HUSK

Real name: Paige Elisabeth Guthrie
Occupation: Student at Columbia University
Identity: Secret
Legal status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Other aliases: Husk, Hayseed
Place of birth: Cumberland County Kentucky, USA
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: Lucinda (mother); Thomas (father, deceased); Brothers: Samuel, Joshua, Jeb, and Lewis; Sisters: Joelle, Elisabeth, two other sisters, one of which is the twin of Lewis.
Group affiliation: None yet, although her brother is the field leader for the X-Men
Base of operations: Columbia University, or Xavier's Mansion
First appearance:
History:

Eighteen years ago, Paige Guthrie was born the third child in the growing Guthrie family. Being the first girl child of the family, and the youngest (at that time), Paige was adored by her parents and her two older brothers Samuel and Joshua, and even spoiled. Her position as the youngest was short lived, but the bit of special attention she received for being the oldest girl lasted awhile longer. Paige had a very happy childhood in her poor but loving family, and at once proved to be a bright child, doing well in school and eager to learn and distinguish herself as unique.

After a happy early childhood, tragedy struck for the Guthrie family. When Paige was only ten, her father died, and being something of a favorite of his for being his first little girl, Paige was more than heartbroken. Moreover, this mean that Sam had then to work in the coal mines as their father had done to help support the family, and the older Guthrie children had more to do in helping their mother run the small farm and take care of their siblings. A year or so after this, following a cave in at the mines, Sam had to leave suddenly, and went off to college in New York. Paige had to help her mother out more, and helped with her siblings. She managed to juggle this with school, and succeed. She put a lot of her time into studying, meaning to someday go off to college as Sam did.

At some point during those two years since he had left, Sam had finally sent letters to his mother, and some explanation of what had happened at the cave in, and about him having special powers (no mention of Xavier or the X-men, though). Paige, wanting to hear of her brother, often found these letters and read them. When she first read Sam's story, she didn't believe it anymore than any sane person would. However, she also knew that her brother was honest, and the tone of the letter was serious. This little bit of information sparked enough interest in Paige for her to seek out any information about 'mutants' as she could, no matter how crazy or obscure (She probably only found info in supermarket tabloids)

Paige wanted to be different, to be unique in some way, and to follow in the footsteps of her brother. Although she loved her home and her family dearly, she longed for some sort of change and future greatness. She was doing very well in school, and at home, but now she wanted more. She wanted powers like Sam had: some special ability of her own. There wasn't a day that she didn't wish for it. At the age of 14 Paige was more than ever determined that she had to be a mutant. She started doing 'experiments' to try to unlock her power. Telepathy, telekinesis, super strength etc. She tried hard to unlock any one of these powers, already well known concepts thanks to science fiction, and comic books. As ridiculous as it sounded, Paige believed that there was a chance of getting her powers working in this way.

And then one fateful day, a day she'll never forget, it happened. Frustrated one night, after a bad day at school and an argument with her siblings, Paige went out into the yard to sulk. She decided to try one of her 'experiments' again to take her mind off things, but it didn't work. Finally she just got so mad she yelled up at the sky, telling God that if he was going to give her powers, he'd better do it right then and there. Miraculously (as if in answer to her prayer, but probably just as a result of all the stress) Paige's powers did manifest. She had her arms wrapped around herself in frustration, and as she pulled them away, her skin peeled off. She cheered in delight and tore the rest off, then she dropped to her knees and cried "Thank you!" (Of course, later on she was a little freaked.)

After this, Paige tried often to get her powers working again, usually just shedding her skin into her own form. She didn't exactly understand what tearing her skin off meant, but she knew never to look a gift horse in the mouth, and it WAS unique. She was satisfied enough for a while. And then one night, when she was 17, she learned something new during a far more extreme situation than the first. While one of her youngest siblings was playing around in a storage shed (where he shouldn't have been), the wooden structure caught on fire and he was trapped inside. Being made out of dry wood, the thing was completely ablaze in a matter of seconds and Paige courageously rushed in to help her brother, despite the very real danger of herself getting trapped and dying. When she came out, she had her brother in her arms, and her skin was peeling and burning, underneath was a form of metal. The form lasted for about an hour before Paige was able to change back. It was later discovered that the fire had been caused by an oil lantern

Aside from finally discovering that she IS a mutant, Paige's life has been pretty normal up this point. She has done very well in school, usually earning straight A's and sometimes B's, and she has been a great help to her mother. She graduated just last year and has qualified for enough scholarships to pay her way through a year at Columbia University in New York, with some money left over. After spending the summer getting things settled at home, Paige has moved to NYC and settled into the dorm at Columbia.

Paige has done well at College for the past year since she's arrived, and has also made friends with many of the students at the Mansion. She first had an official visitor status there, and access to only some of the Mansion's facilities, but she was recently allowed to join the Columbia Branch, a sort of reserve team of the X-Men composed of students at Columbia. She now knows most of the school secrets: about the X-Men, and the Danger Room, for example.

Height: 5'7" Weight: 120 lbs.
Eyes: Blue Hair: Blonde
Unusual physical characteristics: In her normal form; none. Varies in other forms.
Strength level: Normal for a woman of Paige's height and build who engages in regular physical activity. In altered forms her strength may vary.
Known superhuman powers: Paige is a metamorph with the ability to change her composition and shape in a variety of ways. Each time she changes into a new form, she must "husk" away her outermost 'skin.'
Other abilities: Paige is good at study, academics, and knows a lot about house keeping, child care, and farming.
Weapons and paraphernalia: None
Other notes: