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Amy - black_n_write - AIM: geekgirl ftw - E-mail: rp_artist@yahoo.com

[IC Information]
Character Name: Gertrude Yorkes
Series: Runaways
Gender: female
Age: 16
Species: human
Sexuality: pansexual (she is attracted to intelligence over what’s in your pants, however sometimes stupid blond guys can manage to be sweet enough to reel her in anyways)

Appearance: Gert may come from a world of superheroes in spandex, but she certainly doesn’t look like it. Standing roughly five feet and one whole inch and weighing more than she’d care to reveal, this short chubby girl is the last person anyone would mistake for a superhero. Gert wears glasses, favoring them for both fashion and function over contacts. Her favorite color is purple and she keeps her short hair dyed that color as much as possible. She knows she isn’t any kind of beauty queen and she dresses with that in mind. With skirts and shorts alike she wears leggings underneath (typically torn in several places) with socks and boots. T-shirts are her top of choice, usually complimented with something baggy like a jacket or sweatshirt over it. Her constant expression is that of tried patience – her cynicism might as well be tattooed across her forehead.

Personality: Gert is a small, sarcastic ball of teenage rage. She generally hates the world, making exceptions for those few people she gets to know personally. To her a person is ok, but people are stupid as hell. Being an intellectual, Gert has trouble dealing with stupidity. On top of that, Gert has trust issues that would make Fox Mulder say “oh come on now, there’s no conspiracy!” Gert hates adults and assumes that most of them are out to lie to her, cheat her, and manipulate her for their own gain. A large part of this is likely due to her discovery that her parents were part of an evil villain organization called The Pride, but through her travels with her fellow Runaways she’s been giving a veritable shopping list of reasons not to trust adults.

On top of that she has several inner hang-ups about her appearance, especially when it comes to relationships. While she doesn’t talk about being fat much, she thoroughly believes that she is unattractive and that no one would settle for her when they could have any other normal, thinner girl instead. When confronted with any sort of competition for a love interest, she immediately withdraws and gives up rather than try and end up hurt. She approaches it matter-of-factly rather than emotionally, thinking that it’s just how the world works and that there’s no use fighting it.

Those who do get to know Gert learn that she’s funny and witty, always ready with a sarcastic comment even in the midst of impossible odds. She gives life the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment, being brutally honest about the hypocricies around her while still managing to enjoy her own life as much as possible. She’s protective and supportive of her friends, ready to lay her life down on the line for them. After all, she’s convinced that friends are the only thing she has. She’s a good listener and is always ready to give her own special brand of advice to those in need.

Abilities: With out Old Lace, all Gert really has going for her is her brain. It's not particularly super in any way, but she had good schooling and comes from a family of scientists so she's brighter than the average bear. She's still just a teenager, but her experience avoiding both villains and heroes with her Runaway friends has given her some street smarts and skills to go along with her smarts.


Weaknesses: She's just a teenager. A short, overweight teenager. If things get physical and she can't think her way out, she's dead. Period. On top of that, she still has her psychic connection to Old Lace. Her deinychus is still living and working with the Runaways, which includes taking damage now and then. When this happens, Gert can feel a shock of shared pain without knowing when or where it's going to come from. Luckily Old Lace can hold her own in a fight better than any human so the pain won't be all that often or life-threatening, but it's something that has the potential to throw her off at crucial moments.

Manhattanite or outsider? Outsider (from L.A.), though she’s been to Manhattan before
History: Gert grew up in Los Angeles in the suburbs with her parents. While she wasn’t particularly fond of them, she never truly believed that they were evil. It wasn’t until she and her friends (whose parents met with hers every few months since they were kids) stumbled on the sight of their parents’ supposed “charity group” killing an innocent girl in a ritual sacrifice. The group of kids immediately fled, discovering along the way just how evil all their parents were.

Gert’s supposedly normal, doting parents were actually brilliant scientists who had mastered time travel and genetic engineering. Though Gert had been unaware of it while growing up, her parents often made trips to the past and the future working on various projects for their evil organization The Pride. They had planned on Gert joining them one day to stand by their side as they made their deals with a group of Gods from another dimension for their own personal gain ((I’m keeping this as vague as possible so as not to spoil things)) but in their efforts to raise Gert as a normal girl they were a bit too successful. Gert immediately saw their plans as evil and refused to take part in them. However she did keep the genetically engineered dinosaur her parents had been saving for her. The two took on the names Arsenic and Old Lace while her fellow runaways decided to become heroes and take down their evil parents.

In trying to fight their parents the group faced death, other villains, and evil betrayal by their own. When the dust settled, the runaways moved into The Pride’s old base under the La Brea tar pits. Gert decided to drop her hero codename because she didn’t want to be someone she wasn’t and she didn’t actually consider herself a hero. In fact, after several run-ins with established, even famous heroes she decided that her own personal morals would never allow her to become as hypocritical and self-important as they were.

Gert also began a relationship with her fellow runaway Chase, making them possibly the oddest couple ever. Chase wasn’t much for the thinking but he was sweet and honest and the two couldn’t help but fall for each other. Gert still had fears that he’d be the bully he used to be to her and leave her fat ass for someone prettier, but that never happened. He stood by her until the very bitter end…

The last thing she remembered was gasping in Chase’s arms with a dagger stuck in her gut. When she woke up, she found herself in perfect health on the other side of the country amidst the remains of Manhattan.

DISCLAIMER: I am not Gertrude Yorkes. I am not associated with Marvel comics. I am not making any money from this. I really don't like being sued.

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