Previously on Marvel's Runaways...
This means our kids are still running.
It's a 24 hour surveillance center.
Wizard's state-of-the-art facial recognition software.
We're in charge of getting our kids back now.
- We need more money. - This time you gotta earn it.
And put tape and shit around the windows, man.
I'm Livvie. Nice to meet you.
What'd you say your name was?
Choke.
She's dead.
Who's gonna get justice for Graciela?
I don't want any more innocent people getting hurt...
and I can do something about it.
They're our parents.
How could they be such monsters?
We're not them.
We can fix the world that they broke.
- Aah! - Karolina!
Guys! I found something.
If I'm gonna heal myself, I need another box.
Who could possibly help us?
My wife.
Nothing's more important than learning about who and what you are.
- What's happening? - It's starting.
What is this?
Earthquake!
Over here. Doorway...
Aah!
Molly! Under here!
- Gert! - Molly! No!
Holy crap.
Did you guys see that?
We're safe. We survived.
This place held, though.
For now.
Wait, guys... where's Karolina?
You said something was starting.
What?
A journey... to a miraculous future.
That doesn't answer my question.
The answer is, you'll be meeting your family very soon.
My family? No, I... I already have a family.
- A mom... - They're my family.
And since you are, too...
Of course, you can't truly know who you are
until you know what you are
by mastering your power.
Give me your bracelet. It's only holding you back now.
No. This is the thing that turns my glow off.
No, no. You're wrong.
You've controlled it before... at the dig site.
- Yeah, but that was just instinct. - Exactly.
You didn't think you needed the bracelet, so you didn't.
You don't need anything outside of yourself to control this power.
It comes from within you. It is you.
Close your eyes.
Find the light.
Yes. Good.
Now, without asking how...
just... turn it off.
- Wait, I don't know how to... - Don't analyze.
I did that?
You did that.
I wanna do it again.
That's my girl.
There's no sign of her upstairs.
Although, pretty sure I saw, like, rat-sized cockroaches back there.
Bite-sized Old Lace snacks.
No. Gross.
Fine. Who am I to judge the dietary habits of a homeless dinosaur?
Guys! Focus. Karolina.
Look. She's not in here injured,
OK, which means she's out there, probably totally fine.
Except it might be worse out there.
We need to partner up, comb the area nearby.
Or maybe we don't need to go anywhere.
Hey. Is everyone OK?
Where were you? We were worried.
Sorry. I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk in the woods.
I really didn't mean to worry anyone.
How bad is it out there?
It's definitely way worse down here.
The rest of the world is still intact.
OK. So this isn't the one that Molly's parents warned us about.
Or it's the pre-shock to that one.
We don't know if we permanently shut down that construction site.
You think they restarted the drill?
That Jonah guy seemed pretty determined.
I'm not sure one cement truck is gonna stop him for long.
Sometimes an earthquake is just an earthquake...
especially here.
And sometimes it's an evil PRIDE plot to frack LA into the ocean.
We have to make sure the dig site's destroyed.
Permanently this time.
We need to power up, which means I need the staff.
You realize your mom has it, right?
I mean, why don't we start off by stealing something easy
like the Elder Scrolls in Skyrim?
Obviously a joke.
Everyone knows how hard those are to steal.
No. Everyone does not know that.
It's risky... going back into the belly of the beast.
- What if you get caught? - Yeah, or worse.
- That's why I'm going with her. - Me, too.
I'm not much good without the Fistigons,
and I can't fix those until I steal some power
and get this place back on the grid.
I'll stay, too.
I need to make sure this place isn't a structural death trap now.
I gotta get to my job.
What?
You never said you had a job. What are you talking about?
- I never said I didn't have a job. - You know what, Wilder?
I'm sick of this secretive shit. What job?
Yeah. He's right. You gotta tell us.
Shocking that you agree with Chase.
Wow. Thanks for that refreshing dose of patriarchal thinking,
'cause I just... I can't have have an opinion of my own?
Oh, boy. Now you've done it.
You know what? I'm leaving.
No, you're not. Not until you tell us where.
What are you gonna, Chase? Beat it out of me?
Oh, don't you think I couldn't.
Everyone, stop!
Alex, you have to tell us.
Our parents lied to us every day of our lives.
If we're gonna be different, we gotta trust each other,
and that means no more secrets.
Otherwise, we're just like them.
Fine. I'm working for Darius.
The guy who kidnapped and almost shot you?
That's a great plan.
Good thing you don't need an IQ test to stay here.
Yeah, 'cause then where would you stay?
Look, you guys asked me to tell you, and I did, so now I'm leaving.
Alex.
At least he told us the truth.
This is the beginning of the end.
Let's not jump to any conclusions.
Uh, sorry. Jumping is the least we can do. How about fleeing?
Gene and Alice predicted earthquakes followed by mass destruction.
- I'm not seeing the mass destruction. - Not yet.
Leslie, has Jonah said anything to you?
No. These days he only has eyes for Frank.
Victor would know how to keep the drill offline.
Have you heard when Jonah's planning on bringing him back?
Or even if he is?
Please. I'm always the last to know anything.
Is this meeting over? I need to go.
What? I'm allowed to have plans.
Well, us, too.
But someone has to stay
to monitor the Wizey surveillance feeds.
In case anyone still wants to find our kids?
Fine. We'll do it.
You see anything, you call me immediately.
Got it?
How's that co-chair thing workin' out?
You brought what I asked?
The plans are all here.
And you're sure it's everything Victor's got?
Believe it or not, I can actually read these specs too.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you.
Everybody knows you met Victor in grad school,
but they forget that you were an excellent student as well.
Your knowledge on gravitational wave theory is quite impressive.
It's been a while since anyone's given me credit
for more than just...
bringing the best gluten-free banana nut muffins to the bake sale.
Well, I know how valuable you are to PRIDE.
How do I know Victor's even still alive?
How are you doing this?
I can't explain to you how I'm using quantum field theory
and sub-cellular biophysical processes
to keep your husband alive.
You just have to trust that I am. OK?
He looks... peaceful.
You have no idea.
I'm glad.
That's kind of surprising, since you're the one who shot him.
Getting a healthy Victor back
is my best chance at getting Chase home.
Ah.
Now, about those plans...
You know...
I'd be the perfect partner to help you build this.
I meant it when I said you were impressive, relatively speaking,
but Victor's already done next generation work on this,
and he and I are...
in communication.
The position's been filled.
Thank you.
You OK?
Yeah, it's just...
it already feels like a lifetime ago.
Cool house. Looks deserted.
Do you want me to rip off the front gate?
No. Nope.
Come around this way.
The surveillance cameras start at the driveway,
but there's a blind spot. We can override Wizey from there.
You want to kill your mom's smart house? How do we do that?
Not we. You.
This controls Wizey's nerve center inside.
You think my powers can somehow shut it off?
Light is energy, right?
Yeah. I've just never tried anything like this before.
Oh, my God, you're doing it!
- I don't know what I'm doing. - Just don't stop.
Breaking news.
This morning, an earthquake with a seismic reading of 5.3
hits Los Angeles. Officials at...
All right. We gotta move, OK?
OK. I'll stand guard out here just in case your mom shows.
Should we grab anything else while we're here?
There's only one thing I want.
Look. There.
- The kids? - White boy breaking into a car.
But it's not Chase.
We're wasting our time.
Agreed. Plus, everybody knows if you don't solve a crime
in the first 48 hours, you probably don't solve it.
- Meaning? - It's time for a new tactic.
We clear the kids in Destiny's murder. Cancel the APB.
Then maybe they come up for air, and we're ready to pounce.
If there's anyone that can manipulate
the legal system to their advantage,
it's you.
Well, now you're just sweet-talkin' me.
I'll sit down with Flores, see what I can do.
I hate that our boy's out there.
Me, too, baby...
...but we're gonna find him.
The hell does she want?
The hell you doin' just showin' up here like this?
You here 'cause you want somethin'?
Uh, sorry. No. I thought I could
help you guys out with your moving.
Yeah? You just thought, "Hey, I guess I'll take the day off
from bein' homeless so I can help Darius move into his new crib."
I mean, when you say it like that,
it sounds like I have an ulterior motive, but...
Oh, that motive right there? Not gonna happen.
What? No, no. I was, um... I was actually wondering
about that old computer that you have in your garage.
Mm-hmm. Why? Is it worth something?
Not really. I just wanted it for parts.
Then knock yourself out. First...
you're gonna help me with these record crates.
Tam's a hoarder with this vinyl shit. It weighs a ton.
Tried to get her a Wizard phone so she could...
Now, D., you know there is no school like old school.
Uh-huh.
I ain't paying you for this.
- This shit is voluntary. - Yeah, yeah. It's fine.
Come in, bruh.
Hey, grab a box first.
That is sick.
You're not gonna believe what I just found.
Is it a fully furnished home with running water and electricity?
- It's a car. - A car that runs?
Uh, not yet.
With everything going on right now, how is some junker...
It's a Rolls.
OK. I don't see how a large, expensive junker is gonna
improve the quality of our lives.
You know what would actually help is if you got the power on,
like you said you would three hours ago.
Can you do that or not?
Yeah. Yeah, um...
the interior electrical system is intact,
so it just needs a little Stein magic to connect to the power grid.
Great. Please go be magical.
Gert.
What's this about?
Is it your meds?
Not everything is a pharmaceutical problem.
If you haven't noticed, our lives have fallen apart,
and our new house...
is challenging, to say the least.
It's... It's messy, and it's... it's confusing and I...
I don't know what belongs to who, or where anything goes...
Are you talking about this house...
or us?
I mean... our relationship.
Yeah. I got what you meant by "us", thanks.
What, um... What do... What do you mean?
The night of the dance,
we thought the world was gonna end,
but the world is still going.
Well, at least for now.
And we've been sharing a sleeping bag...
F-F-For warmth... and...
'cause supplies are limited.
OK. But now we're here...
and yeah, it's not perfect, but...
it's a home.
And it makes sense that you'd be wondering...
where that leaves you and me.
That was shockingly insightful.
Watch out for splinters.
I'm good.
Hey.
We can do this however you want.
So you're saying you do want to do... this?
The two of us are a thing?
That is what I'm saying.
You know, for someone so smart, you're...
You... You...
You weren't wrong about...
the medication.
Just... Just not having them makes everything a lot harder...
like, um, including stuff that...
makes me feel...
nervous or vulnerable.
Like... sex.
Well... who's thinkin' about sex?
I got the house to power up.
Hey.
Maybe I'll come help you.
The staff isn't here.
Change of plans. We need to leave, like, now.
No. She might've hid it in the house. I know where to search.
No. Your parents are already on their way.
- There's still time. - No, there's not.
Welcome home, Nico.
Stay back.
Hurting either of you is the last thing I'd do. Nico!
We've lost so much already.
Please, just come home.
It's too late for that.
It's never too late to be a family.
I'll find a way to make everything OK again, I promise.
Yeah.
You know, when I was a little girl,
hearing you say those words made me feel so safe.
- Now I know they're a lie. - No, they're not...
This family can't be put back together again.
- Nico... - So... emotional good cop didn't work,
and we all know what comes next.
Let's just cut to the chase.
Where is she?
- I know this is what you came for. - And I'm not leaving without it.
Thought I heard voices.
Three against one. I like those odds.
This is between me and my daughter.
I haven't been your daughter for a long time.
Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.
Let's go hard.
Aaah!
Stop this, Nico!
- Nico! - Stay back!
That's for Graciela.
- Aah! - Molly!
Freeze!
- No! - Molly!
I'm coming for you, Molly!
Karolina!
- Tina, no. Don't do this! - Stop! Mom, please!
This is why Amy's dead... The monster you are right now!
You don't know, Nico.
I know... that you love that staff's power
more than you love any of us.
I don't expect you to understand the things I've done...
or the reasons that I have done them,
but do not ever question whether I love you.
Take it. It's not a trick.
You can go. All of you.
But if you do, I want to be clear.
When you leave here, what you said before will be true.
When we see each other again,
we will no longer be mother and daughter.
- Tina. - It's your choice.
Stay and work this out... or leave forever.
Let's go.
How could you, Tina?
I didn't think she would take it.
We know what you did with the staff...
what it did to you.
Wonder what happens with it in the hands of a volatile 16-year-old.
You should hide it.
It might draw unwanted attention out here.
Yeah. We better hurry up.
I'm zonked, guys.
Just need to sit for a second.
Wait. You're not wearing your bracelet.
And you're not glowing.
Yeah, I don't need it anymore. I can power up and down without it.
Wow. That's impressive.
Too bad you didn't show that level of talent just now with my mom.
Wait, are you blaming me for what happened back there?
No. I'm just saying,
you can't turn your back on a threat.
- I did that to save Molly. - But you didn't.
- I got my mom to drop the spell. - Oh, if you're gonna be pissed,
be pissed at your homicidal maniac of a mother.
All I ever did was everything that you asked,
- and I had your back. - OK, I'm just saying,
we all need to do better...
Train harder, learn how to fight as a team...
No, that wasn't what you were saying.
And by the way, it wouldn't make a difference anyway.
We could train for months.
We are not superheroes, OK? We aren't good at this.
I'm sorry I let you down.
Not sure what you want with this.
It's written in code.
Catherine can read it.
She does the prayer before the sacrifices.
Jonah translated that.
She memorized it.
He just likes her to hold the book.
The Abstract is what he calls it.
He translated something for Victor once
when he was designing the box.
It was all about energy conversion.
So you're thinking this is what, some kind of Jonah encyclopedia?
I'm not sure, but... I'm trusting him to save Victor,
and it turns out that... we don't know who Jonah is
or where he's from or even what he is,
and I think that it's time that we all got a lot more curious.
You're still not gonna be able to read it without his help,
which I'm guessing he's not gonna give you.
Let me worry about that.
I think...
that'll do it.
I feel like there's a 50-50 chance
that we're gonna get electrocuted when you flip that switch.
Come on. It's way more like 40-60.
Is that a 40 percent chance we're gonna get electrocuted, or...
It's a hundred percent chance
you're gonna be blown away by my engineering prowess.
"Blown away" feels like a poor choice of words.
Gert, there are things that I'm good at, all right?
Even out here.
Let there... be light.
Whoa!
Oh, shit.
What did you do?
Uh, nothing.
I mean, I think it was the circuit breaker.
Or it could have been the cartridge fuse.
I can fix this... I think.
Man.
Man, it's been a minute since I had hush puppies that good.
Thank you.
Well, that's obvious, lookin' at those scrawny bones of yours.
Have some more spicy chicken.
Nana B's recipe will fatten you up.
Look what it did to Darius.
- Oh! - Hey, now. Watch it.
Try and make it last a little bit longer. OK?
But I didn't earn it.
Down payment for next time. No biggie.
No, no. No, no.
I got it.
- Thank you. - You are welcome, my queen.
Livvie. Thank you.
My feet are swellin' up.
I'm gonna lie down.
You two wanna clear up this food for me?
- Yeah, of course. - Thank you.
- So do you... - Do they...
You go.
I... I was just gonna ask if they even have soul food in Brentwood.
Oh. Uh, no, they don't.
We just have kale, three meals a day.
Sometimes quinoa if we've been really good.
Well, guess you better have another one of these.
Is it good?
- Really good. - Hmm.
You know what?
Come with me.
You know this is a wreck, right?
What's wrong with it?
It's coarse as hell.
You ever try some Shea butter?
Uh, I'm kinda clueless when it comes to this stuff.
OK, well, good thing I'm here.
You have to warm it up first.
OK.
Feels good?
Sure.
You know, you'd be pretty hot with some corn rows.
Think so?
Yeah. Let me do it.
This is kinda my thing. Trust me.
OK. Yeah. Why not?
All right.
And this way, the cops'll have a harder time finding you.
Wait, you know?
You think there's anything those two don't tell me?
Don't worry. I'm not a snitch.
And we don't exactly run in the same circles.
No... I know...
Also, I don't buy the stories they're telling on the news.
They... They say that you're a murderer, a kidnapper...
I... I just don't believe it.
Well, I'm not.
You wouldn't be the first guy I met
who didn't do what the cops said he did.
There's only one way for sure
to know if you're a good guy or a bad guy.
You know how to administer a polygraph test?
No.
Must've traced the blackout.
Oh, this is bad. This is very bad.
We could fight. You've got Old Lace,
I got the Fistigons at half strength...
We are not gonna Fistigon-blast DWP workers.
That'll just make it worse.
OK. Well, then, let's run,
- find another place to crash. - Oh, yeah? Where do we go?
We're gonna find another hidden mansion
that's big enough for all of us and our dinosaur?
No, this place is our last shot at staying together, surviving...
Hey. Way not to go dark.
So then what's the plan? Because they're coming now.
OK, OK. Plan is, I'm gonna go find Old Lace
and make sure she doesn't eat them if they go in there.
After that... I don't know.
All right. Well, I'll create a distraction out here.
Scream if you need help.
If you hear screaming,
it probably won't be me that needs help.
Where are you, Old Lace?
Come on, girl.
Here... dinosaur.
Little chilly tonight.
Someone's been in here.
Ah. Tweakers. Probably trying to steal the power.
Hey. Watch out for used needles on the floor.
For what they pay us, I'm not trying to get rolled by some junkies.
Yeah.
Hmm. Some of this stuff looks pretty new.
Might be actual squatters.
Think we should call it in, get this place cleared out.
All right. Make it somebody else's problem.
Come.
- You hear that? - What?
Growl.
Come.
Go! Go! Go! Go! Go, go, go, go, go, go!
Oh! Ah, great timing, Chase.
What the hell is happening?!
Maybe one of those things set off the alarm.
- One what?! What was it?! - Uh, mountain lion?
What the hell? Like hell it was.
I'm not gonna go back to check!
My distraction worked.
- Well... - And... swiped these off the truck.
We can get the power on.
Let there be light... 2.0.
- We did it. - We did.
Now let's see if that old blender in the kitchen works.
What? Why is that your first thought?
Had a packet of protein powder in my suit jacket.
Hadn't expired yet.
You know, most kids smuggle a flask or a vape into a school dance.
I'm a very committed dancer. It's depleting.
Mmm.
Nectar of the gods.
You want some?
That swamp water? No.
Actually, the water from the tap's a little darker than this.
Our next project.
Let's just... bask in this victory for like ten seconds, OK?
Hey, how'd it go? Did you get the staff back?
'Cause we got the power on, as you can see.
Yep. Great.
Seriously? There's electric heat in some of the rooms,
we got protein shakes, chandeliers lit up,
Fantastic. Now we can all see how bad we look.
Oh, he's not familiar with the concept.
Where's Alex?
- Uh, not back yet. - I'm calling a house meeting.
- Do we wait? - Think we have a quorum.
Power's on. Thanks to Chase and Gert.
That's all I wanted.
We got the Staff of One back.
And the Fistigons?
I'll fix 'em tonight now that we have light.
OK. Everyone find bedrooms.
Get some sleep tonight.
Tomorrow we're gonna figure out how to use our powers together...
as a team.
Yeah.
Radio on.
Tune.
I feel like I'm going crazy.
Everything is so confusing right now.
I don't think I could get through this without you.
I'm sorry.
No, I-I lashed out at you.
I... you were amazing back there,
and I made you feel like you weren't.
I realize now I was just upset because...
she hurt you.
This person who's supposed to love me
and protect me no matter what...
watching her hurt someone that I love...
Nico...
I just felt so powerless in that moment.
I never want to feel that powerless again.
Is this going to be our room?
The decor is very Wiccan.
If you want.
I saw you put some stuff in the one down the hall.
This one's actually a little colder, so...
There must be a draft coming from somewhere.
Well, luckily...
I'm really good at warming you up.
Molly?
Mols, you OK?
I heard what happened with Tina.
I'm sorry.
I'm fine.
Um, I can sleep in there with you tonight...
sing you a lullaby if you want.
No, um... I want to be alone.
Thought you'd be home hours ago.
This may be pointless, but...
it's just something to do.
Never know. We're due for some good news, right?
We are. And I have some.
I spoke to Flores.
He can't clear the kids without giving the D.A.
an alternative theory of the case.
And how is that good news?
- We just have to give him one. - Meaning?
We have to frame someone else for the murder.
I wish there was another way, but there's not.
Are we really gonna hurt another innocent person, Catherine?
I thought we were past that.
I didn't say we had to frame an innocent person.
Those braids are so dope.
- You think so? - Yeah.
I look in the mirror, and I don't see myself.
Hopefully the cops feel the same way.
Maybe this is the real you.
Maybe.
I do know that I want to see you again.
How about tomorrow?
You can lose the attitude.
- I come in peace this time. - I've known you too long,
Darius. You don't know shit about peace.
Just hang up.
Nah. You got it all wrong, man.
People change.
No, they don't. Especially not you.
Look, I'm not interested in more deals.
Hmm. You haven't even heard my offer yet.
And you gonna like this one.
I don't have time for your games, all right?
I need to find my son right now.
Shit, Geoffrey.
Why the hell you think I'm callin'?