For alternate versions of Chase Stein, see Chase Stein's Character Hub

Victor Chase Stein is a former player of the Atlas Academy lacrosse team and the son of Victor and Janet Stein. Upon reuniting with his childhood friends, they discovered that their parents used PRIDE to cover up ceremonial sacrifices of the Church of Gibborim. Interested in technology and engineering, Stein created the custom made gauntlets Fistigons. He teamed up with his friends and formed the Runaways. Having been framed for Destiny Gonzalez's murder, and with no other choice, they were forced to run.

Stein sought refuge in the Hostel along with the other Runaways, still fighting against PRIDE and Jonah. He tried to be as supportive as he could towards Gert Yorkes, his new girlfriend who suffered from not taking her anti-anxiety meds, and was extremely upset when she went to a hospital and when he discovered that she had applied for college studies, both times without telling him, and their relationship became more strained. Moreover, Stein grew more and more dubious about the fact that the Runaways' struggle was well-grounded and, upon learning that his father was dying again, he elected to come back home. As a result, Stein was welcomed into PRIDE on the promise that he and his friends could take the reins of the organization, but he failed to convince his former teammates to follow his path and could not avert another direct confrontation between PRIDE and the Runaways. Eventually, Stein was captured by the Magistrate and his family, who threatened to consume him in order for them to survive.

Trapped in a Healing Algorithm simulation emphasizing his desire to be a hero, Stein was eventually released thanks to the Runaways, but lost his mother in the process as she chose to sacrifice herself to save him. Stein was then begrudgingly welcomed back among the Runaways, and took part in the conflict against the Gibborim while trying to repair his relationship with Yorkes. Along with the other Runaways, he ended up trapped in the Dark Dimension, in which he saved his father from a recreation of his grandfather, but was able to escape. Stein then joined in the efforts to thwart Morgan le Fay's plan to take over the Earth through the Corvus phones, but was captured by the Coven before being saved by Nico Minoru, aided by Cloak and Dagger. He then participated in a mission to save Alex Wilder, who had been left behind in the Dark Dimension, and slowly began to reconcile with Yorkes. Once out of the Dark Dimension, Stein helped his parents find a way to weaken the le Fay, and during the final confrontation against the enchantress, he was knocked unconscious by a future version of himself, who later died in the battle, much to Stein's surprise. Stein then joined the group in celebrating their victory.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Childhood[]

Chase was born the son of Janet and Victor Stein. Growing up, Chase frequently played with the children of the other members of PRIDE.^[2] He had a troubled childhood, resenting his father for the abuse he gave to his mother and him. Additionally, Chase was ignored by his father, who was more focused on his work than anything else. One day, Victor promised Chase that he would make it to the city championship to see him play, but failed to do so. Chase won and received the trophy, waiting for his father to take him home. In the car, the two argued, leading Chase to get punched twice.^[1] When Victor was at work, Chase and Janet often went to a certain location to watch the northern lights. It was there where Janet taught Chase about constellations.^[3] He also did four years of sailing classes.^[4]

In 2007, the Hernandez's were killed in an explosion. Chase attended the funeral, but was mostly oblivious to the tragic events that had transpired.^[5] In sixth grade, Chase attended Alex Wilder's party. Wilder gave everyone an R2-D2 flashdrive.^[6] Once in the eighth grade, Stein and Gert Yorkes were astronomy partners, with Yorkes making most of the stargazing because Stein spent the entire time playing Candy Crush and flirting with Eiffel.^[7] In 2015, Amy Minoru died. Although everyone attended the funeral, Alex Wilder was nowhere to be found, which caused everyone to stop being friends.^[2]

Lacrosse[]

In high school, Stein was a part of the lacrosse team. He sat outside the school and argued with his teammates about which lacrosse stick was better. Karolina Dean then walked by them and he said hello.^[8]

Reunion[]

In the morning, while he was practicing, Chase was told by his mother Janet that she and his father Victor were expecting him for breakfast. Chase was praised by his father for his victory in a lacrosse game, but also heavily chastised for having a poor grade in a Spanish test. Once breakfast was over, Chase returned to his bedroom and prepared to leave for school, criticizing his father in front of Janet despite the latter's attempt to persuade him that his father still loved him somehow.

Chase went to the Atlas Academy and while he was sketching designs for his Fistigons, he was approached by Alex Wilder, who wanted to invite him and his other former friends over to the Wilder Mansion. However, Chase blatantly refused as he was no longer interested in hanging out with his childhood friends and instead left with his lacrosse teammates Brandon and Lucas, commenting on how he thought Wilder's attitude was laughable.

Later, Chase went to see his Spanish teacher Walter to get a better grade, but Walter refused to change it, causing Chase's anger who hit a locker room. This was noticed by Gert Yorkes, who suggested that they could meet in the evening at the Timely Coffee so that she could help him to learn Spanish. Chase agreed to this plan, but he was then approached by Lucas and Brandon who told him to come to a party given at Brandon's cousin's.

Chase went to the party instead of joining Yorkes, although he did not enjoy it as much as the other young people did. He noticed Karolina Dean in the crown and tried to reach her, but he temporarily lost sight of her and only saw her again as she was being dragged unconscious by Brandon and Lucas. Chase ran after them and found Brandon and Lucas attempting to rape the still unconscious Dean. Therefore, he engaged in a brutal fight against his friends, causing them to run away.

Chase and Dean left the party, but they were reluctant at the idea of going home. Having received from Wilder a picture of their former group of friends, they decided to go the Wilder Mansion, where Yorkes, Nico Minoru and Molly Hernandez had also come. However, Amy Minoru's absence was too hard to bear and the teenagers began to argue over the fact that they had grown separate. Although Chase was ready to leave, Dean urged her former friends to discuss about their relationship. Chase agreed to stay, but only if he could get alcohol from Geoffrey Wilder's office.

Chase and the others went to the office, where Chase apologized to Yorkes for having let her down. As Wilder wanted to give a coaster to Chase, he accidentally opened a secret passageway hidden behind bookshelves. The teenagers decided to explore it and arrived in a mysterious room where they saw all their parents dressed up in red robes and protected by some kind of energy barrier. Chase then watched in complete shock as their parents apparently sacrificed a young girl by putting her in a mysterious box. However, due to Hernandez having taken a picture of the scene, they were forced to flee.^[2]

Investigation[]

Stein hid with his friends in the Wilder Mansion's guesthouse while Alex Wilder briefly left, before returning and informing them that he had cut the power in the mansion so that their parents would thing that there had been a power shortage. Although Stein criticized the idea, the others approved it, but also figured out that they had to play along in front of their parents. Thus, Stein joined the other teenagers in a Twister game, pretending to Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder that everything was fine.

Stein and the others then intensely discussed about what they had seen. Stein hypothesized that the weird box Destiny Gonzalez had been put in could be related to his father Victor Stein's work about time travel. However, he was also willing to admit that his father could also be evil enough to be a murderer. As they could not find a solution, they returned to the mansion's hall, casually discussing with the members of PRIDE who were thrilled to see their children reconnecting. Stein then left with his mother Janet to go back home. He then received a message from Alex telling the Runaways to meet in the next morning.^[9]

Stein met with his teammates at the beach, insisting to wait for Karolina Dean to arrive as well. When she did, she showed them a picture seemingly displaying Gonzalez in London. Although Stein was willing to believe it, the others were in favor of deeper investigation in order to figure out what their parents were up to. Stein was tasked with searching through his father's lab for the Dematerialization Box, and accepted that Gert Yorkes came with him. Before leaving, Stein was asked by Dean about messages she had seen mentioning a fight with Brandon and Lucas, but Stein dismissed it as being no big deal.

Stein and Yorkes searched through the Stein Mansion's lab, with Stein noticing that Yorkes was looking at his body with the X-Ray Specs. They located the Dematerialization Box and used the X-Ray Specs to inspect it, figuring out that Gonzalez was no longer in it. Although Stein concluded that their investigation was over, Yorkes suggested to look into the Yorkes Residence's basement, in which Molly Hernandez had perceived a strange creature. Stein agreed to go with Yorkes to investigate it.

Stein and Yorkes observed the Yorkes Residence from afar with the goggles, but as it gave no result, they eventually entered the basement themselves. While searching the place, they found a heavy reinforced door, through which the X-Ray Specs could not see. Although Yorkes advised him against it, Stein decided to open it so they could check whether Gonzalez was imprisoned behind the door. As soon as he unlocked it though, a massive creature burst out in the basement.

Using the X-Ray Specs, Stein immediately identified the creature as being a small dinosaur. He told Yorkes that they had to leave, but the dinosaur blocked their escape and roared at them. Stein attempted to protect Yorkes from the beast as she was having a panic attack. However, it soon turned out that the dinosaur obeyed Yorkes' commands of calming down, much to their surprise. The dinosaur then left upon hearing a car horn and Stein hugged Yorkes to comfort her after such an incident.^[5]

Life Changes[]

Stein created a WizTalk conversation with the other Runaways to discuss the thin results of their investigation, as well as the recent discovery of Destiny Gonzalez's body washed out on the beach. As they still had trouble believing that their parents could be murderers, Stein reminded that Alex Wilder's father Geoffrey had actually been imprisoned for murder, although the charges were later dropped. Stein insisted that they should be ready to protect themselves against their own parents and ended the call. He then continued to work on the Fistigons he had started manufacturing.

In the next day, at the Atlas Academy, Stein was approached by Gert Yorkes, who wanted to thank him for having not revealed the existence of the dinosaur. The conversation was however ended when Stein was confronted by his lacrosse teammates Brandon and Lucas, who wanted him to apologize for beating them. However, Stein demanded that they apologized to Karolina Dean, who they had tried to rape. As they refused and insulted Dean, Stein assaulted them one more time, but the brawl was ended by their coach Alphona, who took the three students in his office. Stein later attended a team meeting in which Alphona urged him to set aside his problems with Brandon and Lucas because of the upcoming lacrosse tournament.

Stein then went to the Dean Mansion, where he found Dean and Yorkes, who was just leaving. Remaining alone with Dean, Stein told her that he considered quitting the lacrosse team because of Brandon and Lucas having tried to rape her, although Stein insisted that he had intervened before they could hurt her. In gratitude, Dean asked Stein to come inside the house. Once in Dean's bedroom, Stein got to discover her light emission abilities. At first, Stein was a little afraid by it, but eventually yielded to his fascination and touched Dean's glowing hand, without being hurt in any way.

Stein and Dean discussed the latter's powers and their potential origin. As Dean expressed fear at it, Stein reassured her and told her that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Motivated by this discussion with Dean, Stein then returned to the Stein Mansion and decided to further work on the Fistigons in his father Victor's lab. However, when his father arrived, Stein was ready to leave the lab as he feared his reaction. Chase got angry when Victor picked up the Fistigons and threw them on the floor, but was then surprised as Victor asked him to tell him about his idea so they could work on it together.^[6]

Kidnapping of Alex Wilder[]

Chase and his father Victor further developed the Fistigons all the while discussing Chase's idea, with Victor expressing genuine surprise at his son's skills in engineering. While trying to assist his father, Chase accidentally dropped some equipment on the floor, he expressed fear that his father would berate him. However, Victor simply acknowledged that he had treated Chase harshly but only so he could give the best of himself, although Chase was skeptical that he could live up to his father's expectations.

Later, as his father left for a break, Chase picked up his WizPhone and discovered that Gert Yorkes had unsuccessfully tried to contact him. Indeed, Alex Wilder had been kidnapped by the Crips and the other Runaways were chasing them. Therefore, Chase reclaimed his whole new Fistigons and drove to catch up with his teammates. He found them as they were facing Darius Davis and arrived in time to fire at him with the Fistigons which knocked Davis several meters away.

Despite this achievement, which was awkwardly concluded when Chase high-fived Nico Minoru only to be thrown away because of his own Fistigons who fired once again. Chase stood back and rejoined his friends as Davis confronted them once again and aimed at them with his guns. However, the Runaways were protected by a shield created by Minoru's Staff of One, which caused Davis to run away.

While Wilder briefly left his teammates, Chase went to the Timely Coffee with the other Runaways and they discussed their confrontation against Davis. When Wilder returned and explained that they had to save one of his kidnappers, Andre Compton, from PRIDE, Chase was surprised by this request as he did not understand why they should. They further discussed about the recently revealed superhuman abilities of the Runaways and eventually all agreed to save Compton. They ran to the Wilder Mansion, only to find the sacrifice room empty, meaning that they had failed in their endeavor.

Still, Chase searched through the sacrifice room and found the video camera he gave to Wilder, who tracked down its video feed to Wizard Headquarters. This prompted the Runaways to further discuss PRIDE's activities, and Chase suggested that their parents might have had a good reason for their actions, although he could not come up with a reasonable explanation as to why they were murdering teenagers.

Chase returned to the Stein Mansion, where his father awaited him to work of an old invention of his own: a time machine designed to show images of different times. They gave it a trial, but the machine apparently did not work, causing Victor to angrily throw it on the floor. Chase was then worried to see his father kneeling on the ground because of a violent headache, and Victor confessed that he was actually suffering from a brain cancer. Chase tearfully hugged his father, who told him not to alert his mother Janet and promised that he would win over his disease.^[10]

Infiltration into Wizard Headquarters[]

Chase showed the Fistigons, which had been quite damaged by the confrontation against Darius Davis, to his father Victor, who complimented his son for having created functional gauntlets. He then told Victor that he had to go and meet his friends outside and before leaving he commented on how his father had begun to grow on him. Chase went to the Timely Coffee where he discussed the new Runaways' plan: infiltrating into Wizard Headquarters during a gala to retrieve the video file showing PRIDE perpetrating sacrifices. Despite some of them, including Chase, having second thoughts about the operation, they all declared that they agreed to it.

Chase and the other Runaways took a limo to arrive to Wizard Headquarters, where they saw their parents enjoying the party under the applause and the cheering of the crowd. As the party continued, the Runaways gathered and decided to launch their operation, which primarily involved Alex Wilder, Nico Minoru and Gert Yorkes while the other would remain in the hall to watch the party. Chase was asked by Karolina Dean to get some drinks and he gleefully accepted to get in line at the bar, unaware that he actually was at the center of a tense jealousy discussion between Yorkes and Dean.

While waiting in the line, Chase saw Dean mysteriously slipping away with a bottle of vodka. Before he could follow her, he was approached by Dean's mother Leslie, who asked him where her daughter was. Chase pretended that he did not know and that he would look for her and followed Dean up to the building's roof, where Dean was getting drunk on her own. Chase urged Dean to tell him what was wrong, but Dean got angry, sitting on the edge of the roof and lamenting over her powers.

This worried Chase, who feared that Dean could fall and he suggested to return downstairs. His fear came true as Dean slipped over the edge, much to his horror, but as he tried to catch her, Dean's Church of Gibborim Bracelet was taken off, activating her powers and enabling her to fly, which greatly amazed Chase. Chase then saw Dean safely returning on the roof and put her bracelet back onto a wrist before kissing her in relief, claiming that he felt it as the right time to do it. After they shared a hug, Chase and Dean returned to the party.

Chase listened to the speech delivered by the PRIDE members. However, he was as shocked as everybody else when his father Victor publicly revealed that his wife Janet was having an affair with Robert Minoru. When Victor fainted immediately after, Chase rushed at him and accompanied him as he was being transported to a quiet room. Chase inadvertently revealed that Victor was suffering from a brain tumor, which Janet did not know. However, he also encouraged Janet to leave the room as her presence was doing more harm than good.

While Chase wanted PRIDE to call an ambulance for his father, Leslie told him that she had another idea and brought a mysterious man in the room to cure Victor. Chase, who did not believe it, refused to leave his father's side, but he was ultimately taken out by Geoffrey Wilder and Stacey Yorkes, who convinced him it was for the best. Chase found Alex and Tina outside and asked them about the mission, which was successful. In return, Chase informed them about Karolina's new ability and the affair between Janet and Robert. Chase then went to find his parents in the parking lot and was surprised to find them apparently getting along, and even more surprised when Victor hugged both him and Janet.^[11]

Making a Choice[]

Chase found his father Victor working in his lab and repeatedly called him until Victor eventually heard him and explained that he had solved a problem which had kept Nemo engineers busy for years. Chase was then surprised when his father explained that he would attend the Atlas Academy open house and his father hugged him. When Chase's mother Janet arrived and Victor left to take a shower, Chase asked his mother about Victor's strange change in behavior. He also commented on her affair with Robert Minoru and remained doubtful about Janet's will to keep her family together, leaving for school without any other word.

At school, Chase and Karolina Dean joined Alex Wilder and Nico Minoru, and were then approached by Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez, with Yorkes expressing jealousy at the sight of Chase and Dean hanging out together. Chase asked Wilder about the decryption of the file reclaimed at Wizard Headquarters and they discussed whether their parents could be aware that the Runaways had discovered their secret. At that moment, Hernandez revealed that she had accidentally revealed this to Catherine Wilder. Still, Chase could not help but notice that things had seemed to improve in his family since he had learned about the sacrifices. Chase then remained speechless as Hernandez left the group due to feeling infantilized.

During the open house, Chase and Karolina saw Catherine and Geoffrey Wilder speaking with Dale and Stacey Yorkes and figured out that they were discussing about Hernandez. Chase told Karolina to gather the others, only to be told to do it himself. The Runaways then discussed the potential consequences of PRIDE learning that their secret had been uncovered by the teenagers. Chase also asked Alex whether he knew what they would do once the file was decrypted and asked his friends to stay in touch in case anything happened in the evening, which did not help to reassure his teammates.

Chase returned to the Stein Mansion to keep working on his Fistigons in his father's lab. However, when Victor returned, he harshly told Chase that he was not allowed to be in here. Puzzled by Victor's new personality change, Chase blamed him for having made him believe that they could have a true father-son relationship, causing Victor to berate Chase for what he considered a childish attitude.

Victor then attempted to hit Chase, but Chase avoided the hit and punched Victor back, causing him to fall on a table. Chase apologized, but an angry Victor picked up the Fistigons and fired at Chase, projecting him through a window. Chase, who was slightly wounded on the forehead, begged his father to stop, but Victor refused to listen to him and aimed at him once again. However, before Chase was hit - and potentially killed, Victor was shot by Janet to save her son.^[1]

Chase and Janet tried to help Victor, but Chase was surprised when PRIDE members Tina, Robert, Catherine and Geoffrey arrived upon Janet's request. Chase was told that the PRIDE members were very close to each other and that they would deal with the situation. Although Chase initially refused to go upstairs with his mother, Geoffrey insisted and Chase went along. He and his mother went to get a drink to recover from their emotions and discussed what had happened, with Chase insisting that it was the brain tumor which had caused the whole event. Although Janet was doubtful about it, she tried to comfort Chase and told him that he might be right.

Chase then remained alone in the house as Janet left to welcome Dale and Stacey, who she had also called. He went into his bedroom and searched through his WizPhone for someone to call. Chase initially called Gert, but as she did not answer, he contacted Karolina and informed her about what had happened, asking her to come. However, before she could actually reply, Chase changed his mind and declared that he should not have involved her before hanging up the phone.

Unable to remain alone doing nothing in his bedroom, Chase went downstairs and confronted Frank Dean, who had also come to the mansion and tried to keep Chase from going down into the lab where PRIDE was still trying to save Victor, who was actually clinically dead. Chase threatened to hit Frank if he did not let him through, but before he could do so, Karolina, who had sneaked into the house, told Chase to go back into his bedroom where Gert awaited him. When he returned, Chase was amazed to be faced with Gert's dinosaur, which she had brought along.

Later, Chase was informed by his mother that Victor had been taken by Jonah and PRIDE to be cured and replied that he wanted to have another chance with his father. Once Janet left, Chase was told by his friends that Alex and Nico had decrypted the file retrieved in Wizard's servers. They drove to join them to the Timely Coffee; however, Chase tried to convince his friends not to release the video out of fear that Victor could die.

This caused an argument within the Runaways as Alex and Nico were determined to have PRIDE taken down. Panicking, Chase attacked Alex and the two teenagers engaged in a fight. Taking advantage of Alex's distraction as he discovered the dinosaur in Gert's car, Chase seized his laptop and violently smashed it, thus destroying the only hard drive on which the Runaways had evidence of PRIDE's crimes. Having antagonized most of his teammates, Chase sadly apologized as he had felt to have no other choice.^[7]

Infiltration into the PRIDE Construction Site[]

Chase prepared for another day at Atlas Academy while watching an interview given by her mother Janet, who explained that Victor would no longer make public appearances until he was healed from his brain cancer. Chase and Janet then discussed about what Janet had told the audience and Chase worried that his father could actually die. He tried to know more about Jonah, but his mother urged him not to ask questions about Jonah or PRIDE, arguing that it could put him in harm's way if he knew too much.

Chase went to the Atlas Academy, where several people, including Tezuka, Brandon and Stu, offered him their sympathy for what had happened to Victor. Chase then joined the other Runaways and apologized once again for having destroyed Alex Wilder's laptop. However, this did not erase the tensions within the group, and they went as far as considering the idea of disbanding the team. When Alex left, Chase and the others followed him and passed by Eiffel, who sold tickets for the upcoming school dance. She offered one to Chase, who declined as he was not sure he would come, and he smiled when Gert insulted Eiffel for her behavior towards Karolina Dean and declared that they would all come together.

Chase and the other Runaways were then approached by Molly Hernandez, who had previously been sent away to Montebello but had managed to return to Los Angeles. Hernandez showed them an old VHS tape left by her parents Alice and Gene and they decided to immediately watch it. As the tape was displayed, Chase and the other Runaways thus learned about the fact that PRIDE was trying to dig up something mysterious, which, according to the Hernandezes, could cause massive damage across California.

The Runaways discussed this new information and quickly figured out that PRIDE was using its construction site as a front for their true agenda. Chase insisted that they had to step in order to stop their parents since the situation seemed to go out of everyone's control, which was agreed by Wilder despite their recent arguments. They decided to use the school dance to gather in order to sneak into the construction site. Chase returned to the Stein Mansion to get ready for the party. Before leaving, he found Janet cleaning up Victor's blood in the garage and told her that they were going as a group, mentioning how he was becoming fond of Yorkes before saying goodbye to his mother.

Chase went to the dance and waited for his friends to arrive as well. He saw Yorkes and joined her. They began discussing their previous relationship, how Yorkes felt ignored by Chase while Chase thought that she considered him an idiot. Upon seeing Eiffel and Brandon together, Chase told Yorkes that he did not regret how things had turned out, stating that his previous life was a fallacy. Yorkes complimented him on his maturity and suggested that they shared one last dance.

Thus, Chase and Yorkes slipped out of the party to go into another room and began slowly dancing. Chase then confessed that he could never ignore Yorkes and that he had always seen her. They shared a kiss and began taking off their clothes, eventually making love in the empty room. When they walked out all tousled, they stumbled on Dean and Nico Minoru, who apparently just shared a kiss as well. They remained silent and joined the rest of the Runaways to drive to the PRIDE Construction Site.

Upon arriving, Chase confirmed to Wilder that he had taken the Fistigons with him. They approached the site's fence and were stopped by Carl, a member of the Church of Gibborim who eventually let them in after Dean told him to call her father Frank to make sure that they were allowed to enter the site. Once inside the compound, the Runaways found the gigantic Nemo Industrial Drilling Machine and decided to turn it off. Chase and Yorkes found the control panel, and while Chase tried to find a way to stop the drill, he was surprised that Yorkes apparently resented him for what had happened between them earlier, and that she considered it a simple one-night stand.

Deciding that they had more urgent matters to deal with, and since he was unable to normally stop de drilling machine, Chase used his Fistigons to fry up the control panels, successfully turning off the systems. He and Yorkes then rejoined his friends, with Minoru trying to use the Staff of One to fill the giant hole left by the machine. However, they were stopped in their endeavor by PRIDE, who had come to the site in an attempt to stop their children. While they tried to convince their children, Chase claimed that they were no longer on the same side as the Runaways openly declared war on their parents.^[12]

The confrontation was started by Dale Yorkes, who fired a tranquilizing bullet at Gert's dinosaur, which she had brought along. In retaliation, Chase fired at PRIDE with the Fistigons, only for the energy beam to be stopped by Tina Minoru's Staff of One which she had reclaimed from Nico. Dean stepped up and tried to use her powers against PRIDE, but the Runaways were then confronted by Jonah. Along with the other Runaways, Chase was hit by a light energy ball, but he stood back and was ready to fight further against PRIDE.

However, Dean convinced her friends to leave her behind to fight Jonah while they would get to safety. Although they initially disagreed, Chase and the other Runaways accepted to leave and fled from the fight, which unleashed massive amounts of energy. They took cover behind their car as a powerful outburst surged across the construction site, frying up all electronic systems, including Chase's Fistigons. Although Nico insisted on finding Karolina, the Runaways figured out that PRIDE had captured her and that they were looking for them, prompting them to escape from the site.^[13]

Rescue of Karolina Dean[]

Stein and the other Runaways hid in the woods near Los Angeles in order to figure out their next move, as they were torn between two options: leaving the city in order to organize themselves or trying to rescue Karolina Dean from PRIDE. Stein mentioned that if he was in Dean's place, he would want his friends to leave. However, Nico Minoru categorically refused to leave Los Angeles without Dean, which eventually convinced Stein, as well as the others to stay as well to try and save her.

In order to go incognito, Stein, Minoru and Molly Hernandez went to a thrift shop to change their outfits. While trying new clothes, Stein and Minoru mentioned how they had admitted their feelings, respectively towards Gert Yorkes and Dean, and Stein confessed that he deeply loved Yorkes. They then rejoined the other Runaways and went to the Timely Coffee in order to find Vaughn Kaye, a member of the Church of Gibborim. They attempted to persuade him to help them, but Kaye refused to believe that Dean could be in danger because of her own parents and angrily departed.

Still, the Runaways decided to move against the Church of Gibborim. Stein and Hernandez, posing as typical runaways, were picked up by Church members Aura and Frances and taken into the Church of Gibborim Executive Office. While filling their intake forms, they were approached by Kaye, who claimed that he finally agreed to help them. Stein and Hernandez were brought upstairs, in front of Leslie Dean's private meditation room's door. Although Kaye regretted that he did not have the key, Stein replied that they did not need it as Hernandez could break through the door thanks to her superhuman strength.

Stein and Hernandez thus successfully found Dean and took her out of her room. While going downstairs, they encountered Aura and Frances, who figured out that there was something wrong and called the Church's security. Stein, Dean and Hernandez fled and managed to hide from the individuals chasing them. Before going further, Stein wore his X-Ray Specs to check whether they could leave, and Chase spotted Jonah, who appeared as an incredibly bright silhouette. Once Jonah was gone, Stein and the others reached the hall of the building and managed to get into a van stolen by Alex Wilder, thus enabling the Runaways to escape.^[13]

Runaways[]

Framed[]

Stein and the Runaways, now reunited, returned into the woods, where they spent the night, with Stein and Gert Yorkes sleeping next to each other and holding hands. In the next morning, the group went to the Los Angeles Bus Depot in order to leave town. However, while they were reviewed their possible destinations, they caught a WHiH World News report claiming that the Runaways had actually kidnapped Molly Hernandez and that they were wanted for the death of Destiny Gonzalez. Thus, the Runaways, including Stein, were forced to hurriedly flee from Los Angeles.^[13]

Losing the Fistigons[]

Twenty-four hours later, Stein was on lookout duty. He dozed off for five minutes, allowing Mike on a Bike to steal the Fistigons and Alex Wilder's money. The Runaways chased Mike down the street, but were forced to stop as they went into incoming traffic with cameras everywhere, meaning that their parents could find them. The team blamed Stein, who took responsibility.

They went to a free food shelter, but soon figured out it was run by PRIDE. They argued for a little before deciding it was best to eat the food as they were hungry. They then found Graciela Aguirre on television, talking bad about PRIDE. As she was one of Molly Hernandez's relatives, they decided they needed to help her in case PRIDE goes after her. Stein and Karolina Dean disguised themselves as a rich couple. As they approached a valet, they argued with each other to make the employee feel awkward enough to just give them some keys. Stein then hopped into the car and drove off, picking everyone else up on the way.

They arrived at Aguirre's house only to find that she was dead. Stein consoled Hernandez, but told her that they needed to get out of there as there were police coming. They arrived at a homeless area to stay the night. Nico Minoru held a Wiccan funeral for Aguirre as many people around them paid respects. The next morning, they woke up to find Mike using the Fistigons uncontrollably. The group chased after him, but he got away. Stein jokingly said that he would live up to his name by chasing Mike. They did so and eventually got the Fistigons back with help of Old Lace. They also found an underground building in the chase and explored it, deciding to use the building as their home.^[14]

Settling In[]

Stein woke up with everyone else to heavy rumbling. Realizing it was an earthquake, they tried to take cover. Gert Yorkes was stuck so Molly Hernandez went to save her despite Stein not wanting her to get hurt as well. When it stopped, Stein remarked at how the Hostel withstood the hit. They then realized Karolina Dean was gone. They went looking around the Hostel, but the only thing that Stein found were rat sized cockroaches.

Nico Minoru insisted that they go looking, but Dean came back at that time saying that she could not sleep so went for a walk. They talked about the plan for the day leading Alex Wilder to say he was going to work. They asked him what job that he had and he refused to answer. Stein called him out for being secretive. Hernandez forced him to tell them. Wilder admitted he was working for Darius Davis. Everyone cautioned him against it, but Wilder was already on his way out.

Later, Stein looked around more and found a car. He remarked at how cool the Rolls-Royce was before running over to Yorkes and bragging about it. She was not very impressed, but Stein said he would fix it up. He noticed her attitude and asked what was wrong. Stein brought up their relationship. They sat down and talked about how to go about it. They agreed to start dating. They kissed before Stein went off to fix the electricity.

Yorkes held a flashlight so that Stein could fix the fuse box. When he was finished, he flipped the switch, causing a spark. This caused a lot of Los Angeles to go into a black out. Stein continued to work on the fuse box until electricity men arrived to fix it themselves. Yorkes and Stein thought of what to do and decided to cause a distraction. As Stein hid, Yorkes scared the men away using Old Lace.

When she came back, he hugged her and fixed the lights, saying he wanted to see if that blender worked. She was confused why that was his first thought, but still followed him. Inside, Stein made a smoothie and said it was good, but Yorkes refused to drink the "swamp water." When Hernandez, Minoru, and Dean returned, they were on edge. Minoru said that they will figure out how to all use their powers together the next day.^[15]

Practicing Their Powers[]

Stein and Gert Yorkes stayed up most of the night talking. In the morning, they were woken up by Nico Minoru, who wanted to practice. In the foyer, Karolina Dean showed off her powers. Stein then shot his Fistigons at a mannquin. He was proud of himself, but the mannequin caught on fire. Minoru used the Staff of One to extinguish the fire. Stein admitted that she was better. Minoru then told Stein to shoot her. He reluctantly did so and Minoru blocked it. She asked him to do it again. However, when he did, the staff did not work.

Later, Minoru was angry that the power did not work the second time and complained. They talked about how they were lacking leaders. Dean explained that they were not much of a team, but instead a family. Yorkes got annoyed with that and made a rude comment about Dean's Gibborim religion. Stein stood up and told Yorkes they did not need to go there. Yorkes lashed out at him and walked away.

Stein asked Molly Hernandez to walk with him. They went upstairs and Stein had Hernandez hold the car up as he worked on it. Hernandez thought he was exploiting her powers, but he said he was not and got to the point. He asked for advice on how to handle Yorkes and asked if he should let her be. Hernandez told him that was a horrible idea and she should never be left alone. Instead, he should stay with her.

They were then called in by Minoru, who explained that Alex Wilder had been kidnapped by his parents. They got into the car and Stein told Minoru to use her staff to cause a spark that hot wired it. They then drove to the airport. Stein hid in a cart and jumped out, attacking Geoffrey Wilder. They grabbed Alex and hopped into the car, but Minoru's spell did not work. Yorkes realized that the spell cannot be duplicated and told Minoru to word it differently. This worked and they got away.^[16]

Meeting Topher Vasquez[]

Later, Stein found out that Darius Davis was killed and framed for the murder of Destiny Gonzalez, meaning the kids were cleared. He was then alerted to Gert Yorkes screaming at Molly Hernandez for sneaking out. He went into the foyer and found a man walk in. He said he was peaceful and introduced himself as Topher Vasquez.^[16]

Stein and the rest of the Runaways were very suspicious of Vasquez and decided to let him stay as long as he slept next to Old Lace. Stein was woken up by Yorkes the next morning, who was very stressed. He calmed her down before realizing that Vasquez was gone. He found Vasquez in the dining room with Hernandez. Later, he talked with Alex Wilder about Vasquez. Wilder then found out a way to kill Jonah, but needed a computer from the school.

They got to the school and had Vasquez steal the computer. However, the school was evacuated when there was an earthquake. Wilder and Stein then went in. Stein realized they needed a master key and went into the gender neutral bathroom to find Eiffel, who was posting on Instagram. He asked her for the key and she obliged for a price. Stein got the key and ran out to find Yorkes there saying their parents arrived.

The Runaways ran into a stairwell and hid to evade the parents. They then ran out of the school and back over the wall, seeing Vasquez, who had the computer part. As they left, Stein took one last look at his former school. In the Hostel, they thanked Vasquez for his work and ate.^[17]

Topher Vasquez's Lies[]

The Runaways forced Topher Vasquez to tell them his backstory. He claimed to the group that he was forced to leave his home. He went to a garbage can to find food for himself and instead found a Gibborim Rock in a terrarium. Ever since, he had been grinding up the rock and using it. However, he was running out of the rock. Later, Alex Wilder and Stein talked about Stein's relationship problems with Gert Yorkes. Stein said he felt like he was annoying her, but Wilder simply told Stein that he was in a relationship. They also talked about Vasquez's claim, agreeing that his backstory was unlikely.

They soon found that Vasquez was gone and he took the plans to the dig site, likely to find more rocks. The Runaways went to the dig site and found Vasquez running away and hijacking a car. They forced Yorkes to follow the car; however, she was worried about the danger of the car chase. They arrived at Vasquez's house and Yorkes did not want to go in. The house was unlike what Vasquez claimed it to be. As Vasquez yelled at his parents, his mother explained that Vasquez was working at Goodwin University when the Hernandezes were killed and was also exposed to the rock there. This confirmed that he was not eighteen either, like he claimed.

When Vasquez pushed his mother, Stein intervened, yet was easily pushed away. Molly Hernandez was then forced to come between Vasquez and his parents, causing Hernandez to get thrown into the yard. The Runaways made sure she was okay, but suddenly, Vasquez threw a dumpster at them. Stein saw the flying object and shot his Fistigons. The blasts deflected the dumpster towards Yorkes. Vasquez suddenly ran in front of Yorkes, taking the full hit on the dumpster, injuring himself. The Runaways then pulled Hernandez away from the body as they left to escape the police.^[18]

Argument with Yorkes[]

Stein heard that Gert Yorkes was in the hospital for her medications, so he went to pick her up. However, when he met with her, she showed him that Janet Stein helped her. Chase was then forced into a conversation with his mother, who wanted to be a family again. Chase told her that it was too late for that. As they left, she told him that Jonah was looking for another sacrifice, and she did not want it to be any of them. Chase simply told his mother to take care of herself.

At the Hostel, Stein talked to Yorkes in the car. He was angry at her for forcing him into a conversation with his mother just so that she could get medication. He called it selfish and left. Inside, he told everyone that they needed a meeting to discuss what to do with Jonah. Karolina Dean revealed that Jonah was staying at the Church of Gibborim. With the obvious bad blood between Stein and Yorkes, Molly Hernandez asked if they broke up. Stein simply said that he was moving into his own room.

In the church, the Runaways sneaked in. As they approached a room, Stein used his X-Ray Specs to see through the wall, confirming there was an unconscious person as well as two in Dematerialization Boxes. They walked in and saw Victor Stein unconscious in a tube. They also knew Jonah was in one of the boxes, so they opened the other, finding Geoffrey Wilder. As they carried Geoffrey out, Chase wanted to break his father out as well. However, Alex Wilder and the others argued that it looked like the tube was keeping Victor alive. Stein left his father just in case that theory was true.^[19]

Stopping Jonah[]

Stein and the rest of the Runaways talked about a plan. Karolina Dean explained that Jonah's family was stuck at the bottom of the dig site and suffering. All except Alex Wilder agreed to help the family. Wilder reluctantly agreed due to majority vote. They then told Geoffrey Wilder the plan.

Stein, Dean, Nico Minoru, and Molly Hernandez went to the hole while Alex and Geoffrey took care of security. Gert Yorkes then scouted out above. Stein and Minoru were carried down the whole by Dean. Stein compared it to an elevator without a floor, getting a sarcastic remark from Minoru. At the bottom, Stein used his Fistigons to try to break the family free. However, he could tell it was hurting them. Dean told him to keep going as it was the only way.

Stein continued, but they kept healing, causing them to stay stuck. Suddenly, they heard Jonah's voice above, telling Dean to get out. When she did not, he told his ship to start up, causing the ground to collapse. Dean carried Stein and Hernandez up to the surface as Minoru used her Staff of One to fly to the top. They then squared off against Jonah, even working with the rest of the PRIDE family.

Chase shot his Fistigons at Jonah, who easily blocked the blast. Dean then faced off against her father until Minoru charged at Jonah and stabbed him through the back, seemingly killing him. With Jonah gone, Chase saw Victor Stein, who was healed. He hugged his father, who said that he heard the warning from future Chase. Chase was confused, but said that was not the weirdest thing he heard that day. Minoru then put all of the parents to sleep as they walked away.^[20]

Day Off[]

Stein and Alex Wilder talked about their feelings of the Hostel now that there was no active threat. Stein admitted that he did not want to stay in the Hostel forever. Later, they decided to take a day off from everything as Karolina Dean was still processing what happened. That day off soon turned into a mission when Livvie ran into trouble with people who wanted to keep Darius Davis' murder a secret.

Stein, Nico Minoru, Gert Yorkes, and Molly Hernandez met Wilder and Livvie at Nana B's house. Wilder explained a plan to sneak into the Gordon Hotel and recover tapes of Davis' murder, proving that Geoffrey Wilder was the killer. They went to the hotel. As Wilder tried to recover footage, Stein and Yorkes pretended to be a couple in order to get the employee away. Stein and Yorkes walked out and Stein complained about wanting a divorce. The fake argument soon turned real when Stein brought up the fact that Yorkes forced him into a conversation with his mother.

When the employee finally left due to awkwardness, Stein took a pamphlet from Yorkes and dipped it in the chocolate fountain, angering her. He then returned to Wilder, who found that Catherine Wilder was the one that killed Davis, not Geoffrey. They were then met by Minrou and Yorkes, who said that they had been made. The group then ran out, but Hernandez was captured.^[21]

Making Up with Yorkes[]

The group thought of ways to free Molly Hernandez. They grabbed Karolina Dean and went to Hernandez's location. Stein blasted the door open, only to find that Hernandez already took care of everything. On the way home, they had to throw their phones away as they realized Hernandez was being tracked by her captors.

In the morning, Stein walked in on Gert Yorkes realizing that Old Lace was sick. Stein offered to help and the two talked about their problems. They finally made up as Yorkes realized her faults. The Runaways then went to Simply Blossom as it was Alex Wilder's idea. They soon realized that Wilder tricked them as AWOL arrived. Wilder tried to strike a deal, but AWOL threatened everyone, making the Runaways kneel on the ground. They escaped when Nico Minoru froze AWOL.

Back at the Hostel, Livvie revealed that Wilder caught up with AWOL and was successful in striking the deal. They were mad that Wilder went behind their backs. However, Wilder simply called them hypocrites. Suddenly, Yorkes and Old Lace grew even more sick, causing Yorkes to pass out. Stein worried that she was dying.^[22]

Saving Yorkes[]

Gert Yorkes' condition grew worse as she claimed to be cold, but had no fever, yet Old Lace did have one. Suddenly, AWOL arrived, having tortured Livvie and forced her to give him the location of the Hostel. AWOL waited outside, asking for Alex Wilder. Nico Minoru put up a spell to hide the Hostel from the outside. AWOL found a camera, knowing they were still there.

Stein used this opportunity to take Yorkes and Old Lace. He sped away in the Rolls and quickly got onto the road to help Yorkes. As he swerved through the road in panic, Yorkes leaned her head on Stein's shoulder. Stein decided to risk it and bring her to Dale and Stacey Yorkes. At the Yorkes house, the parents tried to help her. Stacey was acting weird and wanted to inject Gert with a serum, angering Dale.

Stein told Stacey that he was no biology expert, but he knew that Gert seemed to be feeling what Old Lace was feeling, not the other way around. He thought that if they injected Old Lace, Gert would naturally be healed. Despite Stacey not believing that and scolding Stein, Dale believed that was true. He took the serum from Stacey and injected it into Old Lace, saving Gert. Later, Gert was feeling better and asked his plan on how to escape. Stein said to worry about her recovery first.^[23]

Leaving the Runaways[]

Devastating News[]

Stein and Gert Yorkes talked with Dale and Stacey Yorkes. Stein drank some orange juice, but was tricked as it actually knocked him out. Stein woke up, tied and being injected with truth serum. This made him very unorientated where he did not answer correctly to any questions. When Dale asked where Stein was sleeping, he said it Gert's bed instead of the location. Soon, he passed out.

Stein woke up next to Gert and he felt better. They were greeted by Tina Minoru who claimed that she could tell them information about PRIDE. They were soon broken out by the Runaways, who freed Old Lace in order to back the parents into the corner. At the Hostel, they realized that it was Molly Hernandez's birthday the day before. They decided to hold a quinceañera for Hernandez in celebration. As Stein was getting ready, he heard the house phone ringing. He answered out of curiosity and heard his father on the end of the phone. Victor explained that he did not tell Janet Stein, but he was still very sick and he did not have a lot of time left.

During the party, Stein gave a speech to Hernandez before dancing with her. The party then commenced as everyone danced together. Later, Yorkes walked in on Stein, who was packing up. She asked if he wanted to sleep in her bed, but he simply said he was leaving. An angry Yorkes called him a coward. As Stein went to leave, he gave his Fistigons to Alex Wilder. Hernandez found him and started yelling, saying that she thought this would be the only day where nothing bad happened. Stein left, not telling them the real reason. He then walked down the street until he found his parents. He hugged them, finally home.^[24]

Joining PRIDE[]

Chase woke up the next morning, seeing his mother making waffles and pancakes. Chase said that he only wanted a shake, but when he saw her disappointment, he asked for pancakes as well. Janet then admitted that they needed to transition more. Victor Stein then arrived, saying that he re-enrolled Chase in Atlas Academy. Outside, Chase and Victor talked about his illness. Victor explained that he kept blacking out. He then lifted up his sleeve, showing the dead skin that was visible on Jonah's body.

Chase went to the PRIDE building and started working. However, he only agreed to do this because he wanted to snoop around. The employee, Wendy, had him sort through the trash. When he finished, he concluded that Wendy was teasing him. She confirmed this fact and then gave him her number. Victor finally arrived, knowing Chase was snooping. He opened a secret door for Chase, revealing all of PRIDE. They talked to him and asked to join them. Chase agreed.^[25]

Stein soon noticed the various weapons that the PRIDE parents had. He contacted Alex Wilder, asking to meet up. Victor Stein then walked downstairs, confused on why his weapons suddenly became more dangerous. Chase claimed to not have anything to do with it, worrying Victor about his black outs. When Chase met with the Runaways, he warned them of the weapons and how they could erase their minds so that they do not know each other. Gert Yorkes was the first to say that she did not care. The Runaways agreed, saying it was a risk they had to take. Chase walked back to his car, telling PRIDE that his conversation did not change their minds. The parents then started the chase.^[26]

Captured by Magistrate[]

Chase sat at home, creating blueprints to a "leapfrog" weapon. Janet Stein walked over, trying to talk. Chase was worried about his own friends and how they might not remember him. Chase concluded that there should be no secrets and told Janet of Victor Stein's condition. Janet said she noticed things as well. Chase mentioned the flaking skin, making Janet conclude that Victor was infected by an alien similar to Jonah.

When Victor arrived home, he had Karolina Dean in his possession. Chase threw Inhibitor Pods at his father, but Victor did not flinch. Victor explained that his coat was lined with material to counter the pods. He then revealed that he was not Victor, but Jonah in Victor's body. He then blasted Janet, Chase, and Dean with his powers, putting them in a Healing Algorithm.^[26]

Healing Algorithm[]

Inside the Healing Algorithm, Stein was stuck in a loop where PRIDE destroyed the Hostel. Stein woke up and found a very injured Alex Wilder. Wilder told him to save the others. He then found Molly Hernandez with Old Lace then an injured Nico Minoru and Karolina Dean. Looking at the middle of the Hostel, he saw PRIDE grabbing Gert Yorkes and putting her inside a Dematerialization Box to sacrifice her. Stein yelled for her, causing Catherine and Geoffrey Wilder to shoot at him. Stein jumped off the wall blasting them.

Stein then dodged blows from Dale and Stacey Yorkes before defeating Robert and Tina Minoru. Janet and Victor Stein tried to talk Chase down, but he blasted them too, causing Leslie Dean to run. He then found Gert and kissed her. Suddenly, Stein heard his mother's voice through the wall. He was confused, but ignored it. Later, he was carrying Alex Wilder away from the danger when he saw another Alex Wilder through the wall. Stein was confused and Wilder explained it was complicated. Stein concluded that whatever it was, was probably his fault.^[27]

Losing His Mother[]

Chase was then in a spell of misery as he refused to help the Runaways because he knew they were not real. Gert Yorkes tried to get him to save her, but Chase refused, knowing what happened step by step. He then explained that Alex Wilder would come flying through the door any second, which happened.

Chase was then communicated with by Janet Stein. Chase and Janet talked and Chase realized that if this was in their minds, they could control it. Janet decided to wish Victor Stein away, which worked, confirming his theory. Janet then wished the whole setting away, which removed her algorithm and reunited her with Chase. Now they needed to help Karolina Dean and then wait for Alex Wilder to unlock the door.

They communicated with Dean and convinced her to break her algorithm. Suddenly, Chase started choking as Magistrate took away his oxygen. Dean touched the door and was able to connect with Chase's tube, giving him oxygen. He thanked her as he hugged his mom. Janet told Dean that she would do it next to free them as it was dangerous. Chase worried that if it was dangerous for Dean it would be dangerous to Janet, but she did not listen. Janet was connected when Wilder unlocked the door. Dean was able to escape, but Janet was merged with the algorithm.

Suddenly, Chase found himself in an area where he and Janet used to go when he was little to see the northern lights, Janet approached him, explaining that she was now merged with the algorithm. Chase wondered what would happen next and she explained that her physical body has given out, killing her. She will now live on in the algorithm. Chase hugged her one last time before leaving the algorithm.

Chase arrived in the real world, seeing Magistrate defeated by the Inhibitor Pods. Chase looked at his mother's empty tube as he left with the others. He tried to hug Gert Yorkes, who ignored him before Old Lace roared at him. Chase tried to get into Yorkes' car, but she locked the door before he could open it. At the Hostel, the Runaways argued on if they should let Chase back. They eventually agreed for him to be back for one night. Nico Minoru then revealed that she believed the Magistrate's Son was inside of her.^[3]

Making Up[]

Search for the Son[]

As the Runaways argued about what to do, Stein introduced himself to Xavin, who turned out to be a shapeshifting alien who was sent to protect Karolina Dean. The group ultimately decided to sleep it off. In his room, he found Old Lace asking if she was worried about him. He concluded that if Old Lace was, then Gert Yorkes was as well. Yorkes then entered, saying that was wrong. However, if there was an alien among them, Yorkes wanted to make sure he was okay.

The next morning, Stein put up secret cameras in case they fine the alien. They then decided to break into the Minoru Mansion to get Inhibitor Pods to figure out who was the alien. As they left, Stein found Alex Wilder, who was leaving himself. Wilder simply told him that Catherine Wilder could be dangerous to them so he was giving her a visit. At the Minoru house, Stein found the pods, but Yorkes said they will do it at the Hostel with everyone.

On the way home, they stopped by a park and decided to do it there instead because Xavin would not kill the alien if they were in public. They passed the pods around a held them. As it came to Stein, he still believed he was not the alien. He held them and felt no effects, confirming his theory. He then gave them to Nico Minoru, who did not feel anything either. The group was relieved, but realized the alien had to be either Wilder or Leslie Dean. They returned to the Hostel to find them both gone. Stein took out the cameras and watched as just moments ago, Wilder was on the phone when he dropped it and looked up smiling. Wilder then walked into Dean's room and used light powers to get Dean out of bed, confirming that the Magistrate's Son was in Wilder.^[28]

Defeating the Magistrates[]

The team talked about the recent revelation and argued whether Magistrate's Son was playing them the whole time or if Alex Wilder was still in control. Stein then went to the back and started taking apart the Inhibitor Pods. When Gert Yorkes saw him do this, she got mad, but he explained that he could use the tech to make Anti-Gibborim Weapons. Yorkes decided to help him as the other Runaways went to save Leslie Dean.

Yorkes returned having found old weapons from the previous Hostel owner, Quinton the Great. He laced the weapons with the material in the pods. Later, the Runaways returned explaining where the Magistrates were going and how to stop them. Before leaving, Stein went to talk with Yorkes, but back away. However, he changed his mind and went to knock, only for her to open the door at that moment. He explained that if they might die, he wanted to confess his love for her. Still mad at Stein, she ignored him.

The group arrived at the location and saw the Magistrates running. Stein chased the Magistrate and fought him. Stein sneaked up behind Magistrate and shot him with the Fistigons before pinning him to the ground, trying to puncture him with a blade. As Magistrate struggled, he told Stein that he would let Stein kill him so he could watch the light go out in his father's eye. Stein then released, letting Magistrate over take him. Stein returned to the middle with the rest of the Runaways and face all four Magistrates. Karolina protected them for a short time, but was overwhelmed. However, the Staff of One emerged from Nico Minoru's body. She then said a spell and made the Magistrates and their hosts vanish into this air.^[29]

Missing Time[]

Reuniting With His Father[]

Stein woke up in the Hostel, but found a party going on in the main room. The rest of the Runaways were also confused and believed something was wrong. They walked into a room and met the original owner of the Hostel, Quinton the Great. He explained the deal. They were stuck in the Dark Dimension and it was very hard to get out. The Runaways then walked through a door and found themselves in separate dreams.

Stein emerged in a 1970s world. He walked around confused and soon found a car that looked like his father's. As he inched closer, he saw what looked like his father in the car getting beaten. Chase approached the car and found his grandfather beating Victor. Chase got his grandfather to stop by having Curtis chase him with a bat.

Chase ran into an alley and climbed the fence, leaving Curtis on the other side. Chase then ran back around and climbed into the car to see his bloody father. The two embraced each other before Chase drove away from Curtis. However, Curtis eventually found them, so Chase took the bat and beat Curtis. Victor then stopped a rage fueled Chase, saying he was ending the family abuse. They eventually found Gert and Stacey Yorkes. Chase hugged Gert before they drove off, fidning three hanged bodies along the way. They finally reunited with the team as well as Tina Minoru. However, they could not find Alex Wilder.

They all got back to the Hostel where they found Quinton disguised as Amy Minoru. Quinton revealed that he was ordered by Morgan le Fay to capture Nico Minoru, but after seeing their lives, he decided to not pull through with it. He also revealed there was no way out of the Dreamland. Tina then revealed there was and she knew the spell. Tina slit her hand as well as Nico's. The two witches worked together to create a spell and portal to get them out.

Chase walked through and found everyone back in the real Hostel. They realized that the Hostel was very dirty and had cobwebs. They went over to the computer, seeing that Wilder's computer had not been backed up for over six months despite the fact that he always backed it up. They then realized they had been gone for the past six months.^[30]

Jealous of Gert[]

The next morning, the group went out to eat as Nico Minoru tried to practice a spell to get Alex Wilder back. Stein felt bad for saying that it would be better if they did not try to stop him as it could mean their own deaths. The team disagreed. At the diner, they had to wait in line, causing Stein to become very impatient over how hungry he was. A man named Max then approached them. Max gave them all new Corvus phones and then hit it off with Gert Yorkes, causing Stein to get jealous.

While eating, Stein and Yorkes argued over his cliche ex-boyfriend tendencies. They then found Max getting beat up for accidentally breaking someone's phone. The group stopped the fight and Stein was confused on why a phone started a fight like that. On the way home, Yorkes was very infatuated with her new phone, ignoring Stein completely. He then saved Yorkes, who was too distracted and walked into traffic. However, the phone fell and broke, causing Yorkes to yell at him instead of thanking him.

At the Hostel, Stein took the phone apart and found a feather. The phone to disintegrated into dust as he took it out. The group was worried about it, but Yorkes just got angry, causing Stein to offer his phone. Minoru, Karolina Dean, and Stein then used the feather to communicate with Alex Wilder for a short moment with a spell. Wilder screamed for help, but they were unable to communicate effectively. Stein walked back upstairs finding a still distracted Yokres, who threatened Stein. She then snapped out of the trance and calmed down, realizing the phone was evil.

They went to a party to scout out Morgan le Fay. Stein stayed with Yorkes, who talked to Max. He was suspicious of Max as he believed he was behind the Corvus phones as well. When Max went to get tacos, Yorkes and Stein had a talk about moving on from one another. Stein finally agreed to this. The group returned home to find Molly Hernandez under the spell of Corvus.^[31]

Stein inched towards Hernandez, who yelled at him to back off. He did not listen as he tried to grab the phone, but was push into the wall by Hernandez. The group tried to think of ways to grab it. Hernandez then blocked them in the room and waved the phone around angrily. Stein took a metal rod and hit the pole out of her hand, allowing Dean to blast it with her powers. The spell broke just as Hernandez nearly punched Stein.^[32]

Captured[]

Later, Stein and Gert Yorkes tried to get Alex Wilder's computer to log in, but were having trouble. Yorkes tried a password, which deleted the files instead. The Karolina Dean then said she had a place with a working computer, the Church of Gibborim. The Runaways minus Nico Minoru went to the church and eventually found a computer thanks to Leslie Dean. They then recorded a video on a live stream that told everyone that the Corvus phones were evil and needed to be destroyed. They ended the stream and checked the news, but found the video to be magically deleted with no trace.

Defeated, the Runaways walked through the church when they suddenly found Dale Yorkes, who had been living there. They then found Bodhi, one of Molly Hernandez's friends. They asked him where Hernandez was, but Bronwyn and Cassandra approached them, knocking the group out with a spell. The Runaways, Dale, Stacey Yorkes, and Victor Stein then woke up tied to chairs in a room with no way of escaping.^[32]

Saving Alex[]

Stein eventually was able to tip himself over and worked on untying the knot to Gert Yorkes's chair. However, a brainwashed Geoffrey Wilder walked in to stop them. Suddenly, Nico Minoru, Cloak, and Dagger arrived to help. They beat up the witches, but Stein stopped Dagger from killing Wilder, explaining that he was good, but just brainwashed.

Cloak then teleported them all to the Dark Dimension. When they got there, Minoru explained that Cloak and Dagger were there to help get Alex Wilder. They made their way through the Hostel to find Quinton the Great, but only found blood and swords. They then crossed through the door. Karolina Dean reminded what happened last time, so everyone took a partner so they would not be split up. This forced Stein to take Yorkes' hand.

They walked through the city to the area where Chase met Curtis Stein. Chase was reminded of his rage towards his grandfather, but Yorkes saw this and calmed him down. They were then found by AWOL, so they had to move. The group was saved when Quinton came out of nowhere and got them out. He showed them to where Alex Wilder was hidden before he was attacked and died. The group had to get to the top floor of the building to find Wilder.

As they walked, Yorkes asked what was wrong as she saw how pale he was. They then talked about their future. Stein brought up an old quote from his coach, but Johnson said that was actually from a different coach. He then asked if Stein played ball, but Stein said it was lacrosse. They suddenly heard Yorkes screaming. They ran back to find Yorkes being attacked by a recreation of a young Molly Hernandez. Cloak teleported to three, but accidentally into the other building.

The three of them decided to get to Wilder from there. As they walked, they found AWOL's men, but evaded them. Yorkes started getting worried that she was leaving Molly Hernandez for months or even years. Suddenly, the men came so Stein found a door and ran in. Unluckily, they went right into a room where AWOL's men were. They prepared to fight, but Minoru, Dean, and Dagger arrived, making it from the other building. Quinton showed up, but as an evil, zombified version of him. The fight ended when Minoru solidified Bowen's dagger and stabbed Quinton.

Stein then started to forget where they were, meaning they had to get Wilder fast. They ran to the prison and found Wilder, who said he was okay now that they were there. The group teleported back to the Hostel, but Dagger got worried saying she sensed darkness in Wilder. He just said it was because of where he had been for the past six months. The Runaways agreed, trusting Wilder. Cloak and Dagger then left after being thanked.^[4]

Defeating le Fay[]

Stein and the rest called Molly Hernandez to look for her. Hernandez picked up and said she was okay. Later, the parents arrived having saved Hernandez from Morgan le Fay. They were confused until Hernandez explained she was under le Fay's spell. They then discussed ways to defeat le Fay. Chase sat down on a tablet as Gert Yorkes walked in. Chase accidentally ignored her, but showed that he figured out when Yorkes' dream college's registration was. Yorkes kissed him, thankful.

Chase then walked into a room with his father to help hack into Corvus satellites to shut down the phones. Victor then showed him a screen containing his now Artificial Intelligence mother. Chase happily said that he knew he would see her again. The family then helped shut down the servers, although it was very hard. Chase stepped out and saw a box on the ground. Curious, he opened it up, only for it to be a Corvus phone, which enchanted him.

The brainwashed Chase walked over to Yorkes and charged up his Fistigons to blast her. Hernandez then tackled Chase while Yorkes injected him with a serum to counter the effects. Chase was confused at what happened, but also confused on how the phone got there. Suddenly, le Fay arrived. As the group planned to take her down, she gave them a choice: either submit to her or die. Stein and the rest submitted, seeing no way out. However, this was just a distraction to give Victor enough time to shut down the phones.

Karolina Dean and Nico Minoru then attacked le Fay.^[33] Chase attacked her sorcerers with the Fistigons, but was knocked back. Suddenly, another version of himself punched Chase out. Chase woke up and looked down to see le Fay was defeated. He ran down the stairs celebrating and high fiving a confused Victor. He then looked down as saw that version of himself dying. The dying Chase then disappeared in front of their eyes, signifying time travel.

The next day, the Runaways planned to go out to breakfast. They hurried Alex Wilder up as they walked out, embracing each other.^[8]

Personality[]

Having become a popular student at Atlas Academy and a valued player on the school's lacrosse-team, Chase often manifested the same swagger and despicable attitude than some of his friends like Eiffel, openly admitting to Alex Wilder, once his friend, that he made fun of people like him. Because of this, many assumed that Chase was a shallow individual with low intelligence, which was further displayed by his poor school grades.

Much to the contrary however, Chase has exceptional talent with engineering in a similar fashion to his successful father, Victor Stein. Initially, however, this was the only common point that Chase had with his father since he profoundly hated him due to the abuse he had suffered from Victor while growing up. Far from getting depressed or passively frightened by Victor's behavior, Chase began heavy physical training to be able to retaliate should his father lay his hands on him. In a similar way, when the Runaways discovered about PRIDE's crimes, Chase encouraged his friends to be able to defend themselves against their parents. Generally speaking, Chase was ready to do anything to protect those who he cared for. This sometimes made him do rash actions, such as when he destroyed the laptop containing the evidence against PRIDE to protect his father, who had been nicer to him for some time, out of fear that he could die if PRIDE's business were uncovered.

Upon witnessing PRIDE's activities and reconnecting with his childhood friends, Chase realized that the life he had tried to live until then was not what he wanted in the end, as he grew disgusted by his friends Brandon and Lucas, who had tried to rape Karolina Dean. Chase was willing to antagonize his whole gang of friends to protect Dean, who he had feelings for. Chase deeply cared for Dean but wrongly assumed that his feelings were requited until he realized otherwise. He then let his feelings for Gert Yorkes blossom as he had always noticed her, despite the fact that she criticized him and his attitude the whole time. When they finally admitted their attraction to each other, Chase was willing to go into a deeper relationship but was surprised that Yorkes considered what they had done a one-night stand. However, upon realizing that they were deeply in love with each other, Chase and Yorkes started a relationship. Despite all the ordeals that the Runaways had to overcome, Chase realized that he was satisfied to have found out who his true friends were.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

• Fistigons and X-Ray Specs Capabilities: Although Stein does not possess any innate powers, he is able to use his Fistigons and other tech to grant himself various abilities he would otherwise be incapable of doing.
  • Energy Blast:

    

    While wearing his Fistigons, Stein can unleash orange concussive energy blasts from the gauntlets' knuckles, powerful enough to send back a fully grown human, seen when he blasted Darius Davis away thanks to the gauntlets' laser-aided weapon systems.
  • Laser Beam Emission: After upgrading the Fistigons, Stein was able to emit a powerful stream of lasers, which could cut into Jonah's ship.
  • X-Ray Vision: Stein can see through walls while wearing his father's X-Ray Specs.

Abilities[]

• Gifted Intellect: While many write him off as a dumb jock, Chase exhibits flashes of untapped brilliance in engineering, not unlike his wildly successful father's. Karolina Dean has even described Stein as "super smart."

• Expert Engineer:

  

  Despite lacking formal training as a full-fledged engineer, Stein's interest and natural potential toward engineering allowed him to design a piece of advanced technology that he called Fistigons. However, in order to transform his prototype into a full-working version, he needed his father's help to transform his ideas into practical functions for the wearable weaponry. With some tinkering, he was able to fix the gauntlets' offensive capabilities after their damage sustained during the battle with Jonah. Chase also managed to reactivate the Hostel's water and power. He is also versed in car repair, as he was able to restore a Rolls-Royce for the team's transportation. He also worked on a new design for the Nemo Leapfrog.

• Combatant: Stein began training in boxing techniques after receiving abuse from his father. He was able to defend the unconscious Karolina Dean from sexual assault at a house party, and was confident in his ability to defeat his father. His upper body strength from playing lacrosse and weightlifting attributes to his fighting ability, as he left Brandon with a broken rib. In the Healing Algorithm, he was able to fight against Tina and Robert Minoru at the same time, though this did not really demonstrate the abilities of Stein himself or Tina and Robert in real world as this was merely a simulation.

Equipment[]

Weapons[]

• Fistigons:

  

  These gauntlets are able to fire concussive orange energy beams capable of sending people flying through the air and are stated to have the potential to shoot a drone out of the sky.
  • Anti-Gibborim Blade: In preparation for a confrontation against the Gibborim, Stein added a hidden blade covered with a material able to inhibit Gibborim powers to the right-handed Fistigon.

Other Equipment[]

• X-Ray Specs:

  

  These specs can be used to see through walls, doors, and even through peoples’ skins.
• Victor Stein's Time Machine: In the future, Chase Stein used his father's time machine in order to warn him not to use the Fistigons.

Facilities[]

• Stein Mansion: Chase Stein lived in this wealthy residence with his parents Victor and Janet. Due to the abuse he suffered from his father, Chase tried to avoid him as much as possible when they were both at home and frequently trained in his bedroom so he could be physically able to retaliate in case his father hit him. Due to his project to create the Fistigons, Chase worked in his father's lab in the house's basement. He was joined by his father who helped him in this endeavor, but eventually attacked his son in this very lab during an anger attack. Stein was later kidnapped and taken to his mansion, where he was placed in a Healing Algorithm and had to be broken out by the Runaways.
• Timely Coffee: Stein often met with the other Runaways at the Timely Coffee, where they would discuss their plans to take down PRIDE.
• Hostel: The Runaways stumbled into an abandoned mansion while chasing Mike on a Bike and began living in it, calling it the Hostel. The group trained in the Hostel and became a family, using it as their base of operations to plan how to take down the Magistrate and PRIDE.
• Yorkes Residence: Stein was kidnapped by Dale Yorkes and the Magistrate's Wife, along with Gert Yorkes and Tina Minoru. Yorkes and the Magistrate's Wife tortured Stein, subjecting him to a Truth Serum. However, they were rescued by the Runaways.

Relationships[]

Family[] Curtis Stein - Paternal Grandfather Step-Grandfather † Victor Stein - Father Janet Stein - Mother Allies[] Runaways - Teammates and Friends Alex Wilder Nico Minoru Karolina Dean - Former Love Interest and Savior Gert Yorkes - Girlfriend Molly Hernandez Old Lace Amy Minoru † Atlas Academy Tezuka - Former Principal Alphona - Former Coach Walter - Former Teacher Siebey - Former Teacher Eiffel - Former Classmate and Former Love Interest Stu - Former Teammate Limo Driver Vaughn Kaye Livvie Runaways Molly Hernandez † Karolina Dean † Nico Minoru † Alex Wilder † Old Lace † PRIDE - Situational Enemies Geoffrey Wilder Catherine Wilder † Robert Minoru † Tina Minoru Dale Yorkes Stacey Yorkes Wendy Xavin Max - Rival Tyrone Johnson/Cloak Tandy Bowen/Dagger

Enemies[] Brandon - Former Classmate, Former Friend and Former Teammate Lucas - Former Classmate, Former Friend and Former Teammate Crips Darius Davis † - Attempted Killer Magistrate Church of Gibborim Frank Dean Aura Frances Mike on a Bike Topher Vasquez - Former Ally Los Angeles Police Department Flores † Anthony Wall/AWOL Mitch Vic Magistrate's Wife Magistrate's Daughter Magistrate's Son PRIDE Dale Yorkes † Stacey Yorkes † Leslie Dean † Catherine Wilder † Geoffrey Wilder/Healing Algorithm † Tina Minoru † Robert Minoru † Janet Stein † - Alternate Mother Victor Stein † - Alternate Father Gert Yorkes † Coven Morgan le Fay Bronwyn † Cassandra Bodhi Molly Hernandez Curtis Stein - Alternate Grandfather Quinton the Great † (zombified) - Former Ally

Appearances[]

Appearances for Chase Stein

Runaways | Episode 1.09: Doomsday (flashbacks) Runaways | Episode 1.07: Refraction (flashbacks) Runaways | Episode 3.03: Lord of Lies (flashbacks) Runaways | Episode 3.10: Cheat The Gallows Runaways | Episode 1.01: Reunion Runaways | Episode 1.02: Rewind (concurrent events) Runaways | Episode 1.03: Destiny Runaways | Episode 1.04: Fifteen Runaways | Episode 1.05: Kingdom Runaways | Episode 1.06: Metamorphosis Runaways | Episode 1.07: Refraction Runaways | Episode 1.08: Tsunami Runaways | Episode 1.09: Doomsday Runaways | Episode 1.10: Hostile Runaways | Episode 2.01: Gimmie Shelter Runaways | Episode 2.02: Radio On Runaways | Episode 2.03: Double Zeros Runaways | Episode 2.04: Old School Runaways | Episode 2.05: Rock Bottom Runaways | Episode 2.06: Bury Another Runaways | Episode 2.07: Last Rites Runaways | Episode 2.08: Past Life Runaways | Episode 2.09: Big Shot Runaways | Episode 2.10: Hostile Takeover Runaways | Episode 2.11: Last Waltz Runaways | Episode 2.12: Earth Angel Runaways | Episode 2.13: Split Up Runaways | Episode 3.01: Smoke and Mirrors Runaways | Episode 3.02: The Great Escape Runaways | Episode 3.03: Lord of Lies Runaways | Episode 3.04: Rite of Thunder Runaways | Episode 3.05: Enter the Dreamland Runaways | Episode 3.06: Merry Meet Again Runaways | Episode 3.07: Left-Hand Path Runaways | Episode 3.08: Devil's Torture Chamber Runaways | Episode 3.09: The Broken Circle Runaways | Episode 3.10: Cheat The Gallows (concurrent events)

Trivia[]

• In the comics, Chase Stein was also known as Talkback, and later Gun Arm. He had a telepathic link to Old Lace when Gert Yorkes transferred the link to him after her death.
• Stein and Gert Yorkes were in the same homeroom while attending Atlas Academy.^[8]

Behind the Scenes[]

• Nathan Varnson was a cast double for Gregg Sulkin in Cheat The Gallows.
• Rj Wolfe, Owen Szabo, Will Greenburg, Michael H. Barnett, Ross Kohnstam and Danny Bopp were stunt doubles for Gregg Sulkin in the role of Chase Stein.

References[]

External Links[]

• Chase Stein on Marvel Database
• Chase Stein on Wikipedia

Runaways
Alex Wilder • Nico Minoru • Karolina Dean • Chase Stein • Gert Yorkes • Molly Hernandez