BIOGRAPHY - Page 5
In the wake of M-Day, when the majority of the world’s mutant population lost their powers, Husk returned to the Xavier Institute to assist the X-Men with the fallout. While the more senior X-Men dealt with the various emergencies, Husk spent her time taking calls from the various parents of the students, reassuring them as best she could. Husk was confirmed by the Office of National Emergency as retaining her powers. [Decimation: House of M - the Day After, The 198 Files]
Apparently, Paige and Archangel separated before Paige returned to the Xavier Institute. This may have added to her extreme emotions when she picked a fight with the soldiers of the Office of National Emergency, who were positioned at the Xavier Institute, ostensibly for the protection of the various mutants that had arrived seeking sanctuary. Paige’s personal belongings were confiscated and she sought comfort with her brother, Cannonball, as they assisted the mutant refugees with supplies. However, Paige got her own back when she and Cannonball hacked into the personal files of Colonel Reyes. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #469]
While Husk’s sister, Melody lost her powers on M-Day, her brother, Jay, retained his. However, tragedy struck the Xavier Institute when an anti-mutant organization massacred many of the students. Jay was shot and killed by the organization’s leader. Husk and Cannonball’s mother arrived for the funeral, and Paige subsequently returned to Kentucky with her mother, leaving the Xavier Institute once again. [New X-Men (2nd series) #26, 32, X-Men: Divided We Stand #1]
When the X-Men, and majority of the world’s remaining mutant population, relocated to San Francisco, Paige soon joined them, arriving in time to assist the X-Men during the Skrull Invasion. She was reunited with Archangel and, despite their separation, made it clear that she was still interested in him. [Secret Invasion: X-Men #2-3] When the mutant population took up residence on the island nation of Utopia, off the coast of San Francisco, Paige also took up residence there and was present for the battle against Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers. [Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Exodus]
When the X-Men’s enemy Selene raised numerous friends and foes of the X-Men from the dead, Paige was briefly reunited with deceased Generation X teammates Synch and Skin. However, as they were under Selene’s thrall, she was forced to battle them. Afterward, she was assigned to an away team that journeyed to Muir Island, to investigate the visions of one of the young mutants, called Blindfold. There, they encountered the mutant Proteus, who took possession of most of the away team, including Paige. Under Proteus’ influence, Paige demonstrated new uses of her powers, shredding away her skin and displayed a lava-like form, in which she was able to fire waves of lava. Under Proteus’ possession, Husk held her own against Rogue, though Proteus commented that he nevertheless didn’t like her power, as it was unpredictable. The possession didn’t last overly long and Paige was soon freed from Proteus’ thrall. The away team defeated Proteus and departed Muir Isle. [Necrosha crossover]
Following the Age of X, Husk began to act flaky - in more ways than one. She became easily distracted and her powers started acting up, molting flakes of skin. When the mutant community began to divide itself into two factions after Wolverine decided to up and leave Utopia, Husk decided to leave Utopia with Cannonball and move back to Westchester, siding with Wolverine. Her bizarre behavior and skin-shedding did not go unnoticed by others during this time either. [X-Men: Regenesis]
At the newly built Jean Grey School for Higher Learning (built on the old Xavier Institute grounds in Westchester), Husk became one of the junior faculty members, as did her brother Cannonball and ex-boyfriend, Chamber. Paige taught Introduction to Mutant Literature and the History of Mutant Art to the young mutant students, and like most of the X-Men based at Westchester donned a new costume, although she often covered her face with an over-sized hood. However, before long, Paige began to worry that she was not cut out for teaching and told her teammates that the kids never listen to her. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #1, 4]
Unruly young mutants weren’t Paige’s only problem, though she tried to ignore them, even after confronted by her brother, Cannonball. Still, despite her issues, Paige proved useful during an attack on the school, displaying her molten-lava form as she did when she was possessed by Proteus. When Sam tried to confront Husk on another occasion, she once again fobbed her brother off, assuring him that she was fine, when clearly she wasn’t. [X-Men Legacy (1st series) #260.1, Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #9]
When the Avengers declared war on the X-Men, the Westchester based team was given the option of siding with Wolverine and the Avengers, or joining Cyclops’ team at war. The third option was remaining at the Jean Grey School to look after the students. Husk’s personal problems seemed to be weighing heavily on her and she couldn’t make a decision, deferring to Cannonball for his opinion. They both remained at the Jean Grey School, although Cannonball later joined the war at Utopia. [X-Men Legacy (1st series) #266]
Husk became one of the few faculty members to remain at the Jean Grey School, although she found herself unqualified to teach the many subjects lumbered on her. Additionally, her molting skin seemed to increase so much that she was leaving entire husks of herself sitting around. Paige’s mental state could be called into question further by her newfound friendship with Toad, the janitor at the Jean Grey School. They would spend time exploring the caves beneath the school and Paige even started turning her body a similar form as Toad’s so that she could run along the ceiling of the cave with him. She also referred to Toad by his real name, Mortimer, something almost no one else at the Jean Grey School did. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #14-15]
Shortly after, Paige was confronted about her erratic behavior and powers by headmistress Kitty Pryde.
After Paige immediately took offense, Kitty explained that she just wanted to help Paige and informed her that she would no longer be able to teach at the Jean Grey School until she could admit that something was wrong and let the others help her. Instead of waiting to be fired, Paige quit her position on the faculty. Before she left the School, though, Paige spent some time with Mortimer. Though she told him that their time together has been so precious, when he asked her if he could go with her Paige turned him down, explaining that she had to find her own place in life. Still, she promised that she would be back for him. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #18-19]
Paige did find her own place in life, linking up with newly formed Hellfire Academy, where she was offered a faculty position as Head Librarian. Unfortunately it did nothing to improve her mental instability. In fact, when she and several other Hellfire Academy faculty met up with Toad and Kid Omega to bring them to the Hellfire Academy, Paige vowed that she wanted the Jean Grey School and the X-Men to burn in Hell forever. As life at the Hellfire Academy got underway, Paige continued to show her mental instability, shouting at the students and shifting her form into bizarre dinosaur forms. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #30-31]
When Toad and Quentin Quire realized things were wrong at the Hellfire Academy, they confronted some of the staff and students, including Husk, who refused to listen to Toad when he tried to tell her that something was wrong. Husk declared that she was embarrassed by Toad and regretted ever letting him put his tongue on her. As the X-Men invaded the Hellfire Academy to retrieve their missing students and put an end to the Hellfire Academy’s schemes, Husk and Toad fought each other ferociously, with Toad pulling at Husk’s skin over and over, until the regular, human-looking Paige was found. Paige was confused as to what was going on and as to why Toad was hugging her. Toad helped Paige escape the Academy and meet up with X-Men. She was taken back to the Jean Grey School and put in the infirmary for observation. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #33-35]
Recovering at the Jean Grey School, it was discovered that Paige’s unstable mental state was a result of her secondary mutation - that when she “husks out,” it doesn’t change just her body but her mind too. Paige received training by the Beast on how to channel this difficulty. She nervously confronted the Toad when he was kicked out of the Jean Grey School and informed him that she didn’t remember everything that happened between them. However, taking a chance, Paige asked Toad to meet her at a coffee shop in town later, so she could find out what there was between them. That meeting never happened, however. 
Although Paige showed up, the Toad found himself meeting with the remaining Hellfire Club children and attacked one of them, Manuel Enduque leaving with the other. The X-Men found Manuel and took him to the Jean Grey School, where Paige spoke to him in her new role as guidance counselor. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #41]