"I know I haven't exactly been the Father of the Year lately, but I think in time you will realize that what I'm doing is actually for your own benefit."
Dale Sheldon Yorkes[3] is a bioengineer, the co-founder and CEO of Synnergy and a member of PRIDE. He is the husband of Stacey Yorkes, the father of Gert Yorkes and the adoptive father of Molly Hernandez. Yorkes was heavily uncomfortable at the idea of sacrificing young people in order to revive Jonah, being told by Gene and Alice Hernandez that Jonah was hiding something from them. Still, Yorkes carried on the PRIDE's activities, using the Synnergy Serum he had developed on Frank Dean to erase his memories.
In 2017, Yorkes discovered that the dinosaur he and his wife had engineered had escaped, which forced them to explain what the creature was to Gert and Molly. When Victor Stein fainted, Yorkes kept a vial of Jonah's Serum so that he could analyze it. He was also warned by Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder that Molly knew about the sacrifices. Heartbroken, Yorkes decided to send Molly to Graciela Aguirre. When PRIDE was confronted by the Runaways, Yorkes and Stacey decided to investigate on the PRIDE Construction Site and discovered that it harbored a living being. Yorkes then joined the PRIDE conspiracy to kill Jonah.
Having failed to recover the Hernandezes' tape from Aguirre, Yorkes and Stacey still learned about the earthquakes which could occur and finished the Anti-Gibborim Serum. Yorkes' work thus proved to be successful during the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site in which it helped to destroy Jonah's spaceship. Yorkes then focused on the search for his daughters. He also grew disturbed by his wife's strange behavior, unaware that she was being possessed by the Magistrate's Wife. During the Chase of the Runaways, Yorkes was able to find Gert, but due to his new fear of his wife, he elected to take Gert away from both Stacey and PRIDE. Although he was able to teach Gert how to better control her connexion with Old Lace, he once again lost his daughter when they were attacked by the Wife.
With his wife being controlled by an extraterrestrial being and his daughter once again away and not willing to forgive him for his past mistakes, Yorkes was left pretty depressed and alone. He joined the reformed incarnation of the Church of Gibborim, but even there he struggled to find acceptance and peace of mind, being tormented by his failures. However, upon being reunited with his adoptive daughter, and later his wife who had gotten rid of the Gibborim possessing her, Yorkes managed to put his life back on tracks. He rejoined PRIDE when the group was reassembled by Geoffrey, and was even instrumental in the battle against the enchantress Morgan le Fay, creating a Anti-Magic Serum which protected PRIDE and the Runaways from the Corvus phones.
The father of Gert Yorkes, during the birth of whom he fainted due to his extreme nervosity after taking his wife's epidural injection,[4] and husband of Stacey Yorkes, Yorkes used the resources allocated by Jonah to start the biotechnology company Synnergy. Along with his wife, Yorkes was recruited into the PRIDE.[5][6]
When Frank Dean discovered that his wife Leslie Dean had an affair with Jonah, Yorkes used the Synnergy Serum he had created with his wife to erase Frank's memories.
Yorkes took part in the first sacrifice perpetrated by the PRIDE, although he was largely unaware of what was really happening. Yorkes gave Brooks Watten the incapacitating beverage used in the ritual and watched as he entered the Dematerialization Box. When the sacrifice was done, Yorkes, like most of the members of PRIDE, was horrified by the deed. However, he also discovered that he had no choice but carry on as the sacrifice had been recorded on video.[7]
Yorkes and Stacey were late called by fellow PRIDE members Gene and Alice, who told them about the mysterious rocks they had taken at the PRIDE Construction Site, and they all suspected that Jonah was hiding something about it.[8] Dale and Stacey later adopted Molly Hernandez when Gene and Alice were killed in a so-called accident. However, Yorkes also feared that other members of PRIDE could discover that he and Stacey had spoken with the Hernandezes right before they died.[9] In 2015, Amy Minoru died. Dale attended her funeral.[10]
Jonah's Last Revival[]
Sacrifice of Destiny Gonzalez[]
"You know we're gonna have to tell thegirls." "Tell them what? Oh, that we're moving to a remote ranch in the Yucatán with our prehistoric guard dog? That is a good idea. They're gonna love that."
Yorkes and his wife Stacey Yorkes accompanied Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez to the Atlas Academy, although the children were quick to leave their parents as they were embarrassed by the discussions.[5] Once they left, Dale was reminded by his wife that they had to attend to a PRIDE meeting on the evening, which greatly upset Yorkes as he felt heavily uncomfortable with PRIDE's activities. Nevertheless, Yorkes and Stacey agreed that they had to go to the Wilder Mansion for the meeting.[6]
Yorkes and Stacey joined the PRIDE meeting, where Yorkes awkwardly tried to joke with Geoffrey Wilder.[5] Like the other members of PRIDE, Yorkes was given documents about Destiny Gonzalez, who they were going to sacrifice despite Wilder's reluctance. Yorkes wore his traditional red gown and joined the members of PRIDE in the ritual, preparing the incapacitating beverage for the sacrifice. Yorkes then forced Gonzalez to go into the Dematerialization Box and be sacrificed.
However, once the ritual was completed, a flash suddenly appeared in the room, which alerted Yorkes and the others. Yorkes waited for Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder to check the house, who returned and informed them that their children were there and had probably not seen anything. Yorkes then went to the Wilder Mansion's lobby with the other members of PRIDE and their children, who he warmly greeted. Yorkes and Stacey then left with their daughters.[6]
Yorkes and Stacey were heavily affected by the sacrifice of Gonzalez. The day after the crime, they discussed it while working at the Synnergy Laboratories, only to discover moments later that Robert and Tina Minoru had come to celebrate the publication of an article about the Synnergy Serum in the American Journal of Experimental Medicine. When the evening came, Yorkes and Stacey went to order some food and talked about their plan of secretly moving to the ranch given to them by the Hernandezes so that they would leave PRIDE behind, although they struggled on how to announce it to Gert and Molly.[9]
Wild Dinosaur Chase[]
"Now, how hard can it be to find a dinosaur in the Palisades?"
In the next day, Yorkes and Stacey Yorkes had discovered that the dinosaur they had engineered had escaped from the Yorkes Residence and discussed about how it could have happened. Due to Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez arriving in the kitchen, Yorkes and Stacey pretended that they had lost a hedgehog and that they would go and try to find it with a drone. They then went to their car to prepare their equipment, sure that their daughters had believed their story. Although they received a message calling for a PRIDE meeting, they refused to attend as they considered finding the dinosaur more important.
However, Yorkes' and Stacey's endeavors turned out to be a failure. While Yorkes was keen on continuing their hunt, Stacey suggested that they would never find their dinosaur and that they should simply leave Los Angeles and PRIDE all the same behind to live in the Hernandez Ranch. They returned home to pack, and were surprised to find that the dinosaur had returned, with Gert and Hernandez being aware of its existence. Yorkes and Stacey put the dinosaur back into its room and addressed the matter with their daughters, who mentioned that Gert and the dinosaur seemed to be connected.
Before Yorkes could explain to her daughters that they were moving, he heard the doorbell, immediately followed by a message from Tina Minoru indicating that she had come to visit them. Yorkes and Stacey were confronted about their choice to skip the PRIDE's meeting, and they understood that Minoru knew about the Hernandez Ranch and the money they had transferred there. From this moment, Yorkes and Stacey realized that they were trapped and that they had to carry on PRIDE's agenda until the end. Once Minoru left, Yorkes and Stacey were approached by Gert, who demanded to know what had happened, but Yorkes angrily told her to leave them alone as he did not appreciate her behavior.[11]
Later in the night, Yorkes and Stacey Yorkes were later summoned by Catherine Wilder, who informed them that Geoffrey Wilder had managed to find another person to sacrifice to replace Destiny Gonzalez, whose sacrifice had failed and who had actually been murdered by Victor Stein. Yorkes and Stacey went to the Church of Gibborim Executive Office to prepare their last victim, a wounded Andre, a young member of the Crips. Yorkes gave him the traditional incapacitating potion, claiming it to be a medicine. Once the sacrifice was successfully conducted thanks to the Dematerialization Boxes, Yorkes, like everyone else, was ordered by Leslie Dean to leave the room.[12]
Yorkes later went to attend a PRIDE gala held at Wizard Headquarters as a fundraising event for the school PRIDE pretended to build in Andre. He remarked that the recently revived Jonah was also present at the gala, which went against his habit of secretly traveling once he was resurrected by PRIDE. Yorkes feared that Jonah had come because he no longer trusted PRIDE, to which Stacey replied that she would not either if she were in his place. Their conversation was then briefly interrupted when Karolina Dean walked by them.
However, the gala soon became more agitated as Stein publicly revealed the ongoing affair between his wife Janet and Robert Minoru before fainting. Yorkes helped to carry Victor into a quiet room and suggested to call the paramedics, but Leslie suggested that they instead asked Jonah for help. Jonah was indeed brought to the room and requested Yorkes to help him, although Yorkes was dubious over the fact that Jonah could kill Victor from the brain tumor he was suffering from. Yorkes was handed over a vial containing a mysterious white liquid and, while Jonah injected it into Victor, he secretly chose to keep it to analyze it later.
As the gala neared its end, Yorkes saw Jonah discussing with Frank Dean, which surprised him, as Dale was adamant that Frank should not at all remember Jonah due to Yorkes using the Synnergy Serum on it. When he asked Leslie what this could mean, Leslie only replied that it could not be anything good.[7]
Hard Family Choice[]
"Listen to me. This is difficult for everybody here, but we need..." "No, I won't! You can't!" "Yes, Molly, I can!"
Yorkes and Stacey Yorkes analysed Jonah's serum in order to find out their properties, with Dale mentioning how they had to keep the fact that they had obtained it a secret. Yorkes and Stacey discovered that Jonah's DNA seemed to have incredible regenerative properties. However, Yorkes accidentally dropped some of the serum on his arm, and the fluid penetrated through his skin. Yorkes began to feel a little dizzy, but thought that this came from his hunger and let Stacey to find some food while he remained in the lab. However, when she returned, Dale began experiencing hyperactivity and euphoria, much to Stacey's dismay. When Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder rang at their door, Dale wanted to let them in, but Stacey pretended that they were too busy.
By the time Yorkes went to attend the Atlas Academy open house, however, the effects of Jonah's serum had vanished, causing Yorkes to fall asleep during Tezuka's opening speech and to be heavily disturbed by the light. As they walked through the school, Yorkes commented on how miserable he felt just after experiencing a small dose of serum, meaning that Victor Stein, who had had a much higher intake, should be experiencing dramatic withdrawal syndroms. They were then approached by the Wilders, who requested to speak in private with them.
Yorkes and Stacey were told by the Wilders that their adopted daughter Molly Hernandez knew about the ritualsPRIDE had been conducting for years, and that she had to be protected from Jonah and other PRIDE members such as Leslie Dean and Tina Minoru. To that end, the Wilders suggested to send Hernandez to live with a second cousin of hers, Graciela Aguirre, in Montebello. At first, Yorkes refused to consider the idea, fearing that it would heartbreak Hernandez, but came to admit that it was the safest choice for her. Therefore, Dale and Stacey returned to the Yorkes Residence and went into Hernandez's bedroom to pack her things.
As Hernandez arrived, Yorkes and Stacey hesitantly explained their decision, pretending that they were doing this so that Hernandez would know more about her birth parents Gene and Alice. However, and as expected, Hernandez was deeply upset by this decision. As Gert Yorkes arrived and was informed of the plan, she confronted Yorkes and Stacey, but they maintained their choice. Hernandez claimed that they could not carry it out, but Dale, taking a much more serious and cold tone than he used to, assumed that he actually could. Dale then remained cold and determined as Hernandez threateningly walked towards him before being taken out of the bedroom by Gert.[13]
Yorkes and Stacey took Hernandez to Aguirre's home. Yorkes did his best to convince Hernandez that she would feel good in Montebello, only to be told by Hernandez to keep quiet because he made things awkward. Dale once again apologized to Hernandez and told Stacey that they had to go. Once Stacey lamented that things could not get worse, Dale replied that she was wrong and showed her a text message from Janet Stein indicating the simple word "TSUNAMI", meaning that something extremely serious had happened to PRIDE.[14]
"All right, enough! Stop! When mygirls are involved, that is where I draw the line. Now somebody is getting in the goddamn box, and personally, I don't mind if it's Tina. I'm just putting it out there."
Yorkes and Stacey Yorkes headed to the Stein Mansion, where they were informed that Janet Stein had shot her husband Victor in an attempt to protect their son Chase. Despite their lack of practical medical experience, Dale and Stacey agreed to try and save the dying Victor. Dale examined him and assisted Stacey, who was willing to do anything necessary, including losing Victor's arm to save him. Dale then announced to the rest of PRIDE that Victor had fell into a coma. He then listened as Leslie Dean, who had just arrived, decided to call her husband Frank.
Yorkes watched as Frank used his Healing Gloves on Victor, remarking on how the light they emitted resembled the Dematerialization Box's, although he was ordered by Tina Minoru to stop talking. However, the healing gloves made things worse as Victor waas declared clinically dead moments later. PRIDE attempted to hide the body, but they were stopped as Jonah, who had been alerted by Tina, arrived in the mansion as well. Dale, along with Geoffrey Wilder and Robert Minoru, was asked to find the Dematerialization Box hidden in the lab as he wanted to perform a sacrifice to revive Victor.
Jonah requested Janet to give her life to save her husband, which triggered an intense debate within the ranks of PRIDE. Dale was mentioned by Janet as someone who should be sacrificed instead of her because he never had done anything for PRIDE, but Yorkes defended himself, recalling all the research he had done for the group, including the development of the Synnergy Serum. However, Jonah lost patience of PRIDE's discussions and threatened to kill their children. This greatly angered Dale, who seized the gun used to shoot Victor and threatened his colleagues, ordering them to choose someone, but he was disarmed by Wilder, who held him at gunpoint with his own weapon. Dale dropped his gun, accidentally firing it in the process.
Yorkes was eventually spared from sacrifice as Jonah repeated his wish to have Janet sacrificing herself. Along with the rest of PRIDE, Yorkes took a few steps back before the sacrifice occurred. However, as Janet asked Jonah to see her son one last time, Yorkes and Stacey remarked that Robert was actually getting in the box, keeping the others in line thanks to the Fistigons. Dale then remained silent as Tina, refusing to lose her husband, destroyed a Dematerialization Box with the Staff of One. He then helped Jonah, Wilder and Robert to take Victor's body away to be kept by Jonah in the remaining Dematerialization Box.[14]
Dale, along with the rest of PRIDE, went to the PRIDE Construction Site to witness the activation of the Nemo Industrial Drilling Machine. Dale asked for details about what they were supposed to find under the surface, but Jonah eluded the question, leaving him with no more answers than before. Dale and Stacey then returned to the Yorkes Residence and called Graciela Aguirre to have some news from Molly Hernandez. However, Dale was surprised to hear that Hernandez had left and that Aguirre did not trust them, mentioning a key which had been given to Hernandez by her parents before hanging up.
As Yorkes and Stacey discussed what this could mean, they received a phone call from Jonah, who ordered them to meet him at the Church of Gibborim Executive Office where he resided. There, once all PRIDE was gathered, they were asked whether they knew were their children were. Dale replied that they were at a school dance, but Jonah revealed that they had lied to them and that they knew about PRIDE's criminal rituals. Jonah then reviewed all the ways his authority had been challenged, and confronted Dale and Stacey about keeping and analyzing his serum, although Yorkes initially tried to deny it, only for Stacey to tauntingly admit it.
Yorkes attempts to convince the Runaways to come home
Pressured by Jonah to check their children's whereabouts, Dale and Stacey returned home and discovered that their dinosaur was missing. They rejoined the rest of PRIDE and they all headed to the PRIDE Construction Site, where the Runaways were supposed to be. PRIDE did indeed find their children there, but they refused to listen to them. When Dale claimed that they were all on the same side, Hernandez abruptly stated that they were ready to fight PRIDE. Dale then watched in complete amazement as Karolina Dean removed her Church of Gibborim Bracelet, revealing her powers.[8]
Yorkes engaged the hostilities against the Runaways when the dinosaur joined the teenagers by shooting at it with a tranquilizing bullet, incapacitating it. Chase Stein and Karolina Dean immediately retaliated, but Dale and the rest of PRIDE were protected by Tina Minoru's Staff of One until Jonah arrived and joined the battle, attacking the Runaways with his own powers and taking them down, much to Dale's horror. Dale then watched helpless as the Runaways fled from the PRIDE Construction Site, leaving only Dean to fight against Jonah, who eventually defeated and captured her.[15]
In the aftermath of the battle at the PRIDE Construction Site, Dale went to meet the rest of PRIDE, except Leslie Dean, at the Minoru Mansion. They discussed what had happened, including the fact that Molly Hernandez had displayed superhuman strength, which likely originated from the events which had occurred at the Geosciences Research Center where Molly's parents Gene and Alice had been killed. When this was mentioned, Dale was shocked to learn from Tina Minoru that the Hernandezes had actually been murdered by Dean.
As PRIDE figured out that Jonah had lied to them regarding what lied under the PRIDE Construction Site, Dale suggested that he and Stacey Yorkes went to investigate. They went to the construction site with some of the Hernandezes' equipment and prepared to scan the hole dug by the Nemo Industrial Drilling Machine, only to be found by Dean, who wanted to know what they were doing. When Dale asked her the same question, she replied that she was also here to inspect the site. Together, they initiated the scan, and Dale and Stacey understood that there was a living being in the depths. Dale and Stacey also figured out that Jonah had kept it a secret from Dean herself.
Yorkes and Stacey then returned to the Yorkes Residence and analyzed the data they had collected, wondering how a life form could have survived beneath the surface of the Earth. Dale then listened as Stacey suggested that they could use the information they had gathered and connect it to Jonah's Serum, which they still possessed, to find a way to kill Jonah. Their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of many members of PRIDE led by Dean. Although Dale was reluctant to hear her out, he listened to her as she confessed the murder of the Hernandezes and her knowledge of the Assassination of Amy Minoru. Dale then agreed to join the rest of PRIDE in an attempt to kill Jonah.[15]
Yorkes and his wife Stacey joined the rest of PRIDE after they were contacted by Detective Flores, who had been tasked by Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder with finding the Runaways. However, it turned out that the teenagers arrested by the LAPD were not PRIDE's children, forcing PRIDE to take the matter in their own hands. They thus went to the PRIDE Headquarters, where Tina Minoru revealed the secret command center she had been setting up, much to Dale's amazement. PRIDE then discussed the case of Graciela Aguirre, Molly Hernandez's cousin, who claimed to have evidence against PRIDE. Dale and Stacey admitted that they had underestimated her, and decided to pay her a visit to reclaim the evidence. They were accompanied by Minoru, who did not trust the Yorkeses.
Dale and Stacey thus went to Graciela Aguirre's Residence, planning to use Synnergy Serum on her after their business would be done. Aguirre quickly understood why they had come and initially acted nicely towards the Yorkeses, claiming that she would hand over the tape recorded by Gene and Alice Hernandez. However, when Aguirre got back, Dale was horrified to see her wielding a shotgun, which she used to destroy the tape before aiming it at Dale and Stacey, who hid in the living room. Unable to react as Dale had dropped the serum's syringe, they were helpless until Minoru burst in and used the Staff of One to choke Aguirre to death.
Despite this undesired outcome and the damage sustained by the tape, PRIDE was able to review its content, indicating that their activities on the PRIDE Construction Site could cause massive earthquakes. Dale and Stacey added their own findings to this dire revelation, that the thing in the hole dug under Jonah's instructions was alive, and that Jonah was probably related to it. As Minoru, who shortly afteraards took the reins of PRIDE, insisted that they had to quickly make their move against Jonah and kill him, Dale and Stacey warned their colleagues that it would be extremely difficult, and that they were working on a potential weapon against him.[16]
Dale later attended an emergency PRIDE meeting held after an earthquake struck Los Angeles. He feared that the consequences mentioned by the Hernandezes on the tape reclaimed from Aguirre had arrived, but other members of PRIDE remained unconvinced, as earthquakes were pretty common in California and this one did not seem to be particularly destructive.[17]
Investigation at the Dig Site[]
"You only get one shot at a self-healing alien, and it better be good."
Yorkes joined another PRIDE meeting during which Geoffrey Wilder exposed the data he had recovered from his son Alex's phone during an independent attempt to get his son back. Although not as vocal in his criticism as the rest of PRIDE, Dale agreed that the Wilders had made a mistake as PRIDE had decided that there would no longer be such secret initiatives among them. Since PRIDE considered that the Runaways were relatively safe since they were once again in possession of the Staff of One thanks to Tina Minoru, they focused on Jonah and, to that end, Dale and Stacey required from Leslie Dean that they could access to the PRIDE Construction Site to try out the Anti-Gibborim Serum they had developed.
Therefore, Dale and Stacey drove to the dig site, although Dale felt incredibly worried and scared, fearing that their work would be a failure. Stacey, however, remained confident since she considered that they had no choice but succeeding, convincing Dale to carry out the test. They sent a drone inside the hole and were able to recover samples from the life form located underground. As Dale injected the serum, the substance, which was definitely similar to Jonah's constitution, turned black, indicating necrosis and therefore proving that the serum was effective, much to Dale's satisfaction.
Yorkes experiences an earthquake
However, another earthquake occurred immediately after the serum was tested. Upon getting back into their car, Dale and Stacey were surprised to see Jonah and Karolina Dean on the site. As Stacey suggested checking on Karolina, Dale decided that they could not afford to confront Jonah and quickly drove away.[18] In the next day, they reported to PRIDE, admitting that they had been seen and confronting Leslie about the fact that Jonah and Karolina were meeting. Under Tina's instructions, Dale changed his WizPhone password due to the Runaways having stolen a high-grade computer. Later, Dale watched in complete shock as Jonah arrived at the PRIDE Headquarters, in very bad condition, carrying an unconscious Robert Minoru after a failed attempt to kill Jonah.[19]
Upon Jonah's arrival, Yorkes insisted that PRIDE had nothing to do with Robert Minoru's attempt to kill him, but Jonah quickly dismissed it, explaining that he counted on the presence of all members of PRIDE in two days at the PRIDE Construction Site. Indeed, Jonah planned on unearthing his spaceship and leave Earth, and both Dale and Stacey Yorkes would have to inspect the ship's biomorphic shell before the launch. Jonah also promised that he would entrust PRIDE with the Abstract before leaving. Once Jonah was gone, Dale and Stacey treated Minoru's wounds, successfully bringing him back to consciousness.
PRIDE then discussed what Jonah had told them. Since the threat of an earthquake was still present, Dale suggested reviewing the Abstract to find schematics of the spaceship and couple it with research from Gene and Alice Hernandez to assess the actual risk of a cataclysm. Due to the Abstract having been secretly lent by Geoffrey Wilder to Janet Stein, Dale and Stacey drove to the Stein Mansion, where Dale expressed admiration since she had been able to decipher the Gibborim book. Dale learned Stein's plan to use the knowledge in the Abstract to shut down the ship for good, and was surprised upon learning that Stein had recently seen Gert Yorkes. Dale then went out with his wife as she stormed out of the lab, furious that Stein had not immediately told them that she had seen Gert.[20]
In the next day, Dale returned to the PRIDE Headquarters, where PRIDE was once again visited by Jonah, who seemed much healthier than before, causing Dale to surmise that he had sacrificed someone. Upon the arrival of Catherine Wilder, who accused Jonah to be behind her husband's disappearance, Jonah admitted that he had attempted to consume Geoffrey, but that he had been rescued by the Runaways. Dale then listened as Jonah assured that the launch of his ship would not cause an earthquake, comparing it to the birth of a child, which caused Dale to be embarrassed as Stacey described how he had fainted the day Gert was born.
Prior to the launch, Dale and Stacey returned to their laboratory to perform the last development of their Anti-Gibborim Serum, with Dale stating that he would not tolerate that Jonah would threaten their children. He then drove to the dig site, joining the rest of PRIDE, and learned that the Runaways were down in the hole, apparently attempting to break the spaceship's shell. However, thanks to the combined powers of Karolina Dean and Nico Minoru, all the Runaways were able to exit the hole, leading parents and children to be all briefly reunited, although Dale was unable to approach Gert and Molly Hernandez.
The launch of the ship was then initiated by Jonah, which caused another earthquake, despite Jonah's previous assumptions. Jonah then had his spaceship accelerate its ignition after Karolina refused to leave Earth with him. Therefore, Dale and Stacey decided to put their serum to good use, and repeatedly fired at the spaceship's shell. Combined with the effects of the Anti-Gravity Device designed by Janet and deployed by Victor Stein, this caused the ship's to explode. Dale then stood afraid as a furious Jonah threatened to attack PRIDE in retaliation, but he was eventually stabbed by Nico using the Staff of One, apparently killing him.
In the aftermath of Jonah's demise, Dale and Stacey once again approached their daughters, asking them to come back home, but the girls ignored them. Dale then fell asleep along with the other members of PRIDE due to a spell cast by Nico. By the time they woke up, the teenagers were gone.[4] In the next day, Dale joined the celebration held at the PRIDE Headquarters, during which PRIDE's end was announced, and he expressed his amazement at the idea of having been in contact with an extraterrestrial life form. He then agreed that the different families should look on their children separately, and toasted to PRIDE being rid of Jonah.[21]
Nevertheless, PRIDE actually failed to end. Indeed, the different members, including Dale, gathered once again at the PRIDE Headquarters, where they were warned by Flores that the Runaways were still actively investigating against their parents. Since they were armed and with powers, Victor Stein suggested that PRIDE should develop weapons of their own, an idea about which Dale was highly reluctant, but eventually they agreed that they had to prepare for the worst in case the teenagers directly attacked PRIDE.
Dale soon had another source of concern. Indeed, upon returning to the lab at the Yorkes Residence, he found his wife acting strangely, working on a secret project she was unwilling to disclose details about, and apparently not needing her glasses anymore. Although puzzled by his wife's cold behavior, Dale chose to play calm and agreed to leave her alone, unaware that she actually acted under the influence of the Magistrate's Wife.[3]
Yorkes voices his anger regarding poisoning Old Lace
Later, as Chase Stein brought back Gert Yorkes and Old Lace, both in a heavily weakened state, to the Yorkes Residence, Dale learned what his wife had been up to: under the Wife's influence, she had poisoned Old Lace using a Synnergy Drone, which in turned had affected Gert due to her connection with the dinosaur. Although the Wife, still posing as Stacey, was willing to give Gert the only dose of antidote and let Old Lace die, Dale was convinced by Stein that Gert's symptoms were psychosomatic, and that the dinosaur should be injected with the antidote. He thus grasped it from his wife's hand, outraged by the plan she had carried out and stating that she did not seem to care about Gert at all, before giving the antidote to Old Lace.
Although the antidote worked and Gert soon began to feel better, Dale was not willing to let his daughter return to live on the street, and thus locked up both Gert and Stein in the lab until he and Stacey could figure out what to do.[22] In the next day, Dale and Stacey brought some meal to the teenagers and tried to convince Gert to stay with them, but their daughter refused to listen. Stein, however, was much more understanding of the Yorkeses' plea and accepted the food they were offering, which Dale and Stacey had actually spiked with drugs, causing Stein to lose consciousness.
Dale and Stacey, who was once again under the Wife's control, tied up Stein to a chair and injected him with sodium thiopental, hoping to have him reveal where the Runaways were hiding. However, they were interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Tina Minoru, who refused to leave the house after Dale told her to leave. Despite Minoru's disapproval, Dale and the Wife carried on the interrogation of Stein. However, Stein's disinhibition led him to talk about his sex life with Gert instead of the place where the Runaways had been hiding before passing out.
Dale then noticed that Minoru was on the verge of contacting PRIDE and stopped her, citing how they had already managed to have Gert close to them. Nevertheless, Dale was surprised when Stacey, still under the Wife's influence, threatened Tina with a weapon and forced her to be imprisoned in the basement along with Gert and Stein. Later, Dale and Stacey were confronted by Molly Hernandez, Karolina Dean and Alex Wilder, who had come to rescue their friends. Dale and Stacey remained under the threat of Wilder wearing the Fistigons, fearing that he could attack them by accident. Dale and Stacey were then taken to the basement, to be imprisoned along Minoru while the Runaways released Old Lace. However, Dale was able to incapacitate the dinosaur before it could attack Stacey, while Minoru was able to escape.
In the evening, Dale shared a drink with Stacey, who was once again controlled by the Wife. He explained that he felt that he could not forgive his wife regarding what she had done, a statement that the Wife treated lightly, much to Dale's dismay. Dale then suggested euthanizing Old Lace due to the danger she posed to them, but the Wife refused, since she planned on releasing the dinosaur so it could lead them to the place where the Runaways were hiding.[23]
War on the Runaways[]
Yorkes suggests reusing trust serum on Chase Stein
"Your sister, thankfully she got away safely so I thought the best thing for us to do is we go on the road. Off the grid, just until your mom works through her... issues."
Dale joined the rest of PRIDE to test the weapons developed by Victor Stein on two PRIDE employees, Mary and Megan, repeatedly injecting her with Synnergy Serum so they would forget what they had experienced and PRIDE could test the weapons all over again. In the next day, he joined a PRIDE meeting, during which he and Stacey Yorkes, once again under the Magistrate's Wife's control, were confronted about what they had done to Chase Stein and Tina Minoru. Dismissing the accusation and expressing relief at the idea of Leslie Dean, who was actually held at the Crater, being gone, Dale suggested using truth serum on Chase again, but the idea was rejected by Victor, who took the reins of PRIDE and exposed his plan.
Dale and Stacey, back to her normal self, briefly returned to their laboratory to feed Old Lace, who they had locked up once again in their basement. They then went back to the PRIDE Headquarters and were present when Chase, after being convinced by Victor, was welcomed among the ranks of PRIDE.[24] Dale joined in PRIDE's efforts to convince Chase to meet with the other Runaways and persuade them to return home, mentioning how his daughter Gert love Chase and warning that should he fail to do so and the Runaways reject their act of diplomacy, PRIDE would have no choice but to go to war against their children.
Despite Chase's efforts, this is what eventually happened, forcing Dale to take part in the Chase of the Runaways, although he felt incredibly nervous and suggested postponing the assault. During the chase coordinated by Minoru, Dale and Stacey were able to track down their daughters Gert and Molly Hernandez to a market. As the teenagers split up, Dale decided to go after Hernandez, but she was able to slip past his hands by pretending that he was a pedophile chasing her, causing Dale to lose her as he tried to calm down the hostile customers surrounding him.
Having lost Hernandez, Dale returned to find Stacey, who had once again lost control to the Wife, and arrived just as she knocked Gert unconscious. Shocked by the scene, and even more bewildered when the Wife abruptly ordered him to take Gert away, Dale realized that something was definitely wrong with his wife and that Gert was in danger near her. Therefore, Dale secretly decided to take both Gert and Old Lace away with him, without revealing his destination to anyone, thus effectively ending his affiliation to PRIDE. Although his daughter, who was locked up in the car, refused to accompany him, Dale drove away nonetheless, assuring her that he only had her best interest at heart.[1]
Starting Over[]
The Cabin[]
"You're right that I'm trying to go back to some time before all the bad things happened. There's got to be something very wrong with me that I ended up in this place. You know, instead of facing my fears and trusting that you got this. Because I know... I know you got this. You know, I'm just trying to... I don't know, keep you here with me where you'd be safe, if deeply unhappy. I was wrong. I get that now. I'm sorry."
Yorkes took his daughter Gert and Old Lace to the cabin where he and his wife Stacey had used to spend a lot of time on their bioengineering research. He kept the dinosaur in the cage and tied up Gert to a chair, but was faced with anger and resentment from both. Yorkes thus remained mostly speechless and distraught as Gert recalled that Stacey had become incredibly dangerous and that Molly Hernandez was still in danger while he seemed to have no idea what he would do next.
As Gert's frustration and anger did not decrease, Yorkes admitted that she was right, and that he was only trying to go back to a time where their family was happy, but that this was no longer possible and that he had to accept that his daughter would leave him. He thus untied Gert from her chair, but advised against letting her go immediately after that. Instead, he offered to train Gert so that she would master her connection with Old Lace, as he revealed to Gert that she had only known a fraction of her power.
As a result, Yorkes took both Gert and Old Lace outside of the cabin and instructed Gert to close her eyes and to picture the dinosaur running. After a few seconds of waiting, much to Yorkes' satisfaction, Old Lace began to run, and Yorkes encouraged his daughter to keep training with her until Old Lace violently hit a tree, knocking both her and Gert unconscious. Joking that this was similar to a first driving lesson, Yorkes did his best to reanimate his daughter.[25]
Yorkes was willing to let her daughter leave the cabin, but still planned on using Synnergy Serum on her so that she would forget about his crimes. However, before he could act on it, he was shocked when Stacey, who had briefly taken control over the Magistrate's Wife that possessed her body, arrived and warned them that the Gibborim were planning on leaving Earth and eliminating all those who knew about them. Not trusting Stacey, Yorkes looked for his tranquilizing gun, only for Gert to reveal that she had stolen it since she had anticipated his idea of mind-wiping her.
As the Wife retook control and attacked them, Yorkes and Gert hid behind the couch in the cabin. Yorkes was able to retrieve some serum cartridges and fired one at the Wife, who remained impervious. Yorkes then attacked her by throwing the gun at her, but to little effect, and he was easily taken down by the Wife. However, Yorkes and Gert were saved by Old Lace, who attacked the Wife from behind and was able to incapacitate her. Yorkes then fled from the cabin on foot while Gert and Old Lace took his car to leave as well.[26]
The New Church of Gibborim[]
"I don't need technology. I don't need modern conveniences. I don't even need a shower. Oh, perhaps I could stand to bathe, but I will remain driven towards my ultimate purpose, which is to find out what the hell went wrong in my life."
Finding himself unable definitely unable to leave alone in the cabin in the woods, Yorkes returned to Los Angeles, and set out to live in a tent on the premises of the Church of Gibborim's compound, which was developing after Karolina Dean's use of her powers at the Crater. Yorkes was not very appreciated by the other parishioners, especially because of his lack of hygiene and his tendency to make his own cheese, but he remained determined to live in this semi-isolation in order to find out how his life had derailed.
Yorkes was eventually reunited with his adoptive daughter, Molly Hernandez, who had come to visit the campus. Questioned about her biologicalparents, Yorkes admitted that they took part in the selection of the candidates for the Rite of Blood, as their friendly behavior put the young runaways at ease. Yorkes asked Hernandez for forgiveness and shared a hug with her; however, he also inadvertenly hinted that Leslie Dean was responsible for the death of her parents, even though he immediately tried to deny it.[2]
Yorkes later overheard Chase Stein, Gert Yorkes and Dean talking about Hernandez as they had returned to the Church's compound. Although he did not know where Hernandez was, Yorkes offered to help them find her. They eventually stumbled on Bodhi, a boy who Hernandez had befriended earlier. However, Yorkes and the others were captured as Bodhi, who was under the influence of the Morgan le Fay's Coven, restrained him from behind, enabling the witches Bronwyn and Cassandra to incapacitate them all with a spell.
Taken captive by the Coven, Yorkes was brought to a locked room in the Wizard Headquarters along with Dean, Gert and Chase, where they found themselves tied up to chairs just like Stacey Yorkes and Victor Stein before them. Yorkes was therefore finally reunited with his wife, although he was quite disgusted to discover that she and Victor had sex by the time they were controlled by the Gibborim. He then sat helpless with the other captives as Dean failed to use her powers to free them all, thus leaving them at the mercy of the Coven.[27]
Yorkes watched Chase's efforts to untie Gert, and although he was successful, the group was soon confronted by a possessed Geoffrey Wilder and several affiliates of the Coven. Yorkes tried to play for time, but was quickly interrupted by Wilder. Eventually though, Yorkes, his wife and Victor were rescued by Cloak and Dagger, who had been brought by Nico Minoru through Cloak's teleportation. The three former members of PRIDE were teleported out of Wizard Headquarters by Cloak, who left them at the giant Hollywood sign of Los Angeles, leaving them to figure out their own way to untie themselves.[28]
Back to PRIDE[]
"See, when we were trying to best Jonah, I made serum based on his DNA." "So Karolina's might counteract the whispers." "Maybe. Magic is just science we don't understand. The antibodies in your blood might just protect everyone from the freaky mind control."
Now reunited with his wife and more at ease with the idea that his daughters were away from him, Yorkes responded to Geoffrey Wilder's call after he was freed from Morgan le Fay's influence and reassembled PRIDE. Yorkes was horrified upon learning that Molly Hernandez had been kidnapped by the Morgan le Fay's Coven who planned to use her as sacrifice to cast a massive spell. He suggested to call the Runaways for help since they could use their superpowers, but his idea was rejected as the others refused to put their children in harm's way again.
Since PRIDE decided to act alone at the Olympic Grand Hotel, Yorkes and his wife came up with an idea to have all civilians confined inside the hotel so they would not get hurt either: posing as CDC operatives trying to contain an outbreak within the building. Although faced with some opposition from security guard Kirk, Yorkes was able to proceed, thus enabling PRIDE to progress within the hotel and eventually save Hernandez from the witches.
Along with the rest of PRIDE, Yorkes went to the Hostel, the underground mansion in which the Runaways had been hiding all along, being a little surprised to learn that he was the only one who had not been to the place yet. Yorkes then took part in a meeting between PRIDE and the Runaways to figure out their best way to fight against le Fay. Although he had little to offer at the time, Yorkes later learned that Karolina Dean was not able to listen the whispers coming from the Corvus phones that were the basis of le Fay's mind-control.
Yorkes hypothesized that this was due to her Gibborim genes, and began working on a serum which would enable them to resist le Fay's magic. Using some makeshift equipment, Yorkes was able to produce enough serum for all members of PRIDE and the Runaways, earning his daughters' admiration in the process. He began with injecting Hernandez with the serum, but once he turned to Gert Yorkes, he had to admit that he had no idea how this would affect her connection with Old Lace. Still, he injected Gert with the serum before entrusting her with other vials to be used on the others.
During the battle against le Fay, Yorkes did not take an active part in the confrontation. Shortly after le Fay teleported inside the Hostel, he retreated in a room with Stacey, Leslie Dean and Geoffrey Wilder. They were found by Bronwyn who nearly killed them, but Yorkes and the other PRIDE members were saved by Alex Wilder who stabbed her from behind. Yorkes thus survived the battle,[29] and later witnessed the Runaways' victory, most notably thanks to the intervention of a future Chase Stein who sacrificed himself to win again le Fay.[30]
Personality[]
"You're making this worse, Dale!" "I have a tendency to do that when I don't know what to say."
Dale Yorkes generally appeared as a jovial and caring father. He unconditionally loved his wife Stacey and his daughters Gert and Molly, and feared that the PRIDE activities could harm either of them. Dale often made himself awkward through his attitude because of his joke or his seemingly casual behavior, prompting people like Catherine Wilder or Janet Stein to question his usefulness to PRIDE. Still, Dale was aware that he had a tendency to make things worse because of this awkwardness.
However, despite his clumsiness and generally benevolent and jovial attitude, Dale can display anger and hardness. For example, he blatantly reproached Gert with making insolent comments to him. When he and Stacey Yorkes planned on sending Molly away and Molly stated that he could not, Yorkes brutally insisted that he could and would. Dale also picked up a gun and threatened the other members of PRIDE when Jonah threatened to kill their children, claiming that he could not tolerate that the lives of his daughters could be threatened.
Abilities[]
"Sometimes you girls forget your dad is a bioengineering genius."
Master Scientist: Yorkes is a highly skilled scientist whose research were highly valuable to the PRIDE. Along with his wife Stacey Yorkes, Yorkes notably developed the Synnergy Serum, a drug capable of erasing memories. Yorkes spent a lot of time performing in vivo experiments in his lab along with Stacey, and they were even able to recreate a dinosaur they kept in their basement. Their knowledge eventually extended to extraterrestrial biology, as they were able to assess the properties of Jonah's Serum and to develop a working serum with adverse effects.
Expert Businessman: Yorkes and his wife started and ran the company Synnergy, whose products were praised in the specialized press.
Physician: Yorkes did medical studies and displayed some knowledge in the field when he and Stacey attempted to save Victor Stein, and later healed Robert Minoru, although Yorkes admitted that they had no significant practical training.
Bilingualism: In addition to his native English, Yorkes is able to speak some Spanish. However, by his own admittance, his knowledge in this language is mostly limited to food-related vocabulary and courtesy sentences.
Equipment[]
Weapons[]
Smith & Wesson Model 638 Airweight: Yorkes took the revolver from the table when all the members of PRIDE were arguing about who should be sacrificed in order to revive Victor Stein, until Geoffrey Wilder used his own handgun to make him drop it, making the revolver shoot itself as it fell.
Yorkes used the projector to tranquilize Old Lace. He later adapted the projector to be able to fire cartridges of Anti-Gibborim Serum.
Other Equipment[]
Jonah's Serum: Yorkes reclaimed a vial of Jonah's regenerative serum during the PRIDE gala, as Jonah used the serum to cure Victor Stein. He brought it back to his laboratory at the Yorkes Residence so he and his wife Stacey could assess its properties, planning to use it against Jonah. Yorkes accidentally dropped some of the serum on his skin, causing him to briefly experience extreme euphoria before suffering from withdrawal symptoms.
Anti-Gibborim Serum: Using the serum reclaimed from Jonah, Yorkes and his wife were able to develop a serum with adverse effects, able to cause necrosis when put in contact with Gibborim tissues. They used it with success during the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site, in which the serum was instrumental in the destruction of the Magistrate's Ship.
Yorkes Residence: Yorkes' main place of living. He and his wife Stacey often worked in a laboratory set up in the mansion's basement, performing various scientific experiments on living animals, including the bioengineering of the dinosaurs Number 33 and Old Lace and the development of the Anti-Gibborim Serum.
Hernandez Ranch: A ranch inherited from Gene and Alice Hernandez, to which Yorkes and his wife transferred large amounts of money, planning to hide from PRIDE in this remote house, before Tina Minoru found out about it through Kincaid and thwarted their plan.
"It's not just any cabin. This is the cabin where two of my greatest achievements were conceived."
Yorkes Cabin: On the run from his wife, who was actually controlled by the Magistrate's Wife, Yorkes hid in this cabin with his daughter Gert and Old Lace. They briefly stayed in the cabin, and Yorkes used this time to train his daughter in better controlling her connection with Old Lace. However, they were forced to abandon it after the Wife tracked them down and attacked them there.
"I decamped to a tent where I can focus on the reason that I went into isolation, which is to prove to myself that I can be completely self-sufficient."
Church of Gibborim Executive Office: Experiencing a deep questioning of his past actions and wanting to make up for his many mistakes, Yorkes joined the Church of Gibborim and used to live in a tent located in the great yard of the Church's main office. Although he considered himself to be a prominent member of the community, he was not particularly well liked, especially because of his constant refusal to shower or bathe, as well as the taste of his home-made cheese. Yorkes gave up on this way of living after being reunited with Stacey.
