Gert Yorkes

Gertrude “Gert” Yorkes is the daughter of Dale and Stacey Yorkes, time-traveling members of the Pride. During the Pride’s annual gathering, Gert and the other children secretly witness their parents sacrifice an innocent girl, which pushes them to flee and become the Runaways. While searching her family’s home, Gert discovers Old Lace, a genetically engineered deinonychus from the 87th century created by her parents as part of her inheritance. The bond between them is telepathic and empathic, allowing Gert to command Old Lace while also sharing the dinosaur’s pain.

Gert takes the name Arsenic for a time, pairing it with Old Lace’s name before eventually returning to her real name. She remains one of the sharpest voices among the Runaways and continues fighting against the Pride’s legacy alongside Nico, Chase, Karolina, Molly, and the others. During a later battle with a new version of the Pride, Gert is fatally wounded and passes her link with Old Lace to Chase so the dinosaur can survive. Chase eventually travels back to the moment of her death and brings her into the present, where Nico’s magic saves her life and Gert returns to a team that has changed in her absence.

Appearance: Gert Yorkes has fair peach skin and a short, curvy build with a full chest, wide hips, thick thighs, and a soft fitted waist. She has long wavy dark brown hair with a bold purple streak running through one side, green eyes behind large black rectangular glasses, red lipstick, and defined dark brows. She wears a pale green scarf tied in a bow around her neck, sitting above a white buttoned shirt with a low neckline and visible front buttons.

She wears a cropped black jacket with rolled sleeves, a ribbed hem, front pocket flaps, zipper details, and a small sleeve pocket holding pens. A wide black utility belt sits at her waist with a metal buckle, small cylindrical cartridges, a brown pouch, and layered strap sections. Her hands are covered by black fingerless gloves, with small gold rings and a studded bracelet visible on one wrist. Her lower outfit includes high-waisted lavender cargo pants with large flap pockets, stitched seams, and a loose fitted shape through the legs.

Personality: Gert Yorkes is book-smart, sarcastic, and openly cynical, often using sharp remarks to cover fear or anger. She is one of the Runaways most likely to question authority on principle, which fits her disgust after learning what the Pride really is. Her intelligence makes her useful when the group needs someone to think through a situation instead of charging forward, but she can also be defensive when she feels ignored or underestimated. Her bond with Old Lace shows a more vulnerable side, because the dinosaur is not only a weapon to her, but a companion she cares about deeply.

Her closest romantic relationship is Chase Stein, and their bond becomes one of the most important parts of her life with the Runaways. Nico Minoru is her best friend from childhood, though their friendship is damaged for a time after Gert learns about Nico kissing Chase. Molly Hayes matters to Gert as part of the group’s younger family dynamic, while Dale and Stacey Yorkes define the betrayal at the center of Gert’s origin because they are her parents and members of the Pride. Old Lace remains her most constant partner, sharing emotions with her through their psychic link and staying loyal even when the team fractures around them.

Gert Yorkes has no natural superhuman powers of her own. Her main ability is her telepathic and empathic bond with Old Lace, the genetically engineered deinonychus created in the 87th century and left to her by Dale and Stacey Yorkes. Through that link, Gert can communicate with Old Lace, give commands, and share emotional awareness with her, though the bond also means Gert can feel Old Lace’s pain when the dinosaur is injured.

Her usefulness is not limited to Old Lace. Gert is one of the Runaways’ sharper thinkers, often relying on memory, research, and fast judgment instead of direct combat power. When paired with Old Lace, she becomes dangerous because she can direct a powerful prehistoric guardian while staying aware of what the dinosaur senses and feels. Before dying, Gert is able to transfer her link with Old Lace to Chase Stein so Old Lace can survive, showing that the bond is not only a weapon but a life connection.