BIOGRAPHY - Page 5
With Jamie and Layla back, as well as a new team member in Shatterstar, the team moved back to New York to continue their work there. Theresa was still dealing with the loss of her baby and seeing Jamie around didn’t help, so she quit the team. Monet could see her friend hurting and so she quit too, moving to Ireland along with Theresa. Despite her best efforts, Theresa continued to spiral downwards, forcing Monet to return to America to plead with Jamie to visit Theresa so they could clear the air. In a surprising turn of events, Val Cooper was waiting for Monet at X-Factor’s base with some bad news for her.
Her father, Cartier St. Croix, had been kidnapped by terrorists and, unless their demands were met, he would be executed on live TV. Monet tried to go through official channels in finding her father but it was useless and she became angry and desperate for information. It was Strong Guy who became the key, as he had lots of contacts around the world and they soon found information on Cartier’s whereabouts.
However, due to a series of unfortunate events, Monet was accidentally thrown through one of Shatterstar’s portals before she could leave to find her father. Finding herself in Latveria, she was unable to return home until Shatterstar had rested enough to open another portal. Since the team’s current mission was to find the Invisible Woman, who was being held somewhere in Latveria, Monet reluctantly joined them until she could get home. Fortunately for her, the group ran into numerous Doombots, allowing Monet to take her frustration out on the robots. Monet soon found the Invisible Woman and used her telepathy to break her free of the illusion in which Dr. Doom had been keeping her. With Shatterstar rested enough, Monet finally returned home, where she and Strong Guy immediately set out again to find her father. [X-Factor (1st series) #200-202]
The two chartered a plane to South America, where they believed Cartier was being held. Their plane was shot down over the jungle and Monet was taken prisoner by Baron Mordo, the man 
who had kidnapped Cartier. Mordo was dying from cancer and he needed to drain Monet’s life-force to rid him of it. He had learned about Monet’s time as Penance and how effective she was as an energy source. Using his dark magic, he convinced Monet she was once again trapped in the Penance form, allowing him to drain her energy to save his own life.
Strong Guy, however, was hot on her trail and he tracked Monet down to the ancient temple where Mordo was keeping her captive. He wasn’t the only one hunting Monet though, as the Mutant Response Division, a military organization secretly under orders of the future Sentinel Bastion, had found them too. Bastion was looking to rid the world of mutants and he had given the order to kill every mutant they could find. As neither side were able to take on the MRD alone, Mordo and Strong Guy reluctantly teamed up and took shelter in the temple. Monet woke up from the illusion Mordo had placed her in and was furious at being used that way again.
When the group realized the temple was about to be leveled with an air strike, Monet offered herself to Mordo in exchange for him using his magic to teleport them all out of there. He accepted, and they all escaped back to New York before the missiles hit. Once there, Monet discovered the entire team had been targeted by the MRD and they had emerged in the middle of a big battle between the two sides. Monet was key in freeing the MRD’s leader, Bolivar Trask, from Bastion’s mind control long enough for him to put an end to the battle. [X-Factor (1st series) #203-206]
Monet had made a deal with Mordo in return for her friend’s safety and she intended on keeping it, despite the objections of the rest of her team. As Mordo lay unconscious in their base, everyone argued about saving him but Monet remained steadfast in her decision to uphold her word. However, a subtle suggestion from Layla gave Monet an idea and she cast an illusion into Mordo’s mind, making him believe he had drained Monet of her life force. Mordo left the group, none-the-wiser that he was still riddled with cancer. [X-Factor (1st series) #207]
Whilst the rest of the team were on another mission, Monet was approached by a woman named Noelle Blanc, who was having trouble dealing with some traumatic memories. Monet was wary at using her telepathy to alter the woman’s memories but, after much pleading, she relented. Monet entered Noelle’s mind and helped her come to terms with the guilt she was feeling from things she did when she served in the military. The session ended abruptly and Noelle seemed to be happy with the result, but Monet was left feeling a bit uneasy that something wasn’t quite as it seemed. [X-Factor (1st series) #210]
Her instincts proved to be right during the team’s next mission when J. Jonah Jameson walked through X-Factor’s doors, looking for help to solve the murder of a friend of his. The team split up to solve the murder, with Monet, Siryn and Strong Guy protecting Jameson, just in case he was in 
danger. Jameson, the current mayor of New York, decided to speak out at a protest march through the city and Monet couldn’t help but get caught up in debate as well. The protestors were against immigrants entering the country and several them were quite vocal about their dislike for Muslims. Monet revealed to everyone that she was also a Muslim, much to the surprise of Strong Guy. The protest started to turn ugly and it was Jameson who managed to calm things down. Just as he did so, Noelle arrived and made an attempt on Jameson’s life. Monet recognized her instantly but she was too slow to stop Noelle from firing a bullet from her fingers. Strong Guy saved Jameson by stepping in the way, believing himself to be immune to a simple gunshot. Unfortunately, the unique nature of bullet meant that he wasn’t strong enough to deflect 
it and it pierced his chest. Monet was distraught as she cradled her dying friend and, after fending off Noelle, she flew him to the nearest hospital. During the flight Guido started fading away and he confessed his love for Monet, but she was too emotional to say anything back. They quickly arrived at the hospital but it was too late and Guido died before the doctors could do anything. Just as Monet and the team were dealing with the devastating news, the doctors came back in and told them that Guido had somehow recovered.
Monet was feeling terrible, as she knew that she had somehow caused the chain of events by 
tampering with Noelle’s memories. With Monet being Monet, she turned the guilt to anger and aimed it at Jameson. After threatening to rip the information out of his head, Jameson relented and told the team how he knew Noelle and what she was after. It turned out Jameson wasn’t the only one in danger from Noelle’s wrath and so Monet charged off with some of the others to save the other man and hopefully confront Noelle. They arrived just in time and Monet managed to catch Noelle off-guard and enter her mind once more. This time, Monet was less gentle and she buried the woman’s consciousness down so deeply that she was put in a permanent coma. Monet had effectively put an end to the threat but she still felt guilty about causing it all along. [X-Factor (1st series) #216-219]
Monet decided to look after Strong Guy, who had baffled the doctors at the hospital by healing from a fatal gunshot wound. He seemed more carefree and during a conversation he kissed Monet, much to her surprise and confusion. Before she could clear the air with him, though, the two were dragged into X-Factor’s latest drama that revolved around the birth of Wolfsbane’s baby. Having returned to the team a few weeks before, the pregnant Wolfsbane was now under attack from all manner of supernatural beast, each looking to claim her unborn child. Monet joined them in protecting Wolfsbane as she gave birth, but things did not go smoothly. Due to the traumatic nature of the birth and the fact the baby seemed to be more animal than human, Wolfsbane let the baby go and it was taken to parts unknown. [X-Factor (1st series) #222-224]