Real name: Monet St. Croix
Occupation: Homeless
Identity: Penance's past remains unknown to all save herself
and her brother.
Legal status: None. Penance's transformation changed
fingerprints, retinal patterns, and any other means of identification.
Legally, she has no existance. Monet St. Croix is still a legal
citizen of Algeria.
Other aliases: None
Place of birth: Algeria
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: Marius St. Croix (brother), Cartier St. Croix
(father), Nicole and Claudette St. Croix (younger twin sisters)
Group affiliation: None
Base of operations: New York City
First appearance: November 1, 2000
History:
The story of the being now known as Penance begins with Monet St. Croix, the daughter of Ambassador Cartier St. Croix. Her family was a large one, with her older brother Marius and her younger twin sisters, Nicole and Claudette. She grew up wanting for nothing, living in the pampered life of a diplomat, with enough wealth to manage anything she wished. Though Monet was unaware of it, her family also had an extremely strong X-Factor, with herself and her siblings all being possessed of powerful mutant abilities.
Unfortunately, wealth and influence weren't enough for Monet's older brother, Marius. He turned to the study of darker things, dark magics, to gain power. Monet was scornful of his efforts...after all, it's not as if something like magic was -real-, for heaven's sake. She had always had a sharp tongue, and she never passed an opportunity to denigrate her brother and his silly efforts. This was the case right up to the point when Marius returned, offering to have her join in his efforts to rule the world. Monet responded in a characteristically caustic tone...which was the beginning of her troubles.
Finally having enough of his sister's big mouth and attitude, Marius transformed Monet, through his dark powers, into a red-skinned, untouchable, mute creature, unable to use her own mutant powers. From that moment on, Marius referred to his sister as "Penance" -- Monet's own sort of penance for her 'holier-than-thou' attitude.
At the moment of her transformation, Monet's twin sisters came across her and Marius. The sudden interruption disturbed the delicate balance of powers at play, and the unfocused magic wreaked its toll, transporting both Marius and the transformed Monet to another dimension. Sealed in this other dimension, Marius used his sister to feed upon, draining her essence so long that he began to manifest certain physical traits that she had.
Finally, after long years of imprisonment, Penance managed to break loose, during a frenzy of violence. She was able to wound Marius, distracting him long enough that she was able to escape, fleeing through the gateway which her brother had created to allow him back into the physical world. Since that time, she has lived on her own, a wild and feral creature moving through the shadows of the city, as an animal, waiting for something, she knows not what.. perhaps a link to her lost humanity.
Height: 5'0" (if standing upright, generally crouching)
Weight: 300 lbs (superdense)
Eyes: Blue, no pupils or whites
Hair: Red spines
Unusual physical characteristics: Penance is mute, and
her skin is like sharks skin; it will damage anything that touches
it.
Strength level: Penance can lift weights on the order of
1000 lbs.
Known superhuman powers: Penance's powers all come from her
physical transformation. Her body is harder than diamond, and she
possesses fierce claws on hands and feet.
Other abilities: None
Weapons and paraphernalia: None
Other notes: None.