The Young Pride of Los Angeles is a Runaways alternate-universe fanfiction by Strix Obscuro.
In an alternate version of the Marvel Universe, humanity - and pretty much every other sentient species - is locked in an endless war against the Gibborim, who are determined to destroy all life by unleashing hordes of monsters. The mutants have been depowered, magic doesn't work properly, and humans have resorted to piloting big robots to fight the bigger monsters and webbing to fight the smaller ones.
In the midst of all this, the Pride of Los Angeles, a retired group of legendary mecha pilots, has discovered the key to turning the tide and taking back Earth. Problem is, they've gotten used to their cushy lives, and don't particularly want to see the world restored to normal, so they've made a deal - they will allow the Gibborim to rampage, as long as their families remain safe and prosperous.
Meanwhile, their children, calling themselves the Young Pride of Los Angeles, go to war, unaware that all their battles have been prearranged for them to win.
This series contains examples of:
- Alternate Company Equivalent: Squadron Supreme is an expy of the Justice League of America, the Golden Agency is an expy of the Justice Society of America, and the Young Order is an expy of Young Justice.
- Arranged Marriage: The Deans have tried to set up both their daughters in advantageous marriages to increase their power.
- Black and Nerdy: Alex Wilder, Elijah Bradley, and David Alleyne.
- Blessed with Suck: In this universe, James Howlett is one of the few mutants to regain his powers. Unfortunately for him, his healing power means that he gets endlessly redeployed to the field, and the Gibborim can sense his mutation and thus constantly swarm him.
- Breather Episode: Following a major battle, the first arc ends with a lighthearted chapter featuring Xavin trying to set up Dorrek and Billy on a date while Klara and Molly go out in a futile quest to acquire alcohol.
- Cast Full of Gay: Karolina is a lesbian, Klara is demisexual, Molly is bisexual, Dorrek and Billy are gay, and Xavin is genderfluid, and those are just the focus characters.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The Pride have a bad case of this; the heads of each family are constantly trying to undermine the others. This is particularly pronounced in their management of the Young Order, a team they set up for publicity but which has become loaded with kids who are all expected to spy on each other for the benefit of their respective patron families.
- Les Collaborateurs: The Pride is secretly aiding the Gibborim in order to keep the war going and maintain their own positions.
- Decadent Court: The Skrull diaspora lost its Emperor, and the surviving royal family are overwhelmed by the prospect of trying to lead a former galaxy-spanning empire out of a handful of outposts, leaving them highly dependent upon increasingly corrupt advisers. The only two who actually want to fix this are Dorrek VIII and Xavin, but nobody really listens to them because they're teenagers.
- Humongous Mecha: To combat the Gibborim's army of giant monsters, humanity has resorted to sending out kids in giant war machines.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Klara fervently wishes she was a Majesdanian like her adopted family.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: The bleak landscape has naturally inspired a lot of drinking and drug use as a coping mechanism. The breather episode has a B-plot of Molly and Klara trying to acquire alcohol to treat their nerves after a mission goes wrong.
- Lipstick Lesbian: As with her Earth-616 counterpart, the Karolina of this universe is a very feminine lesbian.
- Mega City: New Angeles, a massive city covering most of the Eastern Seaboard.
- Massive Multiplayer Crossover: The series includes members of the Runaways, the Young Avengers, the New Mutants, and various other teen-superhero teams.
- Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Whereas their Earth-616 counterparts are somewhere between eleven and twelve years old, Molly and Klara are thirteen in YPLA.
- Psycho Psychologist: Dr. Alice Hayes gleefully abuses her authority as a counselor to the pilots in order to approve completely unsuitable candidates for duty.
- Race Lift: In this universe, the Golden Age hero Black Marvel was a black man, Omar Mosely, rather than Dan Lyons, the white man who held that name in the Earth-616 universe. His protege Richie Gilmore has also been changed from white to having Blackfoot descent.
- Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: The Gibborim of this universe were banished from Earth because of their bad tempers. In response, they've decided that they will destroy the Earth and every other inhabited world.
