Nearly two decades ago, a group of petty thieves, minor league scientists, bumbling time travelers, soap stars, and other unsavory characters were contacted by the gigantic Gibborim, who offered them a shot at immortality in exchange for betraying the human race. Newlyweds Tina and Robert Minoru brought magical expertise to this group, which began calling itself the Pride. Several years after the Pride's formation, its couples decided to have children. Tina and Robert produced a daughter, Nico, who spent much of her life in the dark about her parents' dark dealings. Eventually, Nico and the other Pride offspring discovered their parents' secret sacrificial ritual and ran away from home. After a confrontation with her parents, Nico discovered she could control the mystical Staff of One formerly wielded by her mother. When the Runaways decided to adopt new names, Nico chose Sister Grimm, her AOL Instant Messenger screen name. Nico became attracted to one of her fellow Runaways, Alex Wilder, though this didn't stop a vampiric teen who had infiltrated their group from seducing both Nico and Lucy In The Sky, who destroyed the vampire after he tried to turn Nico. The Pride kept close tabs on their children, and manipulated vigilantes Cloak and Dagger into trying to bring the Runaways home. The kids managed to convince Cloak and Dagger of the Pride's evil, but before the duo could alert the authorities, their memories were wiped by the Pride. After a confrontation with the LAPD, the Runaways decided to take the fight to their parents. Infiltrating the Pride's secret lair, the Runaways discovered that Alex had sold them out, but managed to destroy the Pride's pact with the Gibborim by destroying their sacrifice, leading to Alex's death. The remaining Runaways escaped and were found by Captain America, after which they were split up and placed into new homes. After three months, however, they each escaped and decided to remain together to face whatever challenges life had in store for them.