Synopsis
Last issue the Runaways turned up at the Avengers Academy and asked for help finding their dinosaur Old Lace who was missing in another dimension because Nico Minoru's Staff Of One told her that Reptil's dino-amulet is linked to where she's gone. Henry Pym combined his portal tech with Humberto Lopez' amulet and some magic from Nico to open a gateway to the right place. Giant-Man and Tigra led the Runaways and the permanent Academy students through to where the Runaways were reunited with Old Lace, who it seems had met up with Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy.
But earlier in the issue GM and Tigra had offered the Runaways a place at the Academy, which they declined. They had then expressed their disquiet about the young Molly Hayes and Klara Prast being unsupervised. At the end of the issue Nico used her Staff to detect that the adults intended to stop the young pair leaving with the rest.
Now Mettle (Ken Mack) tries to dissuade 'Berto from getting close to DD, but Lopez assures him that the dino and Moon-Boy are his friends since he save MB from SHIELD and reunited the pair (in the Av Initiative Featuring Reptil 1-shot). But Devil takes the boy in 1 bite, which also traps Ken's metal hand between his teeth. The huge dinosaur raises his head with Mettle dangling from his jaw until Giant-Man forces the jaws apart to let out Reptil who had instinctively changed into a small trilobite to avoid being chewed up. He now flies out on dino-wings in time to catch a falling Mettle. Moon-Boy scampers to safety and Pym temporarily shrinks Devil. They all work out that *this* DD and MB haven't met Reptil (yet). Hank suggests they all get back home before Devil unshrinks ...
... but Nico zaps him with a spell from her Staff and tells her friends that he and Tigra plan to take Klara and Molly. Greer Nelson can't deny it so the Runaways attack and the Academy folks fight back:- Lightspeed vs Karolina Dean. Reptil vs Old Lace. Mettle vs Chase Stein. Hazmat vs Victor Mancha. Nico's spell makes Striker zap Tigra. Klara tangles Finesse and White Tiger up in tree roots. Molly lifts Giant-Man above her head. Devil Dinosaur thinks these superchars must be gods, but Moon-Boy says they're gods gone mad.
The opponents as usual manage to chat while fighting. Brandon Sharpe asks Nico why she thinks it's a good idea to keep the 2 little girls homeless, but Nico thinks it's better than letting them be recruited into a child army. Karolina reminds Julie Power that she and her siblings (Power Pack) were fighting aliens when her sister Katie was younger than Klara/Molly. Lightspeed responds that they had their parents but Nico points out that the Runaways' parents were supervillains (the Pride), and the Academy don't know anything about how fit they are to raise K&M. Striker and Hazmat are forced to agree, and Finesse says she better off without *her* criminal parents. Julie and Humberto say they want to know more, and 'Berto asks Nico to make them all understand each other's POV with her magic rod. (At this Chase and Ken stifle laughter and Nico is even more convinced of their immaturity.)
She tells them that her staff can provide a spell that won't reveal their thoughts but will allow each side to walk a mile in the other's shoes. Hank Pym's curiosity is piqued, but he suggests they wait until they're safely back in their own dimension. So he restores Devil Dinosaur to his correct size and they leave.
When they're gone DD and Moon-Boy report back to an ancient sorceress of MB's kind. MB says they weren't Gods and she agrees. She knows what a god looks like and we see they have a Celestial on their planet. She also knows that 1 day they will judge this world and find it wanting. Which is why she created the jewel for the Chosen One (Reptil) to find. And why she healed Old Lace in order to draw him here so she could see how he's progressing. 1 day he will be their saviour.
Back in the Avengers Academy Students Lounge Nico casts her Understanding spell. White Tiger sees Victor Mancha seeing his mother killed by Ultron. Tigra sees very young Klara Prast being beaten by her husband. Mettle sees Chase Stein hearing Gert Yorkes declaring her love for him as she dies. Giant-Man sees Molly Hayes enjoying a game of basketball with the other Runaways. Victor Mancha sees Ava Ayala coming home to find her parents killed. Klara Prast sees young Brandon Sharpe being molested by his publicity agent. Nico Minoru sees Greer Nelson when her policeman husband Bill was killed. Chase Stein sees Finesse denying their future relationship that Reptil says he visited. Karolina Dean sees Lightspeed supporting Striker towards coming out about his gayness. Mollie Hayes sees Giant-Man telling Tigra he'll do anything to protect the students. Julie Power sees Karolina confessing her feelings to Nico after she lost her fiance Xavin. Hazmat sees Molly telling Nico they have to look out for each other after they discovered their parents were evil.
Everyone's stunned and console each other. Hank asks Molly if she's *really* happy with the Runaways. She says yes but whispers to him that the students are happy most of the time because of him. Tigra says she's still worried about the young 2, and they're not going to school. Nico immediately gets ready to fight but Henry suggests he could give them a robot to home-school the girls. Molly really likes the idea of her own robot, but Chase suspects it might be designed to spy on them. Victor says he can make sure that's not true. Pym adds a proviso that they bring the girls here once a month so he and Greer can check they're OK. And any of them are welcome anytime.
He then turns to Victor. He says that he feels responsible for all the bad things his creation Ultron has done. But he's glad that Ultron created *him*, and he says he can come live here if he wants. This gets Nico's back up again, and Chase doesn't want to be left the only guy on the team again. Nico reminds Pym that Ultron programmed Victor to kill him. But Victor says thanks but no thanks, he has the 'family' he needs.
The Runaways prepare to leave in their Leapfrog vehicle. Chase apologises to GM for being a pain and thanks him for getting Old Lace back. Julie and Karolina arrange a date. Klara and Molly have a last play with Tigra's baby William. Nico's still wary about the deal they've made. But flushed with success Chase is wondering if the Avengers have a time machine they could use to stop Gert from dying.
Tigra kids Hank about being a grandpa, and she says he now has a grandson as well as a godson in William. Atheist Hank wants another term for that last 1. She's worried about him making himself responsible for every troubled superkid. He's bad at dealing with failure, and he can't save them all. He replies that he's an Avenger so he's got to try.
CharactersGood (or All)Plus: Chase Stein, Hag Of The Pits, Karolina Dean, Klara Prast, Lightspeed (
Julie Power), Molly Hayes, Moon Boy, Nico Minoru (
Sister Grimm), Old Lace, Runaways, Victor Mancha, White Tiger (
Ava Ayala).