Rite of Thunder

Rite of Thunder is the fourth episode of the third season of the television series Runaways.
==Synopsis==
The kids search for Leslie and Alien Alex. Meanwhile, Leslie gives birth and Xavin fulfills her prophecy. The kids go head to head in a final battle against the aliens.
==Plot==
The Magistrate's Son, now fully controlling Alex Wilder, strikes a deal with his father: in exchange for bringing Leslie Dean's baby once they are born, he will be allowed to stay on Earth. He then takes Leslie to a hospital so she can deliver the baby, but then realizes that Leslie and the baby will have to remain there, which he cannot afford. Therefore, due to being able to access Alex's memories, he drives Leslie to Tamar and requests her help. Leslie, however, has understood that something is wrong with Alex and secretly instructs Tamar to contact her daughter Karolina.
In the Hostel, the Runaways and Xavin realize that they have lost Alex to the Magistrate's son. Still ignoring her mother's whereabouts, Karolina is determined to go to the Stein Mansion as she believes that it is where the Gibborim will have taken Leslie. Nico Minoru advises against the idea, stating that they would only be doing what the Gibborim expect from them and instead suggests to find a clue regarding Leslie's location. Chase Stein decides to take some time to develop new anti-Gibborim weapons by covering blades with a coating made from the Inhibitor Pods. Meanwhile, Molly Hernandez asks Xavin whether they truly loves Karolina, which puts the prophecy Xavin believes in question.
Minoru is contacted by Morgan le Fay through a mirror, and is urged to embrace the power of the Staff of One instead of rejecting it. When Minoru claims that she destroyed the Staff, le Fay replies that the artifact still lives inside her. Minoru is then asked by her teammates to watch a KTOZ News report indicating that Catherine Wilder was murdered. While Stein and Gert Yorkes keep working on the weapons, including a sword, a mace and knives, the others receive the message from Tamar and rush to Leslie's rescue.
The Magistrate's son realizes that Tamar is gone and fully reveals himself to Leslie, before being attacked from behind by Tamar. He quickly retaliates and nearly kills Tamar, but she is saved by the arrival of the Runaways. Minoru and Karolina chase the Magistrate's son, while Hernandez and Xavin remain to help Tamar as the baby is arriving. Minoru manages to catch up with the Magistrate's son, but he threatens to take control of her instead and to harm Karolina. Frightened by this perspective, Minoru lets him escape. Minoru and Karolina thus return to the house where Leslie gave birth to her second daughter, who she names Elle.
Elle's birth triggers a reaction in the Abstract which the Magistrate's son had brought along. Xavin warns the Runaways that a beacon to the planet Gibborim has been activated, meaning that the Gibborim are planning to use an interstellar portal to return to their planet and to send the Scrub Squad to erase all trace of the Gibborim on Earth. They pinpoint the location of the platform to the Marine Vivarium Desalination Plant, a PRIDE facility. The Runaways thus return to the Hostel to prepare for battling the Gibborim, while Xavin is tasked with watching over Leslie and Elle.
Leslie reveals to Xavin that her own father, David Ellerh, made a prophecy similar to the one the Xartans believe in. Together, they figure out that the great love mentioned in the prophecy is actually one between a mother and a daughter, respectively Xavin and Elle. Thus, Leslie entrusts Elle to Xavin, making them swear to protect her no matter the cost so she can fulfill her great destiny. However, Elle is kidnapped by the Magistrate's son. Xavin alerts the Runaways who are preparing for battle. Before departing, Stein tells Gert Yorkes that he truly loves her, but she does not fully reciprocate.
Although upset that her husband had another child, the Magistrate's Wife reluctantly agrees to take the baby to Gibborim and to allow her son to remain on Earth and lead the Scrub Squad. They begin to activate the portal, but are soon confronted by the Runaways. The Gibborim manage to hold their own against the teenagers, but Xavin joins the battle and disguises themself as the Magistrate to reclaim Elle from the Magistrate's son. Xavin then explains that they will leave with the baby, as they feels that they truly loves her based on what Hernandez told her earlier about love.
Once Xavin and Elle are gone through the portal, the Runaways are attacked by the combined force of the four Gibborim, and Karolina is unable to properly counter them all. Upon facing defeat, Minoru hears the voice of le Fay convincing her that she can end the battle. Thus, Minoru gives in to her powers from the Dark Dimension and manifests the Staff of One out of her own body. She then casts a powerful spell which causes the Gibborim to simply vanish. However, the effort also released le Fay from the Dark Dimension, enabling le Fay to go to the South Los Angeles Medical Center and to revive Minorus father Robert from his coma.
==Cast==
Main Cast:
*Rhenzy Feliz as Magistrate's Son
*Lyrica Okano as Nico Minoru
*Virginia Gardner as Karolina Dean
*Ariela Barer as Gert Yorkes
*Gregg Sulkin as Chase Stein
*Allegra Acosta as Molly Hernandez
*Angel Parker as Catherine Wilder (credit only)
*Ryan Sands as Geoffrey Wilder (credit only)
*Annie Wersching as Leslie Dean
*Clarissa Thibeaux as Xavin
*Ever Carradine as Janet Stein (credit only)
*James Marsters as Magistrate / Xavin (disguise)
*Brigid Brannagh as Magistrate's Wife
*Kevin Weisman as Dale Yorkes (credit only)
*Brittany Ishibashi as Magistrate's Daughter
*James Yaegashi as Robert Minoru
Special Guest Star:
*Elizabeth Hurley as Morgan le Fay
Guest Stars:
*Ozioma Akagha as Tamar
*Michelle N. Carter as Nurse
*Akaash Yadav as Donut Clerk
*Unknown Actor as Xerxes Davis (uncredited)
*Unknown Actress as Elle Dean (uncredited)
==Appearances==
===Locations===
*Inglewood, California
**Randy's Donuts
*Los Angeles, California
**Hostel
**South Los Angeles Medical Center
**Nana B's Residence
**Griffith Observatory
**Marine Vivarium Desalination Plant
**Los Angeles Women's Penitentiary (picture)
**Wizard Headquarters (picture)
**Stein Mansion (mentioned)
*Dark Dimension
*Gibborim (hologram)
===Events===
*Gibborim Prophecy
**Chase of the Magistrate's Son
**Battle at the Marine Vivarium Desalination Plant
*Infiltration into the Stein Mansion (mentioned)
*Assassination of Catherine Wilder (mentioned)
*Rite of Blood (mentioned)
*Assassination of Darius Davis (mentioned)
===Items===
*Inhibitor Pods
*Anti-Gibborim Weapons
*Abstract
*Fistigons
*Gibborim Transport Device
*Staff of One
*Crow Necklace
*Dematerialization Box (mentioned)
*Church of Gibborim Bracelet (mentioned)
*Healing Algorithm (mentioned)
===Vehicles===
*
* (mentioned)
===Sentient Species===
*Humans
*Gibborim
*Xartans
*Vampires (mentioned)
===Creatures===
*Deinonychus
**Old Lace
===Organizations===
*Runaways
*PRIDE
*KTOZ News
*
*Church of Gibborim (mentioned)
*Los Angeles Police Department (mentioned)
*Scrub Squad (mentioned)
===Mentioned===
*Dale Yorkes
*Alex Wilder
*Victor Stein
*Alphona
*Quinton the Great
*Catherine Wilder
*Darius Davis
*Stacey Yorkes
*Tina Minoru
*David Ellerh
*Jonah
*
*
==Music==
Song title 	Artist 	Location(s)
 	Spin Doctors	
*Leslie Dean flicks through the preset radio stations as the Magistrate's Son continues his call with his father.
Kick the Door	Betta Lemme 	
*Karolina Dean and Nico Minoru chase after the Magistrate's Son. Leslie Dean gives birth.
(10cc cover) 	Kelsey Lu 	
*Nico Minoru and Karolina Dean kiss. Chase Stein tells Gert Yorkes he thinks she is amazing and that he loves her.
==Trivia==
*The title of this episode is a reference to the Rite of Thunder, a ritual in the comics that The Pride had to complete in which the soul of the person they are sacrificing is fed to the Gibborim. In the comics, the Rite of Thunder occurs at the Marine Vivarium, which the episode references when the final battle is at the Marine Vivarium Desalination Plant, an old PRIDE facility.
==References==
==External Links==
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Category:Runaways (TV series) Episodes