Chase Stein

*"When I walked into this place, I was a dumb kid. But because of everything that we've been through, I grew up. Because of all you guys. You guys taught me that I don't have to just go along with the group. And you know what? That's why I'm leaving. I'm leaving because being here, it doesn't feel right anymore."*
―Chase Stein to the Runaways[src]**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.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `R101`
2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `R102`
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `R103`
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `R104`
5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `R105`
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 *Runaways: 2.04: Old School*
7. ↑ *Runaways: 2.05: Rock Bottom*
8. ↑ *Runaways: 2.12: Earth Angel*
9. ↑ *Runaways: 2.11: Last Waltz*
10. ↑ *Runaways: 3.03: Lord of Lies*