Karolina Dean is a Gibborim-human hybrid and the daughter of Jonah and Leslie Dean. Upon removing her Gibborim bracelet for the first time, Karolina discovered her powers of light generation. Having reunited with her childhood friends, they discovered that their parents used PRIDE to cover up ceremonial sacrifices of the church. She teamed up with her friends and formed the Runaways. Having been framed for Destiny Gonzalez's murder, and with no other choice, they were forced to run.
Despite having fled from PRIDE, Karolina continued to secretly meet with Jonah in order to know more about who she was and the powers that she had, electing to keep it a secret from her friends, even her girlfriend Nico Minoru. During a visit at the PRIDE Construction Site, Karolina learned that there were Gibborim, who were related to her, who were trapped under the surface and was willing to let them escape. Karolina was devastated when Minoru seemingly killed Jonah as she still struggled to understand who she was, and Jonah helped her on this path. Upon being informed that her mother Leslie was kept prisoner at the Crater, Karolina decided to rescue her, although the reveal of her powers in front of a group of Church of Gibborim parishioners turned her into the reluctant leader of the cult. Shortly after meeting Xavin, who claimed to be her betrothed so they could bring peace to the universe, Karolina was captured by the Magistrate and his family, who threatened to consume her.
Trapped in the Healing Algorithm where she was kept in an illusion of her wedding with Minoru, Karolina was ultimately released by her teammates. Now ready to fully oppose the Gibborim family, including her own father, Karolina joined in the Runaways' efforts to stop them from leaving Earth. However, she and her teammates were eventually sent to the Dark Dimension because of a spell cast by Minoru. There, Karolina was confronted to a monstrous version of Minoru, and once they escaped, she voiced her fear that Minoru had engaged on a dark path. The situation was further deteriorated because of Minoru's wish to work with the mysterious Morgan le Fay to save Alex Wilder, which affected their relationship. Eventually though, Karolina and Minoru were able to reconcile and fought together against le Fay during the Battle at the Hostel in which Karolina's light opposed the enchantress' darkness.
Karolina was born the daughter of Leslie Dean and Jonah. She was raised by her mother's husband Frank Dean. From her youngest age, Karolina wore a Church of Gibborim Bracelet which she never took off, unaware that it actually concealed her Gibborim light emitting powers inherited from Jonah.[4] Karolina grew as a faithful member of the Church of Gibborim, helping her mother to recruit new members among the organization.[5] She was also very good friends with PRIDE member children. In 2007, Karolina attended the Hernandez's funeral, which was a PRIDE family that were killed in an explosion.[6] In sixth grade, Karolina attended Alex Wilder's party. He gave everyone R2-D2 flashdrives as gifts.[7] In 2015, tragedy struck again when Amy Minoru was killed. This caused a massive rift in her relationship with her friends and they stopped seeing each other.[5]
Reunion[]
High School Troubles[]
Due to her role in the Church of Gibborim, Dean was often bullied. She walked by the lacrosse kids including Chase Stein and said hello to him. As she went on her way, she approached her locker and opened it. Many lightbulbs then fell out of the locker and broke on the ground. A bully in the background told her to find the light. As everyone walked away, Gert Yorkes approached her. Dean mostly ignored Yorkes and left to get a janitor.[8]
"It was so weird. The last thing I remember were these lights. They were really beautiful." "Yeah, it's called drugs. Clearly, you took some strong shit."
Karolina attended a Church of Gibborim ceremony hosted by her mother Leslie. She asked her mother to sign a permission slip for a field trip, but Leslie refused. Later at Atlas Academy, Karolina overheard Alex Wilder inviting Chase Stein to come over to the Wilder Mansion and Gert Yorkes joined the conversation. Karolina told Alex that she was busy with a church event, where after she got into an argument with Yorkes before they all left when the bell rung.
Dean saw an edit of a photo she posted on social media, mocking her with the word "Brainwashed" replacing "Blessed". Arriving in the bathroom, Dean let her feelings burst out and started to cry; but stopped upon seeing Nico Minoru, apparently crying as well, looking in the mirror. They both tried to conceal the real reason of their tears, and when Dean told Minoru that she did not need to hide behind her makeup, Minoru retorted that Dean was no better than herself by hiding behind her smile.
Karolina was recorded for an interview in order to promote the Church of Gibborim, as her mother requested. During the interview, Karolina talked about the Church of Gibborim Bracelet. She was approached by Destiny Gonzalez, interrupting the interview, who told Karolina that she has changed for the better since she was taken off the street and that she was incredibly grateful for all the help her mother Leslie gave her. Gonzalez also mentioned her rebellious faze, which caught Karolina's attention. She was impressed with Gonzalez's independence.
Dean discovers her powers
Attending a party, Dean declined an offer for drugs. She became mesmerized with two girls passionately kissing. As she was also attracted to other girls, she decided to conceal her religious beliefs for once and took off her Church of Gibborim Bracelet, only to become entranced when her arms began to glow. Dancing for a few moments, Dean then collapsed. While she was unconscious, Stein's friends Brandon and Lucas then took her upstairs and attempted to rape her. However, Dean was saved by Stein, who put her bracelet back. The pair then left the party to head for the Wilder Mansion.[5]
Dean, Chase Stein, Nico Minoru, Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez all arrived in the Wilder Mansion and Dean urged her former friends to talk about the death of Amy Minoru so they would be able to move on. They went to find alcohol into Geoffrey Wilder's office, where they soon accidentally opened a secret passageway. Going inside, they discovered their parents apparently performing some kind of ritual. Karolina and her friends then witnessed as their parents put Destiny Gonzalez in the Dematerialization Box. However, Molly Hernandez took a picture of the scene, forcing Dean and the other teenagers to run away.[5]
Dean playing Twister with the group
Karolina and her friends hid in the guesthouse while Alex Wilder left to cut down the power in the mansion. Karolina, Stein and Yorkes discussed potential rational explanations for their parents' behavior, but found flaws in each other's theories. Once Alex returned, the teenagers decided to act as friendly as they always used to so that her parents would not suspect anything. To that end, Karolina and the others pretended to be playing Twister when their parents found her. Karolina then left the Wilder Mansion with her mother Leslie Dean.
Once at home, Dean sent a message to Gonzalez to check whether she was fine and waited for an answer.[9]
Investigation[]
Dean receives a message
"See? Destiny is fine. We don't have to worry." "Uh, Photoshopped much? This picture could be a total fake. I know you want to believe, but this just isn't proof to me." "My mom seemed fine this morning. She wouldn't have acted so normal if she'd killed a parishioner last night."
Karolina did some meditation to calm her mind, listening to a Church of Gibborim tape recorded by her mother Leslie. Leslie then came to Karolina's room and expressed her joy at the idea that Karolina had reconnected with her friends. While she spoke, Karolina saw a picture of Brandon and Lucas, who claimed to have been beaten up by Chase Stein, making Karolina worry that something had happened during the party where she had fainted. She also received a message seemingly from Destiny Gonzalez, indicating that she was fine and on a trip to London.
Therefore, Dean ran at the beach, where the Runaways had gathered to discuss what they had seen the night before, to show them the picture. However, the others were not convinced, stating that it could be a fake. Dean thus decided to confirm that Gonzalez was actually in London by asking other parishioners of the Church of Gibborim. Before leaving, however, she asked Stein about what she had seen concerning Brandon and Lucas, but Stein reassured her, claiming that it was only related to their lacrosse team.
Dean went to the Church of Gibborim Executive Office. There, she was approached by Vaughn Kaye, another young member of the Church. She asked him about Gonzalez and Kaye confirmed that he had seen her getting into a car to take her to what he believed was the airport so she would leave for London. Dean then saw Kaye toying with his Church of Gibborim Bracelet and subtly asked him whether he was seeing the same colors than she did when had taken off her bracelet at the party. However, Kaye did not share any similar experience. He then left Karolina as she stared a painting made by her grandfather David Ellerh, which happened to display a feminine figure glowing with bright lights, exactly like Dean did.[6]
In the night, Dean had a conversation with the other Runaways and kept expressing doubt that her mother could be a murderer, especially since no one had found any significant evidence. She also insisted on the fact that they should stop turning on each other and instead keep looking for clues. On the next day, Dean returned to Atlas Academy, where she saw Chase Stein getting in a fight with Brandon and Lucas, something Eiffel blamed Dean for as she claimed that Dean had flirted with them, although Dean denied it. She then talked about the event with Gert Yorkes, wondering why Stein had not told her anything.
As she left school, Dean approached Yorkes, who was the only other teenager who was more convinced that their parents were innocent, and she suggested that they found evidence in this regard. They went to the Dean Mansion to check whether the ritual they had seen could be related to the Church of Gibborim and its hierarchy. They found Leslie Dean's laptop with an encrypted file related to the Ultra Project on it and decided to send it to Alex Wilder so he could decrypt it.
Moments later, Stein arrived at the Dean Mansion and requested to speak privately with Karolina. Once Yorkes left, Stein explained that he was quitting the lacrosse team. This prompted Karolina to ask him whether something had happened between Brandon, Lucas and herself. Stein explained that he had prevented them from raping her. Deciding to trust him, Karolina took Stein in her bedroom and took off her Church of Gibborim Bracelet to reveal her powers to him, much to Stein's genuine amazement. As Stein left, Karolina worried about what her powers meant, but Stein comforted her, calling him the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Later that night, while she was reading the Book of Gibborim, Karolina heard her parents Frank and Leslie playing and laughing outside. As she looked at them, she was called by Nico Minoru, who informed her that Wilder had decrypted the file, which contained a list of all PRIDE's victims. As the conversation continued, Minoru suddenly began to scream, and when Karolina asked her what was happening, Minoru told her that someone had kidnapped Wilder.[7]
"What if it was my Church? What if they figured out that we got those files on all those kids?" "Hey, I'm..." "No, no, please don't tell me that everything is gonna be okay. My mom is a murderer. All of our parents are murderers!"
Dean joined Nico Minoru at the Timely Coffee to figure out how they could save Alex Wilder, who had been kidnapped, with Dean fearing that the kidnappers could be affiliated to the Church of Gibborim, prompting Minoru to hug her in comfort. They were joined by Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez, and Minoru used her Staff of One to reveal the path taken by the car used by the kidnappers. Dean then got everyone in her car to drive and find their friend. While on the may, they managed to reach out to Chase Stein for help.
Dean quickly drove according to the Staff of One's signal, although Yorkes insisted that Dean should pay more attention to their own security. They arrived near a park where they saw Darius Davis holding Wilder at gunpoint and forcing him to get back into the car. While Yorkes thought that they did not stand a chance, Minoru told Dean to keep following the kidnappers. They caught up with them as they were stopped at a red light.
Much to Dean's surprise, Minoru got out of the car and tried to use the Staff of One to keep the kidnappers from leaving. She failed, prompting Hernandez to join her and to use her superhuman strength to lift the rear of the car, which greatly amazed Dean. As the Crips got out of their car with Wilder and Davis aimed his gun at Hernandez, Dean joined the confrontation and took off her Church of Gibborim Bracelet, releasing light beams at Davis, which enabled Wilder to run and join his friends.
However, Davis remained mostly unaffected by Dean's powers. He threatened to shoot at the teenagers, but Stein joined them and threw Davis back with his Fistigons. Dean and the other Runaways were then protected from Davis' bullets thanks to the shield created by Minoru and the Staff of One, causing Davis to flee. With this victory achieved, the Runaways gathered at the Timely Coffee, where they expressed amazement at each other's abilities, including Dean's, who was considerably relieved that her friends still accepted her.
Wilder then informed them that he suspected PRIDE to intend to sacrificeAndre, one of his kidnappers. Thus, the Runaways rushed to the Wilder Mansion, but found the sacrifice room empty as the ceremony was actually conducted in the Church of Gibborim Executive Office. While Wilder and Minoru briefly left the room, the others remained to investigate and Stein found a camera on one of the shelves. Dean went to inform Wilder and Minoru and found them kissing each other.
They all returned in the sacrifice room, where Wilder analysed the camera and found that the data were stored on Wizard servers, meaning that they had to find a way to hack into it. They the returned to their respective homes, and Dean sadly reviewed the Book of Gibborim before angrily throwing away all the objects she had which were connected to the Church of Gibborim, calling it complete lies and crying at the idea that she had been a huge part of the organization.[10]
PRIDE Gala[]
Karolina and Frank Dean talk about the Church of Gibborim's beliefs
"You know, maybe we should march in there and I could light up and I can show the world what I actually am." "That's not exactly what I had in mind, but sure, if it gets you off the ledge..." "Maybe it's time to be reckless and to make some bad decisions."
While reviewing some of David Ellerh's drawings of Being of Lights, which resembled the powers Karolina displayed, Karolina was visited by her father Frank. They briefly talked about the Church of Gibborim's beliefs and Frank revealed that he had failed to go Ultra in the Church's hierarchy. Karolina then asked her father about how he was not part of PRIDE with Leslie Dean, and Frank replied that he felt PRIDE was only for Leslie and not him.
Karolina then went to the Timely Coffee with the other Runaways, where they discussed their plan of infiltrate into the Wizard servers during an upcoming PRIDE gala held at Wizard Headquarters, in order to find evidence of their parents' crime. Later, Karolina welcomed Nico Minoru into the Dean Mansion to prepare for the gala. Minoru almost took off Karolina's Church of Gibborim Bracelet, prompting them to discuss about Karolina's powers. Karolina considered that now that her true nature was revealed, she could actually be free and almost confessed her feelings for Minoru, but they were interrupted by the arrival of Gert Yorkes and Molly Hernandez.
Karolina joined the gala with the other Runaways, expressing some disgust at the sight of their parents enjoying their time. They then decided to move forward on their plan, but as they discussed, Yorkes asked for Karolina to talk privately and asked her whether she was attracted to Minoru. However, Karolina denied and told Yorkes that she knew Yorkes was in love with Chase Stein, which Yorkes denied as well, prompting Karolina to ask Stein to get some drinks to make Yorkes jealous. The conversation ended with both girls stating that the other was not honest about their true feelings.
Dean is saved from a deadly fall by her powers
As she was quite disoriented and displeased with everything going on, Karolina took a bottle of vodka and went to the roof of Wizard Headquarters to get drunk alone. She was joined by Stein, who tried to have her confess about whatever was on her mind. Annoyed, Karolina sat on the edge of the roof and began expressing the idea of publicly revealing her powers to everyone. However, while moving around, Karolina fell from the roof as Stein failed to hold her up, only grabbing her bracelet. This caused Karolina's powers to activate and make her fly back to safety on the roof. Considerably relieved, Stein put the bracelet back and kissed Karolina, much to her trouble.
Karolina and Stein returned into the building's hall, attending the speech delivered by PRIDE. Thus, they were shocked by the reveal of the ongoing between Janet Stein and Robert Minoru, immediately followed by Victor Stein collapsing on the ground. As the party neared its end, Karolina was approached by Jonah, who claimed to be an old friend of Leslie who had craved to meet Karolina. As Karolina was quite unease with this encounter, Frank arrived and Karolina asked him to take her back home.[11]
Atlas Academy Open House[]
"Any chance our parents can get arrested before they talk to our teachers?"
Dean went to the Atlas Academy for the upcoming school's open house, although she was not utterly enthusiastic about this perspective. She also briefly had to face Gert Yorkes' jealousy as she happened to be hanging out with Chase Stein since Yorkes believed that Karolina and Stein were dating. As the Runaways gathered, Molly Hernandez revealed that she had accidentally admitted to Catherine Wilder that she knew about the Rite of Blood. Dean tried to comfort Hernandez, citing her young age, but this only caused Hernandez to get angry and leave them.
Dean later found Hernandez as she struggled to get accepted into the school's dance squad led by Eiffel. Karolina helped Hernandez with the dancers' towels, praising Hernandez for her optimism. They also discussed about their respective superpowers.
During the open house, Karolina listened to the introductory speech with her mother Leslie, who worried about the absence of Frank Dean. She then casually walked through the school campus, encountering Yorkes and later her father Frank, who asked her where Leslie was as he had something to tell her. Later on, Karolina and Stein saw both the Wilders and the Yorkes' parents talking together and assumed that they were discussing about Hernandez, prompting them to gather the other Runaways.
Together, the Runaways discussed the advancement of the secret video file decryption and what they should do next, with Dean confirming that they had to push their plan to its end and send their parents into prison. They then parted ways and returned home, ready to contact the others in case of need.[12]
"That's PRIDE that's down there, which you told me you weren't a part of! Dad, you were the only one that is good, Dad, please!" "Honey, what are you talking about?" "Do you know what they do?" "PRIDE? They raise money for charity, honey, that school they're building." "No. No, Dad, that is not it. That is not it at all."
Later that night, Karolina was called by Chase Stein, who told her that his father had been heavily wounded and asked her whether she could come to the Stein Mansion, but before she could actually answer, Stein apologized and ended the call, claiming that he should not have involved her. Immediately after, Leslie Dean came to visit Karolina in her bedroom and Karolina told her mother that she thought her father Frank was acting strangely. However, Leslie reassured her daughter before leaving the room.
Dean then tried to call Nico Minoru, leaving a message on her voicemail about what had happened to Stein. She also called Molly Hernandez, who did not answer either, and Gert Yorkes, who told Dean about Hernandez being sent to Montebello. Dean told Yorkes that they needed to go to support Stein, which made Yorkes wonder why Karolina had called her in the first place. Dean remained silent as Yorkes correctly inferred that Dean did not want to be alone with Stein, due to Stein being attracted to Karolina whereas Dean herself was in love with Minoru, who was in a relationship with Alex Wilder.
Karolina waited for Yorkes to pick her up and drive to the Stein Mansion, although she was quite unnerved by the fact that Yorkes had brought along her dinosaur. As they had parked in front of the mansion, they also saw Jonah arriving and wondered what could bring him here. Karolina, Yorkes and the dinosaur sneaked into the mansion and Karolina found Stein arguing with Frank, who kept him from seeing his father, who was being taken care of by PRIDE. Karolina told Stein to go and see Yorkes in his bedroom while she remained with Frank.
Since Frank was actually not part of PRIDE, Karolina decided to trust him with the truth regarding what the Runaways had discovered about the secret sacrifices. She then joined the other Runaways at the Timely Coffee, where Wilder told them that he had decrypted the video file showing PRIDE's crimes. Karolina suggested to keep the file for themselves and wait to see if they could count on Frank to help them. This led to an argument as Stein feared that releasing the video could cause his father to die. Things escalated into a fight between Wilder and Chase, who destroyed the laptop containing the evidence.[13]
Karolina is oriented by Frank Dean to drop the mission
Later, Karolina was visited by Frank in her bedroom to discuss what Karolina had revealed to him. Frank told Karolina that he was amazed by the Runaways' bravery, but that they needed to let him take the matter in charge.[14]
Dean went back to the Atlas Academy, where she tried to keep the Runaways together whereas tensions were arising among the group since Chase Stein had destroyed Alex Wilder's laptop. Later, as Dean was being insulted by Eiffel about the upcoming school dance, Gert Yorkes decided that the Runaways would go together at the dance.
Later, Dean and the others saw Molly Hernandez returning from Montebello with a VHS which had been left to her by her parents. They went to watch it and learned the truth about the potential consequences of PRIDE's actions, which could lay waste across California. Together, the Runaways figured out that PRIDE used the PRIDE Construction Site as a front for their plans and resolved to infiltrate it, using the dance as a pretence to gather.
Dean joined some of the other Runaways, but they happened to be waiting for Stein and Yorkes. Dean accepted to go with Nico Minoru in order to find them, but before they kept searching, Dean decided to confess her feelings and kissed Minoru, who returned her kiss. As they were still close to each other, they saw Yorkes and Stein arriving, seemingly after having sex together.
Dean joined the other Runaways and they drove to the PRIDE Construction Site, where they stumbled on Carl, a member of the Church of Gibborim providing security. Dean asked him to call her father Frank Dean to confirm that the Runaways could access the site, which worked. Once they arrived, they discovered a giant hole created by the Nemo Industrial Drilling Machine, and Karolina remained with Hernandez as she pushed a truck inside it.
However, the Runaways were soon confronted by their parents, who had arrived in an attempt to stop them. Like the other Runaways, Dean refused to listen to them and revealed her powers to PRIDE, much to their shock.[14] As Stein's Fistigons were unable to breach into the shield created by Tina Minoru's Staff of One, Dean fired two light beams at PRIDE, which were also blocked, albeit with more difficulty.
The Runaways were soon attacked by Jonah, who had joined the fight with PRIDE. Along with the other Runaways, Dean stood back when he knocked them over, but she quickly figured out that Jonah only had interest in her and persuaded her friends to flee while she remained behind, although Nico initially refused to leave Dean. Dean fought against Jonah as long as she could, opposing her own powers to his, leading to power cuts on the site, but she was eventually defeated and captured.[15]
Karolina, who had fallen unconscious, was taken to the Church of Gibborim Executive Office to recover after her fight against Jonah, with her parents Leslie and Frank sitting beside her. When she finally woke up, Karolina found herself alone with Jonah, who revealed that he actually was her biological father and who expressed his relief to see someone sharing his powers.
Nevertheless, Dean did not remain prisoner for long as Chase Stein and Molly Hernandez had infiltrated into the building to save her. As they tried to escape, they stumbled on Aura and Frances, who did not believe them when Dean pretended that she was giving her friends a tour of the place. They managed to hide from the Church's security and from Jonah and were eventually able to get into a van driven by Alex Wilder, enabling the Runaways to escape.[15]
Dean and the other Runaways went into hiding in the woods. Once she had changed her clothes, Dean saw Nico Minoru looking at her, expressing her admiration for Dean being ready to sacrifice herself during the Infiltration into the PRIDE Construction Site. Dean replied by thanking Minoru for having come back to rescue her and the two shared a kiss.
Dean spent the night with the other Runaways in the wood. In the next morning, they went to the Los Angeles Bus Depot in order to leave Los Angeles. As they tried to decide which bus to take, they heard a WHiH World News report which announced that the Runaways were officially wanted for the alleged abduction of Molly Hernandez and the death of Destiny Gonzalez. This forced the Runaways to go on the run.[15]
Struggle in the Street[]
"We all really needed something to believe in. You gave us that." "They're our parents. How could they be such monsters?" "Hey. We're not them. We're better. We can fix the world that they broke."
Along with the other Runaways, Dean took part in chasingMike on a Bike, a thief that had stolen their money and the Fistigons. However, they were unable to catch up with him, and Dean warned Alex Wilder and Chase Stein about the public surveillance camera, urging them to remain hidden. Dean and the group then arrived at a PRIDE soup kitchen to get some food, and she insisted that they should remain and eat, despite some of the teenagers being reluctant to eat food that had been paid by their parents.
As the Runaways discussed their options, Dean was the only person to express trust towards Wilder as Stein recalled that he had been willing to leave her behind and return for her later. Once Wilder decided to leave the group to find some more money without exactly telling the Runaways what he would do, Dean thanked him even though the others remained doubtful about his loyalty. Dean then watched a TV newsflash during which Graciela Aguirre publicly expressed suspicion towards PRIDE, prompting the Runaways to find her and protect her.
Since the Runaways had no means of transportation, Dean and Stein were able to pose as a couple leaving from a hotel to steal a car from the valet. They then drove to Aguirre's house, but realized that they were too late as Aguirre had already been killed by PRIDE. Dean comforted Gert Yorkes, who was shaken by the sight of Aguirre's corpse, and the Runaways then left upon hearing the police arriving and headed to a homeless camp which had been indicated by Wilder.
Dean took part in a Wiccan ceremony held by Nico Minoru in honor of Aguirre, giving one of her pieces of jewelry as offering. Later, Dean praised Minoru for how she had conducted the ceremony and comforted her as she regretted everything their parents had done before sharing a kiss with her girlfriend. She then welcomed Wilder when he arrived at the camp with tents and sleeping bags for his teammates.
In the next day, Dean and the Runaways woke up at the sound of Mike trying out the Fistigons. Since the Runaways were unable to stop him and Mike got away with a bike, Dean rode a bike herself and chased the thief again with the other Runaways up the hill of Griffith Observatory, until Mike was tackled by Old Lace. As they kept running after Mike, eventually catching him, Dean fell through the ground. Levitating thanks to her powers, Dean realized that he had found an underground, the Hostel, thus providing the Runaways with a hideout to live in.[16]
In the next day, Dean, who wanted to know more about her powers, secretly contacted Jonah and met with him not far from the Hostel. She insisted that she did not trust him or approved what he had done with PRIDE, but that she was only looking for answers. As an earthquake then occurred, Dean was protected from the quake by Jonah, who vaguely mentioned that something had begun.[16] Dean was then encouraged by Jonah to remove her bracelet and to learn how to control her powers, which she was able to do much to her delight.
Dean then returned to the Hostel, finding the other Runaways as they were looking for her, and pretended that she had just left the mansion to walk outside. As the Runaways discussed their need to make sure that the PRIDE Construction Site remained inactive, Dean decided to join in a mission with Nico Minoru and Molly Hernandez to reclaim the Staff of One. The three girls thus left the Hostel after Alex Wilder's reveal that he was working for Darius Davis.
On Nico's idea, Dean used her powers to fry out the command systems of Wizey, enabling her and Nico to enter the Minoru Mansion while Hernandez stood watch outside. They made their way to Tina Minoru's office, but could not find the Staff of One, and were confronted by Robert Minoru. Dean warned him not to come close to them, and after an argument, Robert directed them to the house's yard so that they could directly face Tina, being joined by Hernandez before the confrontation began.
Dean attacked Tina with a light beam, but was easily blocked with the Staff of One. The three girls were then unable to effectively strike Tina, even after Hernandez was able to punch her in the stomach, as Tina projected her in the pool before freezing its surface, thus trapping Hernandez. Dean rushed to help her and attempted to melt the ice with her powers, but she was attacked from behind by Tina and nearly taken out as Tina lost control of the Staff.
Nevertheless, Tina returned to her senses thanks to Nico appealing to her sense of family, sparing Dean's life and releasing Hernandez before handing over the Staff to Nico. The three girls then left the mansion, and as Nico noticed that she no longer wore her bracelet, Dean admitted that she no longer needed it to control her power. However, the two girls ended up arguing, as Nico blamed Dean for having turned her back on Tina, which had allowed her to get attacked. As Nico insisted that they should train to work as a team with their powers, Dean doubted that there were able of such a thing.
Back at the Hostel, the exhausted Dean and the others found that Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes had been able to restore power in the mansion. Later in the night, Dean went to see Nico in her bedroom and the two girls reconciled after their earlier argument and decided to sleep in the same bedroom, sharing a passionate hug before going to bed.[17]
In the next day, Dean took part in a training session organized by Nico, during which she was proud to demonstrate how she had advanced in mastering her powers, joking that Nico was perhaps no longer the most powerful of the Runaways. She then advised Yorkes to take a breath and watch the others train after she experienced a violent headache, and advised against Nico trying to block Stein's Fistigons' blast. Dean's fear proved to be correct since Nico failed to protect herself from the second shot, nearly attacking Stein before calming down.
Dean helped Nico recover, and as the Runaways discussed what had gone wrong and mentioned Wilder's absence as a possible explanation, Dean agreed, stating that he was a member of their new family, although her view was widely criticized by Yorkes. With the tensions getting stronger, Dean advised Hernandez to go and talk with Stein so he would figure out his relationship with Yorkes, before working on cleaning up the Hostel from their training material. Later, as they were informed that Wilder was being kidnapped by his father, Dean encouraged Nico to express that she cared about their friend, as she herself had no problem doing it.
Therefore, Dean joined a rescue mission to Van Nuys Airport thanks to a car Stein had been able to repair. Once at the airport, Dean used her powers to fly and find Wilder and his father, emitting a strong light above them to blind his father. This enabled Stein to attack him with the Fistigons, while Hernandez took Wilder away. Dean then returned into the car with the other Runaways, who escaped after Nico used the Staff of One to stop Wilder's father from chasing them.[18]
Another Family[]
"At first it was just to figure out more about my powers and what I am, but then, knowing the terrible things he did, I started to care about him. He showed me what was at the bottom of that hole. My family. Beings of light that are actually like me."
In the next night, Dean witnessed Topher Vasquez's arrival in the Hostel, which he had found after following Molly Hernandez, who had sneaked out of the mansion to play vigilante.[18] Dean was in favor of letting him stay at the Hostel as Hernandez suggested, stating that Vasquez was not that different from the Runaways since he also lived in the street. Although the other Runaways were reluctant, they agreed to have Vasquez stay for the night after he demonstrated powers similar to Hernandez's. In the next day, Dean was surprised by the amount of food gathered by Vasquez as a sign of gratitude, but decided to trust him and ate what he had brought.
Dean was then contacted by Jonah, who explained that he wanted to meet her and that he was running out of time. Since she could not tell the Runaways about him, Dean pretended to Nico Minoru that she was going to find some work to do with tourists. She then found Jonah, who offered her money that she refused, arguing that the only thing she wanted from him was answers regarding her true nature. She was therefore invited by Jonah to get in his car as he claimed that he wanted to show her something. However, during the drive, an earthquake occurred. As Jonah insisted that they could finish on foot, Dean stated that she was scared, prompting Jonah to tell her that whether she came with him was her choice, but that she needed to if she wanted the answers she was after.
Dean thus accompanied Jonah to their destination: the PRIDE Construction Site, where they stumbled on Dale and Stacey Yorkes who were leaving in their car, with Jonah connecting them to the source of the earthquake. Dean was then invited by Jonah to go on the edge of the giant hole and that they should go at the bottom of it. Although she still did not trust Jonah, Dean decided to go with him and the two of them slowly levitated down into the hole.[19]
Once down the hall, Dean finally got the answers she sought from Jonah: she was not an angel like the ones mentioned in the Book of Gibborim, but a hybrid of extraterrestrial origin. She then listened to Jonah's story, as he explained that his spaceship had crashed on Earth millennia ago, and that he had spent his time since then trying to release the other members of his family who were trapped beneath the surface. Dean was then delighted when given the opportunity to lightly interact with her half-brother through the ship's shell.
Dean then returned to the Hostel. Fearing that Alex Wilder's efforts to hack into the dig site and destroy it would endanger the lives of her newfound family, she planned on using her powers to fry out his equipment while he was asleep. However, she was found by Minoru before she could do it, and Wilder woke up. Dean gave a plausible explanation regarding her presence in Wilder's bedroom to remain above suspicion. The Runaways then noticed that Vasquez had left with the map of the dig site, probably looking for more Gibborim Rocks. Dean worried that he would go inside the site's hole, and her agitation was noticed by Minoru, but she assured her that she felt all right.
Dean thus took part in the chase after Vasquez, and they saw him leaving the dig site with more rocks. She then encouraged Gert Yorkes to follow him after he stole a car, and spotted his car in a residential area after the Runaways thought that they had lost him. Dean and the others followed Topher inside a house, learning that he had lied to the Runaways: he had found Gibborim rocks the night Hernandez's parents were killed, which had changed him and caused him to hurt his family, resulting in him living on the street. Dean did her best to calm Topher down as he grew more unstable, but to no avail.
As the situation escalated and Vasquez blasted Hernandez out of the house, Dean and the other Runaways ran out to help her. Eventually, Minoru was able to use the Staff of One on Vasquez, but he retaliated by throwing a dumpster at them. The dumpster was repelled by Chase Stein's Fistigons, but accidentally redirected towards Yorkes, who was saved by Vasquez but at the cost of a mortal wound. Dean attempted to help him, but the Runaways were instructed by Topher's sister Sofia Vasquez to leave and to hide the Gibborim rocks.
Dean and the Runaways thus returned to the Hostel, feeling sorry for Hernandez and her loss of a friend. Dean later comforted Minoru after Hernandez accused her of behaving like her mother towards Vasquez, explaining that she had found in Vasquez a way to feel less different. Dean was then praised by Minoru for her understanding and how Minoru found her girlfriend extraordinary, leading to the two girls passionately kissing, with the resulting emotion causing Dean's body to intensely glow. Later that night, Dean decided to secretly leave the Hostel to talk with her mother about Jonah.[4]
At the Dean Mansion, Dean told Leslie that she knew about her extraterrestrial origin thanks to Jonah. She then asked her mother why she had turned on Jonah since she had loved him before, and when Leslie explained that she was scared for her, Dean was willing to defend him. However, Leslie insisted, and Dean was shocked upon being told that Jonah had actually murdered Minoru's sister Amy. At first, Dean refused to believe her mother, but Leslie insisted, leaving Dean troubled.
Dean returned at the Hostel. While practicing her powers in the bedroom she shared with Minoru, she was found by her girlfriend, who noticed that Dean seemed to be hiding something. However, Dean snapped at Minoru, insisting that she was fine and that she simply needed Minoru to give her some space. Later, Dean decided to ask Wilder, who had kept things about Amy from Minoru as well, for advice, and Wilder, although he did not know what secret Dean held from Minoru, insisted that anything related to Amy's death was a very sensitive topic to Minoru.
Dean then took part in a group meeting summoned by Stein after he had learned from his mother that Jonah planned on perpetrating another sacrifice without PRIDE's support. Dean figured out that the sacrifice would take place at the Church of Gibborim Executive Office during a Coruscation ceremony, and they decided to stop it. Before they departed, Dean was asked by Minoru about her wish to take part in a mission that could end her biological father's life, but Dean assured Minoru that she had no problem with it. Due to the tension between them, Dean and Minoru also decided to stop sharing a bedroom.
At the Church of Gibborim's office, Dean used her powers to distract the parishioners during the ceremony, making them believe that a miracle was occurring, thus buying the Runaways enough time to find the Dematerialization Boxes used by Jonah for the sacrifice. She then joined her friends as they opened one of the box, which happened to contain Wilder's father. They decided to bring him back with them, leaving Stein's father in his Healing Algorithm tank as they did not know how to open it.
Deciding she could no longer withhold the truth from Minoru, Dean went to see her in the bedroom they used to share, and confessed that she had secretly been meeting with Jonah to learn more about her powers and that she had started to care about him. Dean then warned that she had something else to reveal to Minoru, and that this would change their relationship forever. As Minoru urged Dean to tell her so they could find peace, Dean revealed that Jonah had murdered her sister. This left Minoru deeply stunned, and Dean begged her to confirm that had been right thing telling her. As Minoru agreed, Dean hugged her in comfort.[20]
Father Lost[]
"You didn't have to kill my father, Nico. You chose to."
Dean's secret meetings with Jonah were revealed to the other Runaways. She also confirmed that there was a spaceship in the PRIDE Construction Site, as Geoffrey Wilder had told them, and informed them that Jonah was her biological father. As they discussed Jonah's planned departure from Earth, Dean was asked whether Jonah would take her away with him, but Dean expressed her trust towards her father. Nevertheless, she was considered to have betrayed the Runaways, causing Alex Wilder and Nico Minoru to decide that Dean would not join the mission to destroy the dig site and end the ever remaining earthquake threat.
However, Dean refused to stay behind while the lives of her newfound family members would be threatened. She thus went to see Gert Yorkes and appealed to her sense of social justice to convince her that they should release the Gibborim trapped in the dig site's hole instead of burying them. Although Alex initially refused to follow this new plan, Minoru agreed, thus changing the Runaways' project. Dean thus sent a text message for Jonah, pretending that she would meet him, so that she would buy the Runaways some time on the dig site to complete their plan.
Dean brings her friends in the hole
Dean thus joined the group at Momo Korean Restaurant near the dig site, waiting for the evening to come. She then used her powers to slowly bring Molly Hernandez, Chase Stein and Minoru down into the hole. Dean instructed Stein to use his Fistigons to cut through the ship's shell, even if it seemed to hurt the Gibborim trapped inside, but the process seemed unsuccessful. They were then contacted by Jonah, who urged them to get out of the hole. As the ship was activated and the earth began to quake, Dean flied out of the hole with Stein and Hernandez, leaving Minoru to leave on her own with the Staff of One after sharing a kiss with her.
At the surface, Dean and the others found out that all of PRIDE had arrived on the site as well. Dean was then shocked as Jonah asked her to come with him back to his home planet. However, Dean refused and elected to stay on Earth with her loved ones, greatly disappointing Jonah, who explained that she would die after the ship was launched should she choose to stay. As the tremors became more intense, PRIDE and the Runaways attempted to stop the ship, and Dean defended Stein against Jonah. She was, however, devastated when the ship was destroyed by the Stein's Anti-Gravity Device and the Yorkes' Anti-Gibborim Serum.
Slowly returning to her senses after the spaceship's explosion, Dean saw Minoru running towards Jonah with the Staff of One in her hands. Figuring out what her girlfriend intended to do, Dean ran after her, but failed to catch up with her and screamed in horror upon seeing Minoru stabbing her father from behind with the Staff of One. She immediately went to help him, but Jonah simply mentioned that he would have to "take it all". Something then seemed to change as Jonah, now speaking with an Australian accent, no longer recognized her, before he died and his body intensely glowed.
Refusing her mother's comfort, Dean left the construction site with the Runaways after Minoru put all of PRIDE members to sleep. Back at the Hostel, she refused to take part in the celebration of their victory over Jonah, and remained in her bedroom. She then accused Minoru of having murdered her father when she could simply have incapacitated him, and expressed her deep resentment towards her girlfriend.[21] Dean and Minoru would then break up, and stopped sleeping together. In the next morning, Dean reviewed her copy of the Book of Gibborim, since its writing had been influenced by Jonah, and figured out that her father might have left a message for her.
Dean then joined the Runaways for breakfast, and openly expressed her opinion that what had happened on the construction site was wrong. As the Runaways offered to hold a funeral for her biological father, Dean replied that she simply needed some time away from the Runaways' activities and that she would not take part in the team's future mission. Her idea was well received by Alex, who suggested that all the Runaways should take some time for themselves.
Dean thus went to the Church of Gibborim Executive Office, and encountered Vaughn Kaye in the parking lot. She pretended that she had forgotten something in Jonah's office, and requested Kaye's help to enter the office. Although warned by Kaye that most of Jonah's stuff was already gone as he was believed to have traveled to Europe, Dean was brought inside the office. She actively searched through Jonah's belongings, but much to her annoyance, she could not find anything for her until a Wizey-controlled system recognized her voice. Opening an ornamental tube, Dean found was she was looking for: a recording device hidden by Jonah.
Dean brought the device back to the Hostel, and listened to its message, which explained how his life had been before she was born, and how he had felt an immense love towards her, and a belief that she was destined for great things.[22]
Team Efforts[]
"If we want to make it out of here, we might have to make a decision there's no coming back from." "There has to be another way. I cannot use my powers to take someone's life."
Although she had not taken part to the mission that had led to the capture of Molly Hernandez by the LAPD, Dean joined the Runaways to rescue her from the Black Box, although it quickly appeared that Hernandez did not really need help as she had already broken free and defeated Flores. Dean was then introduced to Alex Wilder's girlfriend Livvie, and had no problem temporarily welcoming her at the Hostel for safety.
In the next day, Dean joined the group to take a meal at the Simply Blossom restaurant. However, it turned out that Wilder had actually tricked the Runaways into going to that restaurant so that he could meet with AWOL and his squad of corrupt officers. Dean strongly disagreed with this initiative, especially after the strike team threatened to kill them and they only escaped thanks to Nico Minoru and the Staff of One. Dean sympathized with Wilder's grief over the death of his friend Darius Davis, but insisted that his need to get justice for PRIDE's actions was not worth the risk of facing the strike team.
Dean and most of the Runaways returned to the Hostel, where they had to deal with an incredibly agitated Old Lace, who seemed to no longer obey Gert Yorkes. In the next morning, the group was alerted by Livvie that Wilder had met with AWOL once again on his own and had made a deal with him in order to get evidence against PRIDE. Once again, Dean expressed her strong disapproval, stating that Wilder was far too naïve to believe that he could handle working with AWOL. However, Wilder refused to listen to the Runaways' criticism, calling them hypocrites.
Dean then spent some time in her bedroom, and began to hear a strange voice calling her which sounded like Minoru. While searching the source of this voice, she stumbled on Minoru, giving the two girls the opportunity to have their first peaceful talk after their argument over Jonah's apparent death. Dean and Minoru agreed that they should stop fighting, and Dean expressed that she would be willing to once again talk to Minoru about how she felt after a good night sleep.[23]
In the next day, Dean helped the team look after Yorkes, who felt incredibly ill while Old Lace grew even more agitated. Dean barred the door to Old Lace with Hernandez while the rest of the team tried to help Yorkes, but could not find the origin of their sickness. Moreover, the Runaways soon had to deal with another threat: the strike team led by AWOL arrived near the Hostel, which they could not find after Minoru activated a camouflage spell. As Livvie was brought out of one the cars, Dean correctly inferred that the strike team had forced her to disclose the location of the Hostel.
Dean attempted to help during the ensuing negotiations, as AWOL demanded the footage of his shooting at a hospital to be handed over in exchange for Livvie's life. She asked AWOL to stop pointing a gun at Livvie, which the corrupt cop accepted. However, she knew that AWOL wanted the footage to be brought by Minoru because he had figured out that she was responsible for the camouflage. She then listened as Wilder exposed his plan: taking a hostage of their own to have leverage against AWOL.
Therefore, Dean helped Wilder trick AWOL into going inside the Hostel on his own through a broken skylight. Once Wilder, who had taunted AWOL into coming after him, jumped back inside the Hostel, Dean used her powers to catch him mid-air, while AWOL was surprised to find both of them levitating in front of him as he abseiled into the mansion. Thanks to Minoru cutting his rope, AWOL was captured and confronted by Dean, Wilder and Hernandez. However, upon seeing Wilder torturing AWOL with the Fistigons, Dean ordered him to stop.
Taking Wilder to talk with him alone, Dean confronted him about his outburst of violence, causing him to apologize as he explained that he simply feared for Livvie's life. As Wilder stated that the Runaways should be ready to get blood on their hands to get out of their current predicament, Dean refused, claiming that she would not be able to use her powers to kill someone. This led Wilder to go with a less violent plan. Still, Dean attacked AWOL by firing her light beams at him to make him stop mocking Minoru in an attempt to have her break her focus on her spell.
Dean helped Wilder and Hernandez set up a barricade in the Hostel, admiring Wilder's tactician skills. As the strike team was allowed to enter, she hid behind the barricade with Minoru and Wilder while Hernandez went outside to rescue Livvie, but Minoru was unable to attack at the critical moment, and fainted in Dean's arms. Dean thus helped Wilder carry her upstairs, although she was upset that Wilder was unable to hit anyone with the Fistigons. Cornered in a room with Wilder and the unconscious Minoru, Dean prepared to defend herself, but was then surprised by Minoru suddenly regaining consciousness and channeling a powerful energy which banished AWOL and all his strike team to the Dark Dimension.[24]
In the aftermath of the battle, Dean looked after Minoru as best as she could, although her girlfriend felt very exhausted and cranky, insisting to be left alone. She then joined a mission to the Yorkes Residence, where Wilder and Hernandez had figured out that Stein and Yorkes could be held against their will. Dean, who refused to let Wilder use a gun he had taken from the strike team, asked her friends whether they were sure that Stein and Yorkes were imprisoned, and as Hernandez insisted, she helped storm the residence, confronting Yorkes' parents.
Dean and Hernandez went to the residence's basement, where they quickly found Stein and Yorkes, along with Minoru's mother, who was actually periodically controlled by the Magistrate's Daughter. They released their friends and Old Lace, leaving the three members of PRIDE in the basement while they returned to their car. Although they were forced to leave Old Lace behind as she had been incapacitated by Yorkes' father, the Runaways then drove away and returned to the Hostel. There, Dean comforted Hernandez as she broke down about all the ordeals the Runaways had to undergo, stating that the teenagers were trying to remain strong for her.
Along with the rest of the team, Dean seconded Wilder's idea to hold a quinceañera birthday party for Hernandez. Therefore, Dean, Minoru and Yorkes accompanied Hernandez for a shopping session for her to pick up a dress and a pair of shoes. During this time, Dean was approached by Xavin, who intensely stared at her and seemed to know her. However, Xavin disappeared during a moment of distraction from Dean, leaving Dean quite puzzled about this encounter she did not mention to her friends. Dean then returned to the Hostel, helping Hernandez to get dressed for her birthday party.
Like the other Runaways, Dean fully enjoyed the party at the Hostel, celebrating Hernandez's fifteenth birthday by dancing and laughing, momentarily forgetting all the horrible things that had happened to the Runaways. However, the party bitterly ended as Yorkes revealed that Stein planned on leaving the team to return to hisparents. Shocked by this turn of events, Dean quitely listened to Stein's explanation that he needed to be with his real family for the time being. She then comforted Yorkes after her boyfriend's departure.[25]
Dean was alerted by Vaughn Kaye that her mother Leslie had been imprisoned in the Crater, a Church of Gibborim reindoctrination facility, by her legal father Frank. Dean informed the other Runaways and expressed her wish to rescue her mother, but faced Alex Wilder's disapproval, as he judged that saving Leslie was the contrary of what they were supposed to do: bring PRIDE to justice. Although Dean insisted that she could not lose her mother and that they might get information from her, her idea was rejected.
Nevertheless, Dean decided to leave for this mission on her own, with Kaye as sole support. However, she was joined by Minoru and Molly Hernandez, who had decided to help her in Wilder's absence. The three girls thus took the car and picked up Kaye to drive to the Crater. On the way, Dean reassured Kaye that Leslie would forgive him for his responsibility in her reindoctrination, and agreed with his plan that Minoru should discard her dark clothes and makeup to pose as a regular Church of Gibborim member.
Once at the Crater, which Dean noticed seemed far more repressive than what she remembered of it, Dean and the group observed the facility from the other side of the fence. Noticing her father being present on the site, Dean elected to enter the Crater on her own to meet with Frank and persuade him to let her see Leslie. Therefore, Dean was able to enter Frank's office and attempted to manipulate him by appealing to his sense of family, citing how she considered him her real father and how she believed that she could bring Leslie back on the right path of the Church.
As Frank accepted to take her to see Leslie, Dean thought that she had succeeded in her plan. However, she soon found herself locked up alone in a wooden cell by Frank, who explained that he had seen through her lies, blaming both Dean and her mother for the brutal behaviour he was displaying. Dean was unable to escape from the cell since her powers were of no use to her in the Crater, but was eventually found by Susan Ellerh, who revealed to Dean that she actually was her grandmother. Dean listened to Ellerh's life story and asked her to be taken to Leslie.
Therefore, Dean was able to be reunited with her mother. Dean and Leslie then requested Ellerh's help to escape from the Crater, but Ellerh explained that she actually meant for them to stay in the Crater and to purge the Church of Gibborim from Frank's influence. However, Dean and Leslie insisted, causing Ellerh to ask them to wait for the night to leave the facility. Using a forged release form, the three women were nearly able to escape, but they were caught at the exit by Frank, leading a group of guards armed with taser guns and calling Dean and her family apostates.
In an attempt to de-escalate the situation without violence, Dean decided to take advantage of her knowledge of the Church of Gibborim's beliefs. She thus activated her Gibborim-based powers, emitting an intense and colorful aura and flying over the squad of guards and the crowd parishioners, and began to recite an excerpt of the Book of Gibborim, thus apparently fulfilling a prophecy called the Radiance. This was more than enough to win the guards to her side, who opened the gates of the Crater for her. Dean then continued the act by giving her blessing to the guards before hugging her grandmother goodbye, leaving her at the Crater to deal with Frank.
Dean thus left the Crater with Leslie, and reunited with her friends. They then returned to the Hostel, and as Wilder refused to let a former member of PRIDE reside in the mansion, Dean and her friends insisted, explaining that Leslie was pregnant. Dean then talked with Minoru about the events of the Crater, with Minoru expressing true amazement and apologizing for not having intervened, as she confessed that she feared the darkness that she was feeling when manipulating the Staff of One since the siege of the Hostel. Dean comforted and reassured her Minoru, stating that this darkness was part of her powers and her identity and that she would learn how to control it. Dean then kissed Minoru, rekindling their relationship.
Later that night, Dean was surprised upon noticing the presence of Gert Yorkes in her room. However, it turned out that the person standing in front of her was not Yorkes, but the XartanXavin, who introduced themself as Dean's betrothed.[1] Dean was then shown a vision of Xavin's journey to Earth, on which they had arrived millennia ago, at the same time as the Magistrate and his family, before being trapped beneath the surface until the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site. Dean remained bewildered by Xavin's mention of a prophecy stating that the two of them should unite to save the universe.
As Xavin knelt before Dean, making her uncomfortable, the conversation was interrupted by Nico Minoru, leading Dean to explain who Xavin was to the Runaways. Dean believed that the Runaways were partly responsible for Xavin, but was not sure they could be allowed to remain in the Hostel, as the Runaways already had to deal with Leslie Dean's presence. Moreover, another unexpected turn of events came out when Chase Stein contacted the team to set up a meeting. Dean, like the other female Runaways, refused, but Alex Wilder decided that they would talk with Stein nonetheless as he claimed that they were in danger.
Before departing, Dean talked with her mother, urging her to become a better mother to her future baby than she had been to Dean, and claiming that it was too early for her to forgive Leslie. In response, Dean was warned by Leslie that her demonstration of powers at the Crater had made Dean the most important figure of the Church of Gibborim, and that she should be ready to assume the role of a messiah, which Leslie could help her with. They were then interrupted by Xavin, who wanted to come with Dean to the meeting with Stein, but Dean convinced them to stay at the Hostel and protect Leslie.[2]
Father Back[]
"Dad? Why are you doing this? And how is it possible? I don't understand. I watched you die." "And I'm so sorry about that. Believe me, it was painful for both of us. But remember, I warned you I was gonna take everything. That includes you."
Dean therefore joined the group in a forest to meet with Chase Stein. She insisted that all the Runaways were still mad at him and accused him of having always wanted to return to his parents. As Stein detailed that PRIDE was willing to step down and give the reins of the organization to the Runaways, Dean believed it too good to be true, and despite the threat of an open war against PRIDE and the use of the Synnergy Serum on the Runaways should they be defeated, Dean and the group expressed their will to fight against PRIDE.
Once Stein left after failing to convince the Runaways, Dean heard a strange noise slowly growing, which turned out to come from a flock of drones sent by PRIDE to hunt down the Runaways. Dean and the other Runaways thus fled from the tranquilizing darts fired by the drones and hid behind trees. As the Runaways attempted to retaliate, Dean realized that her powers, just like Nico Minoru's ability to cast spells and the Fistigons wielded by Alex Wilder, were ineffective against the drones.
Due to Wilder instructing the Runaways to split up, Dean and Minoru ran away to an underground tunnel and locked the door behind them, causing the drone chasing them to get damaged. However, another drone came from the other end of the tunnel. Therefore, Dean and Minoru decided to split up as well, in order for one of them to not get followed by the drone. The two girls thus expressed their love to each other before sharing a kiss and running away, with Dean being followed by the drone.
Dean managed to take refuge in a warehouse, barring the door behind herself. She then heard the voice of Victor Stein after he, and hid behind a wall to ambush him and attack him with her powers. She then asked Stein why he followed her when his son had already returned home, and ordered him to remain on the ground, but her enemy deployed Inhibitor Pods around her, causing Dean to experience significant pain. However, the pods were deactivated by Xavin, who had tracked down Dean.
Listening to the conversation between Stein and Xavin, who seemed to know each other, Dean then saw Stein attack Xavin with Gibborim powers. This caused Dean to understand that the man chasing her was not really Stein, but her own father, who had taken a new host. Dean then approached the Magistrate, expressing her bewilderment as she had seen Jonah die, but the Magistrate reminded her that he had told her he would take everything including her. Dean was then incapacitated by the Magistrate and brought to the Stein Mansion, where she was placed unconscious in a Healing Algorithm tank.[2]
Trapped in the Algorithm[]
"Why are you asking me about my dad?" "Did you just say your dad?" "And did you just say that I'm in a tube?" "You're in the Algorithm, dear. This is your fantasy wedding with your fantasy bride and your fantasy friends. None of this is real."
Dean went through the Healing Algorithm, unknowing that it was not real life. In the algorithm, she was walked down the aisle by Chase Stein. As she walked, Nico Minoru smiled. The two women then got married in front of everyone, living happily ever after.
Later, she danced with Minoru in the after party. Suddenly, she was approached by Magistrate's Wife, who scolded her. Dean refused to answer the questions, so the Wife revealed that Dean was in an algorithm. The Wife then left and shut down part of the program, leaving Dean to see all of her friends, including Minoru disappear in front of her. Dean collapsed in sadness until the real Nico Minoru was able to find her. The two embraced each other. Alex Wilder then arrived, telling Dean that they would release her.[26]
Dean embraced the fake Minoru, who was dying. Minoru asked why she was so sad if she was fake. With tears in her eyes, Dean told her that she was not sure if she would see the fake Minoru ever again. Suddenly, Magistrate arrived and snapped, making Minoru disappear. He talked to Dean, telling his daughter that she was his prisoner now. Dean complained about his wife and Magistrate admitted that she was trouble. Before leaving, Magistrate snapped Minoru back to life.
Dean went back to mourning Minoru and kissed her as she died. She was then called out to by Chase Stein. She looked over to see Chase and Janet Stein through the wall. They explained that they were stuck too. They told Dean that she needed to wish everything away in order to meet them. Dean did not want to because she did not want to leave Minoru, but they convinced her to. Dean wished everything away and reunited with the Steins.
They found the door out and had to wait for Wilder to open it. Suddenly, Chase started choking as Magistrate took away his oxygen. Dean used her powers to feel through the door and was able to turn on the oxygen, but she felt the algorithm taking her with it. She was pulled off the door, saving her from being merged with the algorithm. Janet then decided to do it herself and had Dean transfer a little of her power to Janet so she could keep it open when Wilder unlocked it. Wilder did just that and allowed Dean to leave.
Dean emerged in real life and saw Xavin defeating Magistrate with the Inhibitor Pods. The Runaways reunited and went home, but not before Minoru and Dean kissed, with Dean apologizing to Minoru for her reaction over Jonah's death. At the Hostel, they argued on if they should let Chase back into the group. Dean simply said she was too tired and had Minoru meet her upstairs. However, Xavin said that was not a good idea. Dean believed that it was because their sexuality ruined the prophecy, but Xavin explained the Magistrate's Son still had not revealed themselves. Minoru agreed, saying she believed she had the Son inside her.[27]
The group worried about who the alien could be, so Karolina went up to get Leslie Dean from the room, but she was gone. Nico Minoru assured Karolina that her mother was okay. They soon decided to sleep before worrying further. Xavin did not want Karolina to be alone, but she insisted that if Minoru was the alien, she would know. Minoru and Dean then went to be and started kissing. However, Minoru started feeling pain. Karolina looked at her and saw Minoru's eyes all cracked. Minoru rushed out of the room, leaving Karolina alone.
The next morning, Leslie returned, having been out. The group decided to break into the Minoru Mansion to get Inhibitor Pods. They did so and went to a park to determine who was the Magistrate's Son. Karolina grabbed the pods and felt pain, indicating that the pods worked. They then tested everyone, but none of them were possessed by the Son. They then went home to test Alex Wilder and Leslie, who were not with them. They were met with emptiness when they got home. They looked at the cameras and realized that Wilder was the Son and he took Leslie.[28]
Karolina and the others tried to understand the shocking and scary revelation. They then watched on the television as it was revealed that Catherine Wilder was murdered. Suddenly, Karolina was called by Tamar, who said that Leslie Dean was there and her water broke.
The Runaways minus Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes arrived. As Karolina lifted her hand, Magistrate's Son ran. Karolina and Nico Minoru chase him. They decided to split up to cover more ground. Karolina ran some more until she was called by Minoru, saying she had him. Karolina arrived to find the Son gone. Minoru explained that he got away. Karolina then returned to her mother and saw that she was carrying Karolina's new sister, Elle Dean. With Leslie safe, they decided to return to the Hostel and oversee the weapons that Stein and Yorkes had been making.[29]
Defeating Her Father[]
Chase Stein happily showed everyone that he made weapons using the Inhibitor Pods. They made fun of his idea to fit the Fistigons with a blade. Nevertheless, the weapons seemed to work, and they were all set to stop the Magistrates from leaving Earth because they would send kill squads to get rid of everyone who came in contact with them. They then got a call from Xavin that Elle Dean was taken by Magistrate's Son.
The Runaways arrived just in time to stop the Magistrate's lift off. As the Magistrate's ran, Karolina stayed in the middle for cover so that the rest could chase them. Xavin then arrived, having got Elle by disguising themself as the Magistrate. Xavin told Karolina about the prophecy and how they had to take the baby to Xarta. Karolina agreed and Xavin left with Elle through the portal, closing it.
All four Magistrate's then blasted the Runaways, but Karolina held them back by blocking their blasts with hers. However, the strength of them overwhelmed her, making the power reach the Runaways, injuring them. Suddenly, the Staff of One emerged from Nico Minoru's chest. She then used the weapon to banish the Magistrates who disappeared into thin air. They wondered if she killed them, but she assured everyone that she did not.[29]
A Time Leap[]
The Dreamland[]
Dean and Nico Minoru woke up in the Hostel, beside each other on a bed. However, they were confused and immediately knew something was wrong. They stepped out of the room and saw the rest of the Runaways, minus Alex Wilder. They looked down to the main room and found a party going on. As they walked through, they found a magician's room. They realized that this was the past and home to Quinton the Great. Quinton greeted them, wanting the group for his magic trick.
They immediately found Quinton to be racist as he explained the realm they were in. He also said how they could begin to lose memories of their past selves the longer they stay. He approached Molly Hernandez, who pushed him back, but found her strength gone. Dean then tried to use her powers, but also found them to be gone. One by one, the Runaways walked through the door. Dean walked through hers only to find that she was separated by the rest. She was dumped out onto the streets of Los Angeles. Dean walked around until she heard her name. She looked to see Destiny Gonzalez. The two hugged, but Dean knew it must not have been her.
Gonzalez got cold and told Dean that the Darkness was coming and they were going to feed Dean to her. Seventeen teenagers then came out of the shadows. Gonzalez revealed that they were the seventeen Rite of Blood sacrifices and it was Dean's fault. Dean claimed she knew nothing about it, but Gonzalez argued that she was a part of it as every single one of them sought shelter at the Church of Gibborim because of Dean's face on the billboards.
Gonzalez then tied Dean up and left her for the Darkness. As Dean struggled to break free. An entity walked over to her. Dean immediately knew it was a much darker and gnarly version of Nico Minoru who was dragging Jonah with a chain. Dean immediately stopped her gaze from Minoru, who noticed. Minoru then claimed that Dean lied as she always said she would love Minoru forever no matter what and she could look past the darkness. Minoru wanted a kiss as Dean promised to love her. Dean agreed, but as long as she was broken free since it was not much of a kiss if only one party wanted it. Minoru gladly broke the chains allowing Dean to run off, grabbing a crowbar. Dean then broke the chain connecting Minoru to Jonah and then ran off through the door.
Dean emerged in the city near a roundabout. Dean immediately recognized the real Nico in a car with her mother. Dean and Nico hugged before the rest of the Runaways also arrived. Chase Stein brought Victor Stein and Gert Yorkes brought Stacey Yorkes. As they talked about how to get out, Stacey approached Molly Hernandez, who did not remember who she was. They realized that Quinton was not lying when he said they would lose themselves. They then remembered to save Wilder, but Nico did not remember Wilder either. The group went back to the Hostel where they were met by Amy Minoru, who immediately said they were Quinton in disguise.
Quinton revealed that he was tasked by Morgan le Fay to get Nico, but after seeing who they truly were, he decided to disobey le Fay. Quinton then revealed that he also did not know the spell to get them out. However, Tina did despite not casting it for years. She took a knife and sliced her hand, then told Nico to do the same. Suddenly, the Staff of One emerged from Nico. She used this, along with her mother's spell to open a portal to Earth. The group then thanked Quinton and stepped through, leaving Wilder.
Returning to the Hostel, the parents finally realized how they have been able to survive while being Runaways. Dean was grateful for Nico and Tina's spell. However, they did notice that there were many cobwebs, and the Hostel was very dirty. Dean went to Wilder's room and pressed his computer. Chase looked at it and realized it had not been backed up for over six months. Wilder backed up his computer all of the time, meaning they had been gone for six months.[30]
Nico's Broken Path[]
Dean woke up the next morning to find many stuffed birds. Nico Minoru apologized, saying that she was trying to recreate the spell to get Alex Wilder back, but since she could not do the same spell twice, it kept creating stuffed birds. The group was starving, so they went out to eat, waiting in a line to do so. As they waited, a man named Max handed out new Corvus phones.
Dean and the rest of the Runaways then ate their breakfast before seeing Max and another kid get into a fight outside after Max accidentally cracked the kid's phone. Molly Hernandez broke up the fight leading to Chase Stein wondering why there would be a fight over a simple phone. Dean then went out to find her mother as she figured she had been very worried.
At the Church of Gibborim, Dean was very surprised to find that it was alive and well, even arguably having more faith that previously. Leslie welcomed her, thankful to see Karolina again. She then asked about Xavin and Elle Dean. Back at the Hostel, Karolina and Minoru walked towards Stein and a very impatient Gert Yorkes. Yorkes was yelling at Stein, who claimed to pull a feather out of the Corvus phone and caused the phone to disintegrate. Stein gave Yorkes his phone, but Minoru grabbed it to make sure it was not evil or anything. Angry, Yorkes grabbed it, nearly hurting Minoru.
Stein, Minoru, and Dean created a spell with the feather that allowed them to see Wilder. As Wilder screamed for help, Minoru's eyes started cracking from Dark Dimension energy. Afraid, Dean pushed the bowl away, breaking the spell. She tried to argue that Minoru was losing herself, but an angry Minoru left. The group walked back and found Yorkes being even more angry because of the phone. She then woke up from the trance, realizing the phone was evil. They argued that Morgan le Fay knew that, but Minoru defended le Fay because she wanted le Fay to help her get Wilder.
The group then went to a Wizard party as they knew le Fay was there. At the party, Minoru went off on her own to scout out le Fay. Dean said that she trusted her enough to do that. Dean then sneaked around and found a window to a building. Inside the building, le Fay's Morgan le Fay's Coven danced around with warped faces. Dean was then startled by le Fay, who knew why she was there and also knew that Dean loved Minoru. Dean then walked off, finding Minoru to warn her. However, Minoru believed that Dean was scared of her, which sparked an argument that ended with Minoru walking off with le Fay. Dean returned home to find Hernandez under the Corvus spell.[31] Together, the group was able to get the phone out of Hernandez's hand and Dean used her powers to break it, which also broke the spell.[32]
Captured[]
Dean called Nico Minoru ten times, but received no answer as Minoru was with Morgan le Fay. When Minoru finally returned, Dean approached her, warning about le Fay. However, Minoru just wanted to get Alex Wilder back by any means. This would diminish the strength in their relationship. Minoru then left once again.
Dean returned to see the other Runaways trying to get Wilder's computer running so they could spread the word on the Corvus phones, but were unsuccessful. Dean then offered to take them to the Church of Gibborim to use their computers. At the church, Dean was helped by her mother. They then uploaded a live stream telling everyone how bad the phones were and to destroy them. However, the stream was magically deleted without a trace, likely from le Fay.
The group stepped out, defeated. They then came across Molly Hernandez's friend, Bodhi. They talked to him, but Bodhi crossed them as witches, Bronwyn and Cassandra approached, knocking everyone unconscious. Dean and everyone else woke up, tied to chairs, in a room with Victor Stein, Stacey Yorkes, and Dale Yorkes. Dean's powers were prohibited by magic.[32]
Saving Alex[]
The group remained tied up until Chase Stein managed to untie Gert Yorkes. At that time, a mind controlled Geoffrey Wilder walked in, telling them to stop. Suddenly, Nico Minoru teleported there with two others. The others helped them take down the sorcerers, but told her not to kill Wilder. The man then grabbed everyone and teleported them to the Dark Dimension. The two helpers introduced themselves as Cloak and Dagger.
Minoru explained that they were in the Dark Dimension to get Alex Wilder. This angered Dean, who tried to talk to Minoru, saying that she should not have done this without consulting the team. Minoru realized her fault and apologized as she only wanted to save Wilder. The group then walked into Quinton the Great's room, but saw blood and swords everywhere.
They then walked through the doors, but Dean and Minoru held hands, so they did not get separated. Luckily, the door did not separate anyone this time and they saw a burned down Los Angeles. They were also on the outside of the Hostel, which was above ground. Dean remarked at how good it looked. They then walked through the city, but were found by AWOL. They ran into an alley, but were cornered. Suddenly, Quinton came out of nowhere, saving them. They were led into a building with Quinton saying that Wilder was in a prison on the top floor. However, as they walked in, they heard Quinton screaming behind them.
Dean walked with Dagger as Minoru led the way. Dagger voices her worries over Minoru as she seemed to be leading them to their deaths. Dean voiced that she was also worried, but trusted Minoru. She said they were all "Team Nico," but Bowen said it was not much of a team. They soon heard screaming behind them. They turned around to find Cloak, Stein, and Yorkes gone. Dagger grew worried, not wanting to move on without Cloak, but Minoru pushed them along, wanting to find Wilder before they lost their memories.
Dagger touched Minoru, who proceeded to get very scared and mad, saying that Bowen just read her hopes with her powers. Bowen explained that she needed to know she could trust Minoru. As they walked on, Bowen tried to explain herself to Dean, who sided with Minoru. Bowen said that she was not going reveal what she saw, but she could trust them now. As they reached the top floor, they saw Stein and Yorkes in trouble in the other building. Minoru created a spell to get them over. They then fought, but were no match as Quinton returned in an evil zombified version of himself. Quinton soon grabbed Dean, angering Minoru who told Bowen to throw her a dagger. Minoru caught it and infused it with her dark matter which solidified it. She then ran at Quinton and stabbed him.
They were then able to get to Wilder's prison. The group embraced him and held hands as Johnson teleported them home. When they got back to the Hostel, Bowen said they needed to go back as she sensed something awful in Wilder. The group chalked it up to Wilder being in the Dark Dimension for so long.[33]
Defeating le Fay[]
The Runaways looked around the Hostel, unable to find Molly Hernandez anywhere. They then called her. Hernandez picked up and told everyone she was fine. Now relaxed, Dean talked to Nico Minoru, who wanted to defeat Morgan le Fay anyway possible. Dean told her that she had to stop the darkness within her, but Alex Wilder emerged into the conversation, agreeing with Minoru.
The parents then arrived at the Hostel, having saved Hernandez from le Fay. Confused, they said that Hernandez claimed she was okay. Hernandez explained that she was forced to say it as she was under le Fay's spell. The group then talked about how to defeat le Fay. Nico talked about how she could use her dark dagger. Karolina then talked to her mother until Dale Yorkes approached them. He said that he heard Karolina was unable to hear the spells cast by le Fay. He then explained that it might be a genetic thing that could be used to create a serum. Karolina was more than happy to help as Dale created a serum to inject everyone with that negated le Fay's effects.
Suddenly, Chase Stein got infected by a Corvus phone. They destroyed it, but were confused at how it got there. Their questions were answered when le Fay arrived shortly after. Stein and Karolina immediately blasted her, but le Fay easily blocked the attack. She then gave the kids a choice, either fight and die, or submit and be freed. Alex Wilder was the first to kneel, saying he did not want any more torture. Everyone except Minoru soon kneeled, with Karolina saying she did not want Minoru to get hurt. However, this was just a distraction to give Victor Stein enough time to shut down the Corvus satellites.
le Fay then shot energy at Minoru, who blocked it with her Staff of One. Karolina helped Minoru, by blasting a shield around her. She held this power for a while before being defeated by le Fay, who walked towards Karolina, preparing to kill her, saying that Minoru was hers and no one could get in the way of that. She cast a spell on Karolina before delivering a final blow.[3]
Dean sees the body
However, she was distracted by Molly Hernandez. This gave Chase Stein enough time to get salt and start pouring a circle around le Fay. She shot him with glass shards. As Stein collapsed, he brushed the salt and completed the circle. Tina Minoru then ran in and used the circle to cast a spell, sending le Fay back to the Dark Dimension. They then watched as Stein began dying from the shards. However, another Chase Stein ran over celebrating. Confused, they looked back at the dying Stein and saw that he was disappearing. They realized that he was a time traveler who saved them.
The next day, the Runaways met at the entrance of the Hostel. They told Wilder that he needed to hurry up. They then joined together and walked out to get breakfast.[8]
Personality[]
"Gert was right, I was the perfect church girl. I never did anything disobedient or different or what I wanted. But now that I know I'm, like, a total freak, maybe I'm free to be who I really am. And to be honest about who I want to be with."
Initially, Karolina publicly appeared as a kind, smiley and optimistic figure, which her mother Leslie Dean frequently used in order to welcome new adepts into the Church of Gibborim. Deep down, however, Karolina was struggling with her mother's strict expectations. She was interested in what other people like Destiny Gonzalez felt when going against their family's expectations and was eager to break away from her role of the perfect daughter to explore her sense of identity and pursue her own desires, especially regarding her homosexuality and her feelings towards Nico Minoru. Despite Karolina sometimes disagreeing with her mother, she had a hard time accepting that Leslie was a criminal and was utterly shocked when this was confirmed.
When she discovered her powers, Dean was firstly afraid of them, due to not knowing their origin and fearing that it could be related to PRIDE's illegal activities. She feared that her friends would consider her a freak if she revealed it to them, but ultimately decided to trust Chase Stein and tell him about it. As he reacted positively, Dean did not hesitate to publicly use her powers against Darius Davis, with her friends once again expressing amazement. Later, Minoru reassured Dean about her abilities, telling her that it did not change the person she was. Dean thus had the desire to learn more about her powers, which led her to secretly meet with her biological father, Jonah. In the end, she became very skilled in using her powers to the right extent, for example using them to manipulate the Church of Gibborim residents at the Crater to let her go.
Dean is a very compassionate person with the ability to forgive others. She was the only one, beside Molly Hernandez, to be ready to accept Topher Vasquez in the Hostel as she believed that the Runaways could not refuse to a homeless teenager wat they had looked for as well. She was also the person who expressed the most trust and gratitude towards Alex Wilder as he struggled to find money and material for the Runaways to survive in the street, whereas the others were questioning his loyalty and suspected him to be a PRIDE mole. Dean also displayed incredible levels of bravery and sense of self-sacrifice. When the Runaways were confronted by Jonah during the Infiltration into the PRIDE Construction Site, she did not hesitate to tell her friends to leave to safety while she remained behind to fight PRIDE on her own, leading to her capture. On a more romantic note, she also found the courage to confess her feelings to Minoru, which enabled her to start a relationship with her friend.
Hybrid Physiology: Karolina Dean is part of an extraterrestrial species known as Gibborim and part Human, possessing various superhuman attributes.
Light Generation: Dean has the ability to emit a glowing and glittering rainbow-colored bioluminescent light and shoot it from her hands as well.
Bioluminescence: When she removes her bracelet, Dean's skin emits an aura of iridescent light. She later learned to control her powers with the help of Jonah and can now light up whenever she wants.
Light Beam Emission: Dean is able to project beams of light which are capable of blinding and injuring her enemies. She also can create power outages when using her full power.
Technology Manipulation: Dean used her light to hack into Nico Minoru's parents home where she programmed their security system to allow them inside of the building.
Force-Field Generation: Dean created a light-based energy shield to block an attack from Tina Minoru. Once she received enough training for this power, Dean was able to create bigger shields, including once strong enough to withstand Morgan le Fay's dark magic for a time.
Flight:
Dean flying with her colorful aura and projecting beams of light
Dean is able to fly with her rainbow-colored aura. She is also capable of letting two other people fly as long as they hold hands with her. When this occurs, some of the light which she emits flows around the individual she is carrying.
Longevity: According to the Magistrate, Dean's half-Gibborim physiology would enable her to live for thousands of years.
Magic Resistance: Unlike the other Runaways, Dean discovered that she remained unaffected by the Magic imbuing the Corvus phones to enthrall their users, as she simply did not hear Morgan le Fay's voice coming from the devices. Dale Yorkes hypothesized that this was due to her Gibborim genes and was able to craft a protecting serum from Dean's blood. However, Dean can still be at least partially affected by magic, as she was shown to be unable to use her powers while in the Dark Dimension.
Given to her by her mother, Dean was told never to take her bracelet off. However, unbeknownst to her, it was actually suppressing her powers. Having no control on how to turn her "glow" on and off, she kept the bracelet and wore it when she wanted to deactivate her powers. Once she later learned to fully control her powers after she was taught by her father, Dean had no use of her bracelet anymore and discarded it.
Karolina lived in this wealthy residence with her parents Leslie and Frank Dean. However, she ran away from home due to having discovered PRIDE's illegal activities.
Timely Coffee: Like the other Runaways, Dean spent a lot of time in the Timely Coffee where the teenagers met to discuss their plans to counter PRIDE's projects.
Hostel: Dean was the first one of the Runaways to find this underground mansion, falling through a ceiling window during the Chase of Mike. As the teenagers elected residence in the Hostel, Dean ended up sharing a bedroom with her girlfriend Nico Minoru. However, they briefly slept in separate rooms due to the tension caused by Minoru's killing of Dean's biological father, but eventually slept together once again.
Prisons[]
Stein Mansion: Having been captured by the Magistrate, Dean was imprisoned in a Healing Algorithm pod inside the Stein Mansion's lab, and was put into a simulation of her wedding with her girlfriend, Nico Minoru. She was eventually rescued by the Runaways and left the mansion.
