual in 2017, Stein tried to dematerialize a mouse to make sure that the Box was working, but the process failed as the mouse was still in the Box when he opened it. Upon learning this, Stein's wife Janet Stein suggested that he called someone for assistance, but Victor dismissed the idea, stating that no one could help him with such technology.
Victor still brought the Dematerialization Box to the Wilder Mansion, assuring Geoffrey Wilder that it worked perfectly fine. As they proceeded with the ritual and Leslie Dean brought Destiny Gonzalez to them, PRIDE stripped her and drugged her so that Wilder could put her in the Box, while Jonah's body was also put into the other Box in the Church of Gibborim Executive Office. Although Gonzalez attempted to struggle as she feared that something horrible could happen to her, Catherine Wilder told Victor to close the Box and activate the process.
Once the conversion was over, the members of PRIDE saw a flashlight and Janet suspected that the energy swirling in the Box could have caused a power surge through the mansion. While the other members left to find their children upstairs, Victor remained alone to pack up the Box. However, he heard a strange noise coming from it. When he opened it, Victor was horrified to discover that Gonzalez was still alive in it, meaning that the dematerialization had not occurred. In order to cover up for his mistake, Victor murdered Gonzalez and kept her body in the Box which he loaded in the trunk of his Nemo Leapfrog.[3]
Runaways Investigation[]
- "We checked the box. The box was empty."
- ―Chase Stein[src]
As the Runaways had witnessed the sacrifice of Destiny Gonzalez, they decided to investigate on the matter. Thus, Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes decided to search for the Dematerialization Box in the Stein Mansion. They successfully found where the Box was hidden and they used the X-Ray Specs to check whether Gonzalez was still trapped in it. However, it turned out that Gonzalez was not in the box, causing Stein and Yorkes to put the Box back into its place and find another lead. They later reported the results of their unsuccessful investigation to their friends.[4]
Sacrifice of Andre Compton[]
- "I think our parents are about to do to him what they did to Destiny."
- ―Alex Wilder to the Runaways[src]
Having found Andre Compton as a replacement for Destiny Gonzalez whose sacrifice had failed, PRIDE brought the Dematerialization Box they usually used in the Church of Gibborim Executive Office, right next to the one where Jonah's body was being kept. They then put the weakened and wounded Compton into the Dematerialization Box and activated the conversion process. This time, the sacrifice worked, enabling Jonah to emerge from his Box with his prime youth restored.[5]
One Box Destroyed[]
- "You don't understand what it means to destroy one of the boxes when the only person who knows how to make one is legally dead."
- ―Leslie Dean to Tina Minoru[src]
When Victor Stein was shot by Janet Stein in order to protect their son Chase, Jonah was alerted by Tina Minoru. He brought his Dematerialization Box to the Stein Mansion and asked the other members of PRIDE, who had all come to deal with the situation but had failed to save Victor, who was clinically dead, to retrieve the other Box. Jonah then explained that he would use the Boxes to revive Jonah. However, Robert Minoru remarked that this meant they had to sacrifice someone to bring back Victor, and Jonah ordered Janet to give her life for her husband's as he held her accountable for the situation.
However, Janet refused to willingly sacrifice. At first, she blamed Jonah and the serum he had given to Victor when he had fainted during the PRIDE gala, and claimed that Jonah should pay for it, although Jonah calmly replied that it would not happen. Janet then suggested to put Dale Yorkes into the Box, who she deemed clumsy and useless to PRIDE. Robert, who happened to be Janet's lover, then suggested to put Frank Dean into the Box, but Jonah, who grew weary of their discussions warned them that they should decide quickly. Indeed, he intended to kill them all as well as their children if Victor actually died.
This caused the other members of PRIDE to further argue and they pressured Janet to get into the Box. Infuriated that the lives of his daughters were threatened, Yorkes picked up the gun used to shoot Victor and aimed at his associates, telling them to hurry in their decision and personally telling that he would not be bothered if Tina Minoru was the one to be sacrificed. However, he was disarmed by Geoffrey Wilder, and upon dropping his gun, he accidentally fired it, prompting Janet to tell the others that this proved Yorkes should be in the Box. However, Jonah once again intervened and stated that either Janet or Chase would be sacrificed.
Janet eventually agreed to give her life. Nevertheless, she requested one last chance to say goodbye to Chase. As she was discussing with Jonah, PRIDE realized that Robert was getting ready to get into the Box, being ready to give his life to save his lover and aiming the Fistigons at them to prevent anyone from stopping him. Robert opened the Dematerialization Box but before he could activate it, Tina, who refused to leave her husband despite the fact that he had cheated on her, used the Staff of One to destroy the Box, thus making the sacrifice impossible. Although he was upset by this deed, Jonah chose not to punish Tina.[6]
Keeping Victor Stein Alive[]
- "I can't fully revive him without a sacrifice. However, a jolt from the inner coil should be enough to keep his mitochondria nourished for a time."
- ―Jonah to Janet Stein[src]
Although Victor Stein could not be revived with a single Dematerialization Box, Jonah decided to keep his body in the remaining Box, claiming that it could maintain his mitochondria active for a time, preventing his body from decaying and maintaining him in a comatose state.[6] Jonah then took the Dematerialization Box back and kept it with him, hoping to be able to revive Stein so that he could use him to fulfil his plans.[7]
This section requires expansion |
Capabilities[]
The Dematerialization Box has shown the power to transform living flesh into a form of energy which can be used to regenerate a human body. This was seen when many victims were sacrificed by PRIDE and the energy was used to regenerate Jonah's decaying vessel back to full health. The Dematerialization Box could also be used as a life support box, as it kept Victor Stein in a comatose state and prevented him from dying from his wound.
Alternate Versions[]
Origin | Status | Creators | Owners | Users |
---|---|---|---|---|
Healing Algorithm | Inactive | - | PRIDE | Gert Yorkes |
Appearances[]
Appearances for the Dematerialization Box |
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In chronological order:
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