Nico Minoru is a wicca sorceress and the daughter of Robert and Tina Minoru. After the death of her older sister, Amy Minoru, Nico crafted a goth appearance to isolate herself. Upon reuniting with her childhood friends, they discovered that their parents used PRIDE to cover up ceremonial sacrifices of the Church of Gibborim. While exploring her mother's office, Minoru found the Staff of One. She teamed up with her friends and formed the Runaways, and she eventually began a relationship with Karolina Dean. Having been framed for Destiny Gonzalez's murder, and with no other choice, they were forced to run.
Despite being on the run, Minoru managed to reclaim the Staff of One from her mother and began training with it to fully master its power. With Alex Wilder frequently being busy with other matters, she also had to take leadership of the Runaways from time to time. As such, she expressed great distrust towards Topher Vasquez when he found the Hostel where they were hiding. Minoru also took this time to develop her relationship with Dean, but this was put in great constraint when Dean revealed that Amy had been murdered by Jonah. Indeed, Minoru stabbed Jonah during the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site, causing Dean to blame her for having apparently killed her father. Moreover, Minoru began to fear the power of the Staff of One, which proved crucial during the Siege of the Hostel, as she felt like the artifact actually controlled her. However, her improving relationship with Dean helped her to overcome her fears. Minoru later faced her parents during the Chase of the Runaways and managed to escape from them, but she found out that Dean had been captured and that she was one of the only three Runaways remaining free along with Wilder and Molly Hernandez.
With the help of Molly and Alex, they managed to free Karolina and defeated the Gibborim, they then went back to their hiding place. Nico started having dreams about a mysterious woman, who in fact is Morgan le Fay, a powerful sorceress who was trapped in the Dark Dimension. Le Fay urged Nico to use a spell to free her and then she bewitched Robert, Nico's father, to take control of Wizard and create the CorvusWizPhones, with the aim of controlling people's minds. Nico eventually became part of Morgan le Fay's Coven and became stronger. However, le Fay's plans for a world domination were finally foiled by an alliance between both the Runaways and PRIDE, and le Fay was then banished back to the Dark Dimension by Tina Minoru with the help of Nico.
Nico Minoru was born the second child of Tina and Robert Minoru. Due to their parents being closely affiliated with the members of PRIDE, Nico and her sister Amy grew up befriending the children of the organization's members.[3] In 2007, a family from PRIDE named the Hernandezs died in an explosion. Nico attended the funeral along with everyone else.[4] In sixth grade, Nico attended a party hosted by Alex Wilder, who gave everyone R2-D2 flashdrives as gifts.[5]
In 2015, Nico entered her sister Amy's bedroom in order to tell her to get ready for school. However, Nico found her sister still lying in bed and apparently dead after committing suicide. Nico screamed in horror at this sight, alerting her parents Tina and Robert, refusing to believe that her sister was gone. She tried to tell Wizey to call 911, only to have the command cancelled by Tina. Nico rushed to her bedroom and tried to contact 911 all the same by herself, but she was knocked out by Tina using the Staff of One before finishing her message.
Upon regaining consciousness, Nico figured out that she was locked up in her room. Nico heard her mother discussing with another man and had Wizey show her the video feed from Tina's office. Nico thus saw Tina talk with Detective Flores, who was given an envelope and declared that he would handle it. Nico froze the feed on Flores' face to remember it, and then resumed it to live feed, only to see her mother staring at the camera, knowing that Nico could be watching.[5]
The death of Amy, who was declared a suicide although she had actually been murdered by Jonah, was a tragic defining moment for Nico, who began distancing herself from her friends and family, isolating herself, dressing in goth style with dark makeup and turned to Wiccan beliefs.[3]
Reunion[]
Minoru while preparing for school
"You still never told me why you didn't come to the funeral. I guess what difference does it make? It wouldn't bring her back. Thanks for doing this tonight. For me."
Two years after her sister Amy Minoru's death, while preparing for school, Nico went into her sister's bedroom to find a pair of tights, only to be confronted by her mother Tina for entering Amy's room. During the ensuing argument, Nico accidentally broke one of Amy's trophies, causing her mother to angrily order her to leave as her father Robert arrived.
At Atlas Academy, Minoru was approached by her former friend Alex Wilder. Minoru listened in silence as Wilder explained that he missed his friends who had grown apart, and especially her, and that he wanted to gather them once again. However, she pretended not hearing him due to listening to music and left. Arriving in the bathroom, Minoru let her feelings burst out and started to cry; but stopped upon seeing Karolina Dean, apparently crying as well, getting out of a toilet box. They both tried to conceal the real reason of their tears, and when Dean told Minoru that she did not need to hide behind her makeup, Minoru retorted that Dean was no better than herself by hiding behind her smile.
Minoru performs a Wiccan ritual
With the night coming, Nico went to the beach and performed a Wiccan ritual, hoping to contact her late sister Amy, but it did not work, leaving Nico in great distress. She then received a photo sent by Wilder, depicting their former group of friends, and decided that it could be worth trying to reconnect with them. Therefore, Nico went to the Wilder Mansion, where all her old friends had gone as well after receiving the picture. However, the tension between them was still heavy and arguments began to erupt. Nico even apologized to her friends for being so different from Amy, although they insisted that she had nothing to blame herself for.
Nico followed the others as they were headed for Wilder's father's study to find some alcohol to give them courage to open up to each other. On the way, she began asking Wilder why he had not showed up at Amy's funeral, but ultimately decided that it did not matter and thanked him for his efforts of gathering the group again. She then joined her friends in the study and, like everybody else, was utterly surprised when Wilder accidentally opened a secret passageway leading to the mansion's basement, which they decided to follow.[3]
Minoru and the other teenagers wondered where the passageway would lead them and eventually reached a gallery from which they saw all of their isolated by an en wearing red robes and apparently being involved in some kind of see their parents appear. Since they were isolated by an energy barrier, Minoru and the rest of the group were horrified to see their parents apparently sacrificing a young girl by putting her into a strange box. Minoru and the group then fled due to Molly Hernandez attempting to take a picture of the scene, with a flash of light alerting PRIDE.[3]
Minoru playing Twister with the group
Despite being temporarily blocked behind the door of the passageway, the Runaways managed to get out and went into the yard. As Alex Wilder claimed that he had an idea, Minoru told him that she trusted him and joined the others in the guesthouse while he temporarily left. Minoru then openly voiced her belief that their parents had murdered the young girl they had seen. Moments later, the power was cut, and Wilder returned, explaining that this would provide a reasonable explanation for the flash, which Minoru acknowledged was clever thinking. Minoru then joined the others in pretending to be playing Twister when Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder arrived to check on them.
Remaining alone, the teenagers began arguing about what they had seen, and Minoru admitted that she was willing to believe that her mother could be an evil criminal, although the others were much more dubious regarding their own parents. They then returned into the Wilder Mansion's hall to act normal in front of their parents. Before leaving the house, the Runaways gathered one last time and agreed to behave as usual as possible as to not raise their parents' suspicions. However, overwhelmed by what she had seen, Minoru briefly left to isolate herself in the bathroom.
She was later joined by Wilder, who explained that her parents were waiting for her. Minoru expressed her distress at the idea of returning home with her potentially murderous parents with her sister Amy no longer here to support her. In return, Minoru was comforted by Wilder, who assured her that she was not alone. She then rejoined her parents and returned into the Minoru Mansion, secretly sneaking into Amy's room to reflect on the past events. She then received a text message from Wilder asking the Runaways to come to the beach in the next morning.[6]
The next day, Minoru was the first to join Alex Wilder at the beach, quickly followed by Chase Stein, Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez. When Karolina Dean arrived and showed them a picture of Destiny Gonzalez apparently on a trip to London, Minoru expressed her doubts, stating that the photo could be a fake and insisting that they needed more evidence. Minoru was offered by Wilder to assist him in the inspection of the ritual room at the Wilder Mansion, but she declined, preferring to try and study the Staff of One wielded by her mother during the ritual.
Minoru returned to the Minoru Mansion, where her father told her that he had planned a family dinner in a restaurant. However, Minoru convinced her parents to go on a dinner date without her instead. Remaining alone in the house, Minoru went into her mother's office, but failed to open the showcase where the Staff of One was kept. She thus inspected her mother's desk and managed to get a glimpse of her sister Amy's diary in a locker. This cause Minoru to accidentally activate the voice command opening the showcase, therefore allowing her to take the Staff of One.
Minoru used the artifact to fully open the drawer where the diary was kept. She found a paper snowflake once made by her sister, and while she admired it, she noticed that real snowflakes were falling from the ceiling. Realizing that she could not stop the process, Minoru called Wilder for help, explaining what was happening and believing the Staff of One to be a magical object. She handed it over to Wilder so he could inspect it, but he painfully dropped it, causing the snowfall to stop. Then, Minoru and Wilder were informed by Wizey that her mother was on her way home.
Minoru and Wilder hurried up to clean the office from all the snow which had fallen and finished right before her mother arrived. They then ran into Minoru's bedroom, and Minoru chose to make her mother believe that she and Wilder were actually making out. Her mother bought the story and told Wilder to leave, with Minoru showing him out. Before Wilder left, Minoru was surprised when he kissed her goodbye, and although she tried to pretend that they had only been acting, she could not help but smile once Wilder was gone.[4]
Minoru reviewed her sister Amy's diary and could only come to one conclusion: that her sister was happy in her life and thus had no reason to commit suicide. Minoru was then invited into a group WizTalk conversation with the other Runaways, who informed her that Destiny Gonzalez's body had been found on the beach. To Minoru, this confirmed that their parents were murderers, and Minoru went as far as to suspect them of having killed Amy as well, although the other teenagers were far more doubtful than her. Minoru confessed that she was incredibly scared before the call was ended.
In the next day at Atlas Academy, Minoru approached Alex Wilder and announced her intent to go to the police, although Wilder strongly advised her against it as it would be useless regarding PRIDE's power. Despite this refusal, Minoru carried on her decision and went to the District 27 West Side Station. Before she could talk to an officer, she was joined by Wilder, who had come to support her. Minoru and Wilder were then told to wait for Detective Flores, who was in charge of the investigation on Gonzalez's death. However, she recognized the man who had come on the day Amy died, talking with Victor Stein and her own father Robert.
Therefore, Minoru and Wilder left the police station, figuring out that their parents were buying the police's loyalty. Minoru was then shocked when Wilder revealed that he had stolen a handgun from his father to defend himself. The teenagers then went to the Timely Coffee to decrypt a file sent by Gert Yorkes retrieved on Leslie Dean's laptop. Much to their horror, the file turned out to be a list of teenage runaways who had been sacrificed by PRIDE. Minoru asked whether Amy was one of them, but Wilder did not find her name in the list.[5]
Minoru was quickly joined by Dean, who worried that Wilder could have been abducted by the Church of Gibborim on her mother's orders. Minoru hugged Dean in comfort, assuring her that they would make things right as long as they remained together. They were then joined by Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez, and Minoru explained that they would use the Staff of One to find Wilder. Indeed, Minoru managed to have the artifact show the heat signature of the car in which Wilder had been taken away. They thus all went in Dean's car to follow it.
During the chase, despite Yorkes insisting that Dean drove way too fast, Minoru kept telling Dean that she was doing great. They eventually found the car, and saw Wilder being held at gunpoint by Darius Davis. As Davis took Wilder away one more time, Minoru insisted to follow him instantly without waiting for Chase Stein to join them as well. They eventually caught up with the car at a red light. Minoru hurried to leave the car and tried to use the Staff of One to turn Davis' engine off. However, it did not work, causing Hernandez to use her superhuman strength to stop the car, much to Minoru's astonishment.
The reveal of superpowers continued when Dean fired light beams at Davis, enabling Wilder to be released right before Stein arrived, firing at Davis with his newly completed Fistigons. Enraged, Davis threatened to shoot the teenagers, but Minoru protected them all with the Staff of One, creating a shield barrier which blocked Davis' bullets, causing him to run away. With this victory, the Runaways decided to return to the Timely Coffee.
As they discussed their newly found powers, Wilder returned, informing them that PRIDE was probably going to sacrifice one of his kidnappers, Andre. Minoru agreed that their parents could not be allowed to get away with their ritual murders. She thus accompanied the rest of the team to the Wilder Mansion in an attempt to stop PRIDE. However, they realized that they were too late as PRIDE had visibly chosen to carry out the ritual elsewhere.
Minoru joined Wilder in his bedroom to comfort him from his frustration of having failed to save Andre. She listened as he confessed to have shot Andre to protect his father and assured him that Andre's death was not his fault. They then shared a kiss which became more and more passionate until interrupted by Dean, who had come to tell them that Stein had found a camera in the ceremonial room. Minoru was thus informed that the data of the camera were transferred into her own mother's company, Wizard.
Minoru returned home, and sneaked into her mother's office to put back the Staff of One. She was found by her mother and expected to be scolded and punished for having taken the artifact, but her mother actually acknowledged that Minoru was meant to wield the Staff of One one day, offering to teach her how to use it and allowing her to keep it for the night.[7]
"From the other side of the screen, it all looks so easy. Tron? It seemed appropriate." "I knew your nerd brain couldn't handle this much processing power."
In the next day, Nico received a phone call from Alex Wilder, who wanted to make sure that she still agreed to hack into Wizard servers to retrieve the secret PRIDE video file. Once she hung up, Nico saw that her mother Tina had come to her room so they could begin Nico's training in using the Staff of One. They thus went into Tina's office and Nico successfully managed to activate a silencing spell on her mother. Nico then deactivated the spell so that Tina could explain how the Staff worked. They then began talking about Amy Minoru as Tina knew Nico had found her diary, and Nico was puzzled as Tina seemed genuinely ignorant of why her daughter had died, and concluded that they could not entirely know people.
Nico then went to the Timely Coffee to meet with the other Runaways to discuss how they would go to the upcoming PRIDE gala. During the conversation, Nico suggested trying to talk to their parents before releasing any evidence they might find, but they eventually agreed that their parents had to be brought to justice. Nico then returned home and gathered her stuff, preparing to go to the Dean Mansion to get ready for the gala with Karolina Dean. She was then surprised when Tina asked her whether she would go to the gala with Wilder and smiled at the idea of Nico having a boyfriend.
At the Dean Mansion, while helping Dean with her jewelry, Nico nearly removed her Church of Gibborim Bracelet, admitting that she might have wanted to see Dean glow again. They then discussed about Dean's powers and how it had changed her life and the way of seeing herself and the world around her. As Dean expressed fear regarding her powers and their origins, Nico comforted her, assuring Dean that she knew who she was, prompting her to claim that she could be honest about who she wanted to be with. However, the moment Nico and Dean were sharing was ended by the arrival of Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez, who had been invited by Nico.
Once at the PRIDE gala, Nico teamed up with Wilder and Yorkes in order to access the server room of Wizard Headquarters. With Yorkes successfully distracting security guard Earl, Nico and Wilder managed to take the elevator to the server room. However, Wilder realized that he could not access the file they wanted from there, prompting Nico to suggest directly going into Tina's office. Once they reached the door, Nico used the keycard she had stolen, but it did not work, and Nico was surprised when Wilder apparently simply guessed the password and entered the office.
Searching through Tina's office, Nico recognized the desk's activation system, which was similar to the Staff of One's. Nico and Wilder successfully found an encrypted file they began to download, but Nico was then alerted by Yorkes that her mother was coming. Thus, Nico and Wilder hid behind the desk as Tina arrived. Upon hearing her mother weeping, Nico was disturbed and nearly went out of hiding to comfort her, but Wilder silently instructed her not to.
Once Tina was gone, Nico and Wilder returned into the hall. Minoru asked Wilder how he could know Tina's password, but Wilder simply replied that the password just happened to be "password" and that he had had a lucky guess, which Minoru found hard to believe although she did not insist. They then informed Chase Stein of their achievement. In return, Stein revealed that he had seen Dean flying thanks to her powers and gave them the reason of Tina's tears: Victor Stein had publicly revealed that his wife Janet was having an affair with Nico's father Robert.[8]
In the next day, Nico was approached by her father Robert, who explained that he would no longer live in the Minoru Mansion as he would move in with Janet Stein, something Nico had a hard time believing. Nico encouraged her father to apologize to his wife Tina, but was told that it was not what he wanted. Still, Nico was told by Robert that he would be at the upcoming Atlas Academy open house. Nico then went to school and went to see Alex Wilder, openly stating that she did not believe he could have guessed Tina's password during the Infiltration into Wizard Headquarters and demanding to know the truth. However, the other Runaways arrived before Wilder could answer.
Nico then faced the reveal that Molly Hernandez had inadvertently told Catherine Wilder that she had witnessed the Rite of Blood. She was also surprised when Chase Stein told her that Janet planned on ending her affair with Robert. Later, as the open house began, Nico sat next to her mother and saw her father arriving in the room, only to be forbidden by Tina to go and talk to him. Nevertheless, Nico encountered Robert during the open house, and as he began telling her that she could come to visit him and Janet, Nico urged him to talk with his lover to figure out their relationship since it was supposed to be over according to Chase.
Later, Nico joined the other Runaways as they saw the Wilders discussing with the Yorkeses, figuring out that they were talking about Hernandez. She lamented over the fact that taking part in the open house seemed completely fake as they were not normal teenagers having a regular life, but instead had to put their own parents to justice. Once the open house ended, Nico went to the Timely Coffee to see Wilder, who was still working on the file's decryption, and once again demanded to be told how he could have known her mother's password.[1]
Nico then recalled that Amy's phone and backpack were missing, and that Amy might have planned to run away from her mother. She thus decided to return home to search for them, refusing to let Wilder come with her. Once in Amy's bedroom, Nico successfully found the phone and the backpack hidden under the bed. Since the phone was discharged, she left it plugged in the room, hoping that she would be able to find some valuable information on it. She then returned to the Timely Coffee where Wilder awaited her and informed her that he had decrypted and watched the video file showing PRIDE perpetrating their ritual sacrifices. They then waited for the other Runaways to arrive and discussed about their parents' motives.
Minoru debate over the video file
Once the team was gathered, Nico was surprised when both Chase and Karolina Dean refused to release the video, as Chase feared for his father Victor's life while Dean wanted to see if her father Frank could help them. Still, Nico and Wilder were determined to use the footage as evidence anyway, leading to a fight between Wilder and Chase. Despite Minoru's attempt to break the fight, Chase eventually managed to destroy Wilder's laptop containing the file, thus depriving the Runaways of their sole strong piece of evidence against PRIDE.[9]
In the next day, Nico attempted to return into her sister Amy's bedroom to reclaim her phone, but was found by her father Robert, who had been allowed by Tina to live in the Minoru Mansion again due to having ended his affair with Janet Stein. Thus, Nico postponed the retrieving of the phone and went to Atlas Academy, where she joined the other Runaways. When Alex Wilder blamed Chase Stein for having destroyed the evidence they had against PRIDE, Nico feared that he would disband the group they had formed, although they ultimately decided to stay together. When Wilder suggested the name "Runaways" for the group, Nico admitted that she found it too dark.
Nico and the others were then pleasantly surprised by Molly Hernandez returning from Montebello with a VHS tape which had been left to her by her parents. They went in the school's library to watch it and thus discovered the full extent of PRIDE's plan: digging a massive hole on the PRIDE Construction Site to unearth a mysterious source of energy. Nico hypothesized that the Hernandezes had been murdered because they had attempted to warn other PRIDE members of the cataclysmic danger they could cause, and suggested that the Runaways fled from California. However, the Runaways ultimately resolved to stay and thwart their parents' plan, using the upcoming school dance as a pretext to gather in the night to come.
Minoru and Alex Wilder discussing the last message Amy had on her phone
Returning home, Nico was finally able to retrieve Amy's phone, on which she found a message sent to Amy by an unknown sender indicating that a man was coming to hurt her. Nico called Wilder and asked him to come to the Minoru Mansion so they could discuss the message and they reviewed potential suspects for what now clearly appeared as a murder and not a suicide. Despite this discovery she shared with him and the fact that they pretended to go to the dance together, Nico insisted that she had not forgiven Wilder and that their relationship was definitely over. They then left for the school dance.
Nico and Wilder joined Molly Hernandez and Karolina Dean outside the school, and waited for Stein and Gert Yorkes to come as well. As they did not arrive, Nico decided to look for them but refused to be accompanied by Wilder, instead asking Dean to come with her. However, since they did not find their friends, Nico suggested getting back to the car, only to be told by Dean to wait. Nico was then kissed by Dean, who claimed that she wanted to do that for a long time, and after a moment of surprise, Nico returned her kiss. They were then stumbled upon by Stein and Yorkes, who had apparently had sex in a nearby room.
Not revealing what had happened to the rest of her friends, Nico returned to the other Runaways and they drove to the PRIDE Construction Site, managing to convince Church of Gibborim member Carl, who guarded the place, to let them in. The Runaways found the hole dug by the Nemo Industrial Drilling Machine, and Minoru offered to stand watch with the Staff of One while the others looked for a way to shut down the drill. Once it was done and Hernandez pushed a truck into the hole to estimate its depth, Nico attempted to fill it with sand using the Staff of One. However, before the spell could really work, Nico had the Staff of One confiscated by her mother, who had arrived with the rest of PRIDE. Nico refused to listen to PRIDE claiming that they had done everything out of love for their children and thus prepared to fight her parents.[10]
Being deprived of the Staff of One, Nico could not do much but stand and watch during the confrontation against PRIDE and Jonah, who attacked all the Runaways with a powerful outburst of light. Still, Nico bravely stood back with the other teenagers to face their parents. However, they were instructed by Dean to leave as Jonah was only interested in her. Nico initially refused to leave Dean behind, but eventually complied as Dean insisted. Nico fled with the other Runaways while Dean dueled against Jonah, but once the fight was seemingly over after a powerful EMP-like blast, Nico was adamant that they had to return and look for their friend. However, she figured out that Dean had been captured, forcing the Runaways to leave the dig site to remain far from PRIDE.[11]
Along with the other what they sh, Minoru sought refuge in the woods near suggested leavin. As the sun rose, they discussed over what they should do next, and while ld not leave wi suggested leaving the city to carefully plan their next move, Minoru insisted that they could not leave without er Runaways, incl, who had saved them all by remaining behind in the previous night. This convinced the other Runaways, including Wilder, to go and find her. In order to go incognito, Minoru went with oru and Stein d and sed about the kiss to a thrift shop to buy new clothes. While trying some outfits, Minoru and Stein discussed about the kiss Minoru and Dean had shared, with Stein promising that he would not tell Wilder about it.
Minoru and the team then headed to the Timely Coffee to wait for Vaughn Kaye, a member of the Church of Gibborim, to try and convince him to rescue Dean, but Kaye refused to believe that Dean could be in danger because of her own family and Church and anfrily left, with Minoru still keeping his coffee. Regardless of this failure to win Kaye to their cause, the Runaways decided to save Dean nonetheless. Minoru and Gert Yorkes stood watch outside the Church of Gibborim Executive Office which had been infiltrated by Stein and Hernandez, and they took this time to discuss what had happened between Yorkes and Stein at the Atlas Academy dance. Minoru encouraged Yorkes to further develop her relationship with Stein as it would help her fight her anxiety issues.
Eventually, the rescue of Dean was a success and Minoru was able to leave the Church's premises with the other teenagers in a van stolen by Wilder. Once they returned into the woods, Minoru approached Dean and praised her for her incredible bravery when choosing to confront Jonah on her own at the PRIDE Construction Site. In return, Minoru was thanked by Dean for having returned for her and the two girls shared a kiss. Minoru then noticed that Wilder had left and feared that he might have tried to contact his parents. As the night came, Minoru slept next to Dean and saw Wilder returning, telling her that he had secured some money from an undisclosed ally.[11]
Minoru accompanied the other Runaways to the Los Angeles Bus Depot as they planned on leaving Los Angeles by bus. However, while reviewing their possible destinations, their attention was caught by a WHiH World News report indicating that the Runaways were being wanted for interrogation regarding the Assassination of Destiny Gonzalez and a so-called abduction of Molly Hernandez. Fearing to be recognized, Minoru asked Alex Wilder what they should do, only to be told that they had to run away.[11]
When the Fistigons were stolen from Chase Stein by the thief Mike on a Bike, Minoru helped to chase him, although Mike eventually escaped. She then asked Alex Wilder whether he still had the money he had managed to secure, causing Wilder to realize that he had been robbed as well, causing to Minoru to lament on how the Runaways were not suited for the life in the street. In order to find some free food, Minoru and the Runaways went to a soup kitchen, but Minoru was reluctant to eat it due to the place being funded by PRIDE.
Still, Minoru accepted the food and insisted that they should eat together instead of sitting at different tables. During the meal, Minoru openly voiced her suspicions that Wilder could be a PRIDE mole, which was how he got the money in the first place. This led to tensions in the group, and Wilder eventually left without answering to Minoru's question as to where he was going. As they left the soup kitchen, Minoru and the group caught a WHiH World News report where Molly Hernandez's aunt Graciela Aguirre revealed that she had evidence against PRIDE.
This caused the Runaways to try and go to Aguirre's home, and Minoru pointed out a car that they could steal in order to drive there, which they successfully did. Once they arrived, however, Minoru looked through a window and saw the body of Aguirre, who had been murdered by PRIDE, as evidenced by a vial of Synnergy Serum found on the floor by Minoru. Due to the LAPD arriving, the Runaways left, but not before Minoru stole Aguirre's money, admitting the immorality of the deed but insisting that it was necessary.
Minoru and the group went to a homeless camp to spend the night. Minoru decided to perform a Wiccan funeral in memory of Aguirre, instructing the Runaways to present some offerings for Hernandez's aunt, a gesture which was soon done by other people present at the camp while Minoru delivered a eulogy. Minoru was later approached by Karolina Dean, who complimented her about what she had done. As Minoru lamented over the fact that their parents were evil, she was comforted by Dean giving her a kiss.
In the next morning, Minoru woke up as strange noises were disturbing the camp, which turned out to be Mike target practicing with the Fistigons before fleeing once again. Minoru and the Runaways took some bikes to chase him up to the hills near Griffith Observatory, where Mike was attacked by Old Lace. During the chase, Minoru saw Dean falling through the ground, thus leading the Runaways to the discovery of the Hostel, an underground mansion they began exploring, and which was deemed a suitable home for the Runaways by Minoru.[12]
In her first morning in the Hostel, Nico, along with the other Runaways, felt an earthquake which shook Los Angeles. Once the tremors subsided, Nico noticed that her girlfriend Karolina Dean was nowhere to be found and began to panic, fearing that she might be hurt somewhere. She was thus relieved and hugged Dean when she arrived from the outside, claiming that she was taking a walk when the earthquake occurred. Fearing that it could be due to PRIDE's activities, Nico stated that they had to put an end to the PRIDE Construction Site's systems, but that she had to reclaim the Staff of One for that.
Nico decided to return to the Minoru Mansion, accompanied by Dean and Molly Hernandez, in order to steal the Staff from her mother Tina. Before departing, however, Nico joined the other Runaways in persuading Alex Wilder to tell them about his secret activity, and was surprised when he revealed that he was working for Darius Davis, who had previously attempted to kidnap him. Nico then left the Hostel for her mission with her two teammates. Once they arrived in front of the Minoru Mansion, Nico confessed that she felt like she had left the house months ago.
In order to infiltrate the place, Nico instructed Dean to use her powers on the Wizey control panel, thus causing the door to open and enabling the Runaways to enter. While Hernandez remained outside to stand guard, Nico and Dean entered, finding some of Nico's stuff on the way she refused to take, claiming that she had only come for the Staff. They headed to Tina's office, where Nico noticed that the Staff was not in his usual shelf. As she insisted that they had to find it, Nico and Dean were confronted to Nico's father Robert.
Nico refused to hear Robert's plea asking her to peacefully come home, and claimed that she no longer believed him when he said that he would fix everything. She then picked up a wooden staff demanded to know where Tina was, being directed to the yard, where Tina awaited her with the Staff. Nico stated that she would not leave without the Staff and that she no longer considered herself to be Tina's daughter. With Hernandez joining them, the Runaways engaged in a fight against Tina. Nico fought against her mother with her staff, which ended up incinerated by the Staff of One. In a desperate move, Nico attempted to grab the Staff from Tina, only to be kicked on the ground.
The fight continued with Hernandez being trapped under the surface of the swimming pool, which was frozen by Tina. Upon seeing Tina attacking Dean and being willing to violently hurt her, Nico screamed her to stop, claiming that such violence was the reason her sister Amy had died. This caused Tina to stop and to end the fight. Nico was then told by Tina that she could have the Staff, but that leaving the house would effectively mean that she would no longer be Tina's daughter. Nevertheless, Nico departed with her teammates.
Once in the street, Nico noticed that Dean was no longer wearing the bracelet which helped her to control her powers. She then began to argue with Dean, blaming her for having turned her back on Tina to rescue Hernandez, which had caused Dean to be violently attacked and left only Nico to fight against Tina. Nico insisted that the Runaways had to train so they would be able to fight together, although Dean was doubtful about such an initiative.
They then returned to the Hostel, and Nico held a group meeting in Wilder's absence, praising Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes for having restored power in the mansion, and announced that they would train together in the next day. Nico then began to train with the Staff of One in her bedroom, using it to turn a radio on and off and tune it. She was then approached by Dean, and apologized to her for what she had said earlier, explaining that she was upset because she had feared for Dean's life being threatened by someone who was supposed to protect her. Now fully reconciled, the two girls began making out while discussing about how they would decorate the room they would be sharing in the Hostel.[13]
"What? I got issues. About talking about my feelings. Or just generally having them. But for now, actions speak louder than words, and I say we head to the Valley and get Alex back."
In the next morning, Minoru woke up and instructed her teammates to be prepared for the upcoming training session. She left a message on Alex Wilder's voicemail to inform him before going into Molly Hernandez's bedroom, noticing that she was absent. Minoru waited until Hernandez returned through the window and quickly figured out that she had been involved in a fight as she attempted to play vigilante in Los Angeles. Minoru strongly insisted that Hernandez should not do that again and, although she was initially reluctant to let Hernandez sleep while the others trained, she eventually accepted and kept silent about Hernandez's night activities.
Minoru then made sure the training began, despite Gert Yorkes's sudden headaches due to being deprived of her meds. Minoru used the Staff of One to put out a fire accidentally started by Chase Stein with his Fistigons and then asked him to fire at her with the gauntlets. On the first shot, Minoru managed to create a shield to block the blast, but was violently hit by the second one, as she was still unaware that she could not use the exact same command twice. Being hit left Minoru quite disoriented and aggressive, and she nearly attacked Stein before hardly refraining herself and stating that the Runaways' collective work did not work well.
As the Runaways discussed their failure, Minoru refused to acknowledge that Alex's absence was part of the problem, and denied the idea that he could help her better control the Staff of One. Shortly after an argument erupted, leading the teenagers to return to different activities, Minoru received a phone call from Alex, but was surprised that he did not speak at all. Instead, Minoru heard Alex's father Geoffrey and quickly figured out that Alex was being abducted. Therefore, Minoru gathered the Runaways for a rescue mission, admitting that Alex was valuable to the team.
Using a car recently repaired by Stein and started by Minoru using the Staff of One to create a spark, the Runaways reached Van Nuys Airport and were able to rescue Alex from his father thanks to a combination of their powers. However, when Minoru attempted to restart the car, she understood that she could not use the same command twice, and struggled for some time to find another one. Once the car restarted, Minoru used the Staff to erect a wall out of the road, thus blocking Geoffrey and preventing him from following the Runaways with his own car.
Minoru and Alex Wilder playing video games together
Back at the Hostel, Minoru approached Alex to check on him and expressed her condolences for the death of Darius Davis, who had been found dead in the Gordon Hotel. She then offered to play video games with Alex just like he used to do with her sister Amy, and asked him to tell her what had happened during his time with Davis. As such, she expressed genuine and pleasant surprise upon hearing that Alex had made a new girlfriend.
Later in the night, Minoru, along with the other Runaways, discovered that Hernandez had sneaked out of the Hostel once again, and that she had been followed by Topher Vasquez.[14]
"This is what I wanted to protect you from, from seeing some messed-up shit you can never unsee. Again. From losing someone you care about. Again! From getting your heart broken."
Like the rest of the Runaways, Minoru was surprised and worried by the unexpected arrival of Topher Vasquez in the Hostel. In order to discuss his case, she used the Staff of One to summon a cone of silence around him, thus allowing the Runaways to freely talk about Vasquez without him being able to hear what they said. While Molly Hernandez and Karolina Dean agreed that Vasquez could stay, the others were much more defiant, and Gert Yorkes suggested using a vial of Synnergy Serum they had reclaimed in Graciela Aguirre's Residence. During the discussion, Minoru saw Vasquez impregnate his skin with grinded fragments, which were absorbed by his skin and make his eyes glow just like Hernandez's. Much to Minoru's surprise, Vasquez punched through the cone of silence, causing it to disappear.
Vasquez was eventually allowed to remain in the Hostel under Old Lace's guard. As everybody went to bed, Minoru blatantly refused to stay with Vasquez and stated that she would soon discover his secret regarding the rock enhancement he had displayed earlier. In the next morning, she joined the other Runaways in the dining room, and openly voiced her distrust towards Vasquez, both in his presence and after he left. Reluctantly eating the food he had brought, she then noticed all the evidence on PRIDE gathered by Alex Wilder, and that he seemed more determined than ever to take down PRIDE.
Minoru later went into her bedroom, where she found Dean seemingly preparing to go outside. She was explained by her girlfriend that she would go to Hollywood Boulevard to try and make some money, and Minoru agreed to this project, kissing her goodbye. Then, Minoru was told about Wilder's plan to hack into the PRIDE Construction Site, which required returning into their former school, Atlas Academy.
Minoru shared a car with Vasquez on the way to Atlas Academy. She once again stated that she did not trust him, but pretended to bond with him over his alleged understanding of Wicca. Minoru asked him to tell him about the rocks he had used, but was surprised when she figured out that Vasquez thought they were using it too. Minoru decided to play along in order to win Vasquez's trust, hoping to discover his secret. They then arrived near Atlas Academy and sent Vasquez into the school to steal the computer Wilder needed.
However, the Runaways' plan was disrupted when an earthquake occurred. Due to the school being evacuated, Minoru instructed the Runaways to go and blend into the crowd so they could get both Vasquez and the computer. Minoru and Hernandez hid in a school bus while the others entered the school, and they saw the arrival of PRIDE, meaning that the Runaways had to quickly leave the school. Minoru and Hernandez quickly found her teammates, and they narrowly avoided their parents, returning near the school's dumpsters, where Vasquez awaited them with the stolen computer.
Back at the Hostel, Minoru asked Vasquez to talk with him in private. She quickly ended his hopes of kissing her and revealed that she had stolen his vial of grinded rocks fragments. She refused to give it back to Vasquez unless he fully disclosed what it was and where he had gotten it.[15] Minoru thus gathered the other Runaways and they listened as Vasquez claimed to have been expelled from his house by his parents and that he had found the rocks in a thrown away vivarium. Although still distrustful, Minoru agreed to give him back his vial, as he claimed that it was his last amount of rocks.
Early in the next morning, Minoru found Dean in Wilder's bedroom and asked her what she was doing, and Dean told her that she was just here to see if she could help with Wilder's plan. Later, Minoru was confronted by Hernandez, who had noticed Vasquez was gone and blamed her for treating him as an intruder. Minoru retorted that Vasquez only wanted to find more rocks and that Hernandez was only a means to get it. They figured out that Vasquez was headed to the PRIDE dig site and decided to chase him. Before departing, Minoru noticed that Dean looked shaken, but was told that she was fine.
Arriving at the dig site, Minoru and the group saw that a worker had been violently attacked. They then spotted Vasquez exiting the site and stealing a car, and Minoru insisted that they had to follow him as they could not afford to inspect the site at the moment. She then urged Yorkes to quickly drive in order not to follow Vasquez, even if it meant breaching traffic law which Yorkes was really reluctant to. They thus arrived in a residential area, quickly identifying the house where Vasquez had gone.
Minoru entered the house with the group, finding Vasquez arguing with his family. She asked Vasquez to go out so they could discuss, but Vasquez refused, and the conversation led to the reveal that Vasquez was present when Hernandez's parents were killed in their lab's explosion. As Vasquez attacked his own sister, Minoru moved to fight him with the Staff of One, but was told by Hernandez not to. However, Hernandez failed to calm down Vasquez, who violently projected her outside, forcing Minoru and the others to go and check on her.
As Vasquez exited the house as well, Minoru once again tried to attack him, but once again Hernandez asked her to stand down. Minoru then took advantage of a moment when Vasquez repelled Hernandez to finally blast him with the Staff of One. However, Vasquez retaliated by throwing a dumpster at the Runaways, and when Chase Stein attempted to blast it with the Fistigons, he accidentally directed it on the car where Yorkes still was, forcing Vasquez to save her. In the process, Vasquez was heavily wounded by the dumpster falling on him. Since they could not risk being caught, Minoru persuaded Hernandez that they had to leave and took Vasquez's backpack containing the rocks he had stolen to get rid of it.
Minoru and the group returned to the Hostel. She assured Hernandez that she felt sorry for Vasquez, but insisted that she had been right not to trust her as he was dangerous, and that she had to protect Hernandez, who she considered her family when Vasquez was not part of it. However, Minoru was told by Hernandez that she sounded exactly like her mother. This greatly affected Minoru, who was later approached in her bedroom by Dean, who comforted her. In response, Minoru told Dean that she very much liked the light and warmth Dean brought to her life, and the two girls began passionately making out with Dean's powers activated.[16]
Secrets and Tensions[]
"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" "Because there's something else and after I tell you, nothing will ever be the same, and I don't want that because I've never been this as happy as I am now with you."
In the next morning, Minoru went to see Alex Wilder to see the advancement of his work with the computer the Runaways had stolen from Atlas Academy. She asked about details on his plans, but he refused to reply as he wanted to make sure that his contribution would be recognized. They then discussed about what had happened with Topher Vasquez, and Minoru asked Wilder on his opinion about how she could have Molly Hernandez forgive her. As Wilder recalled that she had still not forgiven him for concealing information on her sister's death, Minoru suggested that she could move on regarding this subject.
Minoru then went to look for Hernandez. Upon not finding her in her bedroom, she feared that she had sneaked out of the Hostel once again. She shouted her name multiple times and eventually found an annoyed Hernandez, who told Minoru that both Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes were missing. Ignoring the insult Hernandez threw at her before leaving, Minoru returned into her own room, where she found Karolina Dean using her powers in front of a mirror. Minoru recalled that they were supposed to train together and suggested that Dean's behavior was odd lately, but the discussion escalated in an argument as Minoru was blamed by Dean for not letting her enough space, causing Minoru to sadly leave the bedroom.
Minoru later joined a group discussion as Stein had been informed by his mother that Jonah planned on performing another sacrifice without PRIDE being involved. As they decided that they had to immediately go to the Church of Gibborim Executive Office to stop it, as the sacrifice would likely be perpetrated there, Minoru suggested to take some time to think about it, but was not listened as everybody prepared to leave. Before departing, Minoru asked Dean whether she was not upset that they could end Jonah, and thus a source of information regarding Dean's powers. When blatantly told that Minoru was wrong, Minoru suggested that it might be good for them to sleep in separate rooms for the time being.
Minoru and the group infiltrated the Church of Gibborim's facility. While Dean distracted the crowd of parishioners during a ceremony, they found the room where Jonah was supposed to be conducting the sacrifice, and were surprised to find, along with two Dematerialization Boxes in use, Victor Stein apparently unconscious and kept within a mysterious cell. Minoru used the Staff of One to damage one of the Box, and another surprise appeared to the Runaways: the victim was Wilder's father. Minoru and the group decided to take him, but convinced Stein to leave his father behind as they were not able to safely deactivate the algorithm which kept him alive.
Back at the Hostel, as she struggled to find some sleep, Minoru was approached by Dean, who wanted to reconcile with her. As Dean confessed that she had been lying to her, Minoru persuaded Dean to tell her the truth as they could face it together. Therefore, Minoru was told that Dean had secretly been meeting with Jonah, who was her biological father, so she could have a better understanding of her powers. When Minoru asked why she had kept it a secret, she had to face a more terrible reveal: Jonah was the one who had actually murdered her sister. Profoundly shocked by this, Minoru told Dean she had been right to tell her and was hugged in comfort by her girlfriend while she tried to process the news.[17]
Revenge Accomplished[]
"You didn't have to kill my father, Nico. You chose to."
Minoru joined another group meeting during which Alex Wilder told his fellow Runaways about the spaceship in the PRIDE Construction Site his father Geoffrey had told him about. As Karolina Dean confirmed this and told her friends that Jonah would use the spaceship to leave Earth, Minoru voiced her concern that Jonah might take Dean with him. Therefore, Minoru agreed with Alex when he stated that Dean could not join them in their endeavors to sabotage the dig site, considering what she had done a betrayal towards the Runaways.
However, Minoru later had second thoughts and, upon hearing Dean and Gert Yorkes trying to convince Alex to reconsider his plan as it could jeopardize the life of the Gibborim trapped in the hole of the dig site, Dean's very family, she joined their side, thus convincing Alex to update the mission's objective into a rescue attempt. Minoru then went with the other Runaways to face Geoffrey, who was still held captive at the Hostel, so he could tell them more about the spaceship's launch. Before everyone left the Hostel, Minoru insisted that Geoffrey had to be blindfolded so he would not know the location of the Hostel.
Minoru and the group went to Momo Korean Restaurant to prepare their mission, waiting for Alex to hack into the incoming Church of Gibborim vans so they would be redirected into the desert. She then waited until Alex and Geoffrey disabled all the site's guards before entering the site, instructing Yorkes to remain behind on lookout for potential threats. Meanwhile, Minoru, along with Chase Stein and Molly Hernandez, was taken down into the hole by Dean.
Minoru witnessed Stein's unsuccessful attempt to release the Gibborim with the Fistigons, which only resulted in a loud painful screech to be heard. Fearing that Jonah might have arrived on the site, they heard him speaking to them and ordering them to leave the hole. Shortly after, the launch of the spaceship seemingly began, meaning that the Runaways had to quickly evacuate. Minoru insisted that Dean first took Stein and Hernandez, relying on the Staff of One for her own protection.
Minoru gets out of the hole
As the launch progressed, Minoru summoned a small tornado to be carried out of the hole, landing safely on the ground of the dig site under the proud look of her mother, who had arrived along with the rest of PRIDE. Minoru then listened as Jonah asked Dean to leave Earth with him and Dean refused, stating that she would remain with the people she loved, the first of them being Minoru.
Due to Dean's refusal, Jonah decided to accelerate the launch of his spaceship, which caused everyone, including Minoru, to stumble and fall on the ground. Minoru got back on her feet and attempted to use the Staff of One to stop the spacecraft, but the mental effort required was far too intense for her and she fainted and fell into her father's arms, thus unable to help the Runaways to stop the ship.
It was not until the destruction of the spaceship caused by PRIDE's efforts that Minoru regained consciousness. Still feeling disoriented, Minoru remembered who the Runaways were facing: the very person who had murdered her sister. With memories of both the discovery of her sister's body and the reveal that Dean had made to her the day earlier, Minoru summoned back the Staff of One, which she imbued with Anti-Gibborim Serum. She then ran towards Jonah, who was on the verge of attacking PRIDE, and violently stabbed him from behind, much to both the Runaways' and PRIDE's astonishment while Dean screamed in horror.
Minoru's actions, which subsequently ended the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site, left her shaken as she saw Dean tearfully leaning over her seemingly deceased father. She was approached by her parents, who asked her whether she felt all right, but Minoru did not answer and simply cast a spell which caused all the PRIDE members to fall asleep, thus enabling the Runaways to leave the dig site.
Back at the Hostel, Minoru joined the group to sort of celebrate their victory over Jonah, although she suffered from severe headache. Minoru, who struggled to define whether what had happened on the site was good or bad, then went to see Dean in their bedroom. She thus had to face Dean's resentment, as her girlfriend blamed her for having chosen to kill Jonah instead of simply incapacitating him, thus depriving her of a source of knowledge regarding her powers.[18]
Fighting the Strike Team[]
"You're not weak. You're the strongest person I know. You're the reason why we've made it this far, Nico. I believe in you."
In the same morning following the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site, Minoru went into Gert Yorkes's bedroom to use her mirror, and learned that Yorkes planned on studying in college. As they discussed the recent events with Molly Hernandez, Minoru stated that all the Runaways had to follow Yorkes' example and to move on to whatever they wanted for their future. Minoru then joined the rest of the group for breakfast, which was tense due to Karolina Dean openly stating that what had happened on the PRIDE Construction Site was wrong. Minoru then listened as Alex Wilder suggested that each one of them should take a day off for themselves and do whatever they wanted to do.
However, tranquillity did not last. Minoru was soon called by Wilder, along with the rest of the Runaways, as they needed to discuss the recent attack on his girlfriend Livvie. Minoru listened as Wilder detailed his suspicions that his father had murderedDarius Davis at the Gordon Hotel, and joined the group as they intended to infiltrate the place and hack into the video surveillance system. Minoru accompanied the group into the hotel's penthouse, but quickly decided to leave as she was of no great use while Wilder hacked the systems.
Minoru and Hernandez wandered around the hotel's service corridors, and for the first time, Minoru voiced her concerns about the Staff of One, claiming that she should not be granted such a power. As Hernandez reassured her and stated that they could use their powers to help people, they overheard staff members discussing and quickly figured out that they had been spotted and could get arrested.
Thus, Minoru and Hernandez quickly returned into the penthouse to alert the rest of the group, who had not received their texts. Despite encountering more of the staff in the elevators, Minoru and the teenagers were able to escape, except for Hernandez, who was captured by the LAPD's corrupt strike team.[19] Minoru and the group managed to locate the Black Box where Hernandez had been taken, and successfully took her back. While they drove back to the Hostel, Minoru opposed to Wilder's suggestion to bring Livvie back to their hideout, calling it too risky, but was not followed by the rest of the group.
Minoru immobilizes the strike team
In the next day, Minoru joined the group as they planned on eating at the Simply Blossom. Once at the restaurant, however, Minoru and the Runaways figured out that Wilder had actually brought them for an encounter with AWOL, a member of the strike team, as he wanted to strike a deal with him to take down PRIDE. However, AWOL refused to listen and drew his gun, forcing the Runaways to kneel and claiming that he could kill all of them. Before he could carry on his threat, however, Minoru used the Staff of One to incapacitate him and his teammates.
Upon leaving the restaurant, Minoru insisted that Wilder should find another way to have PRIDE arrested. However, in the next morning, they were alerted by Livvie that Wilder had met with AWOL behind their backs. Minoru strongly criticized Wilder for this, deeming his plans almost delusional. She also blamed him for not being aware that Old Lace had been sick for some time. However, Minoru was shaken when Wilder recalled she had killed someone, claiming it to be far worse than what he was trying to do and calling his teammates hypocrites.
Later, as she was reading, Minoru heard Dean looking for something, claiming that she had heard a voice. Since this was the first true conversation that Minoru and Dean were able to have, they began to slowly reconcile with each other. Minoru then joined Chase Stein's and Hernandez's effort to look after Old Lace, but situation went even worse as the dinosaur's illness seemingly affected Yorkes as well, leaving Minoru and the group distressed when Old Lace and Yorkes suddenly lost consciousness.[20]
Minoru suggests using a Wiccan charm to try to heal Gert Yorkes
Minoru went with Wilder to find some medicine for Yorkes and Old Lace, but they could not find anything really helpful, prompting Minoru to craft a Wiccan charm bag to heal them. She also suggested that the Runaways could try and get some help outside, but they did not know who they could seek out. Moreover, another problem arose: a fleet of SUVs arrived near the Hostel, as Livvie had been forced by AWOL to disclose the location of the Runaways' hideout. Before they arrived, Minoru cast a camouflage spell, causing the Hostel to be invisible to the strike team.
Minoru casts a camouflage spell
However, Minoru had to remain focused on the spell to keep it active. Therefore, she struggled to maintain the camouflage while her teammates negotiated with AWOL, who wanted the footage proving his involvement in the Attack on Livvie to be brought to him by Minoru. Minoru forbade Wilder to leave the Hostel and face AWOL on his own, fearing for his life, but also insisted that the other Runaways should trust Wilder when it came to devise a plan to resist the ongoing Siege of the Hostel.
Minoru struggles to keep the spell active
Minoru eventually lifted the camouflage so that Wilder could confront AWOL and lure him into a trap. Once AWOL abseiled into the mansion, Minoru activated another spell, which sealed the Hostel into a fortress, causing AWOL's rope to be cut so that he could be held hostage by the Runaways. However, her efforts to keep the spell active cost her a lot, with the strike team ramming the door and AWOL trying to persuade her that she was too weak to do her job. Moreover, Minoru confessed to Hernandez that she felt as the Staff of One was controlling her.
Minoru was ultimately allowed to end her spell, as the other Runaways had set up a barricade and intended to let the strike team in, counting on Minoru to use a final spell to disable their weapons. However, Minoru was exhausted from her previous actions and fainted, forcing Wilder and Dean to try and carry her to safety. Chased by the strike team, they were eventually cornered into a room by AWOL and his teammates. As all seemed lost, Minoru unconsciously channeled energy from the Dark Dimension, with the power surge causing her to regain consciousness and to use a powerful spell which caused AWOL and his whole team to suddenly vanish.[21]
Minoru was left exhausted and traumatized by her extensive use of the Staff of One, to the point that she spent a lot of time in bed, refusing to see anyone, even her girlfriend Karolina Dean. Taking advantage of her teammates' absence, who had left the Hostel in a rescue mission, Minoru blew a hole in a wall and then performed a Wiccan ritual to proclaim that she would cut her link to the Staff of One, recalling that she had both suffered and made others suffer because of it, especially when she had murderedJonah.
Upon hearing her teammates returning from their successful mission, Minoru joined them and seconded Alex Wilder's idea that the Runaways should hold a party for Molly Hernandez's fifteenth birthday. Therefore, she and the group went to a market to shop for the upcoming event, with Minoru, Gert Yorkes and Karolina Dean helping Hernandez to chose her dress and shoes, while also buying some for themselves. They then discussed about Hernandez's choice regarding her chambelan, prompting Minoru to mention that she was a capable dancer, although Hernandez eventually chose Stein.
Back at the Hostel, Minoru helped Hernandez with her hair and makeup before the party began. Along with her friends, she intensely enjoyed the party, dancing and applauding them, sharing the genuine joy they were able to experience after the ordeals they had overcome. However, the party did not end well. Indeed, the Runaways were informed that Stein actually planned on leaving the team in the same night to return home. Minoru listened in silence Stein's explanations and attended his departure, which left her and all the Runaways extremely sad and shocked.[22]
In the next day, Minoru called for a group meeting, during which she openly voiced her concern that Stein could, either willingly or forcefully, disclose the location of the Hostel to PRIDE, although her teammates remained confident that Stein would never betray them like that. The Runaways were then informed of a more pressing issue: Dean's mother had been imprisoned in the Crater, and Dean wanted to set her free. Minoru insisted that everybody had to agree on that, and since Wilder refused to go in such a rescue mission, Minoru declared that the Runaways would not proceed.
However, Minoru had second thoughts and eventually chose not to let Dean go and rescue her mother with only Vaughn Kaye in support. Successfully channeling energy from the Dark Dimension by her own will, Minoru reclaimed the Staff of One from its hiding place despite her fear of the artifact and told Dean that she would join her. Their conversation was overheard by Hernandez, who decided to come with them as well. The three girls thus left to pick up Kaye in their car. As they drove to the Crater, Minoru initially rejected Kaye's suggestion that she should remove her makeup as to not draw attention, but eventually complied on Dean's insistence.
Arriving near the Crater wearing Church of Gibborim's usual clothes, Minoru and her teammates stayed near the fence of the compound to discuss their plan. Minoru agreed to let Dean enter the Crater with Kaye so she could try to convince her adoptive father Frank to release her mother, while Minoru and Hernandez waited outside. As they waited following Kaye's return and Hernandez got worried, Minoru insisted that Dean had not sent any distress signal and that they should wait further. As Hernandez mentioned Minoru's fear of the Staff, Minoru agreed to get closer, but still remained adamant that they had to wait a little longer.
As the night had fallen, Minoru saw Dean approaching the entrance of the compound with her mother. However, as they were stopped by a crowd of Church of Gibborim devouts, she and Hernandez decided to step in, leaving Kaye behind as he fainted due to the reveal of the Staff of One and Hernandez's glowing eyes. Minoru and Hernandez went to the entrance's fence, ready to intervene, but eventually did not need to since Dean used her powers to make believe she was a prophetic figure of the Church, enabling her and her mother to be allowed to leave. With the mission being a success, Minoru gently slapped Kaye to wake him up and they all left the Crater.
Back at the Hostel, the group faced Wilder's disapproval at the idea of Dean's mother staying in the mansion, but Minoru insisted that she had to, which was seconded by everyone else. Remaining alone with Dean, Minoru confessed that she had feared to use the Staff all along, which is why she had decided to not infiltrate the Crater with her. Minoru admitted that she had grown afraid of her own powers and considered that it made it a terrible leader, but she was comforted by her girlfriend, who recalled that she had been through a similar experience with her own powers and gave Minoru a kiss and a hug, greatly relieving her.[23]
The next day, Nico went into the bedroom she shared with Karolina Dean to find her girlfriend with someone she did not know kneeling before her: Xavin, an extraterrestrial who had escaped from Magistrate's Ship when it was destroyed and considered Dean to be their betrothed. Nico was reluctant to allow both Xavin and Leslie Dean to remain at the Hostel for long. Furthermore, Alex Wilder was called by Chase Stein, who wanted to meet with the Runaways. Like her teammates, Nico refused to see him, but Wilder set up the meeting, nonetheless. Before it happened, Nico refused to let Xavin accompany them, even when Xavin suggested taking up Nico's appearance as backup, which greatly disturbed Nico.
Along with the group, Nico, who had taken the Staff of One with her met with Stein in the woods. She listened to him as he explained that PRIDE had created weapons specifically designed against the Runaways to force them to come home, and that they intended to use the Synnergy Serum to wipe out their memories if necessary. Still, Nico remained mostly unimpressed by the threat and expressed her disgust that Stein sided with their parents, and was not interested when Stein told them that the Runaways could take the reins of PRIDE. The meeting was thus ended as no agreement could be reached.
Minoru is unable to cast a spell
As the Runaways prepared to return to the Hostel, they heard a strange noise, which turned out to come out of a flock of PRIDE Drones attacking them by firing tranquilizing darts. Nico and the group hid behind trees and prepared to retaliate, but Nico realized that she could not speak any spell as her mind was confused due to the Subsonic Wave Generators equipped on the drones. Since the drones were apparently invulnerable to Karolina's powers and the Fistigons as well, the Runaways were forced to flee and split up, with Nico taking refuge in a tunnel with Karolina.
Closing a door behind them, Nico and Karolina managed to destroy the drone following them, but they were found by another immediately after. Although the drone was out of ammunition, it still posed a threat to them. Nico refused to be separated from Karolina, but Karolina told her that they would both be fine. Nico accepted that they should split up as well, and awkwardly tried to tell Karolina she loved her, sharing a goodbye kiss with her. Once Karolina left, followed by the drone, Nico restored her ability to speak normally and angrily decided to confront the one who piloted the drones: her mother Tina.
Minoru confronts her parents
Nico headed to the PRIDE Headquarters and called out her mother, who suddenly appeared and once again used a Subsonic Wave Generator on Nico, mocking her inability to speak properly. Although unable to cast any spell, Nico attacked Tina with the Staff of One, but Tina pushed her back, causing Nico to be attacked from behind by her father Robert, who ordered her to peacefully come back home. Nevertheless, Nico managed to get rid of his grip and decided to fight her parents to the end.
Minoru casts a powerful spell
Despite initially holding her own against Tina and Robert, and destroying the generator used by Tina, Nico progressively lost control of the fight. Robert used another generator to keep her unable to use spells with the Staff of One, and Nico was eventually overwhelmed by her parents' proficiency in martial arts. Eventually, a final kick from Tina caused Nico to be knocked out. However, this also caused Dark Dimension energy to flow into her body, with Nico regaining consciousness and casting a powerful spell, which smashed windows in the building and projected the shards on her parents, who were knocked back and fell on the ground.
With her parents defeated, Nico simply walked by them and left the PRIDE Headquarters. She then returned to the Hostel, where she was horrified to learn that only two other Runaways had managed to escape from PRIDE: Wilder and Molly Hernandez. Nico was told by Xavin that Karolina had been captured by Jonah, who was still alive as Nico had only killed his host. This left Minoru heavily distraught as she realized that the Runaways had to fight both PRIDE and Jonah's family with half the group being gone, despite Wilder's attempts to reassure her.[24]
Minoru had a dream in which AWOL appeared to her and stated that he did not blame her for what had happened during the Siege of the Hostel. AWOL then disappeared and turned into a mysterious enchantress, Morgan le Fay, who explained that Karolina Dean was alive and that she was willing to help Minoru to save her. Minoru then woke up and talked about her dream to Leslie Dean, Molly Hernandez and Xavin, although they doubted that it was true evidence of Karolina's status.
Called by Alex Wilder, Minoru then watched a TV newsflash of a PRIDE press conference, during which Minoru realized that her mother, just like Victor Stein and Stacey Yorkes, was possessed by a Gibborim, the Magistrate's Daughter. Minoru and the others were warned by Xavin that there was a fourth extraterrestrial at large, the Magistrate's Son, whose host was still unknown.
Minoru then agreed to team up with Wilder to inspect the Stein Mansion regarding signs of their friends' whereabouts. Before leaving the Hostel though, the group was warned by Xavin that they should be ready to strike a mortal blow against the Gibborim, even if it meant killing their parents. Minoru declared herself ready to do so, and urged Hernandez to show the same determination regarding Yorkes. She then left with Wilder to go to the Stein Mansion.
In front of the house, Minoru had Wilder confirm the presence of the prisoners with the X-Ray Specs. Minoru was determined to enter the mansion and to attack the Gibborim with the Staff of One, but Wilder talked her out of it, stating that they stood no chance against them. Minoru expressed her understanding that Wilder was in an awkward situation due to helping her saving her girlfriend while the two of them had been together in the past. Eventually, she agreed to return to the Hostel to regroup and prepare their plan.
In the Hostel, Minoru saw Wilder hacking into the security systems of the PRIDE Headquarters, revealing the design of the Inhibitor Pods the Runaways needed against the Gibborim. However, it also revealed security footage of Minoru attacking her parents with the Staff of One during the Chase of the Runaways. Seeing the images she did not remember, which proved that Minoru was the cause of her father's injury, deeply troubled her.
Since Wilder had modified the security access to the Stein Mansion, Minoru and Wilder returned to the house. Before infiltrating it, Minoru voiced her suspicion that she might be the host of the Magistrate's son, although Wilder doubted it due to Minoru's strong personality. They then heard the Gibborim leaving the house in a car, and rushed to enter the mansion behind them. Minoru and Wilder thus entered the lab, where they found Karolina, Chase and Janet Stein in tubes which connected them to the Healing Algorithm.
Minoru entered the simulation in which Karolina was trapped, which turned out to be a vision of Minoru and Karolina marrying each other. Minoru found Karolina and they shared a tender moment before being interrupted by Wilder, who had learned from Janet how to end the simulation thanks to the Abstract. Minoru thus promised to Karolina that she would never abandon her and left the simulation. As the Gibborim returned, Minoru and Wilder hid in a closet right before the Magistrate and his daughter arrived in the lab.[25]
Minoru dozed off for a while in the closet, which deactivated the cloaking spell she had cast to prevent the Magistrate from finding her and Wilder. She began hearing le Fay's voice, but was awakened by Wilder, who urged her to reactivate the spell and told her that the Magistrate had not left the room. When Wilder suggested going to fight him, Minoru advised him otherwise, explaining that the was barely keeping control and that she feared the consequences of her unleashing her powers with no restraint.
When the Magistrate finally left, Minoru and Wilder were able to get out of the closet. However, due to the Magistrate having taken the Abstract, they were left with no tangible option to rescue their friends. Minoru thus urged Wilder to find another way to unlock the door, but it turned out that the Magistrate had changed the settings of the Healing Algorithm so that no one could enter it.
Therefore, Minoru and Wilder went to explore the Stein Mansion, hiding themselves from the Gibborim thanks to the Staff of One and overhearing them planning the murder of the Runaways and Xavin. They managed to access Victor's study, where the Magistrate had left the Abstract which Wilder thought he could read. Minoru once again used the Staff of One to conceal their presence while Wilder worked on the Abstract.
However, maintaining the spell caused Minoru to once again have a vision of le Fay in the Dark Dimension, who incited her to let go of the control she thought she had. Still fearing her powers which coursed from the Staff through her body, and with the Magistrate approaching, Minoru disabled the spell and took Wilder to hide in a nearby cupboard. However, she dropped the Staff of One on the floor in the process, which was found by the Magistrate, thus alerting him of their presence in the mansion.
Minoru returned into the lab, where the Magistrate was trying to kill Chase by depriving him of oxygen. She confronted him and attempted to summon the Staff of One back from his grasp, but the Magistrate held it back with a glowing tentacle and destroyed it. Minoru thus went hand-to-hand against the Magistrate, hoping to buy Wilder enough time to use the Abstract to unlock the Healing Algorithm. Minoru was defeated, but saved from the Magistrate by Hernandez, who had arrived with Xavin and Gert Yorkes.
Using Inhibitor Pods against the Magistrate, the Runaways were able to save their teammates. Minoru hugged Karolina upon being reunited with her girlfriend, after which the team left the Stein Mansion to return to the Hostel. Before they departed, Minoru was told by Karolina that she understood why she had attempted to kill the Magistrate during the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site. They then shared a kiss before getting into the car.
Back at the Hostel, Minoru advised her teammates to get some rest after they allowed Chase to stay with them. However, the Runaways were warned by Xavin that they should still be careful because of the Magistrate's Son was still at large, and possibly possessing one of the Runaways. Although the others thought that Xavin suggested that Minoru was controlled by a Gibborim out of pure jealousy, Minoru admitted that she was afraid to be the host due to her strange visions.[26]
Self-Doubt[]
"I knew that it couldn't be you." "Thank you for believing in me. Even when I was an asshole."
Minoru detailed the reasons she thought she was the host of the Magistrate's Son, causing Xavin to declare that they were willing to attack her to protect Karolina Dean. The situation grew tenser with Xavin's warnings that the Magistrate would come and that she still considered Karolina her betrothed. The Runaways attempted to identify the Magistrate's Son's host with the X-Ray Specs, but realized that they were gone, causing suspicion towards Alex Wilder. Eventually, they decided to postpone the search of the Son to the next day, and Minoru and Karolina went in their bedroom, with Xavin stubbornly deciding to stand watch.
Alone in their bedroom, Minoru reassured her girlfriend about her mother Leslie's absence, stating that she was probably just fine in a Church of Gibborim facility or at home. Minoru then asked Karolina to join her in the bed, and commented on Dean's wedding fantasy, claiming that she was not the girl Karolina had seen in her vision. As Karolina explained that she did not need Minoru to be that girl and that she loved Minoru just as she was, Minoru attempted to reply, but Karolina passionately kissed her.
However, the emotion caused by this kiss caused Minoru to begin losing control, and the Staff of One to shake on the nightstand next to them. Afraid by what was happening to her, and although Karolina advised her against it, Minoru decided to leave the Hostel and to get rid of the artifact. On the way out, she was confronted by Xavin, who reiterated their belief that Minoru was the Son's host. However, Minoru angrily dismissed Xavin's accusation and left after claiming that she was the one Dean loved, and not Xavin.
Once outside, Minoru lit a fire, willing to burn down the Staff, but had another vision of Morgan le Fay in the Dark Dimension, where le Fay explained that she was willing to help Minoru master the power of the artifact. When the vision was ended and Minoru found her hand bleeding, she decided to reject le Fay's offer and threw the Staff into the fire, causing the flames to turn blue and purple while dark energy streamed from the Staff. Minoru then returned to the Hostel, where, in the morning, Dean's mother returned with the destroyed X-Ray Specs she had found, confirming that the Son was with them.
Minoru joined her team for a search in the Minoru Mansion in an attempt to find some Inhibitor Pods against the Gibborim so they could test the Son's presence. On her way out of the house, Minoru encountered her father walking with a stick, who asked her about the Staff of One. In return, Minoru asked him about a picture depicting her mother with le Fay, but her father did not know about her. Minoru then left the house, unaware that she had actually interacted with an illusion of his father created by le Fay.
On Gert Yorkes' instructions, the Runaways stopped in a park to conduct their test, which revealed that none of the present members were host to the Son, leaving only two possibilities: Wilder or Leslie. Minoru thanked Karolina for always believing in her and accepted Xavin's apology, admitting that their motive to protect Karolina could not be argued with. Minoru then returned to the Hostel with the group, where they found out that Wilder and Leslie were missing. Chase Stein then revealed that he had planted WizCams in the mansion, and the footage revealed that Wilder actually was the Son's host and had taken Leslie.[27]
Gibborim Final Stand[]
"What the hell was that spell?" "Did you just kill them all?" "No. They're... They're not dead. They're... They're gone."
Minoru discussed the shocking reveal of Alex Wilder being possessed by the Magistrate's Son with the Runaways, listening to Xavin's warnings as to how dangerous the Son was. She was willing to follow Karolina Dean to the Stein Mansion where the Son was supposed to have taken Leslie Dean, but Minoru figured out that this was exactly what the Son expected, and instead incited the Runaways to search the Hostel for clues. During her search, Minoru once again heard the voice of Morgan le Fay, who appeared to Minoru in a mirror. As le Fay told Minoru that she had to control the power of the Staff of One, Minoru insisted that the artifact had been destroyed. However, le Fay retorted that it was not and touched Minoru through the mirror, causing a dark aura to appear on Minoru's chest.
Minoru was then called by the Runaways to watch a KTOZ News report about the death of Wilder's mother. They then received a message indicating that the Son had taken Leslie to Tamar's house. Minoru decided to go with Karolina, Xavin and Molly Hernandez, leaving Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes to craft weapons against the Gibborim. They arrived in time to save Tamar from the Son, who ran away. Minoru and Karolina decided to chase him, and Minoru was given a handgun by Tamar. She managed to catch up with the Son and held him at gunpoint, but could not shoot him due to the threat of the Son possessing her instead of Wilder and hurting Karolina. Thus, Minoru was forced to let the Son go.
Minoru and Karolina returned to Tamar's house, where Leslie had given birth to her second daughter: Elle. This triggered a reaction in the Abstract that had been left behind by the Son, and the Runaways were thus warned by Xavin that the Gibborim planned on leaving Earth through an intergalactic gateway and sending a Scrub Squad to eliminate everyone who knew about the Gibborim. They thus returned to the Hostel and discovered the weapons built by Stein and Yorkes. Minoru explained that they had to be ready to kill their own parents and Wilder to make sure that the Gibborim no longer posed a threat.
Minoru trained with a sword coated with an anti-Gibborim material in preparation for the battle against the Gibborim. Before departing, she had an intense discussion with her girlfriend which ended up in passionate making out. The Runaways then made their way to the Marine Vivarium Desalination Plant where they confronted the Gibborim. Minoru faced the Magistrate's Daughter, who still controlled her mother, and attacked her with her sword. However, the Daughter had retained Minoru's mother's fighting abilities and held her own against Minoru, who was eventually defeated by the Gibborim's powers.
Minoru casts a powerful spell
The Runaways gathered again near the Gibborim's portal, where they found Xavin, who explained that they had been instructed by Leslie to take Elle away and to raise her as their child. Once Xavin escaped through the gateway, the Runaways were attacked by the combined forces of the four Gibborim, who soon overpowered them. Upon facing defeat and death, Minoru once again heard le Fay's voice, who urged her to let her powers burst out to save her friends. This caused the Staff of One to violently emerge from Minoru's body. Minoru then cast an incredibly powerful spell which engulfed the place in a dark energy, causing the Gibborim to simply vanish away.[28]
Along with the other Runaways, Nico returned to the Hostel and went to bed. As they woke up, however, they realized that the mansion seemed to have changed, as it was full of people seemingly enjoying a party. While exploring the Hostel, Nico and the Runaways found Quinton the Great, the original owner of the mansion, causing them to understand that something strange had happened in the aftermath of the Battle at the Marine Vivarium Desalination Plant. As they interrogated Quinton, the Runaways figured out that Alex Wilder, Tina Minoru, Victor Stein and Stacey Yorkes were there as well. They decided to look for them, although Quinton warned them that leaving the safety of the Hostel could be harmful and that they would slowly forget the purpose of their mission.
Although they intended on staying together, the Runaways were quickly separated as they left the Hostel. Nico thus arrived in a park where she was confronted with recreations of members of her family: her grandmother Akari and her aunts Judith and Tokiko. As they questioned her about the Staff of One, Nico explained that the artifact belonged to her now and that it was somehow contained in her own body. This raised the interest of the three women, who seized Nico and prepared to cut her with a knife to retrieve the Staff. However, Nico was saved by a mysterious masked figure who turned out to have the appearance of her own deceased sister, Amy, who defeated the three witches and caused them to vanish.
Unaware that Amy actually was Quinton in disguise, Nico requested her help in finding Tina, believing that her mother could help them leave the strange world they had been sent into because of Nico's spell. Since they needed to access Tina's worst moment of her life, Nico immediately knew where to go: the day she found Amy's body. Thus, Nico and Amy transported themselves to a recreation of the Minoru Mansion: in Amy's bedroom, Nico found a crying Tina struggling to revive Amy with the Staff of One. Since she was unsuccessful, Tina requested Nico's help, but Nico instead struck Amy's body with the fake Staff of One, causing Amy's body to vanish.
Thanks to Nico's action, Tina returned to her senses and explained that they were trapped in a place called the Dark Dimension. They decided to find the others by using a car, which led them to Karolina Dean, who Nico was extremely relieved to find. They then drove further and found Molly Hernandez, who was upset of having discovered that her parents were truly members of PRIDE. They were then joined by Chase Stein, Gert Yorkes, Victor and Stacey Yorkes. Initially, the group planned on finding Wilder, but it turned out that their memories were being deleted, with Nico even forgetting who Wilder was. Therefore, they agreed to leave the Dark Dimension and return later to find Wilder.
The group returned to the Hostel, now devoid of both its guests and Quinton, and Nico apologized to the group for having transported them to the Dark Dimension. They were joined by the recreation of Amy, who explained that she had promised to turn in Nico to Morgan le Fay, but that she could not carry on such an order as she feared what could happen to Nico. Nico then agreed to help her mother in casting a spell which caused a gateway to their homeworld to open. Before departing, Nico bid farewell to Amy, thanking her for her assistance. She then arrived in the Hostel she knew; however, on Chase's notice, Nico realized that the time they had spent in the Dark Dimension was worth six months in the Earthly Plane, during which Wilder had been left behind in the Dark Dimension.[29]
Dangerous Associations[]
"If you go down this path, I can't go with you." "You're not scared for me, you're scared of me. Well I'm done being afraid. I'm gonna face whatever this is, and I'm gonna save Alex."
Nico attempted to return to the Dark Dimension by using the same spell that had sent her and the Runaways the first time, but to no avail as it only caused stuffed birds to appear in the Hostel. Discussing the matter with her teammates, Nico advised them to take a break and get a meal outside so they could figure out what had happened during their six months of absence, while she would keep looking for a way to rescue Alex Wilder. To that end, Nico met with her mother Tina and asked her for help, but Tina was reluctant to put her daughter in harm's way. As Nico mentioned the possibility to seek out Morgan le Fay for assistance, she was warned by Tina not to approach le Fay.
Nico then received a text message from her father Robert inviting her to the Essex Tower Hotel. There, Nico discovered that Robert had been healed by le Fay, and that the two of them had started a relationship. Nico remained extremely distrustful towards le Fay, even threatening her, but le Fay countered by stating that it would not help her achieve anything, especially regarding saving Alex. Instead, Nico reluctantly agreed to have lunch with Robert and le Fay. During the meal, she was invited to a Wizard party held by the company to celebrate the worldwide launch of the CorvusWizPhones.
Nico returned to the Hostel, and inspected the remnants of a Corvus which Chase Stein had unsuccessfully tried to repair, finding a crow feather in it. Nico explained to her teammates that le Fay was present in their world and that she considered asking her for help, although Karolina Dean strongly opposed the idea, prompting Nico to recall that Dean had secretly met with Jonah to control her powers. Using the feather's connection with le Fay, Nico performed a magical ritual which enabled her to open a window to the Dark Dimension, through which the Runaways saw Alex crying for help. However, the ritual was ended by Dean, who feared that Nico would be dragged too far by the Dark Dimension's power.
Along with the other Runaways, Nico decided to go to the Wizard party to speak with le Fay, asking Dean to trust her on this idea. During a speech given by Robert, Nico was astonished to see Tina bursting in and engaging in a verbal jousting with le Fay, who had been appointed the new CEO of Wizard. As Tina was abruptly taken outside after slapping le Fay, Nico was instructed by her mother not to let le Fay get close to the Staff of One. As the party continued, Nico encountered Geoffrey Wilder, who asked her about Alex's whereabouts. Without mentioning the Dark Dimension, Nico explained that Alex was not with the rest of the group, but promised that she would do everything in her power to bring him back.
Nico kept waiting for an opportunity to speak with le Fay. She was approached by Dean, who once again voiced her concern regarding asking le Fay for help. However, Nico dismissed her girlfriend's concerns, and when Dean explained that she feared for Nico after encountering a monstrous version of her in the Dark Dimension, Nico corrected that Dean actually was afraid of her. Later, Nico was able to approach le Fay, and took part in an initiation ritual which officially made Nico a member of le Fay's Morgan le Fay's Coven.[30]
In the following morning, Nico awakened in the middle of the group of witches, being congratulated by Bronwyn for what had happened in the night, although Nico did not remember it well. She was then asked by Robert to come with him so she could talk with le Fay. On the way, Nico realized how much Robert had fallen under le Fay's influence, and also learned that her mother had been sent to the Veritas Gardens Psychiatric Hospital psychiatric hospital. Nico then met with le Fay, who accepted to help Nico rescue Alex from the Dark Dimension as long as Nico brought the Staff of One, so that they could use its power.
Nico accepted the deal and returned to the Hostel to gather her stuff. She was confronted by Dean, who once again explained that she was scared for Nico and that she did not want to lose her to the darkness. Despite remaining convinced that she had no other choice than working with le Fay, Nico decided to explore the alternative choice provided by Dean: seeking out Tina for help. Nico thus went to Veritas Gardens and managed to trick Nicole, a witch who worked there as a nurse, into letting her be alone with her mother. Once Tina regained consciousness, Nico and her mother were able to leave the hospital by knocking Nicole unconscious.
Nico and Tina returned to the Essex Tower Hotel, where they planned on stealing the Darkhold from le Fay to find the spell required to return to the Dark Dimension. Although they initially planned on sending Nico there, Tina eventually chose to do it to keep Nico out of harm's way. Nico thus waited until her mother returned, albeit without the Darkhold, and explained that she had managed to free Robert from le Fay's influence and had tasked him with retrieving the grimoire. However, Nico feared for her father and went to see le Fay to distract her and give Robert enough time to find the book.
Nico told le Fay that she would not bring the Staff of One to her before le Fay could show her a sign of Alex. Therefore, Nico was brought to le Fay's office, where le Fay used a mirror to open a window to the Dark Dimension, allowing Nico to see Alex being brutalized by someone. This greatly upset Nico, who told le Fay that she would retrieve the Staff of One and bring it to le Fay. However, while they were on their way out, Nico noticed that le Fay brutally seemed troubled: indeed, le Fay had sensed that Robert had found the Darkhold. Le Fay immediately figured out that Nico was involved in the theft and teleported away, leaving Nico horrified as she knew Robert was in danger.
Nico was unable to save Robert from le Fay, and found him dying after le Fay had withdrawn the life energy she had given him. In Robert's final moments, Nico was given her father's WizGlasses, and Robert told her that she should "see the world as he did." Heartbroken after her father passed away, Nico returned to the Hostel, and found out that all the Runaways were missing. However, a glimpse of hope appeared as Nico realized that Robert had recorded the content of the Darkhold on his WizGlasses. Using the footage, Nico cast a spell with the Staff of One, which soon caused the stairs of the Hostel to be engulfed in dark energy from which two young people emerged: Cloak and Dagger.[31]
"I'm sorry I did not fully discuss my plan and open it for debate. I just... I really wanted you to be here with me because I know you were right. I can't do this alone."
Minoru initially mistook Cloak and Dagger for minions of Morgan le Fay, but eventually realized that they had nothing to do with the enchantress. She explained that she wanted to return into the Dark Dimension to rescue Alex Wilder, and although Cloak and Dagger doubted that she could achieve it, they agreed to help her. Before that, however, Minoru was contacted by Janet Stein, whose consciousness had survived in the Healing Algorithm, and who explained that the other Runaways were being detained at Wizard Headquarters. Therefore, using Cloak's powers, Minoru, Cloak and Dagger teleported to the location, arriving in time to confront the Morgan le Fay's Coven, who had enthralled Geoffrey Wilder.
Minoru reactivated Karolina Dean's powers, tied up three of Cassandra's men and instructed Cloak to take the PRIDE members who had been captured along with the Runaways to safety. Once Dagger incapacitated Geoffrey and Cloak returned, the group was able to escape before Cassandra and Bronwyn could attack them. As a result, the whole group was teleported into the Dark Dimension, once again arriving in the recreation of the Hostel. Since Quinton the Great appeared to be absent, Minoru decided they should go without his guidance. Contrary to their first journey, the group remained together once they left the Hostel, and located the prison where Alex was being held.
On the way, Minoru was reminded by Dean of her decision to leave the group behind her and seeking le Fay's assistance, which proved to be incredibly damaging for the team. Minoru apologized to her girlfriend, and the two reconciled. They were then chased by a car full of soldiers, who turned out to be led by their old enemy, AWOL. Minoru prepared to attack them, but a wall soon formed between the Runaways and their enemies, which turned out to have been created by Quinton. Minoru and her friends were then told by the magician to follow him away from AWOL's grasp through another door. Quinton also explained that le Fay needed the Staff of One to merge the Dark Dimension and the Earthly Plane.
Despite the danger, Minoru and her friends were able to convince Quinton to lead them to the prison where Alex was imprisoned. Immediately after they entered, however, they heard Quinton screaming, indicating that he had been caught and killed by AWOL and his soldiers. On Minoru's instructions, they kept exploring the prison, but soon lost Chase Stein, Gert Yorkes and Cloak as they teleported away after being attacked by a recreation of Molly Hernandez. Minoru then argued with Dagger about what to do next, and as tension escalated, Minoru had her hand grabbed by Dagger, thus enabling her to see her hope of marrying Dean. Minoru was extremely upset by this, but this also caused Dagger to agree to follow her instead of looking for Cloak.
Arriving to the upper floor of the tower, Minoru spotted Stein and Yorkes in the other tower of the prison, being confronted with several soldiers. She thus gathered Dean and Dagger before using the power of the Staff of One to cross the gap between the two towers, thus bursting in to join her friends. However, a zombified Quinton then arrived, and although Minoru was able to take down the soldiers, she was swiftly disarmed by Quinton. Minoru attempted to fight him, but she was overpowered, leading Quinton to take Dean hostage. In response, Minoru had Dagger toss her a Lightforce dagger, which combined with Minoru's dark energy to form a solid weapon Minoru used to stab Quinton, causing him to vanish.
As they wondered how they could escape, the door of the room mysteriously opened, and the group eventually found Alex, who explained that he was in the middle of his own escape attempt. Since everyone was reunited, the group teleported away thanks to Cloak's power and returned into their own world. However, Dagger explained that she did not trust Alex due to his hopes she had seen when touching him, and that he should be sent back, but Minoru refused, claiming that they could not take such a risk. Later, Minoru was approached by Dagger, and thanked her for the assistance the New Orleans teenagers had brought. Minoru then promised that the Runaways would come to Cloak's and Dagger's help should they need it.[32]
Once Cloak and Dagger left, the Runaways realized that Molly Hernandez was still not with them. As they discussed a plan to find her, Nico was precisely called by Hernandez, who explained that she would return to the Hostel in the night. While waiting, Nico talked with Karolina Dean about her plan to take down Morgan le Fay with the dagger she had created from Dagger's Lightforce. Despite Dean not really agreeing, Nico was supported by Alex Wilder, who insisted that they had to fight back against le Fay. Remaining alone with Wilder, Nico apologized for having taken time to get him back and hugged him in comfort.
As the threat of le Fay grew stronger, Nico was surprised when Hernandez finally arrived accompanied with the remaining members of PRIDE, who had just saved her from the Morgan le Fay's Coven who had enthralled her. As Nico's mother Tina explained that le Fay had enacted the final phase of her plan to merge the Dark Dimension with the Earth, Nico joined a meeting to discuss their plan to counter the witch. During this meeting, Nico explained that they had to strike le Fay with her dagger to kill her, which meant finding a way to contain her magic for them to get close to her.
Nico went to see Tina who prepared to imbue some salt with her blood to create a magical barrier against le Fay, and was shocked to learn that Tina had chosen to sacrifice some years of her lifespan to make it stronger. They then talked about Robert Minoru, and Nico revealed that he had recorded footage of the Darkhold on his WizGlasses, which Nico gave to Tina. They then realized that le Fay's army was trying to infiltrate into the Hostel through the mirrors, prompting Tina to tell Nico about how she had known le Fay when she was studying magic, and how she came to be in possession of the Staff of One.
Minoru is approached by her future self
While her mother used a spell to block the arrival of le Fay's soldiers, Nico warned Wilder that she felt that le Fay would soon come as well to the Hostel, and insisted that they had to stick together to defeat her.[33] Nico also went to see Dean and expressed her gratitude for not having let her down even though Nico had not always taken her girlfriend into consideration, prompting the two girls to share a kiss. Nico then went to her bedroom, where she was shocked to be approached by a future version of herself, who explained that Nico did not need to choose between her powers and Dean and urged her to stay with Dean instead of parting ways. The encounter was then erased from Nico's memories.[34]
Nico then waited for le Fay to arrive inside the Hostel, and when she did, she immediately threw her dagger at her, stabbing her in the stomach. However, it turned out that the weapon was not efficient against le Fay, who simply absorbed her into her own body. As they were ordered by le Fay to join her and submit, all the Runaways, except Nico, claimed that they would, while Nico rejected the offer, explaining that le Fay could not force people to follow her. As le Fay retorted that she had done so with the CorvusWizPhones, the Disruptor was activated by Janet Stein, taking down the phones to limit le Fay's powers, enabling Nico to reveal that none of the Runaways had actually considered joining le Fay.
Despite being severely weakened, le Fay still had the potential to fight the Runaways on her own. Nico used the Staff of One to block her attack, enabling the Runaways to take cover, but even then was Nico struggling against le Fay's dark magic. Nico was assisted by Dean, who projected her own light beams to counter le Fay, thus allowing Nico to resist a little longer. However, in the end, both Nico and Dean were overpowered by le Fay, and Nico fell unconscious on the ground, with energy from the Dark Dimension coarsing through her body.[33]
Eventually though, the Runaways were victorious thanks to the intervention of their future counterparts, who managed to contain le Fay and enabled Tina to banish her back to the Dark Dimension. Nico thus regained consciousness, only to find out that Chase Stein had seemingly been killed by the enchantress. However, it turned out that Stein was well alive: it was actually the future version of Stein that had been killed, while the version Nico had known had survived the battle. Nico then watched as the future Stein, as well as what seemed to be a future Wilder, faded away. Nico then joined her teammates into a celebration of their victory, leaving the Hostel to get some breakfast together.[34]
Personality[]
"How can I lead this group if I'm afraid to use my powers? After the strike team, I... I don't even know what I did." "Have you thought that maybe your darkness is you? Your power? Like how my light is for me? I was afraid to embrace my powers, to be different. To be a freak. But, my true light, it comes from being both human and alien. I'm something new. Maybe you're finding your real power too."
Nico's personality was mostly influenced by a tragic and defining moment in her teenage years: the death of her older sister Amy. Nico was deeply traumatized by this event, even more due to the fact that she was the first one to find Amy's body. Losing her sister deeply affected her and her relationships; from this point, Nico began to isolate herself from both her family and her friends; she changed her physical appearance for a darker look and embraced Wiccan beliefs. Although Nico did her best to hide her sorrow from her former friends, she felt incredibly lonely. She even apologized to the future Runaways for not being Amy as she felt that they would have preferred her to be more like her sister.
Joining the Runaways enabled Nico to open up to her friends. Although she retained her dark clothes and makeup and her stern behavior, she was able to show a warmer side, although the ghost of Amy's death still had an influence in her life. She started a relationship with her friend Alex Wilder, which ended when she discovered that he knew something about the background of Amy's death. She then grew closer to Karolina Dean, who had long been attracted to her, and realized that she also had feelings for her. This relationship brought a significant stability in Nico's life, especially when Dean reassured Nico regarding her fear of the Staff of One, although it was also strained for a moment because of Nico (seemingly) killing Jonah, Dean's biological father, in revenge for Amy's murder.
Nico's usually calm and serious attitude made her a natural leader of the Runaways after Wilder. The teenagers often counted on her ability to lead the team in Wilder's absence or when they felt that Wilder could not be trusted. However, Nico herself recognized that she was not a perfect leader and that she might not be capable of taking this role. Indeed, Nico knew the dangers which came with power, as she sometimes experienced loss of control when using the Staff of One.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
"You are the only other person in the world that staff will work for. Other than me."
Magic: Minoru is a powerful and skilled sorceress with the Staff of One and has mastered many spells with it.
Staff of One Capabilities: Minoru, along with her mother, could activate the Staff of One, a powerful weapon that allows the user to do almost anything by psychic means.
Elemental Manipulation: Wielding the Staff of One, Minoru has the power to control and manipulate the elements.
Air Manipulation: Minoru can use the staff to manipulate the air around her to her desire, utilizing it for various tasks such as enabling her to fly or use it to knock back her opponents.
Flight: While at the bottom of the hole, Minoru utilized the power of air and used it to carry her to the top where she confronted Jonah.
Weather Manipulation: While holding the Staff of One, Minoru unwillingly made it snow inside her mother's home office when she reminisced on one of her deceased sister's paper snowflakes.
Earth Manipulation: By saying "Fill the hole," Minoru caused sand to swarm around a hole dug up by PRIDE. However, her mother cancelled the command before it could be completed by summoning the staff back to her hand. Minoru was also able to create a wall of stone from the road that stopped Geoffrey Wilder's car from chasing them.
Fire Manipulation: While training with the other Runaways, Chase Stein's Fistigons created a fire which Minoru handled by extinguishing it with the staff.
Sound Manipulation: By concentrating on what came to her mind first she was able to make her mother mute.
Electricity Manipulation: Minoru commanded her staff to create a spark in order to hotwire the engine on the Rolls.
Technology Manipulation: Minoru was able to use the Staff to turn and tune a radio in her room in the Hostel.
Sensory Tracking: When Alex Wilder was kidnapped and Nico tried to find him, she asked the staff to lead the way to him which it fulfilled by creating a series of lights that followed the heat signature of his kidnappers' car.
Force-Field Generation: During the Runaways' confrontation with Darius Davis, Minoru created an invisible barrier using the Staff of One that slowed down the hail of bullets he unleashed causing them to lose kinetic energy and drop in midair. She also created a sound barrier around Tina to prevent her from being heard. She was also able to create an energy shield to protect her from Chase Stein's Fistigons blasts, and create a cone that stopped Vasquez from hearing her conversation with the rest of the runaways. Minoru also used the staff to camouflage the hideout as well as turn the building into a fortress which sealed the building with steel doors preventing anyone from entering or exiting. This however was only in affect while Minoru was concentrating on the spell, which caused her discomfort after extended periods.
Telekinesis: Minoru was able to create a blast of telekinetic energy that sent Vasquez flying several feet backwards, she was also able to create a giant shockwave that destroyed most of a PRIDE office, sent her parents flying backwards, and fatally injured her father.
Sleep Inducement: Minoru was able to put all of the Runawaysâ parents instantly to sleep.
Body Immobilization: Minoru was able to temporarily immobilize AWOL and his team, leaving them conscious yet incapacitated.
Dark Dimension Magic: Minoru was able to draw power from another dimension. When she does this, the skin around her eyes darkens, similar to the Zealots because they draw power from the same place.
Levitation: While in her darkened state, Minoru was able to levitate herself off of the ground and back on her feet again.
Teleportation: By chanting "Get Out!", Nico teleported AWOL and his team to the Dark Dimension. By chanting "Tenebrae!" Nico was able to teleport the Magistrate's family elsewhere by releasing a black mist, during their fight.
Weapon Calling: Like her mother, Minoru was able to summon the staff to her current whereabouts. The staff didn't have to be activated for her to achieve this. When the staff was broken, Nico was able to recreate the staff by pulling it out of her body after it was summoned once she cut herself.
Shockwave Generation: By yelling "Smash!" Minoru was able to create a powerful shock wave destroying the room around her and severely injuring her father.
Abilities[]
Martial Artist: Minoru knows karate.[31] She was able to square off against both her parents simultaneously.
Acrobat: While battling her parents, Minoru performed flips and other feats of agility.
Bilingualism: Minoru is fluent in English and Japanese.
A powerful weapon used by Tina Minoru, but was later stolen by Nico.
Wooden Staff: During the Infiltration into the Minoru Mansion, Nico wielded a wooden fighting staff in order to fight her mother Tina. Despite Nico's skills, the staff was eventually incinerated by Tina using the Staff of One.
Beretta 92FS Inox: Tamar gave this handgun to Minoru in order to chase the Magistrate's Son, possessing Alex Wilder. Minoru was able to catch him and pointed the gun at him, but she hesitated as he told her that if Wilder's body died, he would simply jump into her body and kill Karolina Dean, letting her imagine Dean's face as she was killed by her.
Dagger: By imbuing a Lightforce dagger created by Tandy Bowen with her magic, Minoru came into possession of this very exotic weapon which proved itself quite formidable in the Dark Dimension. Minoru later attempted to use the dagger on Morgan le Fay during the Battle at the Hostel, only to see it absorbed by the enchantress.
Facilities[]
Minoru Mansion: Minoru lived in this wealthy residence with her parents and sister. The house was managed by artificial intelligence named Wizey which she would often use. Minoru gave up on this house when running away from her parents, but briefly returned to reclaim the Staff of One from her mother.
Atlas Academy: Minoru attended classes in this highly ranked school with her friends, also she began isolating herself from them after the death of her sister. She left the school when fleeing from PRIDE, although she briefly returned when the Runawaysattempted to steal a computer from it.
Timely Coffee: Minoru often met with the other Runaways at the Timely Coffee, where they would discuss their plans to take down PRIDE.
Hostel: While living on the run from PRIDE, Minoru took residence in the abandoned underground mansion known as the Hostel. She initially shared a room with her girlfriend Karolina Dean, but they briefly slept in separate rooms after an argument before returning together again. Minoru also momentarily hid the Staff of One in a wall of the Hostel due to being afraid of its power, but she reclaimed it later.
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