AN: I own nothing and no one portrayed here. Once upon a time, while I was absent from this site, I played on an AU Marvel RPG site. I've loved Runaways for years, and wanted to play Gert, but since time travel wasn't allowed on that site, I ended up having to do some vamping of her character. So Gert ended up as a mutant with the ability to rewind the evolutionary clock, which is how we end up getting Old Lace as the result of an accident with her parakeet when her powers manifested. This was a one shot I did during that time period.

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The scent hit her nose, not strong but enough to make her aware of it, and Old Lace opened her eyes. It was a familiar scent, dark and musky and furry, and she knew immediately what it was. Cat. Wary, the dinosaur raised her head from where she was sleeping on her bed on the floor and looked up at the bed where her person was sleeping, to see if the creature had dared come into her home and threaten her person. But Gert was sleeping peacefully, Old Lace could feel her sleep inside of her mind, through the wonderful connection her person had made between them that let her keep track of the smaller, weaker human. No cat on the bed, and the dinosaur sniffed at the air before realizing the scent was coming from outside. There was a cat outside of her home, and while that was not as bad as a cat inside of her home, that it was close enough for her to smell was bad enough. Stupid cat. This was her home, her and her person lived here, and cats were not allowed.

Sitting up, Old Lace was now in hunting mode. She took one more look at her person before ambling out of their room to go downstairs. She took the stairs slowly and quietly so as not to wake her person up. Gert did not like it when she went after cats, but the human didn't understand how dangerous they were. Old Lace knew, she remembered. Once upon a time, before her person changed her into the wonderful creature she was now, Old Lace had been much smaller and weak, she'd had feathers and could fly. Before she came to live with Gert she'd lived in a place that had many other little creatures like her, and many cats as well. One time a cat had come over to her cage and tried to put its paw in; it tried to claw her but she flew around and cried out until a human came and took the cat away. Old Lace remembered this though, and knew that the cats were dangerous. Even now, when she was no longer small and weak and feathered, she still hated the cats, and now that she was big and strong, she could get rid of the cats so they wouldn't hurt others. Plus there was the fact that cats were delicious. Gert fed her well, Old Lace always had nice tasty meat to eat, and sometimes the little sweet things Gert called 'donuts', Old Lace loved donuts, but if she could hunt and eat a cat it was a really good day.

Downstairs it was dark and quiet, but Old Lace could see just fine and she crept through the house until she reached the door that would let her outside to the backyard. Through the window she could see outside; there was a flicker of movement on the grass and she just knew that it was the cat. Old Lace pawed at the door but couldn't get it to open. Nooooo…..she had to go out, she had to get the cat before it went away!

Desperately wanting to go outside now and get her prey before it escaped, Old Lace thought loudly in her mind.

gert

….gert

GERT

Finally the dinosaur felt her person waking.

…what is it? Her person sounded sleepy, and felt sleepy, but Old Lace was on a mission.

OUT, Gert. Go OUT which is what Old Lace usually told her when she had to go and relieve herself. She did not use the little room that Gert used, since she was too big for what her person called 'pottytraining'.

…oh fine, gimme a minute, I'll be right down.. she heard, but then her person's mind tone of voice changed a moment later. …wait a minute. You liar, you don't have to go. There's a cat outside, I can tell. You're way too excited. Come back up here and go to sleep. I'm not letting you out so you can chase it around the yard and wake the neighbors. Sheesh.

RAWR Old Lace's wail was plaintive and disappointed. She didn't want to go back upstairs and sleep, not with that…that…cat outside.

nooooooooooooooo. Gert, oooooout. Go ooooouuuut the dinosaur complained mentally as well, determined to get her way.

Old Lace heard a couple of words that she couldn't understand the meaning to but that Gert used when she was mad, then she felt it when her person decided to relent. oh fine. I'll be downstairs in a minute. But if you wake up the neighbors I swear you're gonna get it

She watched the backyard carefully, wanting to make sure the cat didn't leave before she could go get it, but the cat seemed to be busy washing itself over by one of the trees. It felt like forever, but finally her person came downstairs and opened the door for her.

"I suppose it could be worse. At least you don't like to chase cars." Gert said as she held the door open. Old Lace ignored her person, and dashed out of the door into the backyard, making a beeline for the cat. The cat, hear the footsteps of the large reptile on the ground, looked up before letting out a yowl and heading straight up the tree. By the time Old Lace made it to the tree the cat was up on a branch and apparently thinking it was safe. The cat hissed at her but Old Lace growled in response and the cat's back arched, fur standing up almost straight. Old Lace tried to claw at the branch but it was just out of reach and she growled again angrily. The cat then tried to jump off the branch but the dinosaur managed to snap at it with her jaws just in time, catching it by the leg. Two or three crunches with her razor-sharp teeth and the cat's yowls stopped and Old Lace chewed for a moment or two longer before swallowing the remains. Donuts were good, but being able to chase down and eat her prey was so much better.

Satisfied with her kill, and that her home was once again safe from cats, Old Lace ambled happily back over to the door, where Gert stood waiting for her.

"You just can't let it go, can you?" her person said as she came into the house. no cats. Safe the dinosaur thought confidently to her person, satisfied that she'd done her duty and protected her person, as well as the rest of the world, from the small furry menace.

Now she could go back to sleep.