Nico Minoru (Earth-1010)

{{Character Template
 * Quote                  = Take my advice. When the world goes crazy you run...You run away.
 * Speaker                = Nico Minoru
 * Image                  = Nico Minoru.png
 * ImageSize              = 250px
 * RealName               = Nico Minoru
 * Aliases                = Sister Grimm, the Asian Sensation
 * Identity               = No Dual

Witchbreaker (great-grandmother, deceased); Robert Minoru (father, presumably deceased); Tina Minoru (mother, presumably deceased);
 * Affiliation            = Runaways
 * Relatives              =
 * Universe               = Earth-1010
 * BaseOfOperations       = The Hostel, La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, California formerly Murderworld; The Hostel, Bronson Canyon, Los Angeles, California; Glendale, California


 * Gender                 = Female
 * Height                 = 5' 4"
 * Weight                 = 102 lbs (46 kg)
 * Eyes                   = Brown
 * Hair                   = Black
 * Unusual Features       = multiple piercings, missing left fore-arm


 * Citizenship            = American
 * MaritalStatus          = Single
 * Occupation             = Adventurer
 * Education              = High-school dropout


 * Origin                 = Magical birthright; magician
 * PlaceOfBirth           = Los Angeles, California
 * Creators               = Brian K. Vaughan; Adrian Alphona
 * First                  = TBA


 * HistoryText            =

Runaways
Every year, Nico Minoru's parents would join five other couples in a "charity event." One year, Nico and the other kids decided to spy on their parents. Nico was shocked to discover her father speaking a strange enchantment, and after witnessing the murder of an innocent girl by their parents ("The Pride"), Nico joined the others in running away from their parents.

While on the run, Nico reencounters her parents. Her mother, wielding a large staff with a ball at the end ("the Staff of One"), reveals that she and Nico's father were dark wizards. She then attempts to jam the Staff into Nico's chest. Nico's body, curiously, absorbs it. After she is later cut by Dale Yorkes' samurai battle-axe, the Staff re-emerges from her chest, prompting Nico to use the phrase "Freeze", and freeze Stacey Yorkes. Nico was discovered to be a witch, and the Staff would only emerge when she bled. Sometime after running off, Nico took on the name Sister Grimm to escape the name her parents gave her, but dropped it after a while. After team leader Alex outs himself as a mole and was defeated along with the Pride, Nico is accepted as the groups' leader.

Mystic Arcana
Following the team's initial dissolution, Nico was sent to live at Father Flanagan's Home for Unwanted Goth Kids. While there, she was soon talked into going to a nightclub with her friends, where she met her parents' old rival Marie Laveau; Laveau sought revenge on Nico's parents for stealing the Black Mirror, one of the four Cornerstones of Creation. After Laveau explained that she needed Nico's blood to activate the Black Mirror, Nico willingly offered it up, knowing that this would bring out the Staff of One. The two fought, and Nico easily prevailed. Having regained the mirror, Nico attempted to bring back Alex Wilder using the Mirror; however, the spell failed, the Mirror shattered and the last page of the Darkhold was revealed behind the glass. Laveau took it and fled, while Nico accepted her place as an outcast and with the Runaways.

As a fugitive
After being warned of a future threat named Victor Mancha, Nico and the Runaways found and abducted Victor to question him. After Victor's mother was murdered and Ultron, his father, was destroyed, Nico invited Victor to become a part of the team, much to the anger of some members, notably Chase. Nico reassured them that she was willing to "rip Victor's damn heart out" if necessary. Karolina tried to kiss Nico, revealing that she was a lesbian.

After Chase tied Nico up before he attempted to sacrifice himself to the Gibborim, Nico interpreted it as a cry for help and led the Runaways to intervene Chase's self-sacrifice. The Gibborim instead attempted to take Nico, revealing that Nico's soul was innocent, thus suitable for the Gibborim's consumption. Victor rescued Nico and the two formed a relationship. After defeating the Gibborim, Victor asked Nico what she was willing to do if Chase did something like this again; Nico responded by saying she was willing to "rip Chase's damn heart out" if necessary. After returning to their lair beneath the La Brea Tar Pits, Xavin realized she had publicly exposed their location, drawing the attention of Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D.. Nico, stepping into her role as a leader, led the Runaways in a cross-country escape from Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Witchbreaker
After escaping the authorities, the Runaways headed to New York where Nico anxiously made a deal with the Kingpin. In a twisted turn of events, the Runaways ended up time-displaced in 1907 New York, where Nico was kidnapped and brought to a woman named "the Witchbreaker." The Witchbreaker claimed she was Nico's great-grandmother, and stated she would teach Nico how to withstand more pain and, therefore, wield more magic with better proficiency. She wielded a weapon similar to the Staff of One, with more adornments. When reunited with her comrades, a significant development to Nico's abilities was evident, where she was freely able to float, displayed more proficiency and confidence in casting spells and was able to use a spell with an effect more complicated than most of her others thus far. Somehow Nico had obtained the Witchbreaker's Staff.

Avengers Arena
Nico was one of the 16 super-powered teens captured and brought to Murderworld where Arcade planned on them to kill each other in order to survive. She was transported there alongside with Chase. When Arcade woke them up, Nico was among those who do not attack him.

She stayed with Chase and later tried with her to team-up with the other teenagers, but when Chase quickly accused to had attacked and burned Reptil, the Runaways were rejected, and Nico, affected by the destruction of her magical tree by Hazmat, rejected herself Chase. When Arcade informed the participants of the existence of safe zones, the Runaways were seen still together. At this point, they teamed-up with Cammi.

Eventually, their group rejoined the Braddock Academy, and the whole of them were later witness of a vengeance assault from Juston and Death Locket. There, Chase revealed his Darkhawk's powers.

The fight evolved into a Juston/Darkhawk duel and was aborted by Tim's technopathy. Once everybody calmed down, they had to vote on Tim's fate. Nico voted for Tim to stay alive, but Chase wished for his death. Since most of the group wanted him to stay with them, Chase tried to take the kill but was expelled from the group by Nico's Staff. Later that night, Nico agreed to be on watch, allowing Tim and Death Locket to have a romantic moment. She was unaware by leaving, Tim reverted back to Katy, killed Juston and vanished off with the remains of Juston Seyfert's Sentinel and Death Locket.

xplaining the situation to her awakening teammates, she was designated the fighter of the group because of her power set. Katy quickly attacked back, manipulating Juston's Sentinel and Death Locket. Nico cast a spell to teleport Nara, Aiden, Cammi, and Cullen away, saving their lives. Nico closed the portal before she could teleport herself.

She then confronted Katy and her weapons, and was attacked by Chase, controlled in his Darkhawk form by Apex, who ripped off her left arm and pushed her from a cliff. Wounded to death, she was able to formulate a last spell (Help) before dying, afraid of dying alone.

Nico was later revived by the Staff of One, using her last spell as well as her blood as a sacrifice to bring her to life. The spell restored her missing arm and the rest of her body. Her staff is now half the size of what it was, while the other half seems to have been made into a gauntlet on her new arm. It appears that her staff and her gauntlet both work similar in forms of magic spell, as her previous Staff of One did. Nico then went to attack against Katy, Death Locket, and Chase, where she destroyed the sentinel and defeated Chase. Nico then used a spell that buried Death Locket and Katy, which she believed to have killed them.

These events leave her so distraught that, upon subduing Cullen's monster form, she tries to kill him and orders Chase to hold off Cammi, believing that all being herself did while inside the game was earn her a early death. Cammi confronts her in the Darkhawk Armor, having taken it from Chase, and tries to reason with her. At first the talk between Cammi and Nico seems to be working out, until Nico realizes she has the amulet of Darkhawk. This makes her suspect Cammi has harmed Chase. Before Cammi can explain, the two engage in battle. Eventually they and other contestants are distracted by Hazmat's powers going out of control.

After the situation with Hazmat is handled, Nico along with several others stop fighting one another and decide to work together. The teenagers agree that it isn't easy to kill one another, and worse, Apex is now causing several creatures to attack them all. In the end, Death Locket saves Nico and the rest of them by killing Apex and stopping Arcade's machinery. Later, several adult superhero teams arrive on Murderworld, rescuing Nico and the surviving teenagers.

Nico has magical aptitude, but she did not receive formal training. So far she has relied on the Staff of One to work magic. After her encounter with Witchbreaker, her abilities were augmented so that she can create smaller magical effects without the aid of the Staff. She can freely float, although this ability is not as useful as actual flight which requires a spell. She can cast spells to change her surroundings, such as transforming the inside of a building.
 * Powers                 =
 * Flight: She can fly with the Staff of One.
 * Magical Telekinesis: She can magically levitate and move objects with her mind.
 * Magical Teleportation: She can open portals to teleport people to other places.
 * Witch Arm: The new arm works similar to her using the Staff of One to cast spells.


 * Abilities              =
 * Strength               =
 * Weaknesses             = She cannot repeat spells with the Staff: they either will not work at all or will cause a random effect. This was evident in the early period of the Runaways escape from their parents when Nico attempted to reuse the "Freeze" spell she had used on Stacey Yorkes, and accidentally conjured a flock of pelicans. The use of different languages and the extent of her vocabulary permit her to perform more spells.
 * Equipment              =
 * Transportation         = Leapfrog
 * Weapons                =
 * The Staff of One: This ancient magical item has become a part of Nico. She can call it forth by shedding blood (through cutting herself, menstruating, or being wounded) and reciting, "When blood is shed, let the Staff of One emerge." The staff appears out of her chest, passing through her skin and clothing without harm. Once summoned, the staff used to work for anyone. But as evidenced by the confrontation with Val Rhymin's magician, the Staff has recently developed the ability to defend itself in a violent manner. Nico can cast spells by invoking painful memories, thinking of an effect, and giving the spell a name. There are no "standard" spells; in fact, casting any spell a second time produces an unpredictable (and usually undesirable) effect. Nico's spells can affect the elements (earth, air, fire, water), time and/or space, matter and/or energy, light, biological processes, and mental processes, and can apparently summon creatures from other dimensions; in short, the staff allows Nico to do anything she can imagine, short of raising the dead. After the staff has expended a certain amount of power, it disappears inside Nico again. The Staff has been recently updated into a version of the Witchbreaker's Staff, Nico's magical powers considerably augmented.
 * Witch Arm: After losing her arm, the blood spilled from her injury greatly improved Nico's powers with the Staff of One. Her missing arm was then replaced with what Chase described as her "Witch Arm", a magical gauntlet with a jewel embedded in the back of the palm which seems to generally improve her magical ability and act as a real arm in place of the one she lost.

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 * Notes                  =
 * Trivia                 = * Nico is sixteen years old during the events of Runaways.
 * Nico and her family are of Japanese descent.
 * Nico was raised in the Christian faith, and was even an altar girl.
 * She says she had My Little Ponies in kindergarten and that Gert hid them in the woods.
 * Links                  =