Husk

History

Paige is the second child of the Guthrie family in Cumberland, Kentucky. When her brother Sam left home to become a member of the New Mutants, Paige developed an inferiority complex and became obsessed with the possibility that she could be a mutant. At the age of thirteen she tested herself with a wide range of challenges to try and discover her mutant powers. Unfortunately, Paige's trials only led to depression and frustration. At last her temper broke and she begged God to let her find her powers, threatening that she would tear her skin off if she was not a mutant. She made good on her threat and thus discovered that her mutant powers would allow her to produce additional layers of her skin. So overwhelmed by the discovery of her gifts, Paige dropped to her knees and cried for joy.

Child's Play

Paige followed in Cannonball's footsteps and joined the ranks of the New Mutants where she spent months on learning more about her powers. Paige was present when during the YoungHunt arc when the New Mutants fought Siena Blaze with the help of the Hellions. Husk attempted to save her temmates, but her powers were not enough. Still mourning the loss of her friends, Page met Cable and told him her story. Cable forbade Paige from joining X-Force since Paige was still considered a novice, but Paige proved to be as stubborn as ever. Ignoring Cable's orders, Paige followed Cable by leaping into his portal before it fully closed. She husked herself into a form that allowed her to go undetected by the Gamesmaster. When both teams were defeated by the Upstarts, she confronted the Gamesmaster and convinced him to spare the lives of the defeated mutants by insisting that the would would be better off if he would train the next generation of mutants instead of killing them. Thanks to her actions, both teams were saved. Paige remained with the X-Force, and asked Cable to help train her to better use and understand her mutant powers. Cable responded that he did not have the time nor the means to train her properly. Rather than accept this answer, Paige suggested that she leave X-Froce to be trained by Professor X like her brother. Boom Boom and Cannonball brought her back to Xavier's and reinforced to her the dangers of both being a mutant and the path she had chosen. Cannonball wanted to discourage his sister from this life, but Paige refused to back down, citing that so long as she was a mutant she felt this was required of her, and joined Xavier to further her training as a super hero.

Generation X

Shortly afterward, she was captured by Phalanx, an alien collective intelligence, along with several other young mutants. Its effort to assimilate them into its consciousness was foiled by Blink, and Paige was invited to join the Xavier Institute's new school, Massachusetts Academy, and become a member of Generation X, with the hope that it would lead to her becoming an X-Man. Husk tried to be the best she could whilst a part of Generation X, both physically, academically and socially. However, Husk grew overconfident when fighting the mutant Hollow. She automatically assumed that Penance's razor sharp skin wouldn't hurt her, but after tackling Hollow one-on-one, Husk was badly hurt and left with some bad gashes, even when she returned to human form. Paige was also hurt mentally when she found out about the Legacy Virus, which was only deadly to mutants. She tried to cope with this news by drinking. Chamber found her whilst drunk and she tried to kiss him. Chamber was startled and accidentally blew up the girl's dormitory with his powers. Luckily, Husk changed into a form so that she wasn't hurt, and no other members of the team were hurt either. She later asked Chamber not to tell anyone else about what had happened, as she was embarrassed that it was because of her that the dorm was blown up. Chamber misinterpreted this as Husk being embarrassed that she had shown feelings for a monster like him. Sometime later, Husk's younger sister Joelle joined the group known as Humanity's Last Stand. Cannonball and Husk investigated the group, and during the investigation, Husk was kidnapped. She pretended not to be scared but it was obvious as her accent had come back. Eventually Joelle realized what Humanity's Last Stand was for, and so left the organization. When Paige returned to the Academy later, she and the rest of Generation X were attacked by Omega Red. All of them were saved by Chamber, since he was immune to Omega Red's death-spores. Husk tried to thank Chamber, but he brushed her off, as felt awkward. Husk confided in Mondo that a relationship with Chamber would never work, but Mondo pointed out that never was a long time. Paige didn't get a chance to follow up on this advice, as Generation X were captured by Emplate. By the time Generation X broke free, Emplate had brainwashed Synch and sent him after his family. Husk and some of her teammates went to save Synch. Even though Husk thought she was ready to be a leader, it was Jubilee who worked out how they could take Synch downz. The plan was to have Husk fight him continuously, since Synch couldn't copy her powers too well. She was badly damaged when Synch interrupted one of her transformations before she was ready, and was caught in a painful form. Husk kept on fighting through the pain until she was helped by Monet, who stopped Synch. By the time Husk came to terms with the Legacy Virus, she was hit with the reality of how much mutants were feared and hated, even more so after the cosmic entity Onslaught seemingly killed most of the Avengers and Fantastic Four. When Franklin Richards stayed with Generation X for a while, Husk helped him to get over the death of his father, since her father had also been killed and she knew what it was like.

Chamber

Later, during Thanksgiving, Husk invited Chamber to spend the time at her family's home. Chamber accepted the offer, although he tried to convince her the whole trip there that he couldn't give her a happy life like she wanted. Eventually Paige got angry and told Jono that the reason she had kissed him was because she liked him, not because she wanted a long-term relationship. Jono then left, and even though Paige called him a jerk and was angry, cried once he was gone. The experience had hurt Husk so badly that at Christmas she decided to spend the time with Jubilee, Monet and Emma instead of going home. Later on, Black Tom Cassidy kidnapped Generation X and put them on a raft made of plants in the middle of the ocean. The kids were going to die from exposure soon, and Husk and Skin were in the worst condition. Chamber tried to help protect Husk from the sun, but she angrily told him that he should treat her as an equal within the team. The team was found by Glorian, the Shaper of Dreams, who gave all the team their desires. For Husk and Chamber, he restored Chamber's face, and made him a rock star with Paige as his girlfriend. Eventually Skin managed to convince Glorian that he hadn't looked hard enough for their dreams, and asked Skin what they really wanted. Skin said that they wanted to go home, but once again Glorian misinterpreted this and transported the team to Los Angeles, where they were hunted by Sentinels of Operation: Zero Tolerance. Whilst running away from the Sentinels, Generation X hid out in a garage. Aware that it might well be their last moments together, Chamber apologized to Husk for the spoiled Thanksgiving and the two began to get along with each other. In the end, the Sentinels were shut down by SHIELD and Generation X managed to get home. While Generation X were out in town having dinner one night, the mansion was broken into by the daughter of a police chief, Tracey Authier, who took some personal things from Generation X. One of these things was Husk's diary, along with Wolverine's hat which had been given to Jubilee, and the gun which had seemingly killed Skin. Even though she thought all the things in Husk's diary were made up, Tracey still blackmailed her into giving her a tour of the mansion. During the tour, Emplate attacked the mansion with some supernatural minions, such as a Token and a Pooka. After the fight was over, Tracey decided she wouldn't tell anyone about the mutants. On a trip to the Harvest Festival, Generation X encountered some Asgardian trolls who sent a Ferris Wheel out of control. Whilst the team was trying to stop anyone getting hurt, Husk acted as team leader. Seeing her transform, the trolls thought she was capable of magic and kidnapped her in the hope that they could get back to Asgard with her help. Husk transformed to a gold form and gave the trolls some of her skin, and made them promise to go deep into the woods so that they wouldn't scare anyone. A bit later, Husk received a call from her brother telling her that their mother was very sick. Husk decided she would go back home so that she could take care of her mother. Before she left, Husk asked Chamber if he would stay at the Academy at least until she got back since things were complicated between them. During this time, Psylocke and the Shadow King had had something of a "Psi-War", with the result being that telepathic mutants lost their powers all over Earth. As a result of this, Chamber couldn't communicate telepathically. He then used his powers to burn a heart into the piece of paper he had written "I promise" on. Shortly afterward, he got his telepathic powers back. Paige's mother recovered faster than expected, and she was back at the Academy in no time. She had expected that Jono would start acting more like her boyfriend once she returned, but since he wasn't ready to be close with Paige he gave her a bit of a cold shoulder. In response, Husk started flirting more with other boys. At the same time, the Academy had to accept human students since they were running short on money. Banshee asked Tom Corsey to guest lecture the students, and Tom was shocked at how little progress they had made with their powers. In one training session, Tom had Husk shed her skin repeatedly until she finally "husked"into a glass form. Unfortunately, one of the human students named Tristan Brawn found out that Generation X, but agreed not to tell anyone if she went on a date with him. While the rest of the team were against it, Husk tried it out since she liked Tristan. Even though Husk told Chamber that it wasn't his business anymore, Chamber threatened to blow Tristan's face off if he hurt Paige. Chamber's feelings affected the whole team, as he constantly questioned Husk's ideas when she was leading the team on a mission shortly afterwards, even though she had good plans. When Husk and Tristan finally went on their date, it was the night of the school ball, which was interrupted by Emplate and his minions attacking. Generation X successfully managed to keep him away from the students though. Afterwards, Tristan confessed to Paige that he was worried about her, and the two kissed. Afterwards, Husk became Tristan's boyfriend, and stopped talking to Chamber. In an attempt to get revenge on Emma Frost, Adrienne revealed that Generation X were all mutants and which students were members. The whole school was panicking and to top it off, Adrienne place bombs around the school. Synch was killed whilst trying to defuse a bomb. As another result of this night, Husk and Tristan's relationship ended before it had begun. Due to the shock of this, Husk started training harder than she had before, even though Generation X had given up the idea of being superheroes. After keeping an eye on what was happening to mutants on the internet, Husk found out that some kids had gone missing and taken to "The House of Corrections" and were being experimented on. Husk demonstrated that she could turn into a strange rubber form which granted her super speed whilst shutting down the House of Corrections. By this time, she and Chamber had become friends, nothing more. When Generation X spent a trip into the city, Husk decided to stay at the mansion since she could still keep an eye on the mutant community whilst at home. Whilst alone, Husk encountered the ghost of a former resident of the mansion, who led her to the attic. In the attic was a letter, which Husk gave to the ghost's elderly sister once she tracked her down. Shortly after this, Generation X decided to disband, mainly because Banshee had taken up drinking and Emma Frost was acting odd about her sister's whereabouts. Also, Chamber had been invited to join the X-Men, and the others knew that their lives should be more than sitting around waiting for a similar letter. Husk and Chamber had a very tearful goodbye, since they had never found out where they stood on their relationship. Just before Chamber left, he told Husk that he had written a letter for her and put it in her bag. Husk realized that she didn't necessarily have to be an X-Man to help people, and went north to help some environmentalists.

X-Corp

Paige subsequently joined X-Corps, helping to police mutants in Europe. However the more 'criminal' members of the group staged a coup and many members were seriously hurt and even murdered. Later she fulfilled her lifelong dream of joining the X-Men, by becoming a member of Archangel's team. She went on several missions with them, which led to her falling in love with Warren Worthington III. Once Warren had made peace with the memory of his, then, deceased ex-girlfriend, Betsy. Paige and Warren pursued a May/November romance which led to them both taking a hiatus from the X-Men. They used this time to further their relationship and to further human-mutant goodwill. During this time, Warren had created a charity for mutants called the Mutantes Sans Frontières in Zanzibar, where him and Paige helped Professor X in stopping a terrorist coup. After this her siblings, Jay and Melody, joined the Xavier Institute. After M-Day, Paige and brother Sam kept their powers however Jay and Melody lost theirs, this leads to Melody leaving the institute and returning home and unfortunately Jay's death at the hands of William Stryker. Paige attended his funeral and decided to stay at the institute. When the Sentinel Squad O.N.E. databases were hacked Paige was immediately suspected because of her computer knowledge, when the soldiers tried to steal her computers Paige attacked the officers which forced them to knock her out, Sam responded angrily to the soldiers attacking his sister and in return attacked them. After the events of the Messiah War, it is revealed that Paige had returned to living with her family. She is the one that goes to pick up her brother, Cannonball, at the air port to bring him home. However, Sam, still feeling angry over the betrayal of his X-Men team, tells her to take him to a local bar where he picks a fight with the members of rival families from their home. Paige confronts Sam on his action after the brawl ends. Sam yells his lost faith in how the life of an X-Men works and flies off angry, leaving Paige fearful for his life and mind. During Secret Invasion, Husk is seen fighting alongside the rest of the X-Men in San Francisco against the invading Skrulls and flirting with Angel at the same time, although they are no longer a couple.

After M-Day

Utopia

After this she is seen on the new mutant haven Utopia, formerly known as Asteroid M. She is seen fighting with all other mutants against Norman Osborn, the Dark Avengers, and the Dark X-Men, she is taken out early in the fight, being hit by one of Bullseye's arrows. After the fight she is seen clearing up the mess around her new home. Husk is still living on Utopia when Selene resurrects dead mutants to attack the island. Along with Trance and Rockslide, she faces her old friends Synch and Skin. When Destiny warns Blindfold of an incoming threat on Muir Island, Paige is apart of the squad assembled by Nightcrawler to go to deal with it. When the team reaches Muir Island, there's no sign of opposition, the team begin to doubt Blindfold's vision, especially Trance and Paige. But they then discover something came back when Destiny was resurrected - the villain Proteus. After possessing the bodies of Destiny, Nightcrawler and Blidnfold. Proteus the remaining team, and ends up possessing Psylocke, Trance and Husk. Rogue, using Psylocke's powers, breaks Proteus' hold on everyone, except for Husk. Who proves to be a greater challenge than expected. Proteus uses Paige's powers in a way that's never been shown before. He displays the ability to assume a flaming energy form, something Paige was previously unable to do. "Paige" then begins beating on Rogue, just trying to waste time. When Husk is close to touch Rogue, Psylocke arrives and uses her psi-knife on Paige, setting her free. The X-Men fix the Blackbird and finally leaves Muir Island.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Transitional Omni-morph Husking: a Transitional omni-morph. She has the mutant ability to shed her outer layer of skin and reveal a new layer or shape underneath. While she can sometimes acquire new forms, Husk has been able to shift into anything that does not exceed her body mass. Any extra mass left when she shifts into a smaller form such as an insect or a bird is shunted into an unknown extra-dimensional space, and will return to Husk when she resumes her human form, Paige most commonly takes on a Paige-like form in a new material, and much prefers to do that. She can become any solid that she has studied and can imitate adamantium, diamond, granite, wood, rubber, brick, even glass. She has the capability to blend in with surroundings, but in order to do so, she would have to study the texture she seeks to mimic first. She was able to shift into liquid substances, including complex acids capable of affecting organic steel. Husk also had the ability to change only part of her body (such as changing a hand into a bladed weapon). When Paige morphs into a different layer, she often takes on new physical abilities or qualities, such as increased weight, strength, or invulnerability. She can husk away minor injuries, but deeper ones will stay with her. She can hold a form for about an hour before she needs to revert back to her original form. She can morph repeatedly, is not required to stay in any one form, but too many transformations can become very painful. In great stress or trauma, Paige can shed without control, revealing patchwork forms. When Paige ‘husks’, she often sheds her clothing as well. This has the unintended side effect of leaving her nude when she returns to her normal form.

Abilities

Husk is adept at the programming and operation of computers.

Gifted intelligence.

Other Versions

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse, Paige was a member of Generation Next. Husk was found by Sinister along with her sister Elizabeth and her brother Sam while the rest of their family, save for their brother Joshua, were culled by Apocalypse's Infinites. However, unlike Sam and Elizabeth, Paige declined Sinister's offer to join his Elite Mutant Force. Instead she joined Magneto's cause. Like her main Marvel Universe counterpart, Paige had a relationship with Chamber, though in this case the relationship became physical as well. She also had greater control over her abilities, as she was able to transform only parts of her body, and even capable of adopting liquid, gaseous, and energy states.

Paige was believed dead, along with the rest of the Generation Next members. However, she was enslaved by the inmates of the Seattle Core until Apocalypse's regime fully collapsed. Husk was eventually found by her siblings and taken to Sinister, who brainwashed her and made her want revenge for the X-Men leaving her behind. Husk infiltrated the ranks of the X-Men as a mutant named Xorn and kidnapped Charles Lensherr; she even battled alongside the other Guthries, but was ultimately killed by Wolverine's daughter, Kirika.

Mutant X

Paige is a member of the Maruaders and constantly fighting with her brother, Cannonball. She is stuck in a rather grotesque form and was last seen trying to escape the groups mysterious benefactor.