The Chase of Mike was a confrontation between Mike on a Bike and Runaways that began when Mike robbed the Runaways and would use the Fistigons against them. Thanks to Old Lace, the Runaways were eventually able to reclaim the Fistigons and discovered their new place of hiding, the Hostel, in the process.

Background[]

Being forced to run away from the criminal organization PRIDE, the Runaways were forced to wander in the area of Los Angeles, being only able to rely on the few resources they could take with them, notably Chase Stein's Fistigons, the money acquired by Alex Wilder from Darius Davis, and Gert Yorkes's dinosaur Old Lace. Now homeless, the teenagers had to struggle to survive in the streets. However, one day, while Stein was supposed to stand watch, he dozed off for a few minutes, allowing a homeless thief nicknamed Mike on a Bike to steal the Fistigons.^[4]

Chase[]

First Time[]

The Runaways immediately noticed the theft and began chasing Mike. However, just as his nickname would indicate it, Mike was running on a bike while the Runaways were on foot, and therefore he easily outdistanced them. He then mockingly rode near and towards them as they chased them along the Los Angeles river. Chase Stein and Alex Wilder did their best to catch him, but Mike crossed a bridge in the middle of the cars, preventing the teenagers to follow him. Karolina Dean then told the boys to step back, as the road cameras could cause them to be spotted by the LAPD. Wilder then realized that their money had been stolen too.^[4]

Second Time[]

Another morning, while the Runaways were still recovering from the Assassination of Graciela Aguirre at a homeless camp, they heard heavy noises sounding like explosions. Guessing that it could only be Mike using the Fistigons, they ran towards the source of the noise and found Mike shooting at random targets, including his own bikes. The Runaways asked for the Fistigons to be returned to them, claiming that they were dangerous for Mike to keep. However, Mike refused to give them back and fled once again on his bike.

This time, however, the Runaways decided to chase him riding their own bikes. The teenagers followed Mike up to the hills near Los Angeles, but as they still struggled to catch up with him, Gert Yorkes telepathically contacted Old Lace for the dinosaur to attack Mike. Old Lace caused Mike to fall off his bike, but he took advantage of Yorkes ordering Old Lace to step back to shoot at the Runaways and to flee on foot. The Runaways chased him and, while Karolina Dean fell through a hole which led her into the abandoned Hostel, Chase Stein was able to catch up with Mike, who eventually agreed to return the Fistigons due to being scared of the Runaways' oddities.^[4]

Aftermath[]

Thanks to Karolina Dean's accidental fall, the Runaways were able to find the entrance to the Hostel, an abandoned mansion. Thanks to Molly Hernandez's superhuman strength, the Runaways could enter the building and, after a quick visit of it, decided that it would be a perfect home to hide from PRIDE and the LAPD chasing them.^[4]

Mike was eventually found by PRIDE during their search for their children. He was interrogated at the PRIDE Headquarters, describing the Fistigons, Old Lace and how he had been chased by the Runaways.^[5]

References[]