M-TWINS

 

M-TWINS

Real Name: Claudette St. Croix and Nicole St. Croix

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #316, September 1994 (As Monet); Generation X (Vol. 1) #31, October 1997 (as themselves)

Powers: Nicole and Claudette St. Croix are identical twin sisters whose mutant abilities are not fully defined. They did not seem to possess Monet's superhuman physical powers while in their individual bodies. The twins demonstrated telepathy, the ability to open portals into other-dimensional realms, and Claudette's autism seemed to go hand-in-hand with an intuitive intelligence, allowing her to subconsciously gather information and knowledge about her environment and the objects and events occurring within it. When merged, they were able to mimic M's form and powers completely. Nicole was the primary guiding consciousness, but Claudette would occasionally take over when her clairvoyant abilities were required.

 

The St. Croix genetic template allows the siblings of the bloodline to possess individual mutant abilities, but also manifest their siblings' powers as dormant mutations, physically merge with one another to combine abilities or create new mutations, or merge into composite entities possessing abilities greater than the sum of their parts. The 8-year-old twins were capable of merging and becoming a duplicate of their then 16-year-old sister, Monet. When Monet was trapped in the Penance body (a transformation forced on her by Emplate), the M gestalt merged with Penance and then separated, giving Monet her old body back while leaving the combined twins trapped as Penance. The twins have later separated from the Penance form, however both they and their older sister Monet have demonstrated the ability to shift in and out of the Penance form at will.

PENANCE

 

PENANCE

Real Name: Inapplicable (alias "Hollow")

First Appearance: Generation X (Vol. 1) #1, November 1994

Powers: The Penance body reacts to negative energy in the environment. This apparently refers to negative emotional energy, much like Polaris' secondary mutation, and so her powers are a defense mechanism against people who might do her harm. By internalizing negative energy, Penance causes her mass to compress and restrict around her bones, creating an atrophied look. This transformation gives her skin a dark red coloration, which also making it razor sharp and diamond hard. Even resting her palm against a tree is enough to tear into its bark, and the fact that her fingers, toes, and hair are formed into pointed claws makes her quite lethal, and capable of cutting into most substances below the Marvel super-metals. Her body may also have a limited light absorbing effect, rendering her abnormally difficult to see in darkness. Though Penance maintained her indestructible body almost the entire time, there was one instance of her skin apparently softening and reverting to normal.

*Penance I was Monet St. Croix (M), II was the M Twins. The Penance body first appeared in Generation X #1. It was only after all three St. Croix girls had left the body that it was discovered that it had a mind of its own. Fairly recently, Monet revealed she had reclaimed the ability to become Penance at will and she identified it as her codename again*

M

 

M

Real Name: Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #316, September 1994 (Twins posing as her); Generation X (Vol. 1) #1, November 1994 (as Penance); Generation X (Vol. 1) #40, July 1998 (as herself)

Powers: M’s mutant power is that her mental and physical attributes conform to her notion of an ideal self. As such, she possesses Superhuman Class 50 strength, superhuman speed, endurance, reflexes, vision, hearing, intelligence, near-invulnerability, flight, and telepathy. She is fast enough to grab bullets out of the air and throw them back through a target at full speed. Her speed and advanced perceptual abilities allow her to search an entire filing cabinet in seconds to locate a single file. Monet also has a photographic memory, encyclopedic knowledge, and the ability to intuitively analyze any technological device, acquiring expert skill at operating it within moments. When her twin sisters were posing as her, the autistic twin Claudette would often take control of their shared body when the situation required M to focus on a problem or concentrate deeply. With her telepathy, she has demonstrated the power to read the minds of other people, project her consciousness into the astral plane, withstand psychic pressure exerted on her by other telepaths, plant powerful illusions in the minds of others, wipe their memories, or force them to fall asleep.

If was often suggested early on that M's physical powers were just an expression of tactile telekinesis. Later, Monet demonstrated actual telekinesis, applying force to matter over a distance without touching it. Whether she will demonstrate greater telekinetic abilities over time is unclear. She can also now assume the "Penance" form, with her mass compressing and restricting around her bones, creating an atrophied look. This transformation gives her skin a dark red coloration, which also making it razor sharp and diamond hard.