ArsenicGertrude Yorkes

The heart and soul of the Runaways, Gertrude "Gert" Yorkes uses her incredible intelligence, bravery, and no-nonsense attitude to galvanize a group of scared kids into a team of young heroes.

Aided by her telepathic connection to a genetically engineered dinosaur named Old Lace, Gert survived many encounters alongside her fellow Runaways, until the fateful day when a time-displaced Geoffrey Wilder murdered her. Rescued from the past by her boyfriend, Chase Stein, just moments before her death, Gert now finds herself trying to understand the world around her—including the new roles her friends seem intent on playing.

In the City of Angels

Gertrude Yorkes grew up a disaffected youth, not believing anything anyone (especially adults) told her and instead relying on herself and her own views of the world. And that was before discovering that her parents not only killed innocent people to harvest their souls, but also acted as time-traveling criminals.

Upon learning the truth about her parents, she immediately decided to run off with the children of the other Pride members to make a new life. But, there was one shocking discovery she made about her parents that she was happy about—they created a genetically-engineered dinosaur that Gert bonded with and found she was psychically linked to.

Dino Might

Though Gert does not possess any physical super powers of her own, she is an incredibly smart and clever young woman.

Her main ability, though, is her psychic connection with Old Lace, a dinosaur her parents genetically engineer in the 87th century to protect their daughter. She can also pass that connection on to others, which she does for both Alex Wilder and Chase Stein at various points.

Worst Parents Ever

Gert was no fan of her parents even before discovering their allegiance to the Gibborim or the Pride. Once she finds out the truth, her parents and their Pride allies truly become her enemies.

She holds a particular animosity towards the Wilder family, as it is Alex Wilder who betrays the Runaways and a time-traveling Geoffrey Wilder who kills her (before her later resurrection).

BFFs

Gert develops a very close connection with her dinosaur Old Lace—and not just because they shared a telepathic link. She cares deeply for her pet and its wellbeing.

Although she is close with all of the Runaways, her deepest relationship is with Chase Stein, who Gert falls in with love with. They care for each other immensely. She even tricks Geoffrey Wilder into killing her instead of Chase, to save his life.

Gert also takes a particular interest in taking care of the team's youngest member, Molly. Having rejected her parents, Gert treats the Runaways like her real family and loves them all in her own way.

Arsenic

Living in Los Angeles, Gertrude Yorkes grew up eschewing all things popular and trendy in favor of subjects and pieces of art that truly interested her, no matter how old-fashioned or underground they might have been. Gert figured her parents, Stacey and Dale, were evil from the get-go—and that was before she discovered that they were in a group called the Pride that ran all crime on the West Coast.

During a yearly get-together—which Gert tried to avoid—where the parents met in one room and the kids hung out in the game room, she and the other Pride offspring witnessed their parents sacrificing a young woman while they watched via a two-way mirror. This put Gert, Chase Stein, Nico Minoru, Karolina Dean, Alex Wilder, and Molly Hayes in quite the predicament, even as Gert was the first to note that their parents constantly lied to them.

While looking for evidence, the kids stumbled upon a pair of surprises at Gert's home: first, a genetically engineered dinosaur designed to follow Gert's command, and then a hologram recording of Dale and Stacey explaining that they weren't just evil, but also time travelers who'd created the dinosaur in the 87th century.

The kids had to go underground after their parents framed them. This led the group to the Hostel, a mansion that had been partially destroyed during an earthquake years before. There, Gert told the others that she wanted to now be called Arsenic, while also declaring that her dinosaur's name was Old Lace. The others took on codenames too, though they didn't last long. Later, during a fight with a vampire named Topher, Gert realized that she could also feel Old Lace's pain when she was hurt.

After learning that the Pride were serving the deities known as the Gibborim, Chase nearly died from drowning during a battle. Gert brought him back with CPR, which led to a kiss between the two.

A confrontation between the Runaways and the Pride led to Alex revealing himself as a traitor who was helping his parents. A furious Gert fought back against him. The Gibborim's plans were thwarted, and the Pride and Alex were killed while the Runaways made their escape.

In the wake of the explosion, the truth about the Pride came out and the kids were placed in new homes, but once more ran off together. When Chase showed up, Gert slapped him for not calling her, but he explained that he'd been looking for Old Lace and found her location, allowing the Runaways to free Gert's beloved dinosaur.

From there they took on criminals like the Wrecking Crew and holed up in the Pride's underground base below the La Brea Tar Pits. There, they found a surprise when a seriously injured, grown-up Gert arrived in a time machine. She informed her younger self that she would become the leader of the Avengers, but ultimately fall at the hands of an enemy called Victor "Victorious" Mancha who initially presented himself as a hero, before betraying his teammates and killing most of them.

The future Gert died telling them not to trust Victor. However, knowing Victor, like them, was the child of a Super Villain, Gert said that he deserved a second chance. When they found him, they took him in as one of their own despite knowing that he was the son of Ultron.

Gert and Chase's relationship began to evolve, as she and her teammates dealt with Karolina leaving Earth with Xavin, her Skrull betrothed. The Runaways also helped clear Cloak's name after he was framed for nearly killing Dagger, encountered Spider-Man and other Avengers, and met the X-Men.

During all of these adventures, a new incarnation of the Pride surfaced. With threats against them rising, Gert broke things off with Chase. Tensions ran high, but they worked together alongside the recently returned Karolina and Xavin to get Molly back after the new Pride took her, having summoned a younger Geoffrey Wilder from the past to help them.

The elder Wilder intended to sacrifice one of the Runaways and trade the soul to the Gibborim in exchange for his dead wife and son. When Chase was targeted, Gert told Geoffrey that Chase was far from innocent, saving his life. So instead, Wilder threw a knife into Gert's chest, fatally wounding her. Gert revealed that she had lied to protect Chase from Geoffrey, and tried to tell him that she always loved him. She died in Chase's arms, but not before transferring her psychic connection with Old Lace to him.

Heartbroken and devastated, Chase attempted to get Gert back by making a deal with the Gibborim. However, he failed to get an innocent soul before their allotted time ran out, sending the Gibborim to a white void that Alex also inhabited for a time.

The Runaways managed to continue on for a while, but eventually the team broke up. Chase, however, never gave up on trying to save Gert. Eventually, he used one of her parents' time machines to get back to the day she died. He intended to stop Geoffrey Wilder from killing her, but got there too late to stop her from being stabbed. Desperate, he used his connection with Old Lace and had the dinosaur take his younger self out of the room—changing history in the process—and then grabbed Gert and returned to the present, where, with Nico's help, they had a doctor save Gert's life.

Gert found herself in the future and very confused as to why her friends were no longer together; their explanations did not sit well with her. She thought of them as a family, not a collection of individuals who could be so easily pulled apart, and began to attempt to bring the group back together. Though Gert retained her general distrust of adults, she still agreed to stay with Molly and her grandmother, Dr. Hayes. She even agreed to the experiments that the accomplished biologist, geneticist, and time traveler wanted to perform on her.

Realizing something was amiss, Molly, not wanting to be changed against her will, warned Gert that Dr. Hayes had given her parents their powers, along with others. Hayes attempted to stop Molly and Gert's escape, but the reunited Runaways were able to put an end to the latest threat.

Now back with her teammates, Gert finds herself in a strange world she doesn't quite recognize, surrounded by people she loves, who are also very different from how she remembers them.