Stein Mansion

Stein Mansion
Continent	North America
Location	Los Angeles, California
Notable inhabitants	Victor Stein Janet Stein Chase Stein Magistrate Magistrate's Wife Magistrate's Daughter
Appearances
TV Series	Runaways

The Stein Mansion was the residence of Victor, Janet and Chase Stein in Los Angeles.

History

Tense Family Life

While he was training in his room, Chase Stein was asked by his mother Janet Stein to come for breakfast. Chase joined his father Victor Stein at the table, who blamed his son for his mediocre grade in a Spanish exam. Victor claimed that Chase should fear him more so he would have better school results. Later, Chase and Janet talked about Victor in the former's bedroom, and Chase fully expressed how much he disliked his own father.

Victor Stein works on the Dematerialization Box

Janet went down to find Victor in his lab, where he worked on the Dematerialization Box, attempting to fix it for the upcoming Rite of Blood despite his violent headaches. When Janet suggested that Victor could ask for help, he abruptly rejected such an idea before apologizing to his wife.

Following the failed sacrifice of Destiny Gonzalez, Victor spent a whole night in his lab, occasionally hallucinating on Gonzalez who he had murdered. Janet then came to tell him that they were late for a dinner and suggested that Victor had more problems that he disclosed, but Victor once again rebuked his wife, claming that she had to fully support him.

Investigation

Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes find the Dematerialization Box in the lab

"They found her body on the beach, not in that weird box which we found in Victor's garage, empty."

―Gert Yorkes^[src]

Having witnessed the Rite of Blood, Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes went to the Stein Mansion in order to find clues explaining what they had seen. They searched through Victor Stein's lab and found the hidden Dematerialization Box. As it was empty, Chase and Yorkes decided to leave the mansion and to carry on their investigation in the Yorkes Residence.

Chase Stein works on the Fistigons

Later, Chase returned to his bedroom and had a video call with the rest of the Runaways where they shared the tiny results of their investigation and the recent discovery of Destiny Gonzalez's corpse. Chase then ended the call and kept working on his Fistigons, as he wanted to use them to prevent their parents from harming anyone else.

Paternal Bonding

In order to further develop the Fistigons, Chase Stein decided to use his father Victor Stein's lab. Victor got back home and found his son working in his lab. Victor took the still not functional Fistigons and briefly inspected them before dropping them. Chase expected his father to blame him, but much to his surprise, Victor asked his son to explain his idea and began giving him advice to achieve his project.

While they worked together on the Fistigons, Victor admitted that he had been tough to Chase but that he was convinced that his son could become someone truly important. Although surprised, Chase was glad to be able to bond with his father by working with him in the mansion's garage. However, Chase left the mansion with the Fistigons when he was informed of the Kidnapping of Alex Wilder.

Chase and Victor Stein work on Victor Stein's Time Machine

Victor and Janet Stein also left the mansion to perform a final Rite of Blood. Victor then returned to the garage, soon followed by Chase. Deciding to further work with his son, Victor told him about an invention he had been developing for years: a time machine able to show images of the future or the past.

However, their first trial with the machine failed, triggering another anger spike associated with a headache for Victor. Deciding that he could no longer keep the truth for himself, Victor revealed to his son that he suffered from a brain cancer. After they shared a hug, both Victor and Chase left the garage, unaware that the machine dropped on the ground displayed images of a future destruction of Los Angeles.

Despite Victor's reveal, he and Chase kept working on the Fistigons in the mansion' garage. Once his son left to prepare for the upcoming PRIDE gala, Victor remained alone in the lab and listened to a conversation between Janet and her lover Robert Minoru, as he had begun to spy on his wife's phone.

As Victor had once again fallen asleep in the mansion's lab, he was awakened by his time machine, which displayed a picture of an adult Chase begging his father not to pick up the Fistigons and apologizing to Victor. Later, Chase joined his father as he successfully did some calculations to improve a battery manufactured by Nemo. Chase noticed that his relationship with his father had improved even more after Jonah gave Victor a mysterious treatment, which seemed to completely change Victor's personality.

Victor then left the garage, leaving Chase and Janet in the garage to talk about Janet's affair with Minoru, although Janet promised that she would do anything to keep her family unharmed.

Attack on Victor Stein

Victor Stein attacks his son with the Fistigons

However, Victor Stein eventually returned to his harsh and unforgiving personality. Once he got back from the Atlas Academy's open house, he confronted his son Chase Stein about his presence in the lab, something Chase did not understand as they had spent hours together working on the Fistigons. Father and son began to argue, which escalated to a fight as Victor attempted to hit his son, who punched him back. Victor then took the Fistigons and fired at Chase, throwing him through a window. As Victor prepared to hit his son again, he was shot by Janet Stein with the gun Robert Minoru had given her.

As she could not call the police, Janet instead informed the other members of PRIDE. Robert and Tina Minoru were the first to arrive in the mansion, followed by Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder. While Janet and Chase talked about Victor's anger in the kitchen, Dale and Stacey Yorkes also arrived in the mansion. Meanwhile, Chase went to his bedroom and sought some emotional support. He called Gert Yorkes, who did not answer, and Karolina Dean, telling her that something had happened and asking her to come to the mansion before changing his mind and hanging up.

PRIDE attempts to save Victor Stein

Having learned about Victor, Leslie Dean also arrived into the mansion as Dale announced that Victor had fallen into a coma. Leslie asked her husband Frank to come to the mansion as well to save Victor with his Healing Gloves. Frank arrived and used his gloves, but the operation failed and Victor died.

Minutes later, Gert and Karolina also arrived to the mansion to support Chase. As they parked their car, they noticed the arrival of Jonah who had been informed by Tina. Jonah joined the other members of PRIDE in the garage and explained that he would resurrect Victor by using the Dematerialization Boxes. However, he needed a sacrifice for that and suggested Janet to give his life for Victor. An argument erupted between the members of PRIDE. In the end, Robert was willing to sacrifice, but Tina refused to lose her husband and destroyed one of the Dematerialization Boxes, thus rendering the sacrifice impossible. Victor's body was then taken out in the remaining Box.

Decryption of the Abstract

Janet Stein decrypts the Abstract

Janet Stein took the Abstract in the mansion's lab in an attempt to know more about Jonah. Due to making little progress in deciphering the book, she accessed the Healing Algorithm to communicate with her husband Victor. With his insight, Janet was able to decode the Abstract, causing a large holographic projection to be displayed in the lab. Janet then studied the data and notably discovered that Jonah's ship relied on an anti-gravity engine, something dangerous enough for her to leave the lab and return to her husband so he could tell her how to destroy it.

While working on an Anti-Gravity Device which would stop Jonah's spaceship, Janet was visited in the lab by Dale and Stacey Yorkes, who wanted to see if they could use the Abstract to rule out any possibility of an earthquake once Jonah would try to launch his ship. However, Stacey angrily left after Janet revealed that she had seen their daughter Gert and had not told them. Dale then followed his wife, leaving Janet alone in the lab. Janet was rejoined in the lab by Victor once he was released from the Healing Algorithm. In the lab, Victor found his old time machine displaying a message from the future from their son Chase. He also complimented Janet for the Anti-Gravity Device which they completed together.

Weapons Development

In an attempt to craft weapons designed against the Runaways to force them to return home, Victor Stein and Robert Minoru went to the mansion's lab to work on their designs, such as the Multidirectional Tranquilizer Dart. They were then joined by Janet Stein. After Robert left, Janet remained with Victor and inadvertently broke something by dropping it on the floor. She expected Victor to get angry, but he instead reacted peacefully, ending up in the two of them having sex in the lab.

Janet was unaware, however, that Victor was actually possessed by Jonah and periodically lost consciousness. Therefore, when Victor returned to the lab later, he did not remember anything about what had happened, and did not understand how the lab could be so messy. As Victor left to get some rest, the lab was visited by Tina Minoru, who was also possessed by a Gibborim, the Magistrate's Daughter, who admired the Subsonic Wave Generator. This led to an awkward moment with Janet, who promptly left because of the Magistrate's daughter's behaviour. Jonah then arrived in the lab, leading father and daughter to recognize each other and to share a hug.

Victor later designed a way to contact all the old telephones in the area where the Runaways were supposed to hide, hoping to be able to contact his son Chase. He waited in his lab waiting for his equipment to alert him that Chase had been found, and when it happened, Victor was able to convince his son to return home since Victor thought he was dying again. During the night, Victor then joined the rest of PRIDE to test the newly developed weapons outside the house on Mary and Megan, two PRIDE employees who had been summoned to the Stein Mansion. In the next day, Chase and Victor had a conversation in the mansion's yard regarding the latter's condition.

Having agreed to join PRIDE, Chase was allowed to see the weapons designed by PRIDE and kept in the lab. He then called the Runaways in an attempt to persuade them to meet with him. Once he hung up, Victor arrived in the lab and realized that the specs on the weapons had been changed to make the devices more dangerous than they should be. Although Chase asked him to change the specs back, Victor explained that the weapons had already been fabricated.

Healing Algorithm Prison

Not taking part in the Chase of the Runaways, Chase Stein remained by the mansion's pool, working on a new design for the Nemo Leapfrog. He was then approached by his mother Janet, and as they discussed Victor Stein's condition, they realized that he might be under some extraterrestrial influence. Victor then arrived to the mansion with an unconscious Karolina Dean in his car, and Chase attempted to use the Inhibitor Pods on him. However, Chase and Janet realized that Victor was being controlled by Jonah, who attacked them both and captured them as well. As a result, Chase, Janet and Dean were put in healing tubes, with their consciousness uploaded in the Healing Algorithm, left at the mercy of the Gibborim family who gathered at the mansion.

This section requires expansion

Layout

Like the residences of the other members of PRIDE, the Stein Mansion was a large and wealthy home with two floors. The mansion's most notable feature was the laboratory in which Victor Stein spent a lot of time working on various inventions and devices, like his time machine or the Dematerialization Box. The lab was located next to the mansion's garage, which hosted several expensive cars.