Wraith (Wild Cards)

Wraith (Jennifer Maloy) is a fictional character in the "Wild Cards" shared universe series. She was created by John J. Miller, and first appeared in the third book, "Jokers Wild".

Character background

Jennifer Maloy was an attractive but introverted librarian until the day she discovered she was an Ace, gifted with the ability to become insubstantial. She used this power to emulate the romantic heroes of her favorite stories as the Wraith, robbing from the rich (and corrupt) and giving to the poor (mostly charities benefiting battered women and pets). However, the limitations of her powers—that she could only "ghost" items of low mass and density—determined not only that her "work clothes" would consist only of a mask and a bikini, it also limited what she could steal to small, mostly paper goods.

Jennifer enjoyed her new adventurous lifestyle, but found more adventure than she wanted when she stole a few small books from the safe of businessman and gangster Kien Phuc, because one of those books was actually his personal diary, with details of all his illegal activities going back years. Now wanted by the ruthless crimelord, she was fortunate enough to encounter Daniel Brennan, the vigilante called Yeoman who also wished to get his hands on Kien's diary. Since Wraith could only use her power for short periods, she was forced to rely on Brennan for protection, and after several close escapes from Kien and his thugs—including an encounter in which Wraith mutilated Kien's hand—she handed the book over to Brennan, only to discover that its pages were blank; the extravagant Kien had written his journal in gold ink, which was too dense for Wraith's power to affect. The paper had easily passed through the walls of the safe, but the gold had remained inside.

Wraith would eventually leave New York to live with Brennan, returning only once, as Yeoman tried to solve the murder of Chrysalis; Wraith nearly lost her own life in the process, but was rescued again by Yeoman. The two moved away and have not been seen since.