RUNAWAYS

Membership: Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes, Victor Mancha, Nico Minoru, Old Lace, Klara Prast, Chase Stein;
formerly Topher, Alex Wilder, Xavin, Gertrude Yorkes

Purpose: To atone for their parents' crimes by helping others

Aliases: "Savages" (insult from a time-displaced Geoffrey Wilder), "spoiled children" (insult from the Wrecker)

Affiliations: Anachronism (Aiden Gillespie), Avengers (Captain America/Steve Rogers, Luke Cage, Giant-Man/Hank Pym, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Tigra/Greer Nelson, Wolverine/James "Logan" Howlett), Avengers Academy students (Finesse/Jeanne Foucault, Hazmat/Jennifer Takada, Mettle/Ken Mack, Julie Power, Reptil/Humberto Lopez, Juston Seyfert, Striker/Brandon Sharpe, White Tiger/Ava Ayala), Cullen Bloodstone, Bob (KZIT station manager), Cloak (Tyrone Johnson), Dagger (Tandy Bowen), Devil Dinosaur (Earth-78411), Jorge (Victor Mancha's friend), Donna Kiel, Father Lantom, Marianella Mancha, Moonboy (Earth-78411), New X-Men (Anole/Victor Borkowski, Dust/Sooraya Qadir, Hellion/Julian Keller, Loa/Alani Ryan, Match/Ben Hamill, Mercury/Cessily Kincaid, Pixie/Megan Gwynn, Rockslide/Santo Vaccarro, Surge/Noriko Ashida), "Spider-Woman" (Veranke, posing as Jessica Drew), Stature (Cassie Lang), Hunter Stein, the Street Arabs (Creeper, Dead George Pelham, Jacob, Hoyden/Megan, Spieler/Lillie McGurty, Swell/Eddie Gunnam, Tristan, the Yellow Kid), William (Tigra's son), X-Men (Beast/Hank McCoy, Colossus/Piotr Rasputin, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Emma Frost, Lockheed, Kitty Pryde, Wolverine/James Howlett), Young Avengers (Hawkeye/Kate Bishop, Hulkling/Dorrek VIII, Patriot/Eli Bradley, Speed/Tommy Shepherd, Vision/"Jonas," Wiccan/Billy Kaplan)

Enemies: Arcade, Batroc the Leaper (Georges Batroc), Cloak impostor (Reginald Mantz), Commander Deering, the Cube's warden, Daken (Daken Akihiro), a Doombot posing as Doctor Doom, Excelsior (Darkhawk/Chris Powell, Lightspeed/Julie Power, Ricochet/Johnny Gallo, Turbo/Mickey Musashi), the Flag-Smasher (Guy Thierrault), the Gibborim, Daimon Hellstrom, the LAPD (Douglas, Lt. Flores, presumably others), Kingpin (Wilson Fisk), Majesdanians (Gen. vaDrann, Lt. vaRikk, Sgt. deHalle, vaDanti), Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr), Mole Man (Harvey Elder), Mother (Monk Theppie), the "new" Pride (Hunter, Lotus, Stretch, a time-displaced, younger Geoffrey Wilder), the Pride (Frank Dean, Leslie Dean, Alice Hayes, Gene Hayes, Robert Minoru, Tina Minoru, Janet Stein, Victor Stein, Catherine Wilder, Geoffrey Wilder, Dale Yorkes, Stacey Yorkes), the Punisher (Frank Castle), Pusher Man, the Retching Pigs (Vinnie, others), Val Rhymin and his Rock Zombies (Lydia, numerous others), Marcus Roston, S.H.I.E.L.D., S.H.I.E.L.D. Cape Killers (Doug, others), the Silver Bullet Gang, the Sinners (Daphne, Forget-Me-Not, Goldbrick, Kid Twist, Maneater/Julian Howe, Morphine, Ratdog), Skrulls (Commander Chrell, X'iv, numerous others), Sons of the Serpent, Swarm (Fritz von Meyer), Tarantula, Topher, Ultron, the Upward Path (Adjudicator, Black Maria, Daystick, Difference Engine, Nightstick), Walters, Walton, Alex Wilder, the Wrecking Crew (Bulldozer/Henry Camp, Excavator/Ricky Calusky, Piledriver/Brian Phillip Calusky, Thunderball/Eliot Franklin, Wrecker/Dirk Garthwaite)

Base of Operations: A small beach house in California, USA;
   formerly the Steins' backup Pride headquarters/home in Malibu, California, USA;
   formerly mobile across the USA within the Leapfrog vehicle;
   formerly the new Hostel, beneath the La Brea Tar Pits Museum, California, USA;
   formerly the Hostel, Bronson Canyon, California, USA;
   formerly Los Angeles, California, USA

First Appearance: Runaways I#1 (July, 2003)

History: (Runaways I#1) - The unaware children of the criminal Pride organization, Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes, Nico Minoru, Chase Stein, Alex Wilder and Gertrude Yorkes met once a year when their parents gathered together under the pretense of fundraising. Despite each of the children's protests at meeting again, they were all brought to the home of Pride members Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder, where they grew bored waiting on their parents in the Wilders' game room. Suggesting they spy on their parents, Alex Wilder convinced the others to follow him into the Wilders' security corridors, from where they saw their parents, dressed in strange costumes, sitting around a table discussing their off-world enemies. At first thinking their parents were superheroes, Alex grew suspicious when they brought in a young woman and ordered Karolina to take the 11-year old Molly Hayes back into the game room. Alex, Nico, Gert and Chase then witnessed Alex's father Geoffrey fatally stab the young woman, promising that her sacrifice would help the Pride create a better future for their children. Shocked at seeing the stabbing, Nico screamed, alerting the Pride to someone in the Wilders' corridors.

(Runaways I#2) - When the Pride grew suspicious of the scream, Alex, Nico, Gert and Chase rushed back to the game room, where they pretended to play the board game Twister just as Catherine Wilder arrived to check on them. Unaware they had seen everything, Catherine warned the kids not to break anything expensive and when she left, the four kids filled Karolina Dean in on the murder they had just witnessed. Before much more could be said, the Pride finished their activities and resumed pretending to be normal parents. When they asked the children for help with a trunk, Alex volunteered himself and Nico Minoru to take the trunk to the Yorkes' vehicle. While putting the trunk in the car, Alex and Nico discussed what they should do next and Alex explained that he would get the other children's emails so they could all meet up later. Running away from home and meeting up at Griffith Observatory at 1:03a.m., the Pride's children (minus Molly Hayes) discussed whether or not to call the police about the Pride but their votes were split over whether to report their crimes to the police or not. The deciding vote resting on Nico Minoru, who voted to turn them in, the Runaways phoned the LAPD, who accused them of making up the story before hanging up on them. Learning from Gert Yorkes that her parents still had the trunk from the Pride's earlier meeting, the Runaways opted to use it as evidence to prove their parents as criminals to the police. Venturing to the Yorkes residence, the Runaways searched the home for evidence while the Yorkes slept. Eventually finding a vault, the Runaways deduced the numerical passcode to open the vault, unleashing a velociraptor.

(Runaways I#3) - Thinking the velociraptor was merely CGI, Chase Stein hit it with a broom and nearly died before Gertrude Yorkes yelled for the raptor to stop, effectively halting its advances. Soon after, holographic images of Gertrude's parents appeared, having been activated when the vault was opened. The holograms mentioned how the raptor was genetically engineered to respond to Gert's commands and they revealed a copy of the Pride's mystic tome, the Abstract, for Gertrude to possess. The recorded holographic message was made in the assumption that the Yorkes had died and also informed the Runaways that Gert could decipher her Abstract using a decoder ring that would apparently be given to her by the Deans on Gert's 18th birthday. Realizing that the presence of the raptor did not prove that the Yorkes had murdered anyone, the Runaways decided to visit the Dean residence in hopes of both finding evidence of the murder and possibly finding Gertrude's Abstract decoder ring, unaware that the velociraptor was following them as they departed. At the Dean residence, Chase Stein found the Deans' last will and testament, which had an anti-caduceus insignia on it. While many of the Runaways figured that it meant Karolina Dean should remove her MedAlert bracelet, Karolina argued against it but was finally talked into removing her bracelet, causing her to take on a multicolored glow and fly. Alex Wilder, recalling the Pride's earlier meeting in which they mentioned the Deans taking care of their off-world enemies, deduced that Karolina must be of alien descent. While Karolina flew around using her newfound powers, the Runaways remained unaware that their earlier phone call to the police had attracted the attention of LAPD Lt. Flores, who was allied with the Pride and had phoned Geoffrey Wilder about the Runaways' attempt to turn in their parents.

(Runaways I#4) - Alex Wilder convinced Karolina to put her bracelet back on to keep from drawing attention to their whereabouts and Gertrude remarked that their next move should be to add Molly Hayes to their ranks, as she was still unaware of her parents' true nature. Alex reluctantly agreed but Chase Stein suggested they visit his house on the way to pick up Molly, as he wanted to see if his parents had left him anything like Gertrude's velociraptor or Karolina's hidden superpowers. After briefly feeling like they were being watched, unaware that her velociraptor was still following her, Gertrude Yorkes accompanied the other Runaways to the Stein residence, where they ventured into the Steins' workshop. Donning a pair of X-Ray glasses, Chase Stein and the Runaways were confronted by Victor and Janet Stein, as well as Robert and Tina Minoru, who had tracked their missing children there after being tipped off to their disappearance by the Wilders. Chase donned his parents' Fistigon weapons but was quickly knocked unconscious by his father's wristwatch device. A fight quickly broke out between the Runaways and the Pride members, ultimately resulting in the mystical Staff of One being absorbed into Nico Minoru's body, the Minorus' unconsciousness and the Steins held at bay by Gertrude's velociraptor, which revealed itself to save Gertrude. The Runaways then escaped in Chase's van but Gertrude was called by her mother, who warned her to stop playing games or risk Molly Hayes being hurt.

(Runaways I#5) - Parking the van, the Runaways discussed what to do about the threat to Molly's life. Alex opted to storm the Hayes residence and rescue Molly, and eventually convinced the others to join in. Shortly thereafter, they parked the van across the street from the Hayes residence and Alex and Nico prepared to go inside, sharing a kiss before venturing inside. Once inside, Gene Hayes telekinetically forced them to kneel and warned that if they did not reveal the whereabouts of the other Runaways, he would force them to snap each other's necks. Alex instead initiated Phase Two of his plan and Gertrude sent her velociraptor to attack Dr. Hayes, but Alex was quickly knocked out by the blunt end of Dale Yorkes' battle axe. Fighting back, Nico was cut by the axe, causing her to uncontrollably release the Staff of One she had earlier absorbed, knocking Dale out. She then used the Staff to freeze Stacey Yorkes where she stood and told Gertrude to let Alex know she had went on to Phase Three when he awoke. Outside, Karolina and Chase waited for Alex's signal to rescue Molly but they were attacked by Leslie Dean, who trapped Chase in bands of multicolored energy. Wrapping her bracelet around her fist, Karolina knocked out her own mom, having held in her anger at being sheltered from her true nature her entire life. As Karolina and Chase recovered, Nico confronted Alice Hayes in Molly's bedroom, taking advantage of the distraction caused by Molly's emerging mutant powers to knock Alice out but a misunderstanding Molly turned her anger towards Nico.

(Runaways I#6) - The Runaways informed Molly of her parents' true nature as members of the murdering Pride and at first, Molly refused to believe them, but Leslie Dean blew a hole through Molly's wall and attacked. Molly responded by shoving Leslie back through the wall and into the pool outside but tired out almost immediately due to her emerging powers. With Molly safe, the Runaways prepared to leave but Nico and Alex agreed to fish Leslie Dean out of the pool to keep her from drowning. When Leslie attacked again, Alex knocked her out with Nico's Staff of One before the Runaways escaped with Molly in tow. Alex began trying to decipher Gertrude's Abstract tome but was interrupted when his father called and had Alex turn on the radio, which broadcasted a news report linking the Runaways to the murder earlier committed by the Pride as well as the "kidnapping" of Molly. Alex insisted the Runaways would go to the police but Geoffrey revealed that his connection within the LAPD had tipped them off to the missing children in the first place and the news report had been crafted by him as well. Upon hearing this news, the Runaways decided to lay low for awhile, agreeing to base themselves out of an old mansion that had been swallowed by an earthquake years earlier. Opting to continue their crusade against the Pride, the Runaways each chose codenames to distance themselves from the names their criminal parents had given them, all except Alex, who explained that he would rather redeem his name. Unaware that the Pride had come across a note stating that one of the Runaways remained loyal to their parents, the newly-codenamed Arsenic (Gert), Old Lace (her velociraptor), Sister Grimm (Nico), Talkback (Chase), Bruiser (Molly), Lucy in the Sky (Karolina) and Alex Wilder agreed to protect the world as a way to atone for the sins of their parents.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Teams 2005 - Runaways entry - BTS) - The Runaways also set out to clear their own names.

(Runaways II#22 (fb) - BTS) - At the Hostel, Molly beat Alex at Chinese Checkers and he angrily swore he would throw her down a well.

(Runaways I#7) - While Alex Wilder attempted to decipher Gertrude's Abstract tome, Molly Hayes rode around the Runaways' Hostel headquarters on Old Lace despite Alex's objections. Gert reminded Alex that Molly needed something to be happy about as Karolina and Chase returned from hiding Chase's van. Chase asked about Alex's translations and he admitted that he had managed to translate the first small part of the Abstract that mentioned the giant Gibborim and Chase revealed that he hid his van by switching its license plate with those of a Honda Civic. Chase and Karolina also revealed that they had deduced that Karolina's powers were fueled by the sun as Nico appeared, worried that she had lost her Staff of One. After Alex suggested that Nico's body might have reabsorbed the Staff, Molly announced that she was starving. Despite Alex's plans to finish translating the Abstract and the Runaways' need for a plan against the Pride, Alex was essentially overruled by the other Runaways and they decided to venture into town for food. Visiting a local convenience store in disguise, the Runaways happened upon a robbery and opted to stop the criminals. Preparing themselves for a fight, Nico decided to cut herself since the axe injury had summoned the Staff of One before and, as predicted, the bloodshed forced the Staff of One from her chest. Karolina soon blew out the store window and Nico attempted to freeze the burglars but her spell backfired, summoning pelicans instead. After forcing the two adult accomplices to flee, the Runaways cornered the smallest burglar and unmasked him as an apparent teenager whose parents had forced him into thievery. Believing his story, the Runaways welcomed him into their ranks.

(Runaways I#8) - After somewhat explaining that they were heroes, Alex Wilder invited Topher to accompany the Runaways back to the Hostel despite objections from Chase. When the police arrived at the burgled store, the Runaways hastily departed the scene, further explaining their origins as children of the Pride criminal organization to Topher on their way home. As Nico covered their escape by mystically generating smoke to cloud the pursuing officers' vision, Topher's adult accomplices witnessed the Runaways' escape with Topher. Unaware their activity at the Circle A convenience store was caught by the store's security camera and forwarded to the Pride's Geoffrey Wilder by his lackeys within the LAPD, the Runaways brought Topher to the Hostel and introduced him to Molly Hayes, Gertrude Yorkes and Old Lace, who pounced on Topher almost immediately until Old Lace was picked up by the super-strong Molly. Nico offered to show Topher around the Hostel, making Alex somewhat suspicious, and Karolina soon left the grouping after asking Chase and Alex not to tell Topher of her alien nature. A short time later, when Nico showed Topher her room, Topher kissed her, unaware that Alex was spying on them via the eyeholes of a painting in Nico's room.

(Runaways I#9) - While Alex reeled from witnessing the kiss between Nico and Topher, Nico pushed Topher away, claiming that it wasn't right. As Topher attempted to calm Nico, Alex appeared, asking if everything was ok and prompting Topher to leave. Topher then visited with Chase, Gert, Old Lace and the sleeping Molly Hayes, where Chase was practicing with his Fistigon weapons. When Chase commented on his late sleeping habits, Topher claimed he was going to bed and left the foursome behind as Alex and Nico discussed Nico's kiss with Topher. Revealing that he knew about the kiss after witnessing it, the protective Alex was surprised when Nico angrily accused Alex of spying on her and teleported away in a cloud of mystic smoke. Alex immediately located Gert and the now-sleeping Chase and asked if they had seen Nico while Topher ventured into another area of the Hostel, then occupied by Karolina Dean. Admitting that she felt misunderstood and claiming it was because she was "a mutant," Karolina teared up and Topher attempted to comfort her. Karolina further revealed that she had become interested in one of her teammates and when Topher wondered aloud if it were him she was interested, an awkward Karolina kissed Topher, remarking that she just wanted to know what it felt like to be normal. Still hiding out, Nico stumbled into the room just in time to see Karolina kissing Topher. Topher nervously tried to explain that he was trying to comfort Karolina about her mutant nature but before Nico could angrily exclaim Karolina's true alien nature, Karolina removed her suppressive bracelet and blasted Nico with energy. Nico retaliated by mystically projecting mud from the Staff of One, accusing Karolina of kissing her guy. Karolina asked about Alex and the two fought, exchanging insults until Gertrude Yorkes entered the room and broke up the fight. Nico then absorbed the Staff of One back into her body as Alex Wilder arrived. Upon seeing Alex, Nico again departed and Topher followed. When Alex began to stop them, Gert suggested Alex give Nico space and let her go. Following Nico into the nearby woods, Topher attempted to comfort Nico and admitted to her that the two thugs he was with at the Circle A weren't his actual parents and that they didn't receive their powers from an industrial accident. Confused, Nico asked where they got their powers, prompting Topher to reveal himself as a vampire and exclaim that they had gotten their powers from him.

(Runaways I#10) - Revealing that he was born at the turn of the 20th century, Topher announced that he had turned his two adult accomplices and that he had made up the entire story about the thugs being his parents to keep from being taken to jail by the Runaways. Further explaining that he had become a petty thief after making a fortune following the Great Depression and losing it during the Dot-Com boom, Topher prepared to turn Nico into a vampire but when his fangs drew her blood, her body unleashed the Staff of One, which impaled Topher. Unfazed by the Staff, Topher was soon knocked out by Alex Wilder, who admitted that he had followed them out of jealousy. Professing her love for Alex, Nico accompanied him back to the Hostel, where they woke their sleeping teammates and reunited with the still-angry Karolina just before a recovered Topher arrived and attacked. Using Nico's Staff of One, Topher swatted Nico into one of the Hostel's columns then easily withstood fire from Chase's Fistigons to kick Chase away. When Gert sent Old Lace after Topher, he flipped over the raptor and swung it into another column, causing empathic feedback that incapacitated Gert. Topher then knocked out Alex and turned his attentions towards Molly Hayes, whom Karolina guarded, offering herself instead. Still not feeling normal, Karolina readily accepted death but when Topher sank his fangs into her, Karolina's sunlight-fueled alien cells destroyed Topher. A recovering Alex asked Karolina how she knew her powers would have such an effect, but Karolina replied that she had no idea and had meant every word she had said about being ready to die. Awakened by the commotion of the fight, Molly asked what was going on, claiming she had heard a fight and saw Topher kissing Karolina's neck, then sadly remarked that she wanted her parents. Nico could only hug Molly.

(Runaways I#11) - The Runaways relaxed in the damaged Hostel. When Chase whined about the boredom, Alex asked him to keep it down, as he was a few chapters away from deciphering the Pride's origins from the Abstract tome. Chase replied that even if Alex managed to decode the book, the Runaways wouldn't be able to stop the Pride and Gert agreed, commenting the team was nearly taken out by a sixteen-year-old. Karolina reminded Gert that Topher was not a kid, but a monster, and Nico admitted that they needed to get out. Alex disagreed, reminding them all that they risked being found by the Pride if they ventured out of the Hostel but Nico argued that the risk was just as great if they stayed in one place too long. Refusing to let any of his teammates be hurt again after Karolina nearly died at Topher's fangs, Alex continued to disagree but eventually relented, at first telling Molly Hayes to stay behind until also being convinced into allowing Molly to accompany the group. Deciding to patrol, the Runaways eventually found a gang of kids spray-painting a sign and opted to stop them. As they departed their van to stop the graffiti artists, Molly asked if she should change into her costume and Karolina replied that as long as she stayed behind to guard the van, it was fine. Confronting the artists, Alex ordered them to drop their spray cans and Nico quickly used her Staff to cause their cans to burst before one of the artists seemingly pulled a gun. At that time, the vigilantes Cloak and Dagger arrived on the scene, having been hired by secret Pride ally LAPD Lt. Flores to find the Runaways. The terrified thugs admitted the gun was only a water pistol but Cloak enveloped them into his cloak before Dagger ordered Nico Minoru and Alex Wilder to come with them. When Nico asked how the vigilantes knew their names and questioned whether they worked for the Pride, Dagger saw Nico's Staff of One and attacked, thinking Nico was brandishing a weapon. Despite Alex's attempts to calm the situation, the other Runaways jumped into battle against Cloak and Dagger, who made short work of them. As the only Runaway still standing, Alex attempted to protect Nico while exclaiming that whatever Cloak and Dagger had been told about them wasn't true before Cloak enveloped Alex along with the other Runaways. Once the entire team was inside his cloak, Cloak admitted to Dagger that he sensed no stain of blood on their souls, suggesting that perhaps they weren't murderers. Before he could investigate further, Cloak and Dagger were confronted by Gertrude Yorkes and Molly Hayes, wearing her own super hero outfit.

(Runaways I#12) - Recognizing Gertrude as one of the kidnappers they had been sent there to retrieve, Dagger attacked Gertrude but Old Lace intercepted the light daggers then knocked Dagger into a lamppost with her tail. Molly followed up, yelling for everyone to stop fighting and pulling Cloak's cloak from his body, severing his connection to the Darkforce Dimension and restoring Cloak to his normal human form. Upon seeing the stuttering Tyrone Johnson, Molly apologized and offered her "speech therapist" mother's help to Tyrone. Gertrude quickly reminded Molly that her mother was actually a super villain, prompting the confused Dagger to ask what Gert meant. Gert explained that the Pride must have duped Cloak and Dagger into finding them but Dagger informed Gert that the police had hired them. Gert replied that they were one and the same, agents of the Pride who had murdered an innocent girl. Dagger then asked about Molly Hayes and Gert had Molly remove her mask to reveal that she was Molly and that she had been rescued by the Runaways not kidnapped. Without Cloak's connection to the Darkforce Dimension, the other Runaways remained trapped within the Darkforce Dimension until Dagger decided to feed Cloak with her light daggers. The light led the other Runaways from the Darkforce Dimension and they emerged from the cloak of a rejuvenated Cloak. Gert calmed the other Runaways into talking and twenty-nine minutes later, Cloak and Dagger had the entire story on the Pride and the Runaways' escape. Dagger told the Runaways that they would get in touch with the Black Widow and summon the Avengers to Los Angeles to take down the Pride and despite Cloak's attempts to get the Runaways to accompany them back to New York, the Runaways opted to stay in Los Angeles until the Avengers arrived. After parting ways with Cloak and Dagger, the Runaways decided to go to a taco restaurant and while there, the mole within their ranks that was still loyal to the Pride contacted Lt. Flores and ordered him to clean up their mess, giving Flores Cloak and Dagger's location and warning that if he failed, there would be a bullet in his brain.

(Runaways I#13) - The Runaways laid low in the Hostel, listening for any sign that the Avengers would arrive and take down their parents. Chase's complaints that Cloak and Dagger had lied to them were interrupted when Alex Wilder happily came into the room and announced that he had translated the first few chapters of the Abstract tome. Admitting he hadn't yet mastered Gert's Decoder Ring, Alex explained that he did learn the Pride's origins and began telling the others what he had learned. While listening to Alex's translations, the Runaways learned that the Pride were actually working for the ancient Gibborim beings and were planning to help the Gibborim destroy the Earth and allow their children to inherit the Gibborim's proposed paradise. After hearing how their parents had committed terrible crimes, all for them, the Runaways began debating whether they should continue to read the Abstract or if what they had already heard was enough to turn their parents in. When Alex questioned Chase who they would turn their parents in to since the Pride controlled the LAPD, the Runaways were confronted by Lt. Flores and a squad of the LAPD's finest, who admitted being on the Pride's payroll and announced that he would be getting a raise for finding their children.

(Runaways I#14) - Shocked that the LAPD had found them, the Runaways were informed by Lt. Flores of their mole within their ranks that had tipped them on where to find the Runaways. When Flores ordered his officers to kill Old Lace, Alex Wilder had Chase erect a wall of flame using his Fistigons while Nico had Old Lace bite her so the blood shed would release her Staff of One. While Karolina blasted the officers from the air, Alex asked if Nico could teleport them out of the Hostel but since she had previously used a teleport spell, she instead caused a cave-in to keep the officers busy. Unfortunately, the cave-in caused the Hostel's ceiling to collapse and the Runaways were only saved by Karolina's constant upward blasts holding the ceiling above them. Alex had Molly use her strength to burrow the group free, using Chase's x-ray glasses to guide her to a safe exit. Emerging behind the Hollywood sign, the Runaways discussed their next course of action and Nico suggested confronting the Pride personally. After brief in-fighting caused by their lack of knowledge regarding which of them was the Pride's mole, the Runaways ultimately agreed to the plan despite Alex's objections that they needed more training and shouldn't bring the young Molly Hayes with them.

(Runaways I#15) - Making their way towards the Pride via the sewers, the Runaways grumbled about the smell while Alex Wilder explained to the others the Rite of Thunder, in which the Pride fed a sacrificed soul to the ancient Gibborim entities. Deciding that the Rite of Thunder would be an ideal time to attack the Pride since they had to enter into the Gibborim's presence without weapons, the Runaways realized that the Rite of Thunder was a mere four hours away continued their trek until they emerged from a sewer opening on Santa Monica Beach. After Alex revealed that the Pride's base was several thousand leagues under the water, Nico used her Staff of One to generate a giant bubble that would allow the Runaways to breath while traveling underwater then shared a kiss with Alex before the Runaways entered the bubble. A little over an hour later, the Runaways made their way to the Pride's Vivarium headquarters, where they were attacked by the Pride's rock sentry. When Chase Stein led the sentry to focus its attacks on him, he was thrust underwater until Alex disabled the sentry using a codeword from the Abstract tome. His comments about the origins of the codeword were interrupted moments later, however, when Gertrude noticed that Chase was not breathing and she pronounced Chase dead.

(Runaways I#16) - When the other Runaways refused to believe Chase was dead, Gertrude performed CPR on Chase, who managed to revive and kiss Gertrude. Weakened from his near-death experience, Chase passed his X-Ray Specs and Fistigons over to Alex and told the Runaways to move forward in their attack on the Pride and leave him behind to rest. Before the Runaways departed to continue their attack, Chase also passed his switchblade over to Nico so that she could use it to release the Staff of One. Confronting the Pride mere moments before the Rite of Thunder, the Runaways held their own against the Pride, with Karolina taking out both the Yorkses and the Hayeses and Gertrude sending Old Lace after the Deans. Molly took out the Minorus moments after they froze their daughter Nico where she stood but when Karolina regrouped with Alex, he revealed himself as the mole within the Runaways and knocked Karolina out with the Fistigons, proclaiming himself loyal to the Pride.

(Runaways I#17) - The traitorous Alex freed Nico from the spell her parents had placed her under and revealed how he had witnessed the Pride's activities earlier than the night that saw the Runaways band together, and how he had been manipulating the group ever since learning that other Pride members were plotting to murder his parents. After hearing Alex's story and how the Wilders and Minorus were planning to kill the rest of the Pride to allow their families to assume their spots in paradise, Nico punched Alex and ordered Karolina Dean back to her feet. Before Karolina could properly fight back against Alex, he used Nico's Staff of One to bind her in chains composed of the same metal that inhibited her powers then held her hostage when a recovered Gert ordered Old Lace to retrieve the Staff of One from Alex. Before Alex could harm Karolina, however, a recovered Chase Stein flew the Pride's Leapfrog vehicle through the Vivarium wall and Nico used the Staff of One to destroy Chase's Fistigons, which Alex was still wearing. When the Pride recovered and began fighting amongst themselves after learning of the Wilders and Minorus' planned murder of them, Molly grabbed the container housing the Rite of Blood sacrifice's soul and destroyed it just as the Gibborim arrived for the Rite of Thunder. Angry that no souls were present to empower them, the Gibborim incinerated Alex when he took full responsibility for the events then announced their plans to use their remaining power to kill the Pride. The Minorus ordered Nico to escape with the other Runaways while they held off the Gibborim and despite not wishing to leave her parents behind, Nico joined the Runaways as they escaped the Vivarium in Chase's Leapfrog. Having left the Pride behind to face the Gibborim, the Runaways emerged from the water to find themselves face to face with Captain America, who asked if they had a license to drive the Leapfrog vehicle.

(Runaways I#18 (fb) - BTS) - Three months after their rescue by Captain America, each of the Runaways had been placed in new, stable environments with their court judge promising no one would come after them and the Pride was dismantled using information given to the Avengers.

(Runaways I#18) - Karolina Dean sent a text message to the other Runaways, asking to meet up at Griffith Observatory, at 1:00a.m., and Karolina showed up at the Observatory, hoping to see her former teammates. Nico shyly revealed herself, admitting that she had worried the text might have been a trap even though the judge had promised no one would come after them, and asked Karolina if she had any trouble sneaking out. Karolina explained that her foster parents were addicted to prescription painkillers and likely wouldn't even notice her gone and Nico revealed that she was still in an orphanage herself, where one of the boys there seemed to be obsessed with her. When Karolina asked if Nico was going out with the boy, Nico jokingly exclaimed that after Alex, she had sworn off boys altogether, prompting Karolina to blush slightly. Karolina then admitted that her social worker had her going to therapy three times a week and Nico revealed the same about herself. When Nico asked how long Karolina had been coming to Griffith Observatory, Karolina revealed that her father had been obsessed with James Dean and that her parents had likely taken their Earth surname from the actor. The conversation was interrupted when Gertrude Yorkes showed up with Molly Hayes, apologizing for her delay and explaining that she had to break Molly out of an X-Corporation embassy. After learning from Gert that Old Lace had been taken away from her, the group discussed what might've happened to Chase Stein, who had convinced the court to let him live with his non-existent aunt. Karolina remarked that Chase should be fine since no one would be coming after the Runaways in the wake of their parents' supposed deaths. Molly quickly reminded Karolina that they didn't know for sure the Pride had died but then sadly admitted that they likely had. When Chase Stein revealed himself, commenting on the girls' sad faces, Gert slapped him for not answering his emails for three months, worried that he might've gotten hit by a bus or killed by drifters. Chase replied that he had been busy looking for Old Lace and announced that he had found her, prompting Gert to kiss Chase. When asked where Old Lace was, Chase revealed that Old Lace was being kept in an old Avengers storage facility in Palos Verdes and the group opted to rescue Old Lace despite Nico's misgivings. A short time later, the Runaways busted into the Avengers storage facility and were attacked by robot guards. Karolina and Molly easily took out some of the guards but Nico was pinned to the wall, where Chase tossed his switchblade so she could release the Staff of One. Instead of cutting herself, Nico stabbed the robot, wrecking its internal mechanisms and caused it to fall inert. With the robots defeated, Gert located Old Lace and freed her, announcing that she would not be returning to her boarding school. When Karolina and Molly also opted not to return to their new lives, Nico reminded them that if they ran away again, they would draw police and even the Avengers' attention. After reacquiring the Leapfrog vehicle, Chase explained that the group would just outrun anyone who came after them. Deciding to accompany her friends, Nico joined the Runaways in the Leapfrog as they departed for parts unknown.

(Runaways II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Having reformed as a group, the Runaways created a new Hostel headquarters for themselves out of the Pride's old lair beneath the La Brea Tar Pits Museum. With a Los Angeles criminal power vacuum in the wake of the Pride's deaths, criminals began appearing in the city, forcing the Runaways to help combat some of them, including the Flag-Smasher and Batroc the Leaper.

(Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways I#1 (fb) - BTS) - After defeating Flag-Smasher, the Runaways left him tied to a lamppost with a note pinned to his shirt for the police.

(Runaways II#1) - Having heard about young runaway Ricky Calusky on the news and how his grandparents were worried sick about him, the Runaways tracked him down, finding him in the company of his father Brian (Piledriver of the Wrecking Crew). When the Wrecking Crew failed to respond to orders to let Ricky go and Ricky himself refused to go, the Runaways attacked. The Wrecking Crew retaliated and Ricky, using the alias of Excavator, ran at Molly Hayes, smashing his enchanted shovel over her invulnerable head, breaking it. Molly replied that his refusal to join them was a shame, as the Runaways could use another boy, before punching Excavator several blocks away. Nico then ordered Molly to go after Excavator and mystically deconstructed the Wrecker's body using the Staff of One. Thunderball focused his attention on Gertrude Yorkes, who claimed she had the power to make grown men lose control of their bowels before siccing Old Lace on him. Bulldozer continued the assault, punching Gertrude, but Chase Stein landed the Leapfrog on top of Bulldozer, effectively ending his threat. Following the Wrecking Crew's defeat, the Runaways packed back up into the Leapfrog and fled the scene, leaving Excavator behind for the arriving police. Returning to their new Hostel, the Runaways discussed their newfound responsibilities following their parents' deaths. When Chase remarked that if Nico wanted her parents back so bad, she should use the Yorkes' old time-machine to rescue the Pride, Nico replied that the time-machine was broken. Her reply was interrupted by the arrival of a duplicate time-machine housing Earth-5421's future Gertrude, who was the Avengers' leader. With her last remaining life, the adult Gertrude told the Runaways to stop a young boy named Victor Mancha, who was destined to become Victorious, a supposed champion in her time who would go on to betray and kill numerous heroes. As the adult Gertrude died, she remarked on how she had never told Chase how much she had loved him. Despite Gert's insistence that the woman couldn't be a future incarnation of herself, the other Runaways were unsure and Nico asked, if this future Gert was telling the truth, what could they do about things now. Distraught at seeing a Gertrude die, Chase suggested they find the boy and rip his heart out.

(Runaways II#2) - Unaware their exploits were drawing the attention of the former teen hero support group Excelsior, who had been hired to take the Runaways safely out of the world of heroics, and still reeling from the death of Earth-5421's Gertrude Yorkes, the Runaways watched as Chase continued to be upset. The still skeptical Gert-616 suggested they bury Gert-5421 before the La Brea Tar Pits Museum opened but the emotional Chase became angry at Gert's refusal to accept that it could be a future counterpart of herself, demanding that Nico use the Staff of One to resurrect Gert-5421. Nico admitted that she had already tried to use a resurrection spell on Alex after he was killed by the Gibborim and couldn't use the same spell twice. Angry that Nico had wasted the spell on the traitorous Alex, Chase yelled at Nico but he was interrupted by Molly, who asked if Nico could cast a spell to see where the future Gert had come from. Using a Flashback spell to view Gert-5421's last few moments alive, the shocked Nico confirmed that Gert-5421 wasn't lying about Victor Mancha, who had destroyed the Avengers and X-Men on Earth-5421. The Runaways then discussed what to do next, as Earth-616's young Victor Mancha might not be evil in the present day despite Chase insisting they kill him before he could potentially kill Gertrude. Nico agreed that they shouldn't kill Victor when they found him, as their potentially violent assault could be the spark that caused Victor to become evil in the first place.

(Runaways II#19 (fb)) - The Runaways buried the Earth-5421 Gertrude Yorkes outside their Hostel underneath the La Brea Tar Pits Museum. When Nico suggested they say a few words, Gertrude coldly replied that it was dead and they should move on. The other Runaways argued that the corpse was not an "it" but a future counterpart of Gertrude herself, Gertrude told Chase that if and when someone shuffled her loose of her mortal coil, he could avenge her but until then, the Runaways still had the benefit of the doubt to give to every "evil" kid out there. She then continued, saying that she appreciated the gimmick of being able to attend her own funeral but announced that she appeared to have an annoyingly long life in front of her and reminded the Runaways that they shouldn't be getting ahead of themselves.

(Runaways II#2) - A short time later, the Runaways took the Leapfrog to East Angeles High School in search of 616's Victor Mancha. Announcing their desire to find Victor Mancha, the Runaways were soon met by Mancha himself and Karolina Dean admitted that they had found him using information from the back of an old yearbook photo. Reacting on instinct, Victor created a hand out of the metal school bleachers and swatted Karolina aside, demanding to be left alone, only to find himself confused as to how he was able to accomplish such a feat. Chase immediately planned to rush in and attack but Nico ordered him to go check on Karolina while the girls handled Victor, who threw his hands up in surrender and asked if they were the Young Avengers. Upon seeing Old Lace, the confused Victor admitted that he couldn't control his powers before he blasted Molly away with an electric burst. Nico immediately tried to blast Victor with a spell from the Staff of One but he uncontrollably leapt over the blast, causing it to hit Old Lace and harm Gertrude via her psychic link with the dinosaur. Recovering quickly, Nico knocked Victor out with a kick and the Runaways regrouped just in time for the former teen hero Excelsior group to appear on the scene.

(Runaways II#3) - Unsure who Excelsior were, the Runaways at first asked if they were some sort of Christian glam rock band like Stryper. After Victor corrected the Runaways, explaining who each member of Excelsior was, Chase Stein used the Leapfrog's lasers to blast the Excelsior members and in the distraction, Nico rushed Victor onboard the Leapfrog so the Runaways could escape. While airborne, Nico asked why the Leapfrog wasn't cloaked and Chase admitted that he had used up the last of the Leapfrog's power for the weapons systems. Victor then took the opportunity to explain that if the Runaways were kidnapping him for ransom money, his mother didn't have any. When Gertrude accused Victor's dad of being a super villain, Victor angrily announced that his dad was a hero who died defending the USA. Warning Victor to calm down or she would sic her velociraptor on him, Gertrude was told by Victor that Old Lace more closely resembled a deionychus rather than a velociraptor, prompting Gert to remark that she would at least be killed by her equal. Excelsior soon caught up to the Leapfrog and Darkhawk blasted it, forcing the Leapfrog to the ground. After the crash knocked out the Leapfrog's power Nico announced that she and the female Runaways would take care of Excelsior and she ordered Chase to stay behind to guard Victor. Asking if the Runaways were ok after their crash, Excelsior was met by an attack from Nico, who used the Staff of One to cause Turbo's turbines to run in reverse until they exploded. Darkhawk quickly ordered "Chamber" to take down Molly Hayes, Ricochet to take out Gertrude Yorkes and Lightspeed to fight Karolina while he took care of Nico. Ricochet quickly took down Gertrude but Molly managed to hurl "Chamber" into Lightspeed just as Lightspeed and Karolina were complimenting each other. Darkhawk eventually managed to get Nico in a chokehold and nearly killed her before Turbo stopped him. Angry, Darkhawk fought back against Turbo and the Excelsior team erupted into in-fighting while Chase convinced Victor to use his electrical powers to jumpstart the Leapfrog, allowing the Runaways to escape in the commotion. While escaping, Victor asked if his helping them escape made them even so they could let him go, but Gertrude replied that it was time they talked about his future.

(Runaways II#4) - When Victor's cellphone went off, the Runaways refused to let him answer a call from his mom until they could properly determine his intentions. Continuing to insist he was not a super villain, Victor was surprised when Chase revealed that they were about to land in their La Brea Tar Pits Museum headquarters. Once inside, Victor looked around the Runaways' new Hostel before Chase suggested getting Victor to the brig. When Gertrude chimed in that they didn't have a brig, Nico instead used the Staff of One to cover Victor in insulating foam to prevent him from using his electrical powers. After explaining to Victor how an alternate future Gertrude Yorkes had said Victor's future counterpart was the most evil villain in the universe, the Runaways and Victor viewed the Pride's old holographic rogues gallery images in an effort to determine which villain could be Victor's father. When the universal remote Nico was using to go through the images wasn't working properly, Victor used his tech knowledge to help until Nico suggested he might be the son of the Red Skull. Getting angry, Victor accused the Runaways of being like the kids who try to convince others that they were abused because they got spanked as kids and tried to convince the Runaways that he wasn't evil by comparing his story to those of Vision, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. When the Runaways remained unconvinced, Victor grabbed the remote, which he had earlier reversed the Vibranium battery of, and held Gert hostage. Refusing to let anyone else be hurt, Nico asked what Victor's demands were and he simply stole Gert's cellphone and attempted to call his mother, only to find his true father on the other line.

(Runaways II#5) - Recognizing the voice as Doctor Doom, Victor was told to meet "Doom" at the McArthur Warehouse in one hour without alerting the police or risk his mother's life. After hanging up, Victor panicked and begged the Runaways to let him go. Agreeing to accompany Victor to the Warehouse, the Runaways traveled to the McArthur Warehouse in the Leapfrog despite Victor Mancha's insistence that he go alone. Devising a plan, Victor arrived at the McArthur Warehouse and pretended to swear allegiance to "Doctor Doom" while secretly having Nico used the Staff of One to make the Runaways invisible to save Victor's mother. When "Doom" noticed Marianella Mancha's ropes untying themselves, he blasted Nico, effectively ending the invisibility spell. "Doom" easily took down the Runaways as they continued to try to rescue Marianella but Chase arrived with a laser taken from the Leapfrog, which Victor powered up and used on "Doom," revealing it to be a Doombot. Marianella insisted that they all needed to get out of the Warehouse and Victor confirmed the Doombot's robot nature just as Ultron arrived and commended Victor for deducing the Doombot's nature. A panicked Marianella insisted that she had done everything Ultron asked by hiding Victor's true parentage and keeping Victor off of Ultron's trail but for ultimately failing, Ultron incinerated Marianella. Victor tried to fight back using the laser but failed to harm Ultron, who announced that Victor's memory would now have to be erased until he was ready for Ultron's plans, and that the Runaways would have to be dealt with permanently. When Victor exclaimed that he would not allow Ultron to hurt the Runaways, Ultron activated a protocol within Victor to use Victor himself to hurt the Runaways. Upon seeing Victor uncontrollably swear allegiance to Ultron, Gert and Chase admitted their love for one another.

(Runaways II#6) - Under Ultron's control, Victor created an energy trap and began squeezing the life out of Gertrude Yorkes until Gert mentioned Ultron's killing of his mother. Going against Ultron's programming, Victor exclaimed that he was nothing like Ultron and blasted him, leaving an opening for Nico to use the Staff of One to encase Ultron in diamond. The other recovering Runaways regrouped but Ultron broke free from the diamond shell, prompting Nico to order Karolina to fire as much energy as she could into the sky. Alerted by the multi-colored energy, the Excelsior team arrived on the scene to find Ultron. "Chamber" got the Runaways and Victor out of the fight while Darkhawk used his amulet to destroy Ultron. Once outside the battle, Victor demanded to be let back inside but Gertrude reminded him that Ultron was out of the Runaways' league. At first, "Chamber" announced that he couldn't just let the Runaways go but Gertrude managed to talk him into it and the group departed the scene with Victor Mancha in tow. Admitting that he didn't care what he was and that he just wanted his mom back, Victor asked Gertrude about her parents' time-travel machine but Gert admitted that the Earth-5421 version of herself had used the fuel, which hadn't been invented yet. She then told Victor that he couldn't change the past but could make a better present. The Runaways then invited Victor to join them, much to the dismay of Chase, who didn't trust him.

(Runaways II#7 (fb) - BTS) - The Runaways spent a month taking down various super criminals as Victor Mancha acclimated himself to the team by reading through the Runaways' holographic villain database. One of the criminals the team fought included the Tarantula in Van Nuys, California, where Nico used a Fumigation spell on the villain.

(Runaways II#20 (fb) - BTS) - The Runaways battled Mole Man, whom Nico shrunk down to size using a shrinking spell from the Staff of One.

(Runaways II#7) - Three weeks following their battle with Tarantula, when the bee-bodied villain Swarm invaded Los Angeles, the Runaways were present and decided to take him down. Having caught up on Swarm via the Runaways' holographic database, Victor Mancha opted to join in the battle after Chase, Gertrude, Old Lace and Molly wanted to sit it out for various reasons ranging for bee sting allergies to disliking bugs. Jumping into battle against Swarm, the Runaways were informed that Swarm had heard of the Pride's demise and sought to become "queen" of Los Angeles. During the battle, Nico used a Fumigation spell, forgetting that she had previously used that spell, causing the Staff of One to teleport Nico and Karolina miles away. While Karolina and Nico returned to the battle, Victor managed to take down Swarm on his own by electrically disrupting the communication signals of the bees that made up Swarm's body, causing his form to fall apart. Surprised to see Victor's victory, Chase Stein was told by Gertrude that the Runaways should probably retreat, as Excelsior would likely be hot on the trail. When a whiny Molly Hayes reminded Gert that she had been promised they could go shopping, the returning Nico agreed and had the Runaways split into three groups, leaving Old Lace behind in the Leapfrog and warning the other Runaways to go easy on shoplifting. Visiting a Circle A store, Victor and Molly had a conversation about whether or not the other Runaways distrusted him because of what he might be destined to become in the future and Molly begged Victor for a box of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs cereal. Chase and Gert, on the other hand, visited a clothing store where Chase contemplated getting new underwear before suggesting Gert might have a crush on Victor. After assuring Chase that she only had eyes for him, Gert pulled Chase into a changing booth to "make time." Nico and Karolina did some shopping of their own and looked at the stars as they finished up. When Nico suggested making a wish on a shooting star, Karolina tried to kiss Nico, revealing her interest in girls. Shocked at first, Nico admitted that she just wanted to be alone and an embarrassed Karolina wished she had never been born, feeling like a freak because of her interest in girls and alien nature. Nico soon noticed that one of the stars looked bigger and seemed to be getting closer. The "star" was quickly revealed to be a spacecraft that parked right in front of Nico and Karolina. A man emerged from the ship, seeming to know Karolina and announcing his plan to take her off Earth. Exclaiming that he would not be taking her anywhere, Karolina tried to blast the man but her blast ricocheted and hit Nico. Confused, the man admitted that he thought he had assumed a pleasing form for Karolina, suggesting that Karolina's parents must have told Karolina to expect him in true form. Revealing that her parents were dead, Karolina was introduced to the man as Xavin, a Skrull who was arranged to wed Karolina.

(Runaways II#8) - Still confused, Xavin continued trying to explain his arranged marriage to Karolina, who refused and called Xavin a freak. Stretching his arm to keep Karolina from flying away, Xavin was met by Victor Mancha and Molly Hayes, who had arrived to regroup with the other Runaways. Victor jumped into battle against Xavin, who easily stopped Victor's electric blasts with an invisible shield before rising Victor into the air. When Karolina demanded Xavin release Victor, Xavin replied that he could always buy Karolina new toys. After Xavin dropped Victor, Molly ran up and kicked Xavin in the testicles, angering Xavin into covering his arm in rocks and punching Molly away. When Karolina begged for Xavin to stop hurting her friends, a confused Xavin halted just in time for Chase and Gert to arrive in the Leapfrog and drop the door onto Xavin's head, knocking him out. Karolina quickly explained who Xavin was before the Runaways departed in the Leapfrog, leaving Xavin behind to be confronted by the police. As the Leapfrog leapt away, it spoke, warning the Runaways that a spacecraft had them on missile lock. The pursuing Xavin warned the Runaways to park the Leapfrog or risk being destroyed, and he fired a warning shot to prove he wasn't bluffing. Despite the other Runaways' insistence that they could outrun Xavin, who remarked that Karolina's shunning of him would mean the destruction of Earth, Karolina opted to park and see what Xavin had to say. Meeting up on a rooftop, Xavin explained to Karolina and the other Runaways that his parents had arranged Xavin's marriage to Karolina in exchange for Karolina's parents revealing the location of the Deans' home planet of Majesdane. While the Deans were ultimately exiled from Majesdane for their crimes and Xavin's parents were killed in the ensuing Tarnax/Majesdane war, Xavin hoped that by returning to Tarnax with his Majesdanian bride, he could unite the two races and stop the war. When Xavin once again implored Karolina for her hand in marriage, Karolina revealed to Xavin and her other teammates that she liked girls. Unfazed, Xavin shapeshifted into a female form, remarking that changing gender was as simple as changing hair color to a Skrull and asked if he could take Karolina to her homeworld before she made a decision. Agreeing despite Nico's protests, Karolina said her goodbyes to the other Runaways and departed Earth with Xavin. Almost immediately after, Nico demanded Chase's switchblade so that she could release the Staff of One and retrieve Karolina but the other Runaways talked her into letting Karolina make her own decisions. A coded message was soon broadcast over a transmission tower, which the Leapfrog translated to "Please don't be sad for me. I love you all very much. Keep running."

(Runaways II#9) - A month later, the Runaways played the Monopoly board game in their Hostel headquarters, where Victor admitted that he didn't understand what Gert saw in Chase. When Chase left to use the bathroom, he walked past Nico throwing out some of Karolina's old clothes. Sitting down and trying to comfort Nico, who missed Karolina, Chase complimented her before they both heard screaming in the other room. Still suspicious of Victor, Chase ran into the room with Nico, only to find that the other Runaways were arguing over whether or not Molly got money for landing on the "Free Parking" space. Nico angrily ordered the others to be quiet, as there was a museum above them, but their argument was interrupted when Cloak appeared in the Hostel, activating the Hostel's security daemons. Once the daemons had been subdued, Cloak revealed that his earlier memories of the Runaways had been erased and he had only recalled their existence after being dealt a blow to the head. He then further revealed to the Runaways that Dagger had been rendered comatose by a Cloak impostor, and that New York's heroes believed Cloak to be the true culprit due to video footage of the impostor. When Cloak asked for the Runaways' help in clearing his name, Nico reminded him that they were also wanted but Cloak replied they were only wanted on the west coast not the east coast. He then offered them transportation and pulled the Runaways inside the cloak.

(Runaways II#10) - Arriving in New York, the Runaways were welcomed by Cloak, who suggested that Father Lantom from St. Patrick's Catholic church, in which he was staying in, might be able to provide the Runaways with winter clothes. Taking the Runaways to the church, Cloak was chided by Father Lantom for bringing in wayward children when he was an outlaw himself. Nico offered to help out in the church if he could provide them temporary residence until they could clear Cloak's name. Reluctantly agreeing to help, Father Lantom showed the Runaways the video footage that seemed to incriminate Cloak and Cloak provided a glove found at the scene of the crime that he had teleported out of the NYPD storage locker. Suspecting that perhaps the impostor was using Mutant Growth Hormone to simulate Cloak's powers, the Runaways set out to clear Cloak's name using Old Lace, transformed into a dog by Nico's Staff of One, to catch the scent from the glove. As Nico and Chase searched the city, briefly passing She-Hulk, they found a suspicious-looking man and confronted him, asking about obtaining something more powerful than smokes. When they asked about the Darkforce, the man explained that they would need to see Pusher Man about that and teleported Nico and Chase into Pusher Man's headquarters via a portal within his jacket. Pusher Man's security quickly sensed the Staff of One on Nico and she was disarmed by the Pusher Man's guard then brought before Pusher Man himself, who prepared to show Nico and Chase what they do to narcs. At the same time, Victor and Gertrude were tracking the scent of the glove with Old Lace. Following a brief argument about the likes/dislikes of New York, Old Lace picked up the scent and led the two Runaways into an alley, where they met Spider-Man.

(Runaways II#11) - While the other Runaways continued their search to clear Cloak's name, Molly Hayes helped Cloak with moving the heavy boxed donations around St. Patrick's church. After hearing Gert and Victor's story and how they were trying to help Cloak, Spider-Man opted to take them for sushi instead of the typical superhero misunderstanding/fight. Nico and Chase continued to deal with the Pusher Man, who ordered Chase to be killed and Nico to be spared because she could still be "of use." Chase angrily claimed to represent the Pride, whom Chase further claimed had faked their deaths and sent Chase and Nico out to act as their soldiers in dealing with Pusher Man. While skeptical at first, the Pusher Man believed Chase's lie and announced that he was a huge fan of the Pride and only dealt drugs between dimensions, far from the Pride's Los Angeles territory. When Chase tried to con the Pusher Man into revealing who he had sold MGH to, the Pusher Man refused to disclose, telling Chase that if his father wanted the information, Chase should send his father to negotiate. When Chase threatened death, the Pusher Man scoffed, asking who Chase had ever killed and Chase claimed that, at age sixteen, he had killed a man who had tried to carjack him and dumped the body in a landfill. Surprised and reminded of his own youth, the Pusher Man agreed to give Chase the information he needed. Once Nico's Staff of One was returned, Nico and Chase departed with the information and Pusher Man commented to his guard how he made some powerful new friends. Upon returning to New York, Nico impulsively kissed Chase, who pushed Nico away and asked what she was doing. Admitting that she was just thankful for Chase's save with the Pusher Man, Nico was reminded by Chase that he had a girlfriend. When Nico called herself evil for kissing Chase, he told her that he was the truly evil one and that only Gert was keeping him from going over the edge. Surprised, Nico asked if Chase's tale to the Pusher Man was a bluff and Chase only replied with "Enough talk. Let's go find some action." Chase and Nico then regrouped with Gert and Victor, who were still having sushi with Spider-Man, who had tried to get the Runaways to lay low while he cleared Cloak himself. Thinking Spider-Man was trying to trap Gert and Victor, Nico used the Staff of One to project hellfire at Spider-Man, who dodged just in time to be hit by a sleeping spell. Nico then informed Gert and Victor about hospital worker Reginald Mantz, who had purchased MGH from the Pusher Man in order to obtain Darkforce powers. While the other Runaways pieced together the puzzle of the Cloak impostor Mantz, Molly was given a cellphone by Father Lantom in hopes that she might use it to eventually find a family. As Molly began telling Lantom that she had a family with the other Runaways, the Avengers arrived in the church to question Lantom about Cloak. Lantom tried to protect Cloak and Molly by insisting that the church was a sanctuary and that everyone inside was innocent but Wolverine rushed at Lantom, claiming he would protect Molly and ordered Lantom away from her.

(Runaways II#12) - While the other Runaways made their way to St. Vincent's Hospital via a Staff of One-conjured flying carpet, where Reginald Mantz was an orderly, Molly Hayes began hysterically screaming as Wolverine approached her. When Wolverine warned Molly to stop screaming due to his heightened senses, Molly punched him out into the snow. Iron Man soon received a report that Cloak was spotted inside St. Vincent's Hospital despite being right in front of them and Cloak opted to confront his impostor face-to-face, teleporting himself and Molly to the Hospital and leaving the Avengers behind. After battling Luke Cage and Spider-Woman (actually Skrull Queen Veranke, who had infiltrated the Avengers), Reginald Mantz teleported Dagger and himself outside the Hospital and onto a nearby rooftop, where Nico, Victor, Chase and Gertrude were waiting for him. When Nico hit Mantz with a sunburst spell from the Staff of One, Mantz absorbed the light and attacked, knocking Gert from the roof. She was rescued by Victor and Old Lace returned to her dinosaur form after Mantz managed to knock out Nico. Picking up the Staff of One, Chase attempted to wield it against Mantz, casting a detox spell that forced Mantz to vomit up the MGH in his system, effectively depowering the Cloak impostor as Cloak and Molly arrived on the scene. As the police approached, Gert suggested the Runaways flee the scene and Cloak agreed to teleport them back to California despite a confused Dagger not recalling who they were due to the Pride's earlier spell. As the Runaways departed, Dagger recalled her lost memories and asked where Alex Wilder was and Nico replied that he was gone like their parents.

(Runaways II#13 (fb) - BTS) - The Runaways battled a dragon-like woman above the Los Angeles Aqueduct, where Molly Hayes was knocked into the water.

(Runaways II#14) - Victor and Molly worked on the Leapfrog, discussing how the Runaways used to use codenames, when Chase, Gert and Nico entered the room. Nico admitted that their usage of codenames and playing games was in the past then reminded Molly that she was supposed to be grounded. Despite Molly's protests that she had not run away from the Runaways' previous battle, but instead had been knocked into the water, where she shared an adventure with other runaway children against the Provost, Nico ordered Molly back to her room then reminded Chase that he was supposed to be helping Victor with the Leapfrog's laser repair. Chase accused Nico of being all business since the team had been in New York and explained that he had been making a list of everything he could do once he turned eighteen in two weeks. Nico destroyed Chase's list with her Staff of One and ordered him to get to work. When Chase remarked that Alex Wilder was a better leader, Nico grew angry. Victor asked Gert who Alex was and Gert took the opportunity of Nico and Chase's fight to explain to Victor who Alex Wilder was. After hearing how Alex had betrayed the other Runaways to the Pride, Victor remarked that despite that, it seemed as if the other Runaways missed him. Gert admitted that it wasn't so much Alex they missed, but the way things used to be and how it seemed that since Alex had died, there had been a cloud hanging over the team. She also commented that it seemed as if the only time in life that people were truly happy was during their childhood, when they were too stupid to realize what they actually needed to worry about.

(Free Comic Book Day 2006) - After Old Lace got lost when Chase left the Leapfrog's hatch open, the Runaways ventured onto Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles in an attempt to locate the missing deionychus. Feeling as if Old Lace had become a runaway just like her, Gertrude began to feel sorry for herself but Molly Hayes assured Gert that she was a good mother to Old Lace, unlike the Runaways' parents. Nico interrupted their conversation to remind them all to focus on finding Old Lace before the dinosaur became hungry and decided to snack on tourists. Victor soon noticed Wonder Man's name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and became excited. The arriving X-Men then appeared, with Beast remarking that Wonder Man was a friend of his. Despite Victor's excitement at meeting the X-Men, the Runaways quickly learned that the X-Men had arrived in California seeking to take the mutant Molly to the Xavier Institute alongside others of her kind. Angry that the X-Men were trying to take Molly, Nico distracted Cyclops with an astral projection until she got close enough to remove his visor with the Staff of One, causing his optic energy blasts to fire out of control. Wolverine announced that the group only wanted Molly and the rest of the Runaways were worthless then set his sights on taking down Victor, who tried to explain that he liked the X-Men before having to use his magnetic powers to keep Wolverine at a distance. Kitty Pryde, on the other hand, sought to avoid the fighting and sat down beside the equally uninterested Gertrude while Molly hurled a car at Colossus. Chase quickly ordered the Leapfrog to fire lasers at the X-Men but Beast picked up Chase and leapt into the air, with Chase threatening to stab Beast. Emma Frost, who had found Old Lace, eventually telepathically ordered everyone to stop fighting. Realizing that perhaps the X-Men should wait and let Molly come to the X-Men on her own, Emma convinced Cyclops to call of the X-Men and they decided to leave in peace. The two groups said their goodbyes as the X-Men departed and before the Runaways left the scene with Old Lace, Chase revealed that he had stolen Beast's glasses.

(Runaways II#15) - Hearing Victor Mancha muttering in his sleep, Chase Stein ventured into his bedroom to wake Victor up before Victor woke up the others. Shocked awake, Victor jumped out of bed, causing Chase to panic and cover his eyes upon seeing that Victor slept in the nude. When Victor asked why Chase gave him such a hard time despite Victor having proven himself loyal to the Runaways on multiple occasions, Chase admitted that it was partly due to jealousy since his parents had always been disappointed that Chase wasn't a science whiz. Unaware they were being observed by the new Pride from afar, Chase and Victor continued their conversation, with Victor remarking that it meant a lot that Chase thought his parents would have been happy to invent a child like Victor. Chase quickly warned Victor not to let that feeling go to his head, as his parents were also genocidal maniacs. While Victor and Chase had their conversation, Gertrude woke up without Chase next to her and ventured around the Hostel looking for Chase. Old Lace soon caught the scent of Chase in Nico's room and, unaware Chase and Nico had previously kissed, Gert woke up Nico and asked if she had seen Chase. Nico admitted she hadn't and Gert suggested that perhaps Chase was hiding downstairs after not being able to stand the smell of Gert's Purple Haze hair dye. With Gert already in the room, Nico commented that she thought, if something ever happened to her, she would want Gert to continue leading the Runaways. Gert remarked on her reservations about her leadership skills and admitted that, despite seeing a future counterpart of herself perish, she didn't believe in fate and thought a person should be held accountable for their own mistakes rather than blame fate. Their conversation was interrupted when Molly came into the room, claiming she was afraid of monsters in her room. Releasing Molly from her grounding, Nico let Molly stay in her room but they were also soon met by Chase and Victor, who explained that his homemade police scanner had picked up a report of a super villain terrorizing a gated community. Gathering in the Leapfrog, the Runaways set out to stop the villain while discussing which villain it could be. As Molly admitted her hopes that it was some sort of giraffe man, the Leapfrog touched down in the gated community, which the Runaways soon recognized as the development once housing the Wilder residence. The Runaways were greeted by who appeared to be Alex Wilder. Immediately suspicious, Nico asked "Alex" where they had first kissed and when "Alex" proved unable to respond immediately, Nico blasted him with the Staff of One's Revelation spell, revealing "Alex" as a younger Geoffrey Wilder. Not recognizing the man as Geoffrey Wilder, the Runaways were taken aback when Geoffrey knew of the original Pride's deaths and announced that he wanted the rest of the Pride to hear how the Runaways had killed a kid. Geoffrey's new Pride then revealed themselves, claiming to be Alex Wilder's true friends, and took control of Victor Mancha's robotic body. Victor demanded that Chase knock him out before he could hurt anyone and Chase reluctantly did so as the new Pride's Lotus mystically revealed the kiss earlier shared by Chase and Nico. While Gert was shocked at the revelation, Nico tried to explain it away as a lie until Chase announced that it was Nico who had kissed him. Annoyed that Chase had inadvertently revealed the truth, Nico blasted Chase with the Staff of One to shut him up. Gert immediately asked if Nico had gone insane and her anger accidentally set Old Lace on Nico. Gert asked Molly to help get Old Lace off of Nico until they could deal with the situation, only to realize that the new Pride had drove off with a captured Molly.

(Runaways II#16) - While the Runaways searched for Molly, Victor identified the young leader of the new Pride as Geoffrey Wilder. Not convinced, Chase argued the point but Nico agreed, having recognized Geoffrey Wilder's voice, but whined that if she hadn't had to use the Staff of One to fend off Old Lace earlier, she might've been able to rescue Molly. Still angry that Nico had kissed Chase, Gert warned Nico to watch her mouth before Chase interrupted, remarking that they should all put their personal issues aside to focus on how Geoffrey Wilder could even be alive and who the new Pride was. As the Runaways continued their chase for the new Pride, Molly remained tied up as the new Pride tried to convince her that the other Runaways were actually villains who had killed her parents. The Runaways were eventually forced to return to the Hostel to repair the Leapfrog and once there, Nico ordered Chase to have the Leapfrog repaired within 15 minutes and left the room. Chase then asked Victor to leave so that he could work things out with Gert. Once Victor had left, Chase asked how angry Gert was and tried to explain how he had pushed Nico away when Nico had kissed him. Unfortunately, Gert instead remained cold-hearted, remarking that it wasn't going to work between them and admitted that she knew what she looked like. A crying Chase asked why Gert was breaking up but Gert only told Chase to fix the Leapfrog, as it was the only thing in the Hostel that wasn't broken beyond repair. As Chase was left to fix the Leapfrog, Victor went to find Nico, who was praying for those they'd lost. Victor asked to join and prayed for Molly to find her way back to the team. The two briefly discussed religion and how Nico had recently found her way back to it after seeing the Gibborim before turning the discussion towards finding Molly. When Victor suggested Nico cast a spell to locate how the new Pride was able to spy on the team, the spell pointed towards Victor himself. Nico confronted Victor and revealed to the other Runaways that the spell had singled out Victor but Chase came to Victor's defense, insisting there had to be some explanation. Asking why no one believed he was innocent, Victor was hit by a wrench wielded by Gertrude, who exclaimed that she didn't believe in anything anymore. Victor fought back, exclaiming that he was the sanest person on the team but the fight was soon broken up by the returning Karolina Dean, who announced that she was tired of seeing fighting.

(Runaways II#17) - Suspicious that Karolina was another impostor, Nico nearly asked where Karolina had previously kissed her but Karolina interrupted and commented that it happened in the Beverly Gardens right before she left Earth. After Gert commented on how Nico had kissed yet another of their teammates, a relieved Nico hugged Karolina and admitted that she had thought Karolina was dead and that she had been acting like a jerk to everyone else. Karolina comforted Nico and explained how a fight broke out at her proposed wedding and the peace the wedding was supposed to bring had been shattered. Old Lace quickly picked up another person nearby and Karolina's betrothed, Xavin, revealed himself, explaining that he had remained invisible so as to not interrupt Karolina's reunion with her friends. Chase, thinking Xavin was the Lizard, announced that the Runaways should cut his head off but Xavin changed shape to the form the Runaways had previously seen. Karolina then asked why the team was fighting when she arrived and Gert explained that they had been fighting a war of their own. Nico tried to explain to Karolina that Victor had been spying on them but Victor corrected her, revealing that someone had been spying through him. Having hooked himself to the Leapfrog, Victor had learned that the new Pride had been taking signals from his cybernetic brain and he then used the Leapfrog's systems to trace where the signals were being sent. Tracing it to the Minorus' old summer home, the Runaways prepared to rescue Molly and Xavin expressed a desire to help. Nico ordered Xavin to stay there in case the address was another trap. The Runaways then departed towards the Minoru home and Chase updated Karolina on the situation on the way there. While Chase explained to Karolina, Gert apologized for hitting Victor with a wrench and Nico also apologized for doubting Victor's loyalty. Victor then suggested that Gert and Nico patch things up, prompting the two girls to briefly bicker back and forth before agreeing to bury the hatchet, much to the confusion of Victor. Arriving at the Minoru home, Nico used her old key to get them inside, where they found the new Pride's belongings and an empty weapons cabinet. Finding the room where the new Pride viewed Victor's cybernetic feed, the Runaways also found a map to the new Pride's Vivarium inside an old Pride base beneath Griffith Observatory. Continuing their investigation after suspecting that the new Pride might have taken Molly to their new Vivarium to sacrifice her, the Runaways soon found a bomb left behind by the new Pride, which the time-displaced Geoffrey Wilder detonated from afar. Surviving, the Runaways traveled to the new Pride's Vivarium, where they accused the new Pride of being terrible at blowing stuff up. Confused by the comments, the new Pride nonetheless fought back, revealing that they had forged a sword out of the same metal that suppressed Karolina's powers. Hunter then hacked into the Leapfrog and turned its weapons against the Runaways. Gert agreed to hold the Runaways' ground against the new Pride while Nico ventured inside to save Molly, who was being prepared as a sacrifice to the Gibborim. When Nico arrived inside (secretly alongside an invisible Xavin), the younger Geoffrey Wilder explained that she was powerless due to a circle of wizard's ashes surrounding him and then shot "Nico" (actually a disguised Xavin). Thinking "Nico" dead, Geoffrey informed Molly that she had only been the bait.

(Runaways II#18) - As Molly yelled that she would kill the younger Geoffrey Wilder, Geoffrey remarked how Nico, whom his future son Alex loved, had treated Alex like a punk and prepared to sacrifice "Nico." "Nico" then stood up, surprising Geoffrey, who exclaimed that her spells were useless and nothing on Earth was powerful enough to protect her from a gunshot. "Nico" then revealed herself as a disguised Xavin and announced that it was a good thing he wasn't from Earth. Further explaining that he had been forced to abandon his homeworld to save Karolina from thugs like Geoffrey, Xavin decreed himself a Runaway and warned Geoffrey that threats to Molly's life were pointless, as the true Nico (whom Xavin had hidden using an invisible force field) had already saved her during Xavin's distraction. Taking advantage of Xavin's speech about the deception, Geoffrey activated a high frequency transmitter that disoriented Xavin, causing his flame powers to erupt out of control and engulf the Vivarium. Trying to get Molly to safety, Nico explained her plan to Molly but Molly insisted they save Xavin from Geoffrey and the fire as well since he had become part of the Runaways. Outside, the rest of the Runaways were fighting a losing battle against the new Pride, who announced that the Runaways would be jailed for Alex Wilder's death. Gert tried to explain that the new Pride were being manipulated by the younger Geoffrey Wilder and that Alex had gotten himself killed, but his pleas were interrupted when the Vivarium burst into flame. Chase immediately ran towards the Vivarium to save Molly and Victor suggested Gert stop Chase while he dealt with the new Pride. Victor then used his magnetic powers to transform the new Pride's van into a robotic mech suit as Chase frantically searched the new Vivarium, only finding Geoffrey Wilder. Geoffrey managed to get a knife to Chase's throat as Victor grabbed up the new Pride and explained the truth of the situation and how the Pride's plan was to create world peace by wiping out humanity. Agreeing to show the new Pride proof if they'd stop fighting, Victor was soon met by Nico, Molly and Xavin, who had escaped the Vivarium. Gert managed to locate Chase within the fire and warned the younger Geoffrey Wilder that Chase was not an innocent soul and the minute he slit Chase's throat, Old Lace would kill him. Claiming Gert had won that round, Geoffrey hurled the Pride's sacrificial dagger into Gert's chest, taking down Old Lace as well due to Gert's psychic connection with the dinosaur. Geoffrey attempted to sway Chase into helping him use Gert as the sacrifice but Chase knocked him out and rushed to help the dying Gert. Gert tried to explain that she had to transfer her connection to Old Lace before Old Lace died as well. Chase insisted that she had a bond with Old Lace but Gert explained that her bond with Chase was stronger despite her past lies to the contrary. Gertrude Yorkes then died trying to tell Chase that she loved him. A short time later, Karolina recovered from being knocked unconscious during the fight with the new Pride and Xavin explained how Nico and Victor had braved the flames to rescue the Runaways trapped inside but that Gert had not survived. Xavin further explained that Chase had run away after disagreeing with Nico over what to do with Gert's body and expressed his sadness over Karolina's loss. With Geoffrey Wilder now tied up, Nico forced Wilder to forget recent events and sent him back to the past with no knowledge of what had transpired.

(Runaways II#19 (fb) - BTS) - The Runaways buried Gertrude Yorkes behind the Hollywood Sign.

(Runaways II#19) - Mourning over Gert's death, Nico and Victor shared a brief physical tryst. Afterwards, Nico suggested never telling the others about their fling, as she felt guilty for going into the arms of the nearest warm body when her teammate had just been killed. Victor mentioned that Gert would want them to live life to the fullest but a mourning Nico asked how Victor would even know what Gert would want. Victor reminded her that despite being a cyborg, he still had feelings and Nico broke down, crying and exclaiming that he had only known Gert for a few weeks while she had known Gert her whole life. Telling stories of how Gert had hid Nico's My Little Ponies in the woods when they were kids to save the Ponies from captivity and how Gert had once said she was going to dye her hair the same purple as a scarf Nico had made Gert for her 13th birthday, the emotional Nico tearfully hugged Victor. Molly Hayes mourned by sitting next to the Leapfrog and asked where Gert was. When Leapfrog gave Molly the coordinates of Gert's body, Molly instead asked where Gert's soul was. The Leapfrog then explained that its GPS was unable to provide Molly with that information, Molly yelled at the Leapfrog, asking what good it was. In an effort to help, the Leapfrog announced that its systems had been updated and told Molly that Gert's soul was indeed in Heaven. Asking if her parents were also in Heaven, Molly was told that the Leapfrog had insufficient data and that she should ask Chase when he returned. Telling the Leapfrog that it wasn't nice to lie, even to make someone feel better, Molly reminded the Leapfrog that Chase and Old Lace had left and may never return. While the others mourned in their own, Karolina and Xavin returned to their crash site to see if any of Xavin's ship could be salvaged. Determining that they were stranded on Earth, Xavin admitted that he was having trouble understanding why the other Runaways were so saddened by the death of a single individual when Karolina and Xavin had possibly lost their entire worlds to the Skrull-Majesdane War. Asking if it were even a possibility that Xavin could be happy on Earth, Karolina was told that as long as she was near him, he knew he was on the right path. After being told that was how the other Runaways felt about Gert, Xavin apologized for being insensitive and vowed to do anything he could to improve Karolina's world. A short time later, Victor picked up a police report about numerous Starbucks being smashed by "something awful." Nico suggested letting the police handle it but Karolina and Xavin felt that the responsible thing to do was to help. With Chase gone, Victor attempted to fly the Leapfrog as the Runaways went into action against a giant monster. As the Runaways saw their terrifyingly large target, Chase secretly confronted former new Pride member Lotus and informed her that she now worked for him.

(Runaways II#20) - Upon seeing the size of the monster trashing Los Angeles, the Runaways panicked and ended up bouncing the Leapfrog off of the monster's head. The monster gave chase and ended up blasting the Leapfrog with optic energy blasts while Chase continued his meeting with Lotus, whom he remarked would be helping him resurrect Gertrude Yorkes despite Lotus' insistence that she had no powers or weapons and had only been manipulated by both Alex and Geoffrey Wilder. When Lotus tried to explain how resurrection spells were impossible and the time travel spell that the new Pride had used on Geoffrey Wilder was a one-shot deal, Chase reminded her that Wilder had made a deal with the Gibborim and that Lotus would be helping him contact the Gibborim. Upon learning that Chase had turned eighteen, Lotus reminded him that he could be jailed for forcing her to accompany him against her will but Chase merely replied that it was good she was coming by choice and ordered her into his car. Lotus then asked if Chase was restarting the Pride but he instead claimed they were different, identifying more as what came after the Pride: the Fall. Having crashed the Leapfrog, the Runaways bailed out of their vehicle and decided to have Xavin and Karolina distract the monster while Victor, Molly and Nico stayed behind to work on repairing the Leapfrog. While battling the monster in the air, Xavin confessed to Karolina that the Runaways lacked discipline before being knocked aside. Nico helped jack up the Leapfrog while Victor made repairs, soon noticing Molly was standing right in the monster's path. Chase and Lotus continued their journey into California as Molly managed to hold up the monster's foot. When she began tiring out, Nico cast a caffeine injection spell that granted Molly a much-needed energy boost, allowing her to topple the monster, causing large property damage. Nico soon recognized that her Staff of One reacted when the monster got closer and decided against retreating in order to take care of something that might have been a leftover present from her parents, instead suggesting they follow the monster's destructive trail back to its source. Chase, on the other hand, forced Lotus through a portal into the Gibborim's realm by using the young Geoffrey Wilder's stolen Decoder Ring and uttering the word "philoprogenitiveness," assuring Lotus that the entrance was a safe zone for Pride members. Chase allowed Old Lace to attack some of the realm's creatures, who fought back, injuring Chase through his newfound connection to Old Lace. Eventually, the Gibborim appeared and Chase proposed a deal with them.

(Runaways II#21) - Having traced the monster's destruction to its epicenter, Nico ordered the Runaways to comb the rubble for clues to the monster's origins until they heard a man yelling for help. When Molly rescued him, the man recognized the Runaways as the Pride's children and yelled for them to get away. The terrified man, who had been the detective who had earlier attempted to pawn the Pride's mystic artifact, announced that he had nothing to do with the monster and fired on the team. Karolina got an energy shield up to protect them while Victor magnetically separated the detective's gun. Threatening the detective with her Staff of One, Nico ordered the man to report what he knew and he explained that a mystic "doodad" that he had taken from the Pride had transformed shopkeeper Walters into the giant monster they had been fighting. Chase, meanwhile, was convening with the Gibborim, who announced they could not restore Gertrude to life with a human sacrifice. As Chase turned towards Lotus with a knife, the Runaways confronted Walters and Xavin disguised himself as Walters' deceased wife (using words and a voice mystically provided by Nico) to lure him in. Convincing Walters to feel sorry for the destruction he had caused, Xavin managed to get Walters to transform back into his human form. Eventually convinced not to sacrifice Lotus due to her guilty soul, Chase threw his knife into the rocky cliffside and proclaimed to Lotus that there was nothing more there for them. With Lotus still reeling from the possibility that Chase had nearly been ready to kill her, Chase departed with the Gibborim reminding him that the offer still stood: if Chase brought them a human soul, they would restore Gertrude to life. Back on Earth, Chase told Lotus to burn his Abstract tome and announced that they would then go their separate ways. Chase then returned to the Runaways, interrupting a kiss between Nico and Victor. Chase then informed Nico and Victor that he and Old Lace had been clearing their hands and he needed rest. As he went to his room, Chase confessed to Old Lace that he had ripped a few pages out of the Abstract and thought about the Gibborim's reminder.

(Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#1) - The Runaways visited the Santa Monica Farmer's Market and became suspicious of the increased security at the Market's entrance. Nico then informed the others that they each had a share of money and suggested they have fun while remaining inconspicuous. As Xavin and Victor briefly got into an argument over whether the "robot" Victor could have parents, Nico and Karolina discussed whether or not they missed their parents despite their evil nature. Shortly thereafter, the Flag-Smasher got into a fight with the armored government security officers at the Market and the commotion drew the Runaways' attention. Nico quickly ordered Chase to get the Leapfrog but Chase argued that he could help take down Flag-Smasher. Nico reminded Chase that he didn't have super powers and suggested that perhaps they should not have simply left Flag-Smasher tied to a lamppost after their last battle. When Molly laughingly remarked about how Gert had said the lamppost was a bad idea, a grim Chase departed to get the Leapfrog, much to Molly's regret over her comment. Nico then ordered Victor to cut her so she could release the Staff of One but upon hearing that the Flag-Smasher wore a metal exoskeleton to increase his strength, Victor began fusing Flag-Smasher's armor circuits. Before Victor could make a further move, Molly grabbed Flag-Smasher and punted him into the air, effectively defeating the anarchist. Rushing to help the security officer Doug, who had been injured by Flag-Smasher, the Runaways were told to leave the scene. Reminding the officer that they were the good guys, the Runaways were told that the officer knew that. The officer then apologized to them before sending out a signal that summoned a small army of S.H.I.E.L.D. Cape Killers, who were tasked with apprehending any superhumans who hadn't registered with the Superhuman Registraction Act (SHRA). The Cape Killers launched electro-nets at the escaping Runaways but Victor managed to disable the nets while the Runaways boarded the Leapfrog. Victor magnetically attached himself to the Leapfrog's underside, announcing that he would continue to deal with the Cape Killers to cover the Runaways' escape. Unfortunately, the Cape Killers managed to identify Victor's non-human nature and increased their weapon power, riddling Victor's mechanical body with their teflow payload. The Runaways then seemingly disappeared into thin air, according to news reports. Having seen the news reports in New York, the Young Avengers recognized the Runaways and sought to help them. After being told to stay put by Captain America, the Young Avengers instead flew to California to aid the Runaways while the Runaways watched news reports of the SHRA from the Hostel. Already stressed over losing Gert, Chase angrily snapped at Molly when she asked if he would be able to repair Victor and Molly ran outside the Hostel, right into the Young Avengers, who asked that she come with them. Upon hearing that they were Avengers, Molly immediately ran from the Young Avengers despite Stature's attempts to calm her. After hurling a vehicle at the Young Avengers, Molly demanded to know why the Avengers wouldn't leave her alone and the Young Avengers attempted to explain themselves. Eventually, the Young Avengers ventured into the Hostel with an unconscious Molly, prompting the misunderstanding Runaways to assume the Young Avengers had hurt Molly. As the Runaways rushed at the Young Avengers, Vision phased into Victor, causing the piecemeal android to awaken.

(Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#2) - Despite the Young Avengers' claims that Molly fell asleep after attacking them, the Runaways prepared to battle the "cosplay" Avengers. Stature rushed to Vision, who appeared to be stuck inside the malfunctioning Victor Mancha and Xavin jumped to the conclusion that the Young Avengers sought to ambush the Runaways using Vision and attacked. Xavin was immediately punched away by Hulkling, prompting Nico to ready the Runaways. Insisting they were there to help, Hawkeye tried to hold back Nico, who fought back, forcing Hawkeye to faceplant Nico into the floor, busting her lip and allowing Nico to release the Staff of One. Patriot announced that the Runaways were wasting time and continued trying to calm the situation but Speed interrupted, reminding Chase of all of the power that the Young Avengers possessed, suggesting surrender. Chase instead unleashed Old Lace on Speed while Wiccan battled Karolina and found that they had common ground in their dating of Skrulls. Stature eventually managed to separate Vision from Victor while Patriot tried to break up the fight between Nico and Hawkeye. Beginning to realize that fighting was pointless, Nico cast a "chill out" spell that froze over the Hostel. With the fight over, Nico asked who the Young Avengers were and they explained that they were there to help the damaged Victor Mancha. Explaining that his own programming was created by Ultron, Vision was surprised to learn from Chase that Victor was Ultron's cybernetic son and the two teams found more common ground in having a future murderous despot on their team, as the Young Avengers once had a younger Kang on their team in the form of Iron Lad. Vision then deduced that their similar programming must have caused confusing feedback between the two. Proposing that the Runaways accompany them back to Captain America's "Secret Avengers" headquarters to repair Victor, the Young Avengers explained about the SHRA and the super hero civil war that had erupted as a result. The Runaways refused to get involved, claiming that they were no better than the adults if they fell into the same in-fighting. At that point, both groups heard an explosion, only to learn that Molly had convinced Speed to show her his powers by exploding a rock. Speed then played with Molly, holding a flower and using his super speed to keep her from grabbing it from his hand, while the Runaways discussed whether or not they should trust the Young Avengers. Upon learning that Hulkling was actually Dorrek VIII, destined to unite the Skrull and Kree races, Xavin bowed to his supposed savior but soon learned Hulkling had passed on the title. The emotional Xavin announced that Hulkling couldn't turn his back on his destiny, only to be swiftly knocked unconscious by the arriving Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr), who had been sent to track Skrulls by the sadistic warden of the Cage prison.

(Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#3) - Shocked at Marvel Boy's fierceness in taking down Xavin, Karolina leapt at Marvel Boy alongside the Young Avengers' Wiccan. Hulkling joined the fray as well to protect Wiccan but all three were easily taken down by Marvel Boy. Vision followed up by phasing his arm into Marvel Boy's chest. Withstanding the pain, Marvel Boy ripped Vision's arm from his body and escaped, landing near a recovering Victor Mancha. Preparing to crush Mancha's head to kill him, Marvel Boy was instead kicked away from the scene by a giant-sized Stature. The Runaways and Young Avengers then tried to regroup as Stature explained their attacker, who rushed back into the fray, clotheslining both Stature and Patriot. Chase suggested getting Old Lace, an idea Nico promptly agreed with, and the Young Avengers' Hawkeye opted to hit Marvel Boy with a tranquilizer arrow, which Marvel Boy deflected into Stature, downing the giant. While Chase tried to rouse Old Lace, whose cold-blooded nature was still reeling from Nico's "chill out" spell, the Cage's warden obtained the unconscious Karolina Dean, Xavin, Hulkling and Wiccan. Taking down Hawkeye, Marvel Boy turned towards the terrified Nico, who tried to use various spells against Marvel Boy, unfortunately not thinking of a single one she hadn't previously used before Marvel Boy had her in a choke hold. Before he could finish the job, Marvel Boy was retrieved by the Cage's warden and Nico used a "wake up" spell to rouse the remaining unconscious Young Avengers. Vision then explained how Marvel Boy had ambushed the team and how Karolina, the mortally-wounded Xavin, Hulkling and Wiccan were captured as Speed and Molly, who had been playing together the whole time, returned to find half of their allies missing. The two groups briefly argued about how to get their friends but Nico relented upon hearing Patriot's plan to rescue their friends and make their captors pay. Chase agreed with the plan and suggested it was time to stop being runaways and start avenging, unaware that the Cage's warden was preparing to surgically experiment on his captives.

(Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#4) - The warden began his attempts to experiment on his captives, with Hulkling subconsciously shifting his organs out of the way of the warden's surgical tools and Wiccan constantly trying to mystically stop the warden despite the warden surgically implanting a device that prevented him from hearing his own voice. Outside the Cube, the remaining Runaways and Young Avengers were scoping out the Cube in preparation for rescuing their teammates. After consulting the built-in thesaurus within the Vision, Nico managed to use the Staff of One to teleport her allies inside the Cube, where they began fighting the Cube's guards. While Vision hacked into the Cube's computer systems, Marvel Boy was released to deal with the heroes. As Marvel Boy entered the fray by attacking Old Lace, harming Chase as well due to their psychic link, a recovered Xavin attacked the Cube's warden and nearly killed him before the recovered Karolina, Hulkling and Wiccan talked Xavin out of it. Leading the four with their teammates, Vision then formed himself around Chase to allow Chase the ability to both protect the exhausted Molly Hayes and fight back against Marvel Boy. When Marvel Boy began taking over the Vision's form due to the phased Vision arm in his chest, the somewhat recovered Victor Mancha touched Marvel Boy's shoulder, causing the same intense feedback that had earlier incapacitated him due to his proximity to Vision and their similar programming. The feedback downed Marvel Boy and Vision took the opportunity to both retrieve his phased arm and repair the damage to Marvel Boy's mind caused by the Cube's warden. Leaving the warden to the mentally recovered Marvel Boy, the Runaways and Young Avengers regrouped outside of the Cube, where they said their goodbyes and parted ways.

(Civil War Files - BTS) - After footage of the Runaways fighting the Young Avengers emerged, Iron Man added a file on the Runaways to a dossier that he provided to the United States government concerning superhumans that had not registered with the SHRA. In the dossier, Iron Man examined each of the Runaways and their powers, touting the team as being untrained, sloppy and more than lucky at this stage in their heroic careers, even going as far as admitting his surprise that the Runaways had not caused a disaster similar to the Stamford, Connecticut explosion due to their lack of training. Further commenting that while they did defeat the Pride out of sheer luck and did not trust Iron Man's side of the superhero civil war, Iron Man reminded the government officials reading the dossier that the Runaways equally did not trust Captain America's anti-SHRA side either. He concluded the dossier by remarking on his lack of confidence that the pro-SHRA side would ever be able to sway the Runaways to their side.

(Civil War Battle Damage Report - BTS) - After having declined membership in Captain America's anti-SHRA "Secret Avengers," the Runaways remained unaware that their recent alliance with the Young Avengers had steered them in a new direction.

(Runaways II#22) - The Runaways confronted the lycanthropic Silver Bullet Gang, who had been run out of Los Angeles years earlier by the Pride. During the battle, Victor proved unable to fully control the Gang's metal guns due to his system still repairing itself following the team's adventure with the Young Avengers. When Chase defeated one of the werewolves, he ordered Old Lace to rip its throat out but Nico instead ordered Chase to call off Old Lace. Grumbly relenting, Chase called Old Lace back and Nico had the Runaways leave the Silver Bullet Gang behind inside a mystic cage for whatever super hero may be protecting California on behalf of the government. Upon hearing the Leapfrog call Victor "Master Mancha," Chase was reminded that it was merely an old-fashioned term for those too young to be called "Mister." The Leapfrog agreed, calling Chase "Mister Stein" and prompting the still-mourning Chase to walk back to the Hostel. Back at the Hostel, Victor discussed with Nico getting Chase some help in dealing with Gert's death or perhaps having Chase leave the team since he was now eighteen. The conversation soon moved to whether they intended to have children of their own someday and a flirtatious Nico remarked that if she were ever in the market for children, she could do a lot worse than Victor. The two nearly shared a kiss but Victor's still-malfunctioning static regulator caused Nico to be static shocked and she decided to head back to her own room before she made things weird for the other Runaways. Nico then departed, unaware that Chase had once again convened with the Gibborim to learn specifics of how they would resurrect Gert should he ever provide a sacrifice to them. Learning that the Gibborim's process of feeding on an innocent soul would erase the victim from existence and that their time on Earth would end in twelve hours, Chase opted to think more about the Gibborim's proposal and announced that he would get back in touch. When Chase emerged from the portal to the Gibborim's realm, he terrified a young street kid, who insisted they had done nothing bad. At the Hostel, Molly beat Xavin at the board game Risk, angering Xavin until Karolina arrived and said goodnight as she went to bed. Once Karolina had left, Molly asked Xavin why he didn't stay in female form all the time, as it might be uncomfortable for some of the others, and Xavin replied that to him, gender is like changing clothing and his nature was no different than Molly's mutant nature. He then asked who was uncomfortable by the gender changes and Molly essentially listed the entire team, remarking how they were only uncomfortable because Xavin was new to the Runaways and things would change once they recruited someone else. Xavin then asked how often they recruited and Molly grimly replied that they did so pretty much every time one of the team members died. Later that night, Nico awoke from a nightmare involving her parents, only to find that she had been chained up by Chase, who proclaimed her the most innocent person he had ever met.

(Runaways II#23) - Waking from a dream involving her parents pulling her one way or another, Karolina Dean found "Nico" (actually a disguised Xavin) in her room. When "Nico" began flirting, Karolina admitted that she was attracted to Nico but explained that she was with Xavin now, prompting Xavin to reveal himself to Karolina. At first thinking that Xavin's ruse was some sort of sick test, Karolina learned that Xavin had heard from Molly that he made the others uncomfortable and that he had thought Karolina might be put at ease if he assumed a form that Karolina already liked. Karolina admitted that she wanted Xavin to be himself and Xavin replied that he didn't know who he was. While Karolina suggested that Xavin "join the club," Old Lace resisted harming the tied-up Nico. Revealing that the Gibborim would resurrect Gert if Chase sacrificed an innocent soul to them in exchange, Chase informed Nico that he had no intentions of sacrificing her but rather, he intended to sacrifice himself. Back at the Hostel, Molly looked at a photo of Gert, remarking to herself how she wasn't as good at saying the right thing as Gert was and commenting how everyone seemed to be fighting. Molly soon heard a voice asking where Chase was and telling her to gather the other Runaways. As Molly frantically ran, unsure who was talking to her, Chase further explained his plan to Nico and how his refusal to kill the street kid he had earlier encountered had proven that he was an innocent and not a bad person. Thinking Chase had lost his mind, Nico reminded Chase that he had once said he had murdered a car thief but Chase responded by revealing the child abuse he had suffered at his father's hands and how he had made up stories to explain why he deserved the beatings. Admitting that he eventually started believing his own stories, Chase further explained that once he was sacrificed to the Gibborim, he would be erased from existence and he had tied up Nico to resolve unfinished business between them. Scoffing at Chase's claims, Nico accused Chase's returning to the Hostel as a cry for help and reminded Chase that Gert was dead. Chase then used Nico's Staff of One to mystically force Nico to be quiet as Victor Mancha appeared and ordered Chase away from his girlfriend. Warning Chase to call back Old Lace, Victor was soon incapacitated when Chase exploited a programming flaw by asking Victor if God could create a sandwich so big that he himself couldn't finish it. Chase then gave Nico a list of three questions that could shut down Victor if needed, claiming that if Gert was resurrected, he wanted to make sure the Runaways had a way to stop him if Earth-5421 Gert's story about Victor betraying the world's heroes occurred. Chase then departed with Nico still tied up, claiming he would destroy Nico's Staff of One so that she could live a normal life. After rousing Karolina, Molly brought her to the Leapfrog, which confirmed Chase's departure. Xavin soon arrived as well, having freed Nico from her restraints and learned about Chase's plan to swap places with Gert in the afterlife. Molly quickly noticed a puddle of the housebroken Old Lace's urine, which the Runaways deduced was Old Lace's idea of leaving them a trail to follow. When Nico was unsure how they would be able to stop Chase with Victor, their only Leapfrog pilot, incapacitated and Karolina's powers needing recharging, Xavin suggested they use "girl power" and he accessed his invisible force field powers, covering the Runaways and flying out of the Hostel.

(Runaways II#24) - Following Old Lace's trail to the Randy's Donuts restaurant, the Runaways were unsure where to go from there until Molly noticed a red portal nearby. Ordering Molly to stay behind with the still-unconscious Victor, Nico, Karolina and Xavin ventured through the portal and found Chase about to sacrifice himself to the Gibborim. Nico explained that they didn't want Gert back if it meant losing Chase but he ordered Old Lace to keep the Runaways at bay so he wouldn't have to hurt anyone. Karolina instead calmed Old Lace as Molly tried to awaken Victor, who eventually rebooted. Within the Gibborim's realm, the Gibborim noticed Xavin and announced him as unclean. Xavin responded by announcing that he was never much for religion but the Gibborim hit Xavin with a burst of fire, forcing Karolina to intercept Xavin's fall. Chase angrily warned the Gibborim that their deal would be off if they hurt anyone else and offered himself to the Gibborim, who declined Chase's soul on the grounds that it would no longer be innocent if he gave it willingly. The Gibborim then suggested using Nico's soul, which Chase announced would only be over his dead body. The Gibborim agreed and prepared to consume Chase but Victor and Molly arrived. Victor had Molly hurl him at Chase, whom Victor retrieved as the Gibborim's time on Earth ended. Without souls to consume, the Gibborim disappeared, leaving the Runaways to recover. Nico kissed Victor and Molly admitted her acceptance of Xavin. Karolina tried to comfort Chase, who asked why they couldn't all have a decent childhood like every other American kid, as Victor and Nico discussed allowing Chase to remain on the Runaways. After Nico remarked that they would rip Chase's heart if he ever tried anything like this again, the Runaways returned home to the Hostel to find some of its security demons active. They were soon met by Iron Man and, in no shape to fight, the Runaways ran from the fight.

(Runaways Saga#1) - Traveling in the Leapfrog across the United States, the Runaways plowed through the "Welcome to Kansas" billboard as they departed Kansas. Chase soon erupted into a slew of Wizard of Oz jokes in response to not being in Kansas anymore but Nico eventually insisted he shut up. The group discussed how The Wizard of Oz somewhat related to their own lives as Nico got up to check on the sleeping Molly. Noticing a diary under Molly's blanket, Nico opted to read it despite Karolina's suggestions to the contrary and inside, she read of the Runaways' past adventures as told by Molly. She also read how Molly still missed her parents despite knowing they were evil and the truth about Molly's earlier encounter with the Provost. Emotionally moved by Molly's writings, the Runaways were surprised when Molly woke up and found them with her diary. At first angry and hurt, Molly soon hugged her teammates and remarked how there was no place like home.

(Runaways II#25 (fb) - BTS) - Needing a favor, the Runaways voted on whether to meet with the Kingpin under the guise of representing the Pride's interests. Majority won and they agreed to meet with the crimelord.

(Runaways II#25) - The Runaways met with the Kingpin in New York, where they explained that they needed to spend time in New York without the interference of the Avengers or X-Men. Claiming to represent the Pride's interests as their children, the Runaways asked for their favor but the Kingpin showed them photos of the Pusher Man, whom Nico and Chase had earlier encountered. The photos showed the superpowered Pusher Man's grisly murder and the Kingpin announced that Pusher Man had died because the Runaways had earlier claimed to be a new Pride incarnation and the excited Pusher Man had shared the information, leading to his death. Calling the Runaways out on their ruse of representing the Pride, the Kingpin agreed to grant the Runaways a favor in exchange for providing a favor to him. Learning that they had to steal an artifact for the Kingpin, the Runaways agreed and were granted a stay in a nice New York hotel, complete with a stocked fridge and central heating. While in the hotel, Victor Mancha expressed his dislike of working for the Kingpin as the others tried to enjoy their time not living out of the Leapfrog. When Victor went to his room to be alone, Nico ventured on the roof, where Karolina followed and tried to cheer her up. During their discussion, Nico questioned whether Xavin's form while with Karolina was his true nature, inadvertently angering Karolina into flying off. After briefly crying following Karolina's departure, Nico accompanied the other Runaways in the Leapfrog to retrieve the Kingpin's artifact from a vault. Landing the Leapfrog on an adjacent rooftop, the group briefly argued how to best retrieve the artifact without being seen until Xavin tried to show off by stretching to the building. Unfortunately, he reached his stretching limit before making it to the vault and proved unsuccessful. After Molly suggested Xavin use his powers to create an invisible force bridge, Xavin did so and Nico had Victor use his powers to blow the vault's alarm systems. While most of the Runaways ventured inside to retrieve the artifact, Chase and Old Lace remained outside to keep watch, soon noticing the Punisher with a bazooka before being blown off the rooftop. Old Lace quickly rescued Chase but the blast created a fire inside, forcing the Runaways to retreat onto a rooftop, where the Punisher confronted the group, unaware that a mechanical-winged humanoid was about to get the drop on him.

(Runaways II#26) - Ducking the winged man's attack, the Punisher fought back as the surprised Runaways watched. Eventually deciding to use the distraction to their advantage, the Runaways attempted to flee but the winged man stopped them until Victor used his powers to affect the man's mechanical wings. Trying to flee from the winged man, the Runaways were ordered to freeze by the Punisher but Nico used the Staff of One to mystically phase the team down through the roof. Returning to the Leapfrog, the Runaways found Chase missing and assumed that he had been killed by the earlier explosion. Fighting amongst themselves, Nico and Xavin got into a heated argument before Chase managed to climb his way back to them, commenting that he wanted Nico's remarks about the team always failing and people dying on his tombstone. Sharing a brief happy moment, thankful that Chase was alive and they had retrieved the Kingpin's artifact in the scuffle, the Runaways were soon confronted again by the Punisher, who had caught up to them. With guns pointed at them, the Runaways attempted to explain themselves to the Punisher, who refused to see anything other than them being thieves for the Kingpin. Chase tried to talk his way out of things by remarking how the artifact resembled technology created by either his or Gertrude Yorkes' parents, making it the property of the Pride, but Punisher remained unconvinced until Molly Hayes punched him in the stomach. Berating Molly for hitting him, a non-powered opponent, the Runaways boarded the Leapfrog and departed to hand the artifact over to the Kingpin. Along the way they realized that the artifact appeared to be a part for the overdrive system for the Leapfrog, the Runaways contemplated installing it before meeting with the Kingpin, who surrounded the team with ninjas and demanded the artifact. Asking to further explain what it was, suggesting an energy amplifier, Chase was told that the Runaways being alive was explanation enough but Chase refused to turn it over, warning that he would have Xavin destroy it unless they were told more. Instead, Kingpin unleashed the ninjas on the Runaways and during the battle, Victor was knocked off the rooftop, where he was rescued by their earlier winged opponent. Reminding the man that he could affect his mechanical wings, Victor was told that he had a message to deliver before he returned to the Runaways as Nico downed the ninjas with a crash spell. When more of the Kingpin's armored goons arrived, Victor insisted the Runaways retreat and use the artifact to boost the Leapfrog's overdrive. Upon doing so, the Runaways soon found themselves transported to the early 1900s, where they realized that the injured Nico would need medical attention.

(Runaways II#27 (fb) - BTS) - Unsure of where exactly they were, the Runaways laid low while Nico cast a healing spell on herself.

(Runaways II#27) - Upon hearing a young boy peddling newspapers, the Runaways had Xavin impersonate a man and buy a newspaper, confirming that they had indeed time traveled to the year 1907. Discussing how their presence might disrupt the timestream, the Runaways were soon informed by Victor Mancha that the energy amplifying artifact had burned itself out, burning out the Leapfrog's overdrive in the process, effectively stranding the team there for the time being. Molly suggested using Nico's Staff of One to send them all back to their proper time but the Leapfrog explained that its holo records indicated that it was immune to spell-casting. The Leapfrog then played the holo record during its construction in which Victor Stein remarked how nearly all of his inventions were made spell-proof due to his mistrust of his Pride allies, the Minorus. After having the Leapfrog stop the playback when an image of Gert appeared, the Runaways decided that finding another energy amplifier that the Yorkses had hidden throughout the timestream was the team's best bet at getting back to the present. Following a spell that gave them period outfits, Nico and the other Runaways ventured out into 1907 New York and while Nico and Karolina admired the fashions, Chase admitted to Victor his suspicions that the Leapfrog was beginning to seem like his own father, remarking that the Leapfrog could have shown them holo records of its construction and the energy amplifier prior to them being transported back in time. When an explosion erupted on the upper floors of a nearby building, Nico quickly sent the Runaways into action despite their cover, ordering Xavin to project force fields around the bystanders, Chase to help Molly make some new exits and help with debris, and Victor to take care of any collapsing metal. While Nico dealt with the ensuing fire, the other Runaways rescued the building's inhabitants, all children. Following the rescue, the Runaways were met by a man named the Swell, who identified the Runaways as "Wonders," people with special abilities. He then offered to take them in in exchange for their opinions and a helping hand should he get into trouble. Taking the Runaways back to Camelot, a small haven for other Wonders, Gunnam introduced them to his allies, the Street Arabs. Among the Street Arabs, Victor noticed Tristan, a younger counterpart to the mechanical winged man who had given him a message. Once the Runaways were given their own room, Karolina left to explore the town while Victor informed Nico of the message he was given and how Tristan being in 1907 couldn't be a coincidence. In the street, a man approached Karolina, thinking she was a prostitute, and when he refused to leave her alone, she blasted him into the street and soon noticed that a flower stand was destroyed by the man's trajectory. Recognizing the flowers as being similar to ones she had seen while rescuing a young girl during the earlier fire, Karolina flew up to a window sill, where she witnessed the same young girl being abused by a much older man, who was angry that the girl's flowers weren't selling.

(Runaways II#28 (fb) - BTS) - The following morning, Chase spoke to the Swell about the energy amplifier they were looking for and where they could go about locating it.

(Runaways II#28) - As the other Runaways awoke, Chase had the Swell explain to them that the best way to find their artifact would be to have the Merchant's Trust open their vaults, which he was sure they would not do, or visit the private subway train known as the Mineola. Further explaining that the Mineola was run by very powerful Wonders called the Sinners, the Swell revealed that the Street Arabs did jobs for the Sinners and knew that valuables were kept on the Mineola. As Nico asked if they earned the name Sinners because of their disposition, the Spieler came barreling through the window, admitting that she had been flying on music when it stopped, causing her to fall. Spieler suggested they take their burned out overdrive unit to Professor Duck for repairs but the Swell still insisted they go to the Sinners. Nico ultimately decided that the Runaways should split up, with Chase and Xavin meeting the Sinners and Victor going with the Spieler to see Professor Duck. Karolina asked to take Molly with her while Nico revealed that she would try to get the Merchant's Trust to open their vaults. As they all split, Karolina and Molly went to visit the girl Karolina had earlier witnessed and learned her name was Klara. As Klara left her house, Karolina and Molly confronted her, revealing that they had super powers. When a confused Klara asked what they wanted, Karolina admitted she had witnessed Klara climbing down vines to escape the earlier fire and tried to convince Klara that she didn't have to be scared with others like her. When Molly asked if Klara really wanted to stay with her mean father, who pressed her to find jobs and be sold to someone, Klara replied that the old man was not her father, but her husband. While Karolina and Molly processed such a claim, Nico used the Staff of One to open the vaults in the Merchant's Trust and have people bring her items from their vault, hoping that one of the items might be an energy amplifier left behind by the time-traveling Yorkes. Eventually, the Wonders known as the Upward Path took notice of the suspicious Merchant's Trust activity and confronted Nico, who insisted she was only looking for a lost item of her own. Upward Path member Black Maria confirmed Nico's status as a witch and the armored Difference Engine could not find Nico Minoru in his database. Before Nico could continue explaining, she was knocked out by the Adjudicator. Chase and Xavin, meanwhile, visited the Mineola with the Swell, where they met the Maneater, who asked what powers they could bring. When Chase quipped that Maneater wasn't in charge and asked Maneater to retrieve those in charge, Maneater got up to fight the two Runaways but Xavin knocked through one of the Mineola's carriages. The commotion drew the attention of the Maneater's bosses, the time-traveling Yorkes from a time prior to theeir deaths. Recognizing Chase, albeit thinking he looked older than they remember, Stacey Yorkes asked if Gert was with him but Dale Yorkes remarked that Gert wouldn't waste time with an ape like Chase. Chase replied by saying that he and Gert never wasted a second together then asked what Dale found worse: that Gert was in love with Chase or that she was dead. Dale lunged at Chase, who was protected by an invisible shield from Xavin. Chase then had Xavin create a runway as they tried to escape the Yorkes. Stacey quickly tried to return to their own time in an effort to check on Gert but Chase knocked her out with a wrench and transported himself through time instead. As Chase and Nico dealt with their own troubles, Victor accompanied the Spieler as she was drawn into a protest, the songs of which allowed her to dance on air. While Tristan secretly watched Spieler dancing with Victor, Karolina and Molly took Klara to a nearby restaurant and discussed Klara's origins. Nico soon regained consciousness inside the Upward Path's dungeon, where the Witchbreaker identified her as a Minoru.

(Runaways II#29) - Xavin caught up to Karolina and Molly, who were still with Klara, and informed them of Chase's departure into the timestream. While they discussed whether or not anyone had checked on Nico or Victor, the Street Arabs quietly discussed what to do with the Runaways, with the Swell suggesting they keep them close until he could calm down Maneater and Megan the Hoyden and Creeper suggesting they throw the Runaways out of their alliance. Xavin and Karolina soon got into an argument over whether to take Klara into the Runaways, with Xavin thinking they should focus more on getting back to the present day despite Karolina's attempts to help Klara. When they both lost control of their tempers, Karolina found that Xavin resorted to his female form when not concentrating on maintaining another form. Happy to see that Xavin's natural form seemed to be female, Karolina kissed him but the shock of seeing two females kissing, especially one that could change its shape, unnerved Klara and she ran away. While Nico remained tortured by the Witchbreaker, Victor and Spieler visited Professor Duck, who proved unable to repair the Leapfrog's overdrive. Spieler then suggested Victor could stay in 1907 but Victor asked about Spieler's relationship with Tristan, whom Spieler claimed was more like a brother. Victor asked if Tristan was aware of her feelings towards him and then kissed Spieler, asking her to come back with him to the modern era. Molly eventually managed to catch up with Klara, who protected herself with a shield of giant vines, but when Klara warned that people like Karolina and Xavin were unnatural and would lead Molly to a terrible end, Molly grew angry at Klara insulting her family and left. Witchbreaker continued torturing Nico, claiming that she would not have her bloodline become so weak, while the other Runaways discussed how to rescue Nico before they were interrupted by members of the Sinners outside. Sinners member Forget-Me-Not influenced men to fight outside the Street Arabs headquarters and Victor was soon influenced by Forget-Me-Not as well, jumping into what soon became a mob fight outside. As the Runaways watched, members of the Upward Path arrived and fought the Sinners, soon erupting into a war between all three groups of Wonders. During the battle, most of the Runaways were protected by Xavin's invisible force shields but Victor was grabbed up by Tristan, who insisted Spieler was his girl. Flying him into the air, Tristan hurled Victor onto a rooftop, where Victor collided with a giant bomb.

(Runaways II#30) - Convincing Tristan that the bomb could destroy the entire city, including Spieler, Victor warned the other Runaways while Tristan tried to lift the bomb in an effort to protect his beloved Spieler. Tristan managed to hurl the bomb into the air, where it exploded. Karolina and Xavin meshed their energy and invisible shields together to protect all of the fighting Wonders as well as the rest of the Runaways, but the Wonders continued their war. The fight was soon broke up by the inexplicable arrival of Nico, who seemed to have obtained a power boost. Nico ordered an end to the fighting and was informed of Chase's departure. Grimly remarking that Chase was a big boy able to handle himself, Nico announced to the other Runaways that they would be picking up a stray. Victor tried to explain his earlier actions but Nico sternly interrupted, calling Victor a toaster and Spieler a ho before ordering Victor to give Spieler the message he was told to deliver. Old Lace subsequently showed up carrying one of the Yorkes' sets of goggles and the Runaways determined that they needed to stop the Yorkes from possibly stealing the Leapfrog. Rushing to the Leapfrog's location in a carriage, the Runaways prepared to stop the Yorkes as Victor gave Spieler the message telling her that it was her last chance to change her life or risk spending her last days in regret. As the bomb-injured Tristan lay thanking God for his survival and Spieler learned that Victor's message seemed to be from a future version of herself, the Runaways arrived as the Yorkes were attempting to activate the Leapfrog. As Dale Yorkes cursed Victor Stein for the complicated Leapfrog mechanisms, Chase returned from the timestream with a a new pair of Fistigons, which he used to help capture the Yorkes. Nico then used a "Show Must Go On" spell on the Yorkes that would effectively prevent the Yorkes from doing anything to change events from occurring as they were destined to despite knowing that Gertrude would die. After Nico cast the spell, a more seriously injured Klara weakly returned to Molly and, knowing her husband had beat her, Karolina prepared to go after him but Nico reminded her that they didn't have much time. Instead, Klara was invited to join the Runaways and she accepted despite her earlier misgivings. Victor then offered Spieler a place on the Runaways, explaining that her future counterpart's message must have meant for her to join them. Too scared to live in a future time, Spieler declined and the Runaways returned to the present day, where an elderly Spieler regretted that even her message to herself proved unable to convince her to start a life with Victor. The Runaways arrived moments after their original departure, right in the middle of their battle with the Kingpin's goons. Revealing that he had studied the Fistigons while in the timestream, Chase fired blasts that blocked the Kingpin's missiles. The Runaways then briefly landed the Leapfrog, where Nico realized how hurt Victor was at having to leave Spieler behind. Admitting that she had tried to throw Victor with Spieler after noticing their feelings for one another, Nico expressed regret at her tendacy to get in between others. Chase replied by admitting that when he had traveled back in time, he saw a then-still-living Gertrude Yorkes at her parents' house and, rather than risk scaring her or upsetting the timestream, Chase just watched her enjoying her life. Back in the Leapfrog, Karolina tried to comfort a saddened Victor and Chase and Nico regrouped as the Runaways prepared to depart New York.

(Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers#1) - Rather than leave immediately, the Runaways decided to walk around New York City and see some of the sights. Insisting that staying to look around was not common sense, Xavin argued but Nico explained that they had opted to stay in an effort to allow Klara to say goodbye to the only city she knew before the team returned to Los Angeles. As Chase bought Klara a hot dog from a sidewalk vendor, Klara attempted to adjust herself to the wonders of the modern world while Xavin continued arguing against being in plain sight when they were wanted fugitives in a city of superhumans. Shortly after, the Runaways witnessed an army of Skrulls descend on New York City and an entranced Xavin seemingly turned on the team, hitting them with an invisible force barrier. Eventually regaining consciousness, Victor rebooted his system as Nico regained consciousness and whispered that she had a spell to stop Xavin's heart if they needed it. Upon seeing Karolina unconscious, Xavin invisibly levitated the Runaways and Nico continued to feign unconsciousness until she cast a "Pop" spell that shattered the invisible discs. Nico then ordered Victor to hit Xavin with everything he had despite Xavin's attempts to explain. Xavin used invisible discs to ensure that Karolina and the other Runaways safely made it to the ground before he was wrapped in a metal manipulated by Victor. Xavin then tried to explain that he was attempting to save the Runaways from the religious Skrull extremists that had invaded New York. Believing Xavin, Nico had Victor released Xavin and helped get the rest of the unconscious Runaways to safety. Nico and Victor then got the other Runaways to the Leapfrog while Xavin stayed behind to help. Arguing about running away from a fight, Victor reluctantly agreed to take off but the Leapfrog was almost immediately besieged by Skrulls. Xavin invisibly watched as the Initiative and Young Avengers battled the Skrulls and when he saw Skrull Commander Chrell touch down on Earth, Xavin realized Chrell had arrived to retrieve Hulkling, a half-Skrull, half-Kree prince. Using his flame powers, Xavin decided to help by distracting the Skrulls with a fiery explosion while he got the injured Hulkling to safety in the sewers. Unfortunately, Xavin and Hulkling did not get far due to Hulkling's injuries and the Skrulls followed them into the sewers to attack, accusing Xavin and Hulkling of being sinners.

(Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers#2) - Xavin took a serious beating from the other Skrulls, who pronounced him a traitor, but Xavin was soon saved by the Young Avengers' Wiccan and Speed, who helped defeat the two attacking Skrulls. Regaining his composure, Xavin announced that they had to get Hulkling to safety as more Skrulls busted into the Leapfrog through its windshield. As the Leapfrog went down, Nico yelled for the other Runaways to wake up and Old Lace quickly joined the fray, savagely attacking the Skrulls. After the Leapfrog crashed, the Skrulls attacked Victor and snapped Nico's wrist before a recovered Chase blasted them with the Fistigons. Chase then sent Molly after the lead Skrull, whom she punched through a building and into the air. With the immediate threat subsided, a recovered Karolina flew from the Leapfrog and asked where Xavin was as Nico ordered the team to continue retreating. As Hulkling came to in the sewers with Wiccan, Speed and Xavin, he asked what was going on and Xavin explained how an army of Skrulls had invaded New York intent on taking Earth, which they rightfully believed to be their own per religious texts. Xavin then angrily exclaimed that Hulkling could have prevented the war if he had accepted his destiny to unite the Skrulls and Kree. Xavin then further explained that Hulkling had been marked for death so that he could be taken out before he could unite the Skrulls. The Skrull X'iv then attacked the foursome and was defeated. As X'iv reported back to Chrell of Xavin's presence with Hulkling, the Runaways argued over Nico's orders to run from the battle. Eventually, Klara pointed out footage of the New York battle on television and the Runaways witnessed the Young Avengers getting brutally beaten by the Skrulls. Nico whispered to Karolina that Xavin had saved them and that could have been them if they had stayed at ground zero of the invasion.

(Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers#3) - Xavin continued trying to get Hulkling to safety with Wiccan and Speed, suggesting that Hulkling find a way to broadcast to the invading Skrulls that there was another way to unite the race without invading Earth. The Skrull X'iv soon located them and teleported them from the scene, right into the clutches of Commander Chrell, who had already captured the rest of the Runaways. Holding Karolina Dean hostage, Chrell announced that he would let Xavin and Karolina go anywhere else in the universe without a fight in exchange for Xavin killing Hulkling to quell the prophecy of Hulkling's uniting of the Skrull Empire. While Xavin considered killing Hulkling, feeling that there was no way he could defeat Chrell, the confused Klara repeated how much she wanted to be away from there and she managed to sprout a nearly full-grown tree beneath Chrell, slamming Chrell with the force of its sudden growth and allowing the Runaways to regroup. Karolina immediately jumped into battling Chrell herself while Victor began fighting X'iv. The Runaways then teamed with the Young Avengers against both Chrell and X'iv and during the battle, Speed got Molly and Klara to safety before returning to help defeat X'iv, whom Hulkling knocked out by feigning allegiance to the Skrull gods. Xavin fiercely battled his old trainer Chrell, who tried to go supernova with his flame powers. Containing Chrell's blast within an invisible force field, Xavin watched as Chrell incinerated himself within the force field and nearly died himself while protecting his teammates and allies. Following the fight against Chrell and X'iv, the Young Avengers announced their intentions to return to the main fight against the Skrulls in Times Square and Nico announced their own intentions to join them to help their friends but Speed reminded the Runaways that Molly and Klara would need to be picked up, as he had earlier gotten them to safety by running them all the way to Mount Rushmore, where a grumbling Molly exclaimed her intentions to punch Speed the next time they met.

(Runaways III#1) - Arriving back in Los Angeles, the Runaways felt glad to be home but Victor soon reminded them that they had no base of operations after Iron Man had confronted them in the La Brea Tar Pits Hostel. Victor then suggested that perhaps they came out somewhere for the night and figure out where to permanently stay the following day but a tired Nico announced that she wanted a bed and her own room, shooting down Victor's idea of camping out. When Chase made a joke about parking the Leapfrog in Disneyland and charging for rides, Nico suggested that they could ask the Leapfrog if there were any other former Pride headquarters that they could use as a base. The Leapfrog confirmed that there was a Malibu headquarters that remained intact with alarms still active and the Runaways made their way to Chase's old Malibu home, which the Steins had kept active all this time. Landing on the beach outside of the former Malibu Pride headquarters, the Runaways opted to investigate the former Pride headquarters inside one of Xavin's invisible force bubbles rather than try swimming ashore of the Malibu beach home. Once ashore and in front of the home, the Runaways discussed how best to disable the alarms and make sure no one was present inside. When Karolina informed Molly that they couldn't just kick down the door without the police being called, Molly replied that someone might answer the door if a celebrity knocked and Xavin attempted to shapeshift into a celebrity, taking the form of movie director Kevin Smith, to which Chase replied that if Xavin could somehow transform him into Jay, they could go clubbing. As Xavin remarked that Chase was essentially Jay already, Nico ordered Victor to find the power and shut it off. Karolina then accompanied Victor as he shut down the power while Chase and Xavin, whom Chase continued trying to convince to shapeshift into other celebrities, attempted to break into the former Pride headquarters. Succeeding, Chase and Xavin were quickly overran by the Pride's security daemons, who swarmed after Victor and Karolina as well. As the Runaways defeated the security daemons one-by-one, Karolina remarked to Nico that the team didn't have the money to fix the broken wall or windows that had been damaged by the battle and Nico replied that she had already thought of a solution on their way to Malibu: Chase needed to get a job since he was eighteen and wouldn't need a parent somehow to do so. When Karolina commented that Nico would never be able to convince Chase to get a job, Nico reminded Karolina that Chase had yet to see the garage. The day after Chase saw the vehicles within the garage, the Runaways (minus Victor, who stayed behind to work on the Leapfrog, and Xavin) went shopping at a local mall while Chase interviewed for a job at the KZIT radio station on the mall's top floor. At KZIT, Chase managed to get into the radio studio in an attempt to speak with disc jockey Val Rhymin but Val's boss Bob ordered Chase to leave until Val suggested his listeners steal items from the mayor's office, prompting Bob to instead yell at Val for creating a threat to KZIT's license. During the argument, Chase asked for two minutes with Val, who admitted Chase's persistence without any sense reminded him of himself at a young age. Despite Val also admitting that Chase had already angered the station manager who would be the one to give Chase a job, Val announced that he thought that he had an opening. Bob was soon thrown from the KZIT offices on the mall's top floor and had to be rescued by the Runaways, with Klara erupting trees from the floor to catch the falling Bob. Assuming the police would soon arrive at the mall, the Runaways opted to leave, deciding to meet Chase at their new Malibu headquarters later that afternoon. Returning to their Malibu home, the Runaways brought food and discussed the day until Chase returned, asking why they had left him behind. When Nico asked Chase if he had seen the man fall, Chase replied that he was speaking with Val Rhymin and heard the man scream but didn't see anything when he looked towards the rail. Nico chided Chase for drawing attention to the Runaways by not paying attention to people right in front of him but Chase argued back, exclaiming that Nico was likely just standing there debating on whether to publicly rescue Bob or not. Victor tried to calm the argument, whispering that he heard a noise, but before anyone could react, the Runaways were all blasted by a group of Majesdanian aliens, announcing that they were looking for Karolina Dean.

(Runaways III#2) - Taking cover, Nico asked Karolina what she had done but Karolina had no idea why the Majesdanians had attacked. Sgt. deHalle then hit Karolina with a blast that absorbed the solar energy from her body, draining Karolina of her stored power, and Xavin rushed to rescue his betrothed, only to be hurled backwards into Chase. Injured in the attack, Nico unleashed the Staff of One and managed to scatter the Majesdanians just as Gen. vaDrann ordered them to fire. While checking on Karolina, Victor Mancha soon noticed that one of the Majesdanians, vaDanti, had not been scattered elsewhere and Victor magnetically hurled knives to surround vaDanti, who announced his surrender. Following the battle, concerned neighbors visited the Malibu home, wondering what had caused the explosion, and Xavin shapeshifted into a man and assured the neighbors that one of his "teenagers" had left the gas on, causing a window to burst out. The Runaways then interrogated vaDanti, who insisted he only wanted peace and that he was not a soldier. Eventually, Chase grew tired of the run-around and demanded to know why Majesdanians were attacking them and an impatient vaDanti yelled that the Dean family had destroyed the planet Majesdane and the blood of billions was on Karolina Dean's hands. As Molly tried to explain that it was the Dean adults who committed the crime and not Karolina, vaDanti accused Nico of killing his allies, to which Nico had to explain that she had only scattered them across the world to buy the Runaways time to figure things out. Nico then suggested that vaDanti explain the entire situation to them before the Runaways got mad and vaDanti did as he was told, explaining how he had been visiting his sister deHalle when they saw reports of Majesdane's destruction. After hearing of the tragedy, Xavin informed vaDanti that they should not blame Karolina, who had tried to stop Skrull/Majesdane violence, but vaDanti revealed that Frank Dean had provided the Skrulls with the location of the planet Majesdane, which led to its destruction. When Chase asked Xavin what it was about his race that provoked them to invade places, vaDanti realized Xavin was a Skrull and became angry, prompting Xavin to reveal his true Skrull form and angrily remind vaDanti that he was no more his father than Karolina was hers. Nico then explained that Xavin and Karolina were in love and asked vaDanti if that sounded like someone who would destroy a planet, to which vaDanti replied that it sounded perverted. Karolina responded by striking vaDanti, reminding him that the one who helped destroy Majesdane was dead and that if he wanted to see perverted, he should look inward at the one filled with hate. She then ran outside and Nico soon came out to comfort Karolina, reminding her that all of the Runaways loved her. Later, Nico attempted to repair the damage to the Runaways' headquarters using the Staff of One to create a beautiful, ocean view kitchen before regrouping with the other Runaways for pizza. Unsure of what pizza was, Klara nonetheless ate it and Victor offered to help fill Klara in the modern day while Molly offered to untie vaDanti so that he could eat if he promised not to do anything funny. Outside, Nico informed a still-crying Karolina that they had pizza and admitted things had changed.

(Runaways III#3) - Chase tinkered with his Fistigons, unaware they were turned on, and nearly blew his room up before Molly arrived to inform him of a Runaways team meeting upstairs. Holding the Fistigons down to prevent more blasts, Chase asked to turn the Fistigons off for him then claimed he would attend the meeting shortly but an insistent Molly picked Chase up and carried him up to the meeting. At the meeting, Nico announced that it was only a matter of time before the Majesdanians returned, mentioning that their ship had already departed the Malibu area, presumably to pick them all up. The still-captive vaDanti explained that the Runaways couldn't hide from the Majesdanians, as they were able to navigate their way to Karolina from space, but Victor reminded vaDanti that they weren't trying to hide, but rather solve their differences peacefully. When vaDanti suggested surrender, Chase nearly attacked him and the Runaways all disagreed with how to handle the Majesdanians until Karolina suggested they give the Majesdanians what they wanted: her. Despite the Runaways' protest, vaDanti remarked that finally, someone had come up with a sane plan, prompting all of the Runaways to tell him to shut up before they all went their separate ways, unable to agree on a plan to deal with the Majesdanians. As Molly and Klara went to the top of a nearby hill to build a protective fort, Chase went in for his first day as Val Rhymin's assistant, where Val first tried to convince Chase to jump out of the window. When Chase thought he was joking, Val instead had Chase go pick up his dry cleaning before talking to his "mother" about zombies. As Chase departed, Xavin was setting up a beach party with the Malibu neighbors when Nico came out to remind him about the Majesdanians. Insisting he had a speech ready, Xavin brushed Nico aside and continued the party as Nico returned to their home, where Victor informed her that Molly and Klara had went off to build their fort and Karolina was preparing terms of her own surrender. Annoyed and unsure how to handle the Majesdanians, Nico suggested they run away but Victor commented that perhaps Nico's "Scatter" had also scattered the Runaways.

(Runaways III#4) - Having figured out why the team hadn't been working well together, Victor and Nico ran to Karolina's room and ordered to meet them downstairs immediately. Hurriedly explaining that Nico's spell might have scattered the Runaways in spirit, Victor announced that he would go get Molly and Klara while Karolina should summon Xavin and watch over vaDanti as Nico attempted to phone Chase and get him to return home. Chase scoffed at Nico's attempts to explain, eventually hanging up on her in favor of getting his work for Val Rhymin finished before Val went on the air the following day. After Chase hung up, Nico angrily pounded her fist on the coffee table, inadvertently releasing the Staff of One, which she used to summon Xavin back to the house as Victor convinced Molly and Klara, who had built their fort, to return with Old Lace. When Victor, Molly and Klara returned, they found the other Runaways trapped in a gelatinous field and vaDanti gone. Molly attempted to punch the trap but was pulled inside herself, forcing Victor to magnetically pull a fire poker to him, which he used to pop the trap, allowing it to spread over himself as well. Once inside the trap, Victor learned that it was a Majesdanian synthetic amoeba weapon before Molly began trying to punch her way out. As the amoeba moved along with the attacks, the other Runaways began trying to fight their way out until the amoeba exploded, leaving its slimy remains all over the headquarters. Explaining how they all seemed to be under the after effects of her scatter spell, Nico and Victor suggested the Runaways do something that required complete cooperation in an effort to break the spell but before anything he could be, the Majesdanian spacecraft returned to the Runaways' Malibu home.

(Runaways III#5) - Boarding the Leapfrog, the Runaways attempted to run from the Majesdanians as Chase arrived back at the headquarters on a motorbike. As the Runaways went up and down in the Leapfrog to buy themselves some time to think of a proper plan, Chase was hit by a synthetic amoeba, which he fought out of using not only his Fistigons but his recently-designed Footstigons. Making his way to the Runaways' garage, Chase tried to escape in a Volkswagen van as the Leapfrog came crashing to the ground near him. When Molly apologized for claiming her fillings fell out during the Leapfrog's up and down maneuvers, Victor deduced that the scatter must have ran its course, especially since the Majesdanians also seemed to no longer be scattered. Proving that the spell was broken by having Nico order everyone to yell "cheese," the Runaways celebrated their regrouping before being blasted by the Majesdanians. Chase, on the other hand, headed the opposite direction in his parents' bus, learning that his parents had installed speed-boosting and flight capabilities in the bus. After Molly suggested using Karolina's old power-dampening bracelet to keep the Majesdanians from tracking her powers, Nico came up with a plan to trick the Majesdanians. Flying high once more, the Runaways took a nosedive in the Leapfrog near a ship then activated their stealth while attached to the side of the ship's smokestack, causing the Majesdanians' ship to plummet into the smokestack. Their victory celebration was cut short though when an angry Nico witnessed Chase flying by in the flying Stein Bus.

(Runaways III#6) - When Chase began attacking the Majesdanian ship with the Bus, Nico suggested the Runaways help him before he was killed. Karolina gave Molly her power-dampening bracelet and Xavin had Victor hold the Leapfrog in reserve for a second assault if needed before the rest of the Runaways ventured out of the Leapfrog and attacked the Majesdanians. During the battle, Nico battled deHalle and Xavin battled vaRikk one-on-one until Chase was hit and unleashed an oil spill on the combatants. Victor, Klara and Molly eventually had to jump in the battle with the Leapfrog and eventually, a news helicopter housing reporter Cadie MacDunnough was hit by a Majesdanian blast. When deHalle realized that she had hit an innocent, she demanded a ceasefire and both deHalle and Nico teamed to rescue the helicopter. After working together, the Runaways and the Majesdanians agreed to a truce to talk things over, setting down in a nearby park. Once the Runaways had landed, Xavin took Karolina aside and admitted that the Majesdanians would not agree to leave Earth without Karolina. Xavin then secretly explained his plan to Karolina while the other Runaways met with the Majesdanians. Seconds later, "Karolina" appeared and announced that she had agreed to accompany the Majesdanians in an effort to bring closure to the surviving Majesdanian race. After saying goodbye to the Runaways and telling Nico that Xavin wasn't present because he couldn't just stand by and watch her turn herself in, "Karolina" departed with the Majesdanians after receiving a compass from Molly. Moments later, as the other Runaways remarked on how fast "Karolina" had left, Nico announced that it couldn't have been the actual Karolina Dean and ordered the Runaways to fan out and search for the real Karolina. Soon finding her, the Runaways learned that Xavin had knocked the real Karolina out and assumed her form to allow Karolina to be at peace with her friends and make amends for the Skrulls' destruction of Majesdane. While Karolina was deeply saddened that it was too late to stop Xavin, Xavin, still posing as Karolina, was told to make himself comfortable aboard the Majesdanian ship, as it would be a long trip.

(Runaways III#7) - After Molly taught Klara how to cheat at video games, Victor, Molly and Klara played a video game, where Klara caused a plant to grow in front of the television, obscuring the view of Molly and Victor and allowing herself to win. As Chase walked past the unnoticing Victor, Molly and Klara to go to work at Val Rhymin's radio studio, Nico and Karolina discussed recent events and how it wasn't so long ago that they were still living with their parents, using their resources. Walking back to the Runaways' home, Karolina and Nico witnessed Chase leaving for work and Nico yelled at Chase when he used the Stein Bus' rocket boosters to speed out of the driveway for making no attempts to stay under the radar. Later, the Runaways appeared during a hostage situation at the Capitol Records building, where the band Retching Pigs had taken hostages due to their being dropped from the record label. Klara created an area of bush growth around the angry band and Nico warned them to stand down. Refusing, the lead singer opened fire on the Runaways, who were protected by an energy shield from Karolina Dean until the gun ran out of ammo. The Runaways then easily defeated the Retching Pigs and rescued the hostage then departed before the police could get to them. As they left in the Leapfrog, Nico announced that she thought the team was back to normal and ready to take on more big-time villains again but remarked that they had to get Chase back on track first. While the Runaways continued their departure, Chase was busy at work flirting with the office girl Lydia and once she had ushered him out of her office, Val Rhymin came in with a music CD that was laced with a spell chant that transformed Lydia into the mother zombie of Val Rhymin's up-and-coming zombie army.

(Runaways III#8 (fb) - BTS) - Molly suggested the Runaways go camping to do some team bonding.

(Runaways III#8) - Opting instead to camp out of the Stein Bus in the California desert, the Runaways relaxed but Molly, who was annoyed that no one was doing any typical camping or bonding activities, ordered everyone to stop doing what they were doing and help build a campfire. She then announced that once the campfire was built, she had designed costumes for the entire team, much to the chagrin of Victor and Chase. As the evening came, Molly shared her costume designs with the team and when no one seemed interested, Molly announced that if they couldn't agree on costumes, she was not going to sing the Runaways' theme song. While the Runaways continued to enjoy a break, they remained unaware that Val Rhymin had broadcast his magic-laced music single over the radio waves, transforming all listeners with plastic surgery into his personal zombies. The next morning, Molly woke early and found Karolina sitting alone on a nearby rock. The two shared a bonding moment, both wishing Xavin was still with them, while Val Rhymin continued to broadcast his zombie-creating single. The Runaways packed up shortly thereafter and as they arrived back in Malibu listening to Val's broadcast, they saw the city in shambles, overran by Val's zombies. Deducing a connection between Val's broadcast, which proclaimed to have a cure for the masses, Nico noticed the magic chant in Val's music and ordered Chase to drive them to the KZIT studios to confront Val. Unfortunately, the zombies soon surrounded the Stein Bus, which Chase had since dubbed the Magic Bus, and the Runaways were forced to go through the Bus' sunroof to keep from barbecuing the zombified people with the Bus' jets if they tried to fly away. Karolina then released an energy burst, causing the zombies to back away and buying Nico enough time to release the Staff of One. Using it to cast a "zombie not" spell, Nico inadvertently caused the zombies to merge into a gigantic form composed of human beings.

(Runaways III#9) - Victor Mancha soon realized that the Staff of One translated Nico's "zombie not" spell into a "zombie knot" spell, causing the merging of the zombies into a gigantic form. Nico then ordered the Runaways to fight without inflicting mortal wounds on the enchanted, zombified humans but Chase missed his aim with his Footigons and Victor proved equally unable to subdue the creature. Karolina's blasts were also ineffective and Nico eventually managed to separate the merged humans by casting an "oily" spell, creating a flood of oil that kept the creature from remaining together while also washing the Runaways away. The team was rescued by Klara, who pulled them onto the Magic Bus with a giant rose vine, and Nico apologized for her recent overpowered spells. Figuring that her torture by Witchbreaker during the Runaways' earlier time-travel adventure to 1907 had boosted her powers, Nico then ordered the Runaways to continue their trek to the KZIT studios within the mall. Busting in through the locked and chained doors, the Runaways attempted to shut down the broadcast machinery without any luck until they came across Chase's co-worker Lydia, who had been transformed into a zombie and was about to jump from a mall window. After rescuing her, the Runaways determined that Val had to be broadcasting from a mobile truck and Molly reminded the team that Val had ordered his zombies to meet him for a midnight concert. Later that night, the Runaways infiltrated the concert, where a band comprised of zombies were grunting to music. Val eventually showed himself, announcing his entire plan to create a zombie army. When the police showed up, the Runaways attacked Val and his ally, a man called Mother, who recognized Nico as a Minoru. Announcing himself a friend of the Minorus and treasurer of the California Witchcraft Community, Mother unleashed a snake against Nico and stole her Staff of One, managing only to unleash a dragon that quickly devoured him. Shocked to see the dragon, Nico regrouped with Karolina, who she ordered to never touch the Staff of One despite Karolina's reminder that Chase had once used it with no ill effects. After Nico's Staff of One-created eagle helped round up some of Val's goons for the police, Molly suggested they play Val's music in reverse to reverse the zombie spell. Later, relaxing at their headquarters following Val's arrest, Chase watched Molly and Klara play video games and when they asked if he was going to work, Chase explained that they had shut KZIT down, costing him his job. Chase then commended Molly and Klara on their work against Val then smiled, remarking that the two girls were the future of super heroes.

(Runaways III#10) - Molly Hayes told the other Runaways that she was hearing voices in her head, telling her to go to Graymalkin Industries in San Francisco.

(Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way#1/5 (fb)) - Chase Stein bothered Nico Minoru with bad jokes as she was polishing her Staff of One. When he reminded Nico that she needed to remind Victor Mancha to keep away from his tools, Chase was told by Nico to look after his own tools before Molly Hayes came into the kitchen, asking Nico to read the story she had written. Annoyed, Nico slammed the Staff of One down on the table, pricking her finger, and announced that she was sick to death of both of her teammates.

(Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way#1/5) - Two hours later, Nico and Karolina were preparing a turkey for dinner when Molly came into the kitchen, complaining about not feeling well. After she vomited, Nico and Karolina cleaned up and got Molly to bed with Victor monitoring her fever. Chase followed soon after, also complaining about not feeling well despite being hungry. He quickly mutated into a purple-hued, monstrous form and had to be subdued by Karolina's energy powers while Molly began hyperactively jumping around and proclaiming Victor to be her pony, much to Klara's terror. Recapping recent events to determine a cause for her teammates' conditions, Nico recalled pricking her finger and her announcement about being sick to the death of Chase and Molly. Realizing that she had accidentally caused her friends to become mystically sick, Nico knew her spell would eventually wear off and explained the situation to Karolina, who had since given the monster Chase their entire turkey. As the spell faded, Nico visited Victor, who had heard Nico's explanation over their walkie talkies, and read Molly's story, noticing its similarity to Sleeping Beauty.

(Runaways III#10) - Weeks later, the Runaways decided to drop Molly off at the X-Men's Graymalkin Industries headquarters, where she met with Colossus and Beast and claimed that she had a voice in her head telling her to come to San Francisco. While Molly was getting used to being around the X-Men, the Runaways grabbed lunch at a San Francisco bistro, where they discussed how they were simply allowing Molly to check in with the X-Men and Chase listed various reasons why Molly wouldn't be staying, unaware that X-Men students were standing behind him. When Chase dug himself further into trouble with the New X-Men, the two groups prepared to battle one another as Molly was being shown the entirety of Graymalkin Industries by the X-Men. Molly (along with Wolverine) was captured by armored soldiers who sought revenge on the Pride for a defeat seven years prior while the other unaware Runaways ultimately went to the XSF Dance Club, where mutants were not charged a cover fee. After Molly and Wolverine defeated the soldiers' leader, she returned to the Runaways, who finally admitted that the X-Men weren't so bad and apologized for downing them in the past. Despite having been a fan of the X-Men herself, Molly angrily insisted that the Runaways get away from Graymalkin Industries, threatening to beat up the Runaways forever if they didn't. The team then boarded the Leapfrog and departed.

(Runaways III#10/2) - Playing a game of Truth or Dare at their Malibu headquarters, the Runaways dared Karolina Dean to take down an up-and-coming Sons of the Serpent cell by herself and waited as Karolina successfully did, commenting to one another whether or not they thought she could manage it alone. When she returned, Karolina replied that it was Nico Minoru's turn and Nico chose truth. Karolina then asked Nico who the better kisser was: Victor, Chase, herself or Alex Wilder, prompting Nico to loudly announce the end of the game and accidentally wake up Klara. Nico then attempted to avoid the question by continuing to proclaim the end of the game but Chase and Victor insisted she answer. An angry Nico then revealed that Karolina was the best kisser before turning the game over to Chase, who chose dare. Nico then dared Chase to stop acting like a jerk and cast an "open up" spell to get him to talk seriously for once. Unfortunately, Chase dodged Nico's Staff of One blast and it hit a hidden green object on the floor, which revealed itself to be an egg housing a large serpent. Victor deduced that the egg must have inadvertently been brought to the Runaways' headquarters as a leftover from Karolina's battle with the Sons of the Serpent and the Runaways took the fight out onto the beach, unaware of a second egg that hatched into a second serpent. During their fight against the two serpents, one of the serpents spawned a third serpent but Klara managed to tangle one of the serpent up in the vines, effectively stopping it. Victor reminded the team that if the serpents kept spawning, they would be unable to defeat them all and Chase quickly announced that it was Victor's turn in Truth or Dare. Grumbly choosing dare, Victor Mancha was dared by Chase to eat the next egg that the serpents spawned. Despite Victor's protests, Nico reminded Victor of the rules of Truth or Dare and Victor reluctantly ate the next egg. Due to his robotic insides, Victor managed to digest the egg but the ensuing internal explosion forced him to expel green mystic fire from his mouth that destroyed all of the serpents. Recovering for his ordeal, Victor asked Chase how he knew that would work and Chase admitted that he didn't, assuring Victor that if it hadn't worked, they could always rebuild him. Victor then turned the game back over to Karolina, who chose truth this time. Victor then asked if Karolina truly only liked girls, curious if she wasn't also interested in some of the "perks" of men. A grossed out Karolina announced that she had no interest in men and asked that, in the future, no one ever ask her that moments after fighting giant serpents. Disgusted by the mental images, Chase angrily asked why Karolina would give him that image, Victor prepared to delete the past few minutes of his memory and Klara decided not to play with the "big kids" anymore.

(Runaways III#11 (fb) - BTS) - When Nico decided that the Runaways didn't have enough fun, Molly suggested a bouncy castle but Karolina suggested a prom for the team. Victor supported the idea despite Molly's objections that she had been told when she joined the Runaways that she would never have to do anything school-related again.

(Runaways III#11) - The Runaways relaxed and got ready for their prom, with Karolina enjoying a heated bath due to her solar powers and Chase dozing outside, dreaming of being a lacrosse star alongside Old Lace, until he was suddenly awoken by a turn from pleasant dream to nightmare involving his abusive father. As Klara enjoyed a loud television, Nico tried to create an arrangement of fruit in the kitchen. Victor Mancha was soon distracted from illegally downloading prom music via hacking a neighbor's internet router by Molly, who had built a large sandcastle and exclaimed that she loved living in Malibu. Returning to the house, Molly asked if she could have some of Nico's food but Nico declined and asked Molly if she had changed her mind about attending their prom. Molly announced that both she and Klara would be staying far away from the prom and then left to find Klara, soon finding her in front of the television, where she ranted about not wishing to be a part of the Runaways' prom. Later that evening, at the Runaways' prom, Nico noticed Karolina dancing awfully close to Chase and suggested to Victor that one of them had to do something before Karolina did something she might regret. Explaining that she could now understand why Gertrude Yorkes used to boycott school dances, Nico shoved Victor in between Karolina and Chase. Victor took the suggestion and ran with it, asking if he could cut in but much to Karolina's annoyance, Victor danced with Chase instead of her and the two joked about their choices in clothing before Victor informed Karolina that Nico wished to talk to her. As Nico took Karolina into another room, Chase and Victor discussed the Russian Cold War-era music Victor had downloaded and when Victor asked if pessimism ran in his family, Chase remarked that it had since the day he was born. In the other room, Nico got Karolina to reveal her loneliness and feelings that she had lost everything. Nico explained that all of the Runaways had lost someone and reminded Karolina that she should honor Xavin's last action for her and enjoy herself. Karolina agreed as Molly came into the room, whining about Victor's loud music and refusing to venture into the prom to ask him to turn it down. As Nico prepared to return to the prom, Old Lace sensed something outside moments before a drone plane that had locked onto Victor's pirated radio signal hit the side of the Runaways' Malibu home, blowing a chunk out of it. Karolina soon found Klara in the rubble but Chase was sidelined due to his psychic link with the injured Old Lace. When Old Lace perished, Chase was immobilized by the psychic pain and a panicked Klara yelled to get the "dead thing" away from her, instinctively covering the Malibu in gigantic vines.

(Runaways III#12) - As Klara's vines continued to extend out of control, Karolina flew around to generate light within the damaged home while Chase mourned the loss of Old Lace. Nico used the Staff of One to generate lighted pixies to fly around and help light the area while Karolina attempted to console Chase, who admitted that due to their link to Old Lace, he always felt he could hear Gert talking to him but with Old Lace dead, he heard nothing at all. Thinking that Chase was referring to Old Lace herself, Karolina reminded Chase that Old Lace had saved Klara but Chase remarked that he wasn't referring to Old Lace before he crushed one of Nico's pixies. When Klara had another panicky outburst, Chase threatened to snap everyone's bones if she didn't shut up and Nico reluctantly cast a "settle down" spell on Klara, provoking Molly, who recalled her own parents doing a similar telepathic act on her. Nico apologized to Molly, reminding her that she wasn't Molly's mother, and Molly replied by saying that the Runaways were supposed to be better than her real family. Victor soon commented that someone would eventually come for the drone plane and they would need to get out of the house before that happened. He further revealed that he was unable to affect the plane, proving its non-metal composition. As if on cue, some soldiers arrived to investigate and when they approached the vines, Klara woke and attacked the soldiers with the vines. Hunter Stein, Chase's uncle, soon arrived on the scene, having heard of an explosion at a home he owned. Recognizing Hunter as a Stein via the plants, Klara allowed Hunter inside the home while Chase announced that they should leave and give Old Lace a proper burial next to Gertrude Yorkes. Hunter eventually found Chase inside and exclaimed that he was happy Chase was not dead. Chase insisted that it couldn't really be his uncle Hunter and Hunter attempted to convince Chase. Eventually, Chase punched Hunter Stein and revealed that he couldn't be the real Hunter Stein because Chase himself had killed Hunter Stein.

(Runaways III#13) - Leaving Hunter with Karolina, Nico took Chase into the kitchen and asked why he was being so mean. Revealing the truth behind the story he had once told about killing a carjacker to be a hit and run involving his uncle, whose supposed death he assumed the Pride had cleaned up, Chase swore it had been an accident and remained convinced that Hunter Stein had been killed that night. Nico promised Chase that she would find out the truth before kissing Chase. When Chase asked if she felt better after the kiss, Nico replied that she didn't and Chase agreed, kissing her a second time. Nico then returned to the other Runaways to find Victor and Karolina discussing whether cutting the vines covering their headquarters would harm Klara or not. Announcing that it was time to find out what exactly would happen, Nico ordered Molly to drop the rock she was holding over Hunter Stein and explained that she could mystically arrange a disappearing spell that would reverse the damage to the house. Hunter tried to explain himself but Nico instead cut his cheek and cast a "mood ring" spell on him to determine his true intentions. When the cut turned blue, Nico announced that it was time to get rid of the dead wood. Hunter once again tried to explain himself but Nico cast a "crystal light" spell that got rid of the dead plants and Old Lace, and transformed the debris into pink-glowing crystal, the light from which revealed the soldiers outside. When Commander Deering ordered his men to shoot the Runaways and Hunter Stein, Nico cast an "Abraham Lincoln" spell, which shattered the crystal debris and formed it into a cabin to protect the Runaways. Sufficiently protected, Karolina gave Nico a hard time for using Abraham Lincoln's name for a spell and Nico admitted she had panicked and just yelled the name of someone she felt she could count on. Victor immediately interrogated Hunter Stein, demanding to know why he had brought armed men to them, but Hunter insisted he had only come to find Chase and that the soldiers had beat him there while looking for their drone plane. Hunter then insisted that he was who he claimed to be and revealed that he had known the Runaways were in his house since the day they had broke in, admitting that he didn't think the Runaways had exactly been taking care of the house. He also admitted that he had been keeping an eye on them and when he heard of the explosion that had resulted from the drone plane, he had arrived to check on them. Karolina argued that they didn't need his help but Nico interrupted, ordering Victor to take Hunter and see if they could get the Leapfrog up and running. Reluctantly agreeing, Victor left with Hunter, who promised that Victor could turn him into a pretzel using the metal in his hip if he got out of line. Nico then revealed to Karolina that she trusted Hunter Stein enough until they could escape the situation. When Molly asked where Old Lace was, Nico realized that her "crystal light" spell appeared to have gotten rid of Old Lace's corpse along with the dead plants. Upon seeing the Leapfrog under the remaining debris, Victor suspected it couldn't be fixed but Hunter tried to move the debris in hopes of salvaging what they could from the Leapfrog. He soon removed a device from the Leapfrog and suggested they see about finding the damaged drone plane. They then returned to the other Runaways, where Chase was helping Klara get her strength back. Hunter tossed Chase a transdimensional damper that he had cobbled together from the Leapfrog and the drone plane, commenting that the Runaways could sell it to Commander Deering and pay for all of them to go to college. Victor then announced that the Leapfrog was beyond repair but that Hunter had another plan despite Karolina's suspicions that they shouldn't trust Hunter. Hunter then led the Runaways to a security door. Using his Stein DNA, Hunter opened the door, revealing four later model Leapfrog vehicles that had been kept in storage since the Steins had retrofitted the home for use as a Pride headquarters. After Chase chose a new Leapfrog, he ordered the Runaways to get in but stopped Hunter from joining them, turning the transdimensional damper on Hunter, leaving only the smoking damper on the ground. Repeating his order to Nico, Chase had Victor install the heart of the original Leapfrog into the new model while Nico was left wondering if Chase had actually killed Hunter. When Karolina quietly asked Nico what had happened, Nico remarked about Hamlet Act 5, Scene 2, prompting Karolina to remark that she had thought Hamlet didn't actually kill his uncle and Nico replied that she hoped Chase had also not killed his uncle. As the Runaways departed, Commander Deering had his soldier Walton check the building for life signs and signs of the transdimensional damper. Walton confirmed that the damper had been used and rendered useless and that the cabin no longer showed any signs of life inside. Deering then ordered Walton to burn down the house to purge any evidence as the Runaways emerged from the underground Leapfrog hangar to find their house ablaze.

(Runaways III#14) - The Runaways remained in the Leapfrog, watching their smoldering headquarters and eventually fell asleep in the Leapfrog. Early the next morning, while Victor was working on getting the old Leapfrog's programming to work in the new model, Nico and Chase watched their headquarters from atop the Leapfrog. Nico remarked that the other Runaways would be waking up hungry soon and a still-mourning Chase asked Nico what she planned to do about it. Suggesting that sending his uncle to an unknown dimension might've taken it out of him, Nico reminded Chase that he wasn't the only one mourning Old Lace but Chase responded by telling Nico she could take his feelings for herself while he opted to leave for groceries, only letting Nico know that he would return "soon." Victor then succeeded in replacing the Leapfrog's heart with the old one as Nico returned to the Leapfrog with Karolina wondering where Chase was. Klara soon found herself seasick and Nico ordered the Leapfrog to be docked and Molly to get Klara some fresh air. When Karolina repeated her question about Chase's location, Nico replied that he went swimming despite Karolina's suspicions that Nico was lying. The Leapfrog soon received a phone call, which Victor answered. Upon hearing that the caller was Hunter Stein, Victor informed him that all of the Runaways were ok and Hunter sent them his coordinates, asking for the Runaways to meet with him and claiming he had an offer that might improve their lives. Nico declined the offer but Hunter reminded them that they had his location and that he would be there all day and night. The other Runaways suggested they should take Hunter up on this meeting, as Chase would only fight with him if he were present. Admitting that Chase had went out for food and likely wouldn't be back anytime soon, Nico relented and decided to have the Runaways meet with Hunter, promising Molly that either Chase would find them or she would find him. In the city, Chase wandered aimlessly, at one point thinking he saw Gertrude Yorkes, only to discover it was a purple-haired man. As he turned a corner, he ran into a girl that strongly resembled Gertrude Yorkes. Shocked, Chase said Gert's name but the girl had no idea what he was talking about, suggesting that the longer he stayed on the ground, the less attractive he would look. The girl then left and Chase attempted to follow her, pushing his way through the crowd as the Runaways left to meet Hunter Stein. After seeing the girl cross the street, Hunter yelled for her to stop and as he ran to her, the girl yelled for him to stop as Chase was hit by a white van with a driver that resembled Chase himself. Meeting with Hunter, who offered the Runaways a place to stay indefinitely, admitting that he had a guilty conscience when it came to his nephew Chase. Nico declined the offer but Hunter reminded her that the offer will always be there as paramedics rushed Chase to a hospital. Back in the Leapfrog, the Runaways discussed Hunter's offer amongst themselves and Karolina suggested they should find Chase, who hadn't yet returned. Nico suggested they give Chase a little more time but Karolina insisted they go find him, unaware that the critically injured and unconscious Chase was lying in a hospital bed surrounded by doctors desperate to save his life.

(Daken: Dark Wolverine#18 (fb) - BTS) - Chase Stein recovered from the auto accident and returned to the Runaways.

(Daken: Dark Wolverine#19 (fb) - BTS) - Chase rebuilt the Runaways' new Leapfrog, incorporating its classic look into the new design.

(S.W.O.R.D.#2) - The S.W.O.R.D. organization, which dealt with outer space threats, monitored a flying Karolina Dean alongside the other Runaways.

(Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age#1 - BTS) - The other Runaways began giving Molly Hayes homework to do in an attempt to give her something of an education. As part of a report assignment she was given, Molly visited the La Brea Tar Pits Museum, where she met Beast and asked him about extinction. After learning more about the drop in the mutant population, Molly briefly threw a temper tantrum but Beast calmed her and the two spoke about their plans for the future.

(Heroic Age: Heroes - BTS) - After becoming head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve Rogers viewed documents on various super heroes, including the Runaways. Upon reading over the Runaways' information, Rogers remarked on his own frustration at the team for constantly distrusting other heroes and having little interest in proper training in the use of their abilities. He admitted his hopes that they could convince the Runaways to eventually stop running before they lose more of their teammates. He did, however, mention that the pros of the team were that they were a tight-family unit with vast resources.

(Daken: Dark Wolverine#17) - When Wolverine's son Daken learned that a drug called Heat had been created using blood obtained from a member of the Pride, he tracked what he thought was a Pride member to a small beach house, unaware that it had become the newest headquarters for the Runaways. Sensing the burglar, the Runaways fought back, with Klara wrapping Daken in vines. When Daken cut his way out of the vines with his claws, Molly gave him an uppercut, knocking a stunned Daken to the ground. The assembled Runaways then confronted Daken, with Nico asking what he wanted with them and Molly remarking that they were enjoying being left alone.

(Daken: Dark Wolverine#18) - Nico demanded Daken explain who sent him after the Runaways and what he wanted, prompting Daken to announce that he was actually seeking the Runaways' help, as the Pride had returned. Despite Nico's attempts to get the team to hold back, the Runaways mistakenly thought Daken was announcing himself as part of the Pride and attacked, blasting him through the wall of their beach house. Chase followed, announcing that he had Daken until Daken slashed Chase's stomach, prompting a protective Molly to punch Daken's broken arm. Acting out of pain, Daken hurled Molly away from him and Molly soon deduced that Daken was Wolverine's son. Distracted by Molly's words, Daken was frozen by Nico using a specifically re-worded freeze spell (since she had earlier used a "freeze" spell). Sufficiently stuck in place, Nico ordered Daken to tell them everything he knew about the Pride and, after doing so, the Runaways agreed to hear Daken out over coffee. After hearing Daken's story about how movie star Marcus Roston was a previously unknown member of the Pride, Nico admitted her skepticism and explained that if Roston was a member of the Pride, he would have come after the Runaways at some point. When Victor Mancha pulled up a photo of Roston on his tablet, Chase recognized him as his "creepy Uncle Eli." Explaining his "Uncle Eli"'s backstory to the other Runaways, Chase revealed that after a time, "Eli" no longer associated with his parents and Daken explained his suspicions that Roston, while posing as "Eli," was thrown out of the Pride. Daken then announced that he had the Runaways' number and would call them once he found Roston, suggesting they stay put while he attended to personal business. As he left, Molly stared him down, trying to determine if he was like Wolverine at all, and once Daken had departed, Nico ordered Victor to pull everything he could on Daken from the internet. When Marcus Roston caused a very public explosion in a downtown skyscraper, the Runaways arrived on the scene via the Leapfrog, with Chase announcing that his "creepy Uncle Eli" was going down.

(Daken: Dark Wolverine#19) - Intrigued by the insanity of a giant, flying frog, Marcus Roston downed the Leapfrog after Klara tried to entangle Roston in vines. Karolina rushed down to the Leapfrog to make sure everyone was okay and while the Runaways survived in one piece, Chase complained about how he had just rebuilt the Leapfrog. Watching Daken battling Roston in the air, Nico mystically summoned numerous mattresses using a "Princess and the Pea" spell that padded Daken's landing after Roston hurled him to the ground. When Daken noticed his friend Donna Kiel hanging from Klara's beanstalk, Karolina Dean flew up and rescued Donna. Roston then tried to force Donna against Daken using the Heat drug but she ran, asking Daken to kill Roston before his influence could spread. Realizing how insane Roston really was, the Runaways asked what he wanted and Daken replied that only the children of the Pride had the power levels capable of defeating Roston. Revealing that their internet research had shown Daken was a brutal killer and almost as bad as Roston, Nico nonetheless ordered the Runaways to enter the fight against Roston. Using a "Uranium kicks" spell, Nico cut off the radiation allowing Roston to fly, grounding him then Molly dealt Roston an uppercut before Chase fired the crashed Leapfrog's missiles at Roston. Recognizing the Runaways as the children of those who had earlier banished him from Los Angeles, a recovering Roston began taking down the Runaways one-by-one. At first willing to let the Runaways be defeated or possibly killed to weaken Roston enough to be killed by himself, Daken had a change of heart and entered the fray himself, savagely battling Roston until Donna Kiel returned and crashed a helicopter into Roston. Pinned by the helicopter, Roston was taunted by Daken, who kissed Roston before telling him that only the weak were insane. Daken then turned Roston over to the Runaways to do with as they pleased, with Molly exclaiming that she didn't like Daken, as he was nothing like Wolverine. Daken then departed the scene with Donna, smiling and agreeing with Molly that he was nothing like Wolverine.

(Avengers Academy#27 (fb) - BTS) - Chase Stein began feeling his psychic link with Old Lace returning despite the Runaways thinking Old Lace had died. At first thinking he was dreaming, Chase decided Old Lace had to be alive and informed the others. Knowing that she could only cast any spell once, Nico Minoru instead used the Staff of One to cast a spell that would inform her of another way to find Old Lace. The spell led the Runaways to the Avengers Academy, where the Staff of One sensed that the amulet artifact embedded into Academy student Reptil's chest was linked to the same dimension that Nico had sent Old Lace following her supposed death.

(Avengers Academy#27) - Using a Staff of One-created disguise spell, the Runaways snuck into Avengers Academy during a press conference held by Academy student Striker but Victor Mancha's Ultron-based technological body was detected by Juston Seyfert's Sentinel robot. When Klara overheard that Sentinels kill mutants like her friend and teammate Molly Hayes, Klara covered the Sentinel in vines, alerting Academy student Mettle and teacher Tigra to the Runaways' presence. Chase surrounded Tigra in a wall of fire from his Fistigons and when Mettle tried to help Molly, she punched him through a wall, alerting Striker to their presence as well. While Karolina Dean grabbed Reptil, Striker attempted to disrupt Victor's electronic body with his electrical powers but instead supercharged Victor, who took control of Juston's Sentinel before Giant-Man and Julie Power intervened. When Giant-Man asked why the Sentinel had alerted him to Ultron tech, Victor Mancha introduced himself to Hank, who he considered a sort of grandfather. After introducing themselves, the Runaways explained that they needed help finding Old Lace and revealed that Reptil's chest amulet was somehow linked to wherever Nico had sent Old Lace. Despite wishing to learn more about Victor, Giant-Man agreed to help the Runaways, offering to open a portal so that the Runaways could get answers about Old Lace and allowing the team to stay at Avengers Academy in the meantime. As they waited, the Runaways and Avengers Academy students kept their distance from one another while the Runaways began to suspect the Avengers were calling truant officers. Chase announced that he was staying even if the other Runaways left but Tigra soon entered the room and introduced Molly and Klara to her son William. With the ice between the two groups essentially broken, the other Runaways began to reach out and befriend the Academy students, with Victor introducing himself to White Tiger and Reptil, and Karolina sharing common ground with the gay Striker and Julie Power. Chase soon befriended Mettle and Nico and Hazmat shook hands after briefly trading insults. As Tigra and Giant-Man discussed not letting the underage Molly and Klara leave after they helped the Runaways, Reptil showed off his powers by transforming into a velociraptor, causing the emotional Klara to cry, reminded of how Old Lace seemingly died saving her. Giant-Man announced the portal's completion, explaining that he would need Nico's Staff of One to power the portal. Once the portal was opened, Giant-Man led the Runaways through it to the prehistoric Earth-78411, where Chase's link with Old Lace led him straight to perfectly healthy Old Lace. After reuniting with their lost deionychus, the Runaways learned that Old Lace had made friends there before Nico decided to use her Staff of One to reveal what the Avengers had planned for them. Discovering that Tigra and Giant-Man planned to place Molly and Klara into decent homes where the other Runaways couldn't break them out, Nico determined that the Avengers would never leave them alone unless she forced them to.

(Avengers Academy#28) - As Giant-Man helped Reptil rescue Mettle from Earth-78411's Devil Dinosaur, Nico blasted Giant-Man with a "punish" spell, much to the surprise of the other Runaways, before explaining that Giant-Man and Tigra planned to take Molly and Klara from them. The other Runaways then turned on the two Avengers and their students, promising not to kill them due to their help in retrieving Old Lace. Following a brief but fierce battle, the Avengers Academy students sided with the Runaways and agreed that Giant-Man and Tigra shouldn't take Molly and Klara away from the Runaways. Reptil then suggested Nico use the Staff of One to allow everyone present to understand each others' points of view and once both Giant-Man and Tigra agreed to participate in the spell, the Runaways and Avengers Academy decided to return to the Academy. Back in the student lounge, Nico cast an "understand" spell on all of the Runaways, the Avengers Academy students and their two teachers. After seeing some of each other's worst memories, the two groups consoled one another but Tigra and Giant-Man still remained concerned about the underage Runaways members. Rather than try to force them apart, Giant-Man suggested he give the Runaways a robot programmed to home-school Molly and Klara in exchange for the Runaways checking in with him or Tigra at least once a month so they can make sure everything is okay. Giant-Man then announced his pride that something good like Victor had resulted from him creating Ultron and offered Victor a place at Avengers Academy but Victor politely declined. The Runaways then said their goodbyes to Avengers Academy, with Chase thanking Giant-Man for his help. As the Runaways boarded the Leapfrog, Nico suggested they not get too close to the Avengers, as they were trying to split them up, and Chase replied that he had already thought about the Avengers, wondering if they might have a time machine since Old Lace wasn't the only one they had lost.

(Avengers Arena#1 (fb) - BTS) - Nico Minoru and Chase Stein were kidnapped from the Runaways by the villain Arcade and placed on an island with other young heroes, where Arcade intended for them to fight to the death.

(Avengers Arena#13 (fb) - BTS) - A note was left with the Runaways that covered up Nico and Chase's disappearance by stating that they had decided to leave magic and heroics behind to discover their own feelings for one another. Despite Molly's mistrust of the letter, the other Runaways continued to tell her everything would be fine since Molly had been receiving supposed text messages from the missing duo.

(Avengers Arena#4 - BTS) - While trapped on Arcade's island with Nico, Chase thought back on his own past with the Runaways and how surviving the awful things that had occurred in his life, such as the abuse at his parents' hands or the deaths of his teammates in the Runaways, had made him not fear losing Arcade's game but rather, fearful that he might win. He later admitted to Reptil that when the Runaways got their parents killed while saving the world from the Pride, he didn't actually care about the world so much as he just wanted to get back at his own father. Later, when Nico left Chase behind following mistrust between them and the former Avengers Academy students, Chase thought about how despite everything he and Nico had went through in the Runaways together, she still didn't trust him. He then questioned how he could ensure Nico's survival if she didn't even want him around.

(Avengers A.I.#1 - BTS) - While playing at a Los Angeles arcade, Victor Mancha met a girl named Erika and remarked that he used to be a superhero with his friends but had not seen them in a while. His conversation was interrupted by the Vision, who announced that they needed to talk. Victor later joined Vision and the rogue Doombot as part of an artificial intelligence sub-squad of the Avengers.

(Avengers Arena#13) - Three weeks after Nico and Chase's departure, Molly Hayes and Karolina Dean visited Avengers Academy, where Molly announced that bad guys had stolen her friends in the Runaways. Exclaiming that she was sick and tired of people telling her it was going to be okay, Molly threatened to punch someone until Karolina ordered her to stop. After Hank Pym reminded them that the whole point of the Runaways' visits were so that he could make sure they were ok, Karolina informed him that all the Runaways knew was that Chase and Nico had left together. Karolina further explained about the note that had been left behind explaining their departure but Molly interrupted, exclaiming that the letter had to be a lie and that Chase and Nico had been kidnapped. Karolina reminded Molly that she had received text messages from Chase and Nico but Molly insisted that something was wrong since the texts only mentioned that Chase and Nico wouldn't return to the Runaways and that Chase would never leave Old Lace behind. Molly then revealed that Old Lace had remained in a state of depression since Chase and Nico's departure and suggested that maybe a bad guy had put a mental blocking helmet on Chase to prevent Old Lace from sensing him. Karolina then promised that Molly wouldn't lose her family in the Runaways, suggesting that she could call Chase or Nico, but Molly punched the ground, exclaiming that the phone calls were fake and that she wanted her friends back. Hank Pym then comforted Molly and promised that he would look into her teammates' disappearance. As Karolina and Molly left Avengers Academy, Karolina told Hank that Chase and Nico had left around Christmas. After Karolina and Molly had left, Hank asked Tigra if she thought it was odd that Chase and Nico had left the Runaways at the same time as several of the Avengers Academy students had also left. Pym then began looking into the disappearances of various young heroes.

(Avengers Undercover#1 (fb) - BTS) - Following the defeat of Arcade and Victor's return to the Runaways, Chase Stein and Nico Minoru attempted to return to their lives. The Runaways took Molly Hayes out for a birthday ice cream cake.

(Avengers Undercover#1) - A week later, following Arcade's uploading of his island footage, the Runaways watched on television as Chase went on a daytime news show to be interviewed about his experiences on Arcade's island. Nico interrupted the show, demanding to know what he was doing by not keeping quiet about the island events, but Chase reminded her that the Runaways had attempted to reach her for Molly's birthday and she had not responded. He then angrily explained that the difference between the both of them was that Nico never seemed to return to normalcy while Chase had tried to. Despite Chase's accusations, Nico teleported Chase and herself to a reunion of the survivors of Arcade's island.

(Avengers Undercover#4) - When Chase and Nico were later taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, Molly and Karolina came to visit them, where Molly blamed her teammates' incarnation on Nico. Chase explained that Molly couldn't blame everything on Nico but Molly exclaimed that the Runaways had all seen Nico grab Chase on television and accused Nico of going crazy and forcing Chase to accompany her. As Molly continued to announce that Chase shouldn't even be locked up, Nico said hello to Karolina. As Chase and Nico's fellow survivors spoke with their visitors, Daimon Hellstrom teleported Chase, Nico and the other survivors out of S.H.I.E.L.D. containment and into the clutches of Baron Helmut Zemo in Bagalia.

(Avengers Undercover#10) - Once Zemo was shut down by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, Nico and Chase invited the other Arcade island survivors to join the Runaways as they celebrated a new outlook on life by partying at a lake, unaware they were being watched by another Arcade island survivor, Deathlocket, and the Hellstrom-resurrected Alex Wilder.

(A-Force II#2 - BTS) - While at her family member Rei's wedding in Tokyo, Japan, Nico Minoru was met by the cosmic entity Singularity and her allies She-Hulk and Medusa. None other than Singularity recalled having been teammates during the recent multiversal collapse and subsequent restoration so when Medusa asked who Nico was, She-Hulk tried to remember the name of the group that Nico was affiliated with. Nico quickly informed She-Hulk that her team was called the Runaways before She-Hulk and Medusa explained that Singularity had sought them all out, despite them not recalling ever meeting Singularity, to get their help against her enemy Antimatter.

Comments: Created by Brian K. Vaughan, Adrian Alphona and David Newbold.

This profile covers only the Runaways team itself. Its members probably deserve their own profiles (especially characters who have appeared often outside of the team such as Nico Minoru, Chase Stein, Molly Hayes and Victor Mancha).

The Civil War Battle Damage Report entry on the Runaways mentioned that the Runaways' alliance with the Young Avengers had inadvertently steered the Runaways in a new direction which the entry mentioned the Runaways were not yet aware of. This ultimately proved to be true as, in the Runaways issues following their Civil War mini-series, Iron Man located the Runaways' Hostel, forcing the team to evacuate and go on the run. While not explained in-story, it all works because, in the Civil War Files book, Iron Man wrote a file on the Runaways (along with many other unregistered superhumans) in a government dossier, where he mentioned viewing footage of the Runaways' battle with the Young Avengers. Taking the info from Civil War Files and Battle Damage Report into account, one could assume that the Runaways' alliance with the Young Avengers did indeed steer them in a new direction since Iron Man used footage taken from the two teen teams' meeting to write the aforementioned dossier file and it likely further motivated him to find the Runaways, which he did at the end of Runaways II#24, published after both Civil War Files and Battle Damage Report, forcing the Runaways to abandon their new Hostel and go on the run in the Leapfrog. Since we didn't know what "new direction" the team was going in the Battle Damage Report, I mentioned that issue as a BTS appearance, as they were being covertly pushed in a new direction that came to a head a few issues later.

Also, I want to point out that during the Joss Whedon run on Runaways, the artifact that the Runaways were looking for in 1907 seemed to flip-flop between being called an energy amplifier (that the Runaways plugged into the Leapfrog's overdrive) or an overdrive itself. While it seemed to make sense that the Runaways were looking for a new overdrive to replace their burned out one in the Leapfrog, the holo records displayed by the Leapfrog showed that the Yorkes hid artifacts resembling the energy amplifier that the Kingpin had the team acquire for him. Since they plugged the Kingpin's artifact into the Leapfrog to travel to 1907, it seemed to me that the Runaways were actually looking for an energy amplifier which should be plugged INTO an overdrive and that's how I wrote this entry and not an overdrive to replace the burned out one. Though honestly, I suppose they should have been looking for both since we saw their overdrive get burned out. Then again, what the readers thought was an overdrive that Victor Mancha threw out might have just been a misnamed energy amplifier instead, which would certainly follow the trend of misnaming the artifact throughout that storyline...

Earth-616's Molly appeared on the Dr. Doom-created Battleworld as part of Battleworld's Runaways team, comprised of teenagers from across the Battleworld regions, which were composed of chunks of various realities. I chose to treat that Runaways as an alternate reality team (even though it did have the memory-altered Molly-616 as a member) separate from the 616 Runaways in this profile. As such, perhaps someday they will receive their own profile. When reality was restored post-Secret Wars, one can assume that the normal 616 Runaways were restored. With that in mind, I chose not to list any of the appearances here (even as a BTS appearance), since the only 616 character was Molly and it didn't involve the entire Runaways-616 team.

Runaways III#8 lists 3 inkers: Miyazawa, Lee and Yeung. According to comics.org, Miyazawa is the issue's penciler Takeshi Miyazawa and Yeung is former Runaways inker Craig Yeung, but the Lee remains to be completely clarified. The website lists Norman Lee as a likely candidate...

Runaways III#14 ended on a cliffhanger without explaining if Chase was going to live or die, which killed me as a reader at the time since I knew it was the final issue. When the Runaways next showed up in S.W.O.R.D.#2, a totally fine and non-injured Chase was with them and it was never explained what really happened in Runaways III#14 (though he does later mention getting better). I'm dying to know the answer to the cliffhangers presented in that issue!! What happened to Chase? Obviously he was fine if he showed up later but what exactly happened? Was that actually a somehow reincarnated and memory lapsed Gert he saw?! The guy who hit Chase looked exactly like Chase circa his 1st appearance and was driving a white van like Chase originally did! What's up with that?! Chase mentioned accidentally hitting Hunter Stein and thought he was dead, events which seemed to be mirrored in Chase's own incident in which he was hit by a white van. Could present-day Chase have somehow went back in time where he was hit by his own past self, which would explain why he thought he hit his uncle in his younger days and how Hunter Stein was still alive in the present day but then if he DID travel into the past and that WAS an alive Gert that he saw, why didn't she recognize her own name when Chase said it or Chase, since Gert and Chase had known each other since children? This also makes me wonder if these events tie into Chase's as-yet-unseen-on-panel time travel adventure during the end of Joss Whedon's run on Runaways...one has to wonder what Kathryn Immonen had up her sleeve in Runaways III#14. I'd love to see a new Runaways series written by her and drawn by Sara Pichelli. Pichelli's art was perfect for the book and I want to know where that story was going before it was later simply ignored...just my two cents though...

In Daken: Dark Wolverine#17, Daken broke into the Runaways' headquarters seeking a member of the Pride. The home he broke into strongly resembled the Runaways' Malibu beach house owned by Hunter Stein, which had been destroyed and burned to the ground prior to the Daken: Dark Wolverine issues in Runaways III#13-14. The Daken: Dark Wolverine issues were published nearly three years after Runaways III#13-14. The art made the home seem slightly smaller on the outside but looking mostly the same as their Malibu beach house on the inside, so one can only assume one of two things: either the Runaways found a new, possibly smaller, beach house or the old beach house was rebuilt, possibly through use of Nico's Staff of One. I choose to think of it as a different beach house, which is how I listed it in the group's base of operations in this profile...

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Runaways have no known connections to

• Runaway of the Amalgam Universe, member of JLX @ JLX#1
• Runaway of Earth-982 ca. 2099 AD, had total recall memory abilities @ Fantastic Four 2099#2
• Runaways of Earth-Battleworld, a collection of multiversal youngsters (including Earth-616's Molly Hayes) that banded together against the lethal Doom Academy @ Runaways IV#1
  
• or any other "Runaways" groups
  

images: (without ads)
Avengers Academy#28, p3, pan4 (Runaways roster after Old Lace's return, main image)
Runaways I#2, p13, pan1 (Runaways original roster)
Runaways I#6, p23, splash page (Runaways original roster including Molly Hayes)
Runaways I#9, p5, pan2 (Chase Stein, Molly Hayes, Gertrude Yorkes and Old Lace with Topher)
Runaways II#7, p2, pan3 (Runaways roster shortly after Victor Mancha joined)
Free Comic Book Day 2006, p1, splash page (Runaways roster after Karolina Dean went into space)
Runaways II#20, p10, pan3 (Runaways roster when Chase had ran away, including a flying Karolina & Xavin)
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#1, p1, pan4 (Runaways after Chase's return, visiting a Farmer's Market)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 9, Runaways entry main image (Runaways roster after Klara Prast joined)
Runaways II#27, p8, pan4 (Runaways in 1907 attire)
Runaways III#12, p2, splash page (Runaways roster after Xavin left)
Daken: Dark Wolverine#18, p2, pan4 (Runaways roster following Old Lace's supposed death)

Appearances:
Runaways I#1 (July, 2003) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), David Newbold (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#2 (August, 2003) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), David Newbold (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#3 (September, 2003) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), David Newbold (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#4 (October, 2003) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), David Newbold (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#5 (November, 2003) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), David Newbold (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#6 (November, 2003) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#7 (December, 2003) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#8 (January, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#9 (February, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#10 (March, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#11 (April, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (pencils), David Newbold (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#12 (April, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (pencils), David Newbold (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#13 (May, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#14 (June, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#15 (July, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#16 (August, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#17 (October, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways I#18 (November, 2004) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways II#1 (April, 2005) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways II#2 (May, 2005) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Teams 2005 (2005) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Stuart Vandal, Al Sjoerdsma, Barry Reese, Bill Lentz, Eric Moreels, Mark O'English, Michael Hoskin, Richard Green, Ronald Byrd, Sean McQuaid, Anthony Flamini (writers), Jo Chen (Runaways entry main image art), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Runaways II#3 (June, 2005) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways II#4 (July, 2005) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways II#5 (August, 2005) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), C.B. Cebulski (editor)
Runaways II#6 (September, 2005) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead, C.B. Cebulski (editors)
Runaways II#7 (October, 2005) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Runaways II#8 (November, 2005) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Runaways II#9 (December, 2005) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Runaways II#10 (January, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Runaways II#11 (February, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Runaways II#12 (March, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Runaways II#13 (April, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Runaways II#14 (May, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Runaways II#15 (June, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), MacKenzie Cadenhead, Nick Lowe (editors)
Runaways II#16 (July, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Free Comic Book Day 2006 (X-Men/Runaways) (July, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Skottie Young (art), MacKenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Runaways II#17 (August, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways II#18 (September, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Civil War Files (September, 2006) - Anthony Flamini (head writer/coordinator), Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, Madison Carter, Michael Hoskin, Chris Biggs, Mark O'English, Mike Fichera (writers), Stefano Caselli (Runaways entry art), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#1 (September, 2006) - Zeb Wells (writer), Stefano Caselli (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Runaways II#19 (October, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Mike Norton (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#2 (October, 2006) - Zeb Wells (writer), Stefano Caselli (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#3 (November, 2006) - Zeb Wells (writer), Stefano Caselli (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Runaways II#20 (November, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Mike Norton (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways II#21 (December, 2006) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Mike Norton (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#4 (December, 2006) - Zeb Wells (writer), Stefano Caselli (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Runaways II#22 (January, 2007) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways II#23 (February, 2007) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways II#24 (March, 2007) - Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Adrian Alphona (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Civil War: Battle Damage Report (May, 2007) - Anthony Flamini (head writer/coordinator), Ronald Byrd (writer), Jo Chen (Runaways entry art), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Runaways Saga#1 (2007) - C.B. Cebulski, Mindy Owens (writers), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Carlos Cuevas (inks), Jennifer Grunwald (editor)
Runaways II#25 (June, 2007) - Joss Whedon (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Rick Ketcham (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways II#26 (July, 2007) - Joss Whedon (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Rick Ketcham (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways II#27 (August, 2007) - Joss Whedon (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Rick Ketcham, Jay Leisten (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways II#28 (December, 2007) - Joss Whedon (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Rick Ketcham (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways II#29 (April, 2008) - Joss Whedon (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Rick Ketcham, Andrew Hennessy (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways II#30 (August, 2008) - Joss Whedon (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Rick Ketcham, Victor Olazaba, Roland Paris, Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers#1 (August, 2008) - Chris Yost (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (art), Nick Lowe (editor)
Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers#2 (October, 2008) - Chris Yost (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (art), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#1 (October, 2008) - Terry Moore (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Dave Meikis (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers#3 (November, 2008) - Chris Yost (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (art), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#2 (November, 2008) - Terry Moore (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Dave Meikis (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#3 (December, 2008) - Terry Moore (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Dave Meikis (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#4 (January, 2009) - Terry Moore (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Dave Meikis (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#5 (February, 2009) - Terry Moore (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Dave Meikis (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#6 (March, 2009) - Terry Moore (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Dave Meikis (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#7 (April, 2009) - Terry Moore (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (art), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#8 (May, 2009) - Terry Moore (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (pencils, inks), Norman (?) Lee, Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#9 (June, 2009) - Terry Moore (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (pencils, inks), Roland Paris (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#10 (July, 2009) - "Mollifest Destiny" story - Chris Yost (writer), Sara Pichelli (art), Daniel Ketchum (editor); "Truth or Dare" story - James Asmus (writer), Emma Rios (art), Daniel Ketchum (editor)
Runaways III#11 (August, 2009) - Kathryn Immonen (writer), Sara Pichelli (art), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#12 (September, 2009) - Kathryn Immonen (writer), Sara Pichelli (art), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#13 (October, 2009) - Kathryn Immonen (writer), Sara Pichelli (art), Nick Lowe (editor)
Runaways III#14 (November, 2009) - Kathryn Immonen (writer), Sara Pichelli (art), Nick Lowe (editor)
S.W.O.R.D.#2 (February, 2010) - Kieron Gillen (writer), Steven Sanders (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way!#1 (May, 2010) - "It's Not Lupus!" story - Kathryn Immonen (writer), Serena Ficca (art), Daniel Ketchum, Jordan D. White (editors)
Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age#1 (September, 2010) - "Beast" story - Matt Fraction (writer), Steve Sanders (pencils), Jaime Mendoza (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Heroic Age: Heroes (November, 2010) - Michael Hoskin (head writer, coordinator), Chad Anderson, Anthony Flamini, Rob London, Sean McQuaid, Kevin Garcia, Markus Raymond, Gabriel Schecter, David Wiltfong, Peter Sanderson, Stuart Vandal, Madison Carter (writers), Humberto Ramos (Runaways entry art), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Daken: Dark Wolverine#17 (January, 2012) - Rob Williams (writer), Matteo Buffagni (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)
Daken: Dark Wolverine#18 (February, 2012) - Rob Williams (writer), Matteo Buffagni (pencils), Michele Bertilorenzi, Andrea Mutti (pencils, inks), Craig Yeung (inks), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)
Daken: Dark Wolverine#19 (March, 2012) - Rob Williams (writer), Matteo Buffagni (pencils), Michele Bertilorenzi, Andrea Mutti (pencils, inks), Craig Yeung (inks), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)
Avengers Academy#27 (May, 2012) - Christos Gage (writer), Karl Moline (pencils), Jim Fern (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers Academy#28 (June, 2012) - Christos Gage (writer), Karl Moline (pencils), Jim Fern (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers Arena#1 (February, 2013) - Dennis Hopeless (writer), Kev Walker (art), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers Arena#4 (April, 2013) - Dennis Hopeless (writer), Alessandro Vitti (art), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers A.I.#1 (September, 2013) - Sam Humphries (writer), Andre Lima Araujo (art), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
Avengers Arena#13 (October, 2013) - Christos Gage (writer), Karl Moline (pencils), Mark Pennington (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers Undercover#1 (May, 2014) - Dennis Hopeless (writer), Kev Walker (art), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers Undercover#4 (July, 2014) - Dennis Hopeless (writer), Kev Walker (pencils), Jason Gorder (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers Undercover#10 (November, 2014) - Dennis Hopeless (writer), Tigh Walker (art), Bill Rosemann (editor)
A-Force II#2 (April, 2016) - Kelly Thompson, G. Willow Wilson (writers), Jorge Molina (art), Katie Kubert (editor)

First Posted: 02/13/2017
Last Updated: 02/13/2017

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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