Monica Dawson/Season Two
This article archives the history of Monica Dawson during Season Two.
For more about Monica Dawson, see the main article.
Character History
The Kindness of Strangers
At the Dawsons' home, Nana prepares breakfast for Micah and Damon while Monica gets ready for work. Monica argues with Damon about a wrestling pay-per-view event he wants to watch, and comments on a cooking show Nana is watching.
At Burger Bonanza, she talks with Camille about her application for a management program. She expresses frustration that Hurricane Katrina cost her so much, including her mother and her college education. As she talks, she absentmindedly cuts a tomato rose, just as she'd seen the cooking show host do earlier.
Mr. Lamont calls her aside and tells her she did not make it into the management program. While her scores were fine, the company believed her home life was too unstable since she's taking care of her grandmother, brother, and cousin.
Back at home for dinner, Monica sees that Damon is watching the wrestling match. She begins to get angry, but Damon tells her that Micah is a genius and rigged the cable. Micah apologizes, and she reminds him that his mother asked Monica to look after him.
Back at the restaurant, Mr. Lamont decides to close early. As he leaves to lock up the back, Monica tries to lock the front door, but a man forces his way in and draws a gun on her. As the man robs the cash register, Monica performs a stunning spinning kick--an exact copy of a move she witnessed a wrestler perform on television--and sends the robber through a glass partition. The man runs out of the restaurant, leaving Monica and her boss amazed by her ability.
Fight or Flight
Monica speaks to the police about the attempted robbery but tells them she didn't see the man well enough to identify him. She later tells Camille that she only said this to avoid repercussions from the robber. Camille asks how she did the "karate kick" that knocked the robber out, and Monica tells her she does not know.
Later, at home, Monica finds Micah playing the piano and tells him it's nice to have a musician in the household again, as the piano had been untouched since her mother died. As they talk, Monica mimics Micah's piano-playing and begins to play the same song, not realizing she is doing so until Micah points it out. Because of her surprise at this, Micah realizes that she is a muscle mimic like a female crimefighter in the 9th Wonders! comic named St. Joan. He tells her so, also revealing his own ability and that of his father. He also tells Monica of his mother, but decides not to go into her situation. The two go out to test her ability and agree to keep it a secret between the two of them. After they return, Monica answers a knock at the door and finds Mohinder standing on the other side.
The Line
In the gym at the Company's hospital, Monica copies the moves of a gymnast on the television for Mohinder, who is testing her. When she asks about others like her, he tells her that there are others, but their powers are different, and she is the first to demonstrate adoptive muscle memory. Bob enters and reassures her that her ability is incredible. Monica asks who he is, and he introduces himself as chief of operations for the Company. He asks to speak to Mohinder in private, and the two gentlemen leave.
Mohinder comes up to Monica with a syringe with the new variant of the Shanti virus, telling Monica it's standard procedure. She tells him she doesn't "do needles", but he promises her that it's the last step in her training before they let her go home. She winces and turns away, but Mohinder decides against it and leaves the room.
Later, Bob brings Monica to her home and explains that they have provided a cover story for her sudden absence. He gives her a list of contact information and a video iPod with footage of many different physical skills for her to learn using her ability. She thanks him, and he replies her gift is amazing, and that New Orleans "could use some amazing".
Four Months Ago...
Monica attends the funeral of D.L. Hawkins with her brother and Nana. As she is leaving, she sees Bob arrive in a car.
Truth & Consequences
After her brother gets Micah's backpack, along with his comics and his father's medal, stolen, Monica tells Micah she understands how angry he is. She knows where the boy who stole the backpack lives and takes Micah there. Disguising herself in a black hood, Micah says that she is the 9th Wonders character St. Joan. Monica chuckles, saying that he reads his comics too much. After watching a video of parkour on the iPod Bob gave her, she breaks into the deserted house and easily finds Micah's things. However, the house is broken into by a group of arsonists who, for an unknown reason, are paid to burn down buildings. Monica tries to hide by bracing herself against the ceiling, but a copy of the St. Joan comic book falls from the backpack, alerting the arsonists of her presence. They capture her and throw her in the back of a van.
Powerless
Monica is taken to an abandoned building by one of the arsonists and tied up. The arsonist starts spreading gasoline all over the floor. He taunts Monica for trying to be a hero, saying that in the real world, heroes die. He takes Micah's St. Joan comic book, lights it on fire, and uses it to light the gasoline. Monica manages to get her phone out of her pocket and opens it. Using Micah's ability, Niki is able to track Monica's cell phone and find her. She enters the burning building, unties Monica, and helps her escape.