Runaways Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Runaways Wiki

Fifteen is the fourth episode of the first season of Runaways and the fourth episode of the series overall.[2]

Synopsis

The parents try to find a solution to PRIDE's problem, and the kids grapple with a new discovery that yields more questions than answers.[3]

Plot

SPOILER ALERT
~Flashback: "Two Years Ago" (Approximately 2015)~

Wizey sounds in Amy's room. If she doesn't wake up and get ready for school, she'll be late. With the alarm ignored, Nico comes into Amy's bedroom only to find her lifeless body, seemingly having committed suicide. Nico yells for her mother, Tina and Robert checks for any signs of life. Nico is distraught and screams for Wizey to call 911. Tina stops her and commands for Wizey to seal the house. Nico rushes off to her room and calls 911 for herself and attempts to have an ambulance dispatched to their home. Tina, however, opens the door to her room and knocks her unconscious with the Staff of One, determined to handle Amy's death herself. As Nico wakes, she overhears her mother and Detective Flores but quickly discovers that her bedroom door has been locked. She hears Detective Flores questioning Tina about any unknown entrances and Tina uses Wizey to scan all the windows and doors. Unable to leave the room, Nico asks Wizey to show her Tina's office. she witnesses Tina giving Flores money to "handle" Amy's apparent suicide.

~Present Day~

Nico sits in her room, going through Amy's diary. Wizey alerts her to an incoming WizTalk group conversation with Gert, Molly, Karolina, Chase, and Alex. Alex alerts her that Destiny Gonzalez's body was found. Collectively, they share their results of their separate investigations but they still question the validity of PRIDE's actions in Destiny's murder. Gert also brings up the point that Destiny's body was found at the beach and not within the strange box that she and Chase found in Victor's lab. Nico's frustrated at the bickering and draws their attention to Amy's diary. She confesses that she believes that Tina kept it hidden from her from not what she was afraid she would find within it's pages but more so what wasn't in it. Amy was happy; not suicidal. Nico is adamant that there is no way Amy did what she did and points out that a girl dies on the same night after the same meeting that Amy died. It's too much for simple coincidence. They are blood, their children. The others are outraged at the thought that their parents could have killed their own child, that strangers are one thing, but not their children. At least to Leslie, Destiny wasn't a stranger and Karolina is sure that Leslie wouldn't have murdered her. Chase points blame at the Wilders, that Geoffrey was once in prison on murder charges. Alex also notes that those charges were dropped, but that doesn't dissuade Chase as the "murder library" is in the Wilder's basement. Chase warns them that they need to protect themselves. Molly pipes up, offering that she can be their muscle, but Gert quickly shuts her down. Chase is sure of at least one thing, they can believe whatever they want, be he's going to make sure that his or the other parents can't hurt him. With that he ends the WizTalk conversation and continues to work on his Fistigons.

Deciding to keep looking for clues, Alex goes heads for his father's office to open the secret passageway leading to the sacrifice room. He finds out, however, the mechanism that once opened the passway no longer works and beings snooping through the desk and, initially, finds nothing of interest. This is until he finds a fake bottom to one of the drawers and finds a gun and cash. He takes the gun and brandishes it in the mirror, looking at himself while holding the gun.

The next morning, Victor finds and kidnaps a Streetwalker, who he has tied up in the back of a cargo van. She pleads for help, but all he does is turn the radio up to ignore her.

While making breakfast at the Yorkes Residence, Dale and Stacey discuss the escape of their creation. Stacey reminds Dale that they always knew that this could happen and why they put a tracking device on her. However, he never turned the device one and does them no good in their present situation. Dale reasons that the tracking device is for "tracking", for when she's on the move and not when she's safely ensconced in her habitat. She would still be in her habitat and blames her escape on Dale, assuming that he had left the door unlocked. Gert however is eavesdropping on their conversation and questions who they're looking for, but they divert the truth to that of a lost hedgehog. Gert doesn't remember a hedgehog. Molly enters the kitchen, reinforcing this, reminding them that she was just down there the previous night feeding all the animals down in their lab and there definitely was no hedgehog. That leads Dale to lie that she's been missing much longer than they first believed. Not wanting to prolong the conversation, they rush out of the kitchen to go look for their dinosaur.

As they pack their vehicle, Stacey receives a text about an emergency PRIDE meeting. Stacey refuses and that finding their dinosaur has precedence; it is about their future.

At the Wilder Residence, Victor arrives with their new sacrifice. However when he opens the van door, his would-be victim is not there. Geoffrey's angry and confused; Victor had claimed that he had someone. Victor is just as confused. He was sure he hit the women over the head with a tire iron and had her tied up. With no sacrifice, Geoffrey and Robert return inside.

As the morning progresses, the kids meet up at Atlas Academy. Nico finds Alex and confesses to him that what she didn't want to say to the other over the phone. Firmly convinced that their parents are guilty of murder, and that Amy couldn't have committed suicide, Nico decides to go to the Los Angeles Police Station after school. She wants to tell the LAPD everything she has found and wants Alex by her side when she does. Alex refuses. He questions what she would even say to the police, rhetorically asking if she'd say that the most prominent families in the city, dressed in matching nightgowns, put a girl in a glowing box and killed a girl. As far as Nico is concerned there are six witnesses and two dead bodies. Alex attempts to stops her, prompting that their parents would lie for one another, say nothing or even demand proof, which they have none. They have the "world's greatest lawyer" on their side, his mom. Besides that, they would suspect who would have turned them in; the only other people at the house that night. Themselves. Alex won't go with her. Nico is determined to tell her story about Destiny and Amy.

Meanwhile, at the Wilder residence, Victor admits to messing up yet again. First Destiny and now a false alarm with the kidnapping. Tina wants to know what's going one with him. Victor brushes it off, side effects from malaria medicine from his trip to South Africa. Geoffrey questions why he just didn't tell them that the box wasn't working in the first place, but Janet comes to his defense. She lies and tells them that Victor wanted to, but she talked him out of it; she was sure that he fixed it. Victor denies that as well, that it was him but he's feeling much better now. Geoffrey has his people covering Destiny's case. Leslie informs them that they have a larger problem. He's sicker than he's ever been and they need a replacement, now. Robert questions if they can use another kid from the church but taking two kids in the same week will draw too much unwanted attention. She opts for Victor's idea. They need a homeless person or a prostitute. Geoffrey quips that basically someone who doesn't "count". Leslie reminds him that they all count and like the other, it's hard on her too. Victor poses to take care of it, but Tina suggests that Robert assist him. Leslie notes that Dale and Stacey chose not to attend the emergency meeting. She advises that it would be a good idea for them all to take some time to consider the promise they made all those years ago. Tina takes it upon herself to make sure that Dale and Stacey do just that. Leslie leaves, telling the other parents that he can't be alone right now.

At lunch, Gert rushes to get Chase's attention, having failed to do so during homeroom. She thanks him for not exposing what happened in her parent's lab. It wasn't his place to tell her secret but asks her why keep it a secret in the first place. She doesn't really know, but she doesn't want her parents to get in trouble with FEMA or the ASPCA. She comes to the conclusion that they must have genetically scripted the therapod, so it must be illegal. Chase retorts that killing a girls is illegal, too. Brandon and Lucas find Chase. All weekend, and Chase hasn't yet apologized to Brandon for what happened at the party; he's upset. Chase refuses to give him one. Lucas attempts to throw the blame on the alcohol from the party; they were all wasted and things happen. All that matters is the team and they have to be able to put the stuff behind them. Chase stands and confronts them; "stuff", he questions. They can't even speak that they had intended to rape Karolina. Luca tells him that State is almost here and if he apologizes then they can all move on. He extends a hand to Chase but he refuses again. He asks Brandon if he intends to apologize to Karolina. He doesn't. In fact he blames his broken rib on her. This infuriates Chase and cites that it's good that he has 23 more and knees him in the stomach. Gert stands by shocked and unable to stop what's happening. Karolina witnesses the fight and attempts to break it up. Coach Alphona also witnesses the fight and stops it, wanting to see all three boys in his office. Eiffel, also in the crowd blames Karolina for the fight, but that confuses her. How could she be to blame? Eiffel tells her that if she didn't get wasted and hook up with Brandon and Lucas at that party, then Chase wouldn't have gone ham on them, and their state lacrosse title wouldn't be in jeopardy. Karolina is sure that never happened, but, Eiffel is positive it was and that Karolina wouldn't remember because she was a lightweight drunk and a lacrosse-ruining slut. Gert approaches Karolina. She's confesses that she has no idea what Eiffel is talking about. She was dancing alone downstairs at the party and then the next thing she knew, she woke up with Chase. Gert tries to tell her what she believed almost happened, but Karolina refuses to even here the possibility. Eiffel's got to be lying. She would know and Chase would have told her. Gert believes that he's trying to protect her from the truth.

Leslie sits at the bedside of the Mysterious Man and prays; "The light of the stars. The warmth of the sun. The energy of the universe." The man tells her to stop but Leslie has to do something, anything. He wants her to warm him. She complies and removes her dress and climbs into bed with him. As she caresses his arm, he begins to glow a bright white under the sheets.

Some time passes and as Leslie leaves the office, she finds Frank Dean awaiting for her, sitting on the floor. He knew he'd find her there. It's her "sacred" space. Frank reminds her that it's their church, last he checked. He's not seen her in days, and demands to know what's going on in her office. She's blunt. It's called a meditation room and it's pretty self-explanatory. Frank outrights asks if she's having an affair. It's his fear, a normal married-guy fear. He doesn't know what to think and Leslie pities him. She tells him that it isn't his fault that his worldview is so limited, but all of that is about to change. She's made arrangements for him at the Crater. She senses that he's ready to go Ultra and that is the reason for what she has been doing in her office praying over for the last two days. He's an insecure actor but Leslie believes he can join her in Ultra, but he'll have to cleanse himself first. They'll be expecting him tonight. He thanks her, but Leslie tells him that he's done this all own his own.

As the day comes to a close, Karolina overhears mocking from other students - "It's always the church girls that are the craziest." She texts Chase wanting to talk though he and the other lacrosse players board the bus. Coach Alphona addresses them. They've worked hard to get where they're at and have college recruiters around the country after them. Addressing the conflict that arose earlier, he tells them that whatever came between them before isn't worth risking their future.

Meanwhile, Gert is arrproached by three students wanting to join her club - Undermining the Patriarchy. The first meeting was today and Gert had forgotten all about it, given all that occured since she previously passed out her flyers. Karolina stops her and asks to speak with her. One of the new members however cuts her down almost immediate, citing that it's "members only". Gert apologizes to her fellow travelers but the patriarchy has to remain for another day. Biding farewell, she leaves with Karolina.

As students leave Atlas Academy, Nico leaves in a Lyft, heading for the police department. She spots Alex but they share no words.

Gert catches up to Karolina. She's surprised Karolina wanted her help. Karolina confesses that with everything going on, proving that their parents are innocent is the one thing that would actually make her feel better. Gert is the only other person who thinks they might be innocent. It's not that Karolina is incapable of doing an investigation on her own, she does most things on her own, but Gert understands her. Sisterhood is powerful. Gert spots Alex. The pair being together prompts a repsonse from him, that they're going somewhere together. They've going to Karolina's house - both of which are on a mission to prove their parents aren't killers. Specifically, there's a Gibborim ceremony when somebody goes Ultra. Karolina hasn't seen it, it's a higher level than herself, but she believes what they witnessed could have been just that. Leslie has a bunch of her grandpa's old papers and books on their church's rites and rituals and they could explain what they saw. Alex brings up the point that none of the other parents are actually practitioners of Gibborim. Gert secretly hopes that it would be great if their parent 's big secret was just that they'd converted to Gibborim and mocks Dale and Stacey's Passover brisket. Karolina corrects her misunderstanding. Gibborim practitioners can still observe any other aspect of other religions - their believe is really inclusive of other teachings. With Gert having Karolina's back, Alex realizes that he has to go, that there is someone who doesn't have anyone in their corner. He abruptly leaves to go support Nico.

Victor and Robert ride down an alleyway searching for their potential victim. They stop and find an older man asleep in a wheelchair. Robert wants to just wheel Murray to the back of the van but Victor is determined that they first have to hit him over the head to prevent him from waking up in the meantime. Robert is against the idea, but Victor doesn't want to take the chance. Murray, though appeared to have been passed out, was in part aware of what was going on around him. He surprised Robert and knocked him to the side and Victor lunged at him with a tire iron. Murray was quicker and able to turn the tables on Victor and pin him in a choke hold with his own tire iron. He groans for Robert to slice his Achilles tendon, to disable him. Robert believes him to be insane and Murray continues to fight back but police sirens sound as a cop car pulls up. Murray drops the tireiron and they back off. Victor is troubled that Tina is going to kill them both. The cops call in the disturbance, a 1010 or fight in progress. Robert is sure that Tina will never find out, he'll call Flores first.

At the Dean Residence Gert and Karolina go through Leslie's office. Gert opens up about really digging Gibborim and that it is really beautiful. Karolina appreciate the sentiment. She knows how it looks to the outside world, but the more others doubt it, the more it has always reinforced her beliefs. Gert apologies for ever referring to it as a quasi-sci-fi crackpot pseudo cult. Karolina stumbles upon her mother's laptop. It's unusual as she normally has it with her, but she has been kind of distracted lately. Going through the files, Karolina finds a folder titled "ULTRA PROJECT". They think they've found what they've been looking for but the file is encrypted. Gert just so happens to have Alex's sixth-grade party favors - a flashdrive and they copy over the file's content. She's sure that Alex can figure out how to decrypt the files. They hear a vehicle approach and believe it's Leslie, though a knock at the door reveals that it's Chase. Chase came by to talk to Karolina, alone. Gert agrees to leave, opting to get the flashdrive to Alex. Karolina thanks her for being by her side and as a friend.

Meanwhile, Nico makes her way to the Los Angeles Police Department. She takes a moment to calm herself and Alex joins her by her side. She thinks he's here to try and talk her out of it, but it's the exact opposite. He's there to be by her side so she doesn't have to be alone and he takes her hand in his. Together, they approach the Desk Sergeant; he wants to report a murder. The Sergeant is mildly amused, not taking the two teenagers seriously; he prompts the question, "Is that right?" Nico corrects Alex's statement. They're there to report two murders.

Chase tells Karolina that he's quit the lacrosse team. Despite meaning everything to him, he has other thing that are more important. Karolina confesses to him that she doesn't even remember Brandon and Lucas being at that party but if they were and something happened, she needs him to her the truth. She's sure that she can handle it, but not knowing is way worse than the truth. She doesn't have to worry. He walked in before anything happened, but just before. Karolina's relieved but apologies to Chase for him quiting the team. She doesn't have to be though. In truth, what he saw in them, he couldn't be a part of and he believed that, maybe, what he's replacing lacrosse with is something better. Karolina is grateful for Chase's actions and saving her from being raped, she decides to trust him with her own secret. She wants him to follow her inside. He does and she explains that something happened that night. Something she can't explain but she believes that she can make it happen again. She draws the curtains and admits that she's been too scared to try again. She prompts him to stand there and watch, and should she pass out again, for him to help her like he did at the party. She takes off her bracelet and she begins to glow hues of pink blue and yellow, revealing her powers to him. Chase reacts with genuine amazement, asking what it felt like. Good, warm - that's how she describes the feeling. Chase is apprehensive but trusts her. They touch hands and smile. They have so many questions.

Nico sits at LAPD, getting impatient waiting for the detective on the Gonzales case. Alex wonders if she's getting cold feet. The detective however got another important call. Nico realizes who the detective is waiting on - her father, Robert, and Victor. She immediately wants to leave - she also recognizes Detective Flores. As they turn to leave, he too notices Nico and Alex. But before anything more can be said, Nico rushes Alex out. In the parking lot, Nico reveals to him that Flores is the man her parents called when Amy died. That he'd handle her death. Coincidentally, he's also handling Destiny's case. Their parents have the cops in their pocket. Everything has gotten too big. Alex admits that he believes her, that he thinks he always believed her. He shows her the gun he took from his father's study. He admits that Chase was right. They have to protect themselves.

At the Minoru Residence, Tina meets with Kincaid, while isn't exactly official business. Kincaid, however rather likes the house calls - they are his favorite part of the job. Tina's straight to business. She inquires if he's found what she asked him to look into. He has and it paints a pretty clear picture. Kincaid admits he expected something else - economic espionage, trade secret theft. He's put it all together and confesses it's a pretty great plan. Tina's satisfied with his work and pays him for his services. He's all to happy to accept her money. Before he leaves, he parts with his own thoughts - they don't seem like bad people. But they never do.

Dale and Stacey continue to look for their dinosaur. Their last location was a bust, but Dale wants to keep looking and move towards the northwest, to Paramount Ranch. Stacey is less optimistic and believes she's gone. She wants to leave too. To go away. If someone else finds her, she'll either become an urban legend or she'll become the biggest thing in the history of biogenetics. They won't get the credit or the blame but Stacey can't continue. She's scared and tired and wants to leave. They have enough money and despite having a good plan, the plan is screwed. She's decided on their next course of action - they go home, they pack, and they leave. No one ever hears from the Yorkeses again. Dale silently agrees.

Chase and Karolina continue to talk about what she showed him. He concludes that the bracelet may be some kind of inhibitor. That would explain why her mom never wanted her to take it off. Chase wonders if she things there are other people in her church who glow but she doesn't know. She wants to talk to her mom about it but Chase isn't sure if they can trust her even though she deserves answers.

At the Yorkes Residence, Molly prepares an email to Catherine. She wants to know stuff about her parents. She wants answers to questions such as, were either one of my parents super strong, or did they do secret experiments on her, but also what happened the night they died. A noise down stairs takes her attention away from the email. She calls out to Gert, but no one answers. She believes it's Gert, attempting to scare her but in fact it's not. It's the dinosaur from the basement. She falls to the floor in terror, screaming as the creature towers over her. Gaining some sense, her powers take hold and she's able to kick the dinosaur off from over top of her and runs down the stairs. She's not as quick as the dinosaur and she blocks Molly's exits. She prepares to fight her way out, but Gert comes into the home, yelling, "stop!". The dinosaur obey and gets away from Molly. She tells her to be still and discovers that she does what Gert says, even commanding her to sit so she can pet her. Dale and Stacey arrive home to discover that Molly and Gert found their dinosaur. Gert and Molly are excited.

Gert wonders why she listens to her like a dog but Dale doesn't understand. Molly explains that it only listens to Gert but not her. Stacey and Dale find that news unexpected. The dinosaur was created their protection. That's a bit confusing to Gert and Molly but Dale explains that everything they do, they do it for them. Everything. What he's about to tell them, they may not understand right this moment, but he promises them, one day, they will. But he'll explain more to them in the car on the way. Before they can continue to explain, the door bell rings. It's Tina. They weren't expecting her and are forced to answer.

Dale and Stacey go to meet with Tina, alone. She tells the two that it's unlike them to miss an emergency PRIDE meeting. They lie and tell her that they're sorry about missing it, but was because they were mushroom hunting in the cave with spotty cell reception. Tina coldly admits she's happy that they were both okay and worried, when they didn't show up, that something happened, or that they left. Stacey rhetorically asks where they'd go and Tina is blunt with them. She knows of the Hernandez's ranch in Yucatan. Seems like a lovely property, completely off the grid, held in a private trust, hidden behind a wall of LLCs and DBAs. She thinks that it was thoughtful of Gene and Alice to leave it to them in their will. Almost like they wanted them to have someplace to run to. They attempt to shrug it off, but Tina believes that it must sound like paradise right now and assumes that is the reasoning why they've been transferring large amounts of money there. She leaves them with a bit of advice - dreamers got to dream but she hopes they can focus on the job that really matters. Their work with PRIDE. They're almost there but they all have work to do. Stacey realizes that they're never getting out of PRIDE. Gert finds her mother distraught and asks what happened. She pushes for more information but Dale refuses to give it to her and snaps back at her. Her attitude needs to stops - the sarcasm, the snide remarks. He's had enough. Gert get it and goes to her room. Stacey tries to call her back but refuses to listen. She embraces Dale - they have no way out.

That night, Alex meets Nico at Timely Coffee, having received the flash drive from Gert. Alex admits that the encryption on the files are a lot more complicated than he'd expect for a church group. But not someone hiding a murderer. Alex however gets in pretty quick. He can't find anything within the files about any ritual church doctrines. All he finds are intake files. Runaways.

Chase continues to work on his Fistigons using his father's work space. Victor comes home and discovers him and Chase quickly packs up, not wanting to incur his father's wrath. He demands to see Chase's prototype. He tells him that he's been working on it for a long time, to just please give it back. Victor however is unamused and drops it to the floor. Chase knew this would happen should he get a hold of it and yells at his father. Victor tells him to sit down and Chase grows quite. Victor repeats himself and Chase does what he's told. Victor however takes an unexpected approach. He wants Chase to tell him about it. The design is the work of a child, that he got ahead of yourself, but he doesn't nee to worry about the execution. Not yet. He wants to know about his idea, every detail. What it does. How it feels. How it makes him feel. In this moment, it is perfect in his mind, and that is where he needs to live while they build this thing. Together. Chase tells him it's called the "Fistigons".

Alex continues to search through the files from Leslie's computer and finds Destiny Gonzales'. She's 18 with no next of kin. Specifically, she has special consideration: per LED. Brian Geparhart, 16, is also a runaway. No next of kin. Name after name and all "per LED". Amy's name, however, isn't found. Nico wonders if they're all dead. Alex searches but finds nothing. No mentions anywhere. They were "nobody". No one cared for these kids, not even enough to file a missing persons report. One a year for 15 years. Nico makes a connection - Leslie's maiden name is Ellerh. L-E-D is Leslie Ellerh Dean. They come to the conclusion that their parents are serial killers, and Karolina's mother hand-picks the victims. Before they can continue, the Barista notifies Alex that his car alarm is going off. While he deals with his car, Nico will call Karolina

At the Dean residence, Karolina here Leslie come home and finds Leslie and Frank in the back yard. She tells Karolina about the files. Destiny isn't the only runaway to go missing from her church and it looked like her mom was the one choosing the victims - taking people for over 15 years. They've not figured out if Amy was involved but wants her to join them at Timely. Keeping Karolina on the phone, Nico goes to check on Alex, who hasn't returned yet. As she heads outside, she discovers that Alex's been jumped and kidnapped. She screams after him as the car storms out of the parking lot. Karolina hears what going on and Nico tells her that someone has taken him.

Cast

Main Cast

Recurring

Co-Starring

Multimedia

Episode Guide

References

Advertisement