𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 | 𝐀. 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑 [𝟐]

➛⠀𝟭𝟯 | 𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗥

"Let's get rid of him." Chase immediately proposed.

"I'm with Chase." Alex quickly agreed as he crossed his arms.

"Isn't he just like us?" Molly asked the group.

"So what? We find safety and then we just abandon everybody else?" Karolina asked as well.

"We are Brentwood people." Gert shrugged.

Molly shook her head in disagreement. "That's wrong. Let him stay." She urged. "The cops aren't even looking for us anymore."

You sighed. "Maybe. But PRIDE is persistent. They'll get cops involved just to take us back. Besides, who knows if we can even trust that man?" You asked, your gaze falling on Topher, who was still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Yeah. I mean, look at him." Chase agreed. "He's all—"

"Homeless? Dirty? Hungry?" Karolina asked, siding with Molly.

"Uh, hello? Gert, stand up for this guy." Molly turned to face her adoptive sister, who was frantically embracing herself.

Gert gulped. "In the 100-yard dash between my anxiety and my idealism, I'm ashamed to say my anxiety is winning. I'm a hypocrite. It's official." She exclaimed anxiously.

Alex shook his head at Gert. "Don't apologize. Why should we risk letting a stranger in here?"

You and Nico went to Topher, who grabbed a vial from his pocket and poured something on his wrist as the others continued to talk. Nico's gaze narrowed, and you furrowed your brows. Topher rubbed something on his arm, and his eyes, like Molly's, turned a yellow-orange color.

"You guys," Nico called out, attracting everyone's attention. Topher locked his gaze on Molly, while Chase gasped. "What the...?"

Except for Molly, Topher punched the barrier around him with his powers, making everyone step back and flinch. You prepared two balls of psionic energy to launch at Topher, ready to throw them at him in case he was about to attack your teammates, but Molly shook her head as she faced you and the rest of the team. "No, (Y/n)." She reassured. "You guys, he's not going anywhere."

You locked your gaze on Topher and cocked your head to the side as he returned your stare. Alex grabbed your wrist and motioned you to calm down a bit. "Don't." He whispered. "As much as we all want that right now, we can't let you waste an ounce of energy for this guy." You breathed through your nose and you powered down, listening to Alex.

You and your friends brought Topher up where Old Lace was. You and the other members of the team decided that Topher should stay with Old Lace so Gert's dinosaur could keep an eye on him. Old Lace smelled Topher and hissed as he neared the dinosaur. Topher lowered his gaze to the creature. "So... what is it?"

"It's a 'she'." Gert corrected.

"She's a rescue," Nico answered.

"So her breed is unclear," Karolina added.

"Pit mix, maybe?" Chase suggested as he glanced at Karolina.

Old Lace gave a low growl before backing away and returning to the resting spot Gert had set up for her. Topher nodded in understanding. "So a girl with glowing eyes, two witches with the other one having a magic stick, and now a stray pup who had Godzilla for a dad. Feels like I'm in the right place."

"Too bad we don't think you are." You muttered, causing Molly to nudge you while earning a proud smirk from Alex. Molly shook her head at you while she smiled at Topher. "Yes." She looked at you and the others. "See, maybe I had to become a vigilante in order to find someone just like me. To bring in the eighth member of, you know, whatever we are."

Alex looked at Molly with a cocked eyebrow. "Okay, Molly. Slow down."

"He's a stranger," Chase replied.

"He's got powers just like me." Molly insisted. "That can't just be a coincidence."

"Hey," Nico called out. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's late, and everyone has a lot of questions." She pointed her finger to the area where Topher is going to rest and stay. "You sleep there."

Gert moved her finger to point at Old Lace. "She sleeps here."

Alex sighed. "Yeah, I'm going to bed." He pushed himself out of the railings as he stared at Topher. "My parents murdered my friend and cost me someone I really cared about, so this guy? Not that important to me." As he went away, his fingers brushed over yours, and the others followed him.

You waited for Nico, and as the two of you began to walk away, your adoptive sister wrapped her arms around your shoulders. Topher took a seat, staring at you and Nico. "Got an extra room." He suggested, causing you and Nico to halt. "I got no secrets."

Nico turned around and pulled herself away from you, raising an eyebrow at Topher. "I think you do. My sister and I saw what you did."

"What I did?" Topher questioned. "And what'd I do?"

You turned around and stood next to Nico. "We don't know exactly, but you better believe we're gonna find out. My best friend and my sister's girlfriend might buy your bullshit, but I don't trust you for a second." You stated, glaring intensely at Topher.

"O ye of little faith." Topher smiled at you.

"Stick it up your ass." You used your powers to pull the drapes to the side, covering Topher, before walking away with your adoptive sister.

-•-°-•-°-☆

I just recently watched Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness!

Now, a note for my dear readers: the story for this fanfic has been planned before the release of Multiverse of Madness. So if there are any coincidental sequences in this book that are similar to scenes in the movie, it was purely unintentional. Besides, the movie won't really affect this story since this fanfic is focusing on Marvel's Runaways, which is not MCU canon. I only selected a few MCU characters, scenes, and things canon in this book, so I get to choose what to add and what not to include.

Okay, bye 🤍