"He discovered that there were universes stacked on top of his own..." The subject of this article comes from an alternate universe connecting to the main timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This universe is designated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki as "Time-Traveling Runaways".

The Runaways were a group of young adults reassembled by Nico Minoru after they all pledged to move on with new lives and disbanded their first team in the aftermath of their friend Gert Yorkes' death during the Battle at the Hostel. They notably helped a future incarnation of Chase Stein against a future Alex Wilder who attempted to kill them and later assisted Stein in his endeavor to reverse Yorkes' death.

History[]

Reformation[]

In the aftermath of Gert Yorkes' death at the hands of Morgan le Fay during the Battle at the Hostel, the original Runaways decided that they should try and live normal lives in her honor. As such, they all took different paths: Nico Minoru chose to leave the group to learn how to develop her powers, Alex Wilder founded the successful Wilder Innovators organization, Karolina Dean became a student at UCLA, Chase Stein dedicated his efforts in developing a time machine and Molly Hernandez resumed her course of study at Atlas Academy.

However, upon Minoru's return to Los Angeles, the group was reassembled once again at the Hostel. Indeed, Minoru had been attacked by a future Alex Wilder before receiving help from a future Chase Stein who warned her that this future Wilder was determined to kill all past versions of the Runaways. Therefore, this new incarnation of the Runaways, minus the current Stein who was left working on his time machine, gathered at the Hostel to discuss this new threat. Minoru suggested placing the current Wilder in quarantine, but her idea was rejected by Hernandez as being immoral.

Since the future Wilder could come after their loved ones, the Runaways went to the place where Dean lived with her new girlfriend, Julie, and arrived in time to stop Wilder from hurting her further thanks to a spell cast by Minoru. However, Wilder was able to escape thanks to his own time machine, forcing the future Stein to track him down to another time, on the day before the original Runaways found out about PRIDE's criminal activities.^[1]

Mission at Atlas Academy[]

The Runaways were all given their personal copy of a time machine, enabling them to jump into the past. They arrived at their former school, Atlas Academy, and were instructed by the future Chase Stein to find their past counterparts and watch over them to make sure that the future Alex Wilder did not harm them. Therefore, the Runaways dispatched across the school grounds, closely monitoring their past selves while reliving some embarrassing moments of their teenage years.

Eventually, Alex Wilder and Nico Minoru spotted the future Wilder and chased him, quickly followed by the rest of the Runaways. They saw him getting into a bus, and while the current Wilder was instructed to stay behind to avoid interacting with his future self, the other Runaways followed the future Wilder and found him in the bus. As he took another student hostage, Minoru decided to cast a massive mind-wiping spell to erase memories of the confrontation in the witnesses' mind while capturing the future Wilder.

The Runaways brought the future Wilder to the school's gym, where the current Wilder expressed his disgust regarding what he had become. Nevertheless, Stein insisted that the two Wilders had to stop interacting and sent the current Wilder back into his own time, while the other Runaways discussed Minoru's reason to leave them three years ago, as she felt immensely guilty of not having been able to protect her loved ones, including Gert Yorkes.

Stein then told the Runaways that they would be sent back to their time as well now that Wilder had been captured. However, upon learning that he actually meant to go further into the past and return at the time of the Battle at the Hostel to save Gert Yorkes, the Runaways, especially Molly Hernandez, decided to join him. Although Wilder warned them that altering the timeline to such an extent would cause their current versions to be erased from existence, the Runaways remained confident that they would still remain together if their lives were to be written again.^[1]

Mission at the Hostel[]

Therefore, using the time machines provided by the future Chase Stein, the Runaways transported themselves to the past Hostel, taking the future Alex Wilder with them. However, Wilder slipped through their hands as they discussed their plan, especially regarding who should take Gert Yorkes's place to confront Morgan le Fay. Stein assumed that he would do it, and instructed the Runaways to scatter across the mansion to monitor the battle.

The Runaways thus briefly split up: Nico Minoru and Karolina Dean remained together, hiding from their past selves who they overheard talking about how sorry Nico Minoru was for her past actions and how Karolina Dean still believed in her, while Molly Hernandez remained with Stein. Minoru then quickly left to interact with her past self, despite Stein's warnings, in an attempt to have her not repeat the same mistakes that she had made before.

Once reunited and hidden from everyone else, the Runaways watched as le Fay arrived and engaged in battle against the past Runaways. While the future Stein left to pick up the Fistigons from his past counterpart, Hernandez spotted the future Wilder approaching his past self's desk and went after him. Minoru and Dean then watched as the future Stein confronted le Fay, and attempted to help him by shielding him from her attacks. However, the future Wilder revealed their position to le Fay before being knocked out by Hernandez, causing the enchantress to attack them as well.

Eventually, the three young women watched as Stein was able to have Yorkes' life spared, albeit at the cost of his own life. Realizing that their friend had been saved, they knew that their current versions would be erased as a new life opened to their past selves. Before disappearing, Minoru promised to Dean that she would remain with her this time, and the Runaways then peacefully watched their past counterparts celebrate their victory before slowly vanishing from existence.^[1]

Members[]

Deceased Members[]

Nico Minoru[]

• Name: Nico Minoru
• Activity: 2021
• Description: In the aftermath of Gert Yorkes's death, Minoru decided to leave her friends as she felt guilty of not being powerful enough to protect them, which left them surprised and somewhat upset as she had not told anyone about her departure, not even her girlfriend Karolina Dean. Returning to Los Angelesafter three years of absence, Minoru decided to gather her friends once again in memory of Yorkes', which became even more necessary after she was attacked by a future Alex Wilder. She then actively took part in the chase of this future Wilder, using her magic against him on two separate occasions. She later joined the Runaways in their attempt to revert Yorkes' death, and used this opportunity to interact with her past self so that the errors she had made the first time could be averted.

Alex Wilder[]

• Name: Alex Wilder
• Activity: 2021
• Description: Upon starting a new life, Wilder founded Wilder Innovators, a successful company which became famous in Los Angeles for the quality of its projects, and he also helped Chase Stein develop his time machine thanks to the Abstract. Wilder was surprised when Nico Minoru revealed that a future version of himself was actively trying to kill the Runaways, and took part in the efforts to stop him, expressing utter disgust at the idea of having become a criminal. Although he promised that he would do everything to avoid becoming this person, he was sent back into his own time before the other Runaways in order to avoid to have too many interactions with his alternate counterpart.

Karolina Dean[]

• Name: Karolina Dean
• Activity: 2021
• Description: Heartbroken after her girlfriend Nico Minoru left her without a word, Dean decided to move on and tried to build a new life, becoming a student at UCLA and finding love again with Julie. Despite still resenting Minoru for having left her, Dean answered to her call after she reassembled the Runaways at the Hostel to warn them about the presence of a future Alex Wilder trying to kill them all. She feared for Julie's life as Wilder came after her, and arrived in time with the other Runaways to stop him. She then took part in the chase of Wilder under directions from a future Chase Stein. Expressing confidence that the Runaways' bonds would remain strong even if they changed the timeline, she made Minoru promise to find her in the new lives that resulted from saving Gert Yorkes' life.

Molly Hernandez[]

• Name: Molly Hernandez
• Activity: 2021
• Description: With her days of running away being over, Hernandez returned to study at Atlas Academy, where she became the well-appreciated leader of the dance squad, and lived in the Hostel with Old Lace and Chase Stein. Upon learning that a future Alex Wilder was after them, chased by a future Chase Stein, Hernandez refused that the current Alex Wilder should be put in quarantine, since it was not that version who was evil. Hernandez then learned that Stein wanted to save Gert Yorkes' life by taking her place during the Battle at the Hostel and, since she still missed her adoptive sister dearly, she decided to help him at all cost, even if it meant that she would be erased as long as there would be a version of herself who could have Yorkes by her side.

Chase Stein (2021)[]

• Name: Chase Stein
• Activity: 2021
• Description: In the aftermath of Gert Yorkes' death, Stein was devastated and consumed by grief. He therefore started to distance himself from his former teammates, including Molly Hernandez who lived with him at the Hostel, and worked on the development of a time machine with help from Alex Wilder and the Abstract. Barely interacting with the outside world anymore and exclusively spending his time in his laboratory in the Hostel, Stein did not take part in the reformed Runaways' mission in pursuing a future Alex Wilder.

Chase Stein (2028)[]

• Name: Chase Stein
• Activity: 2021
• Description: Having successfully crafted a time machine, this version of Stein jumped into the past from 2028, arriving in time to help Nico Minoru fight a future Alex Wilder. It was under Stein's advice that Minoru reassembled the Runaways (although she was already considering doing so) at the Hostel, so he could bring them up to speed regarding the situation they were facing. Stein led the Runaways into a mission into the past to capture the future Wilder, giving them instructions to preserve the timeline. He then revealed his true plan to his teammates: jumping further into the past to save Gert Yorkes. Although reluctant to let the Runaways come with him, he was glad to see that they were willing to risk being erased from existence to help him, and thus led them in a final mission to rewrite the Battle at the Hostel, during which he was killed by Morgan le Fay, all the while succeeding in preserving Yorkes' life.

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