BIOGRAPHY - Page 2
Not long after, Sally and the other X-Factor trainees learned that X-Factor were sending the teens to boarding school, as they thought the kids should not only receive training in their 
powers, but also a good education and the chance to interact with the “human” world. Sally was devastated when Rusty revealed that he was returning to the Navy, even though it meant he would be thrown in prison, because he believed that mutants should not hold themselves above the law. Sally, Boom-Boom and Rictor were taken to the prestigious boarding school known as the Phillips Academy, in Exeter, New Hampshire, while Artie and Leech were taken to another school for younger children close by. Instantly, Sally and her friends thought little of the other, somewhat snotty students, and even caused Iceman’s sled to fall down on some of them - not making a good impression.
When Artie and Leech were kidnapped by goblins, their schoolmate Taki ventured to the Phillips Academy in the middle of the night to tell Skids, and she and the others left with Taki to go find 
their friends - but not without breaking Rusty out of prison on the way. As they couldn’t reach X-Factor, the group set out to rescue Artie and Leech on their own, but first they stopped off to get new outfits, as they all left in the middle of the night wearing their pajamas. Once again, their new costumes resembled street clothes, and they decided to call themselves the ”X-Terminators“ after the costumed mutant heroes, X-Factor pretended to be while they were still operating under the guise of mutant hunters. [X-Factor (1st series) #32, X-Terminators (1st series) #1-2]
Before long, the demons they were searching for actually found the X-Terminators, and they all ended up prisoners of N’astirh, the demons’ leader. Threatening to kill his friends, N’astirh blackmailed Taki into creating a computer that would allow him to process his magical spells faster and easier than he could cast them himself. By the time the other X-Terminators broke free, the goblins had already kidnapped ten mutant babies, who N’astirh used in conjunction with his spell-processing computer to open a giant portal between Limbo and Earth. Battling the hordes of demons that began invading Earth, Sally and the others met up with another group of young heroes, the New Mutants, who were also caught up deep in the Inferno. Together, they were able to thwart N’astirh’s plans and rescue all of the abducted children. While the others continued to patrol the city for more demon attacks, Skids stayed behind with the injured members of both teams, to keep them and the babies from harm. [X-Terminators (1st series) #3-4, New Mutants (1st series) #72-73]
Afterwards, the X-Terminators took the babies to X-Factor’s sentient Ship, knowing that their mentors would make sure that they would be returned to their parents. While, Artie, Leech and 
Taki were sent back to their school, Skids and the others considered themselves lucky that the Phillips Academy didn’t want them back for summer school, as they had missed too much. Before long, though, they met the New Mutants again, who asked to stay on Ship too, as Xavier’s school had been recently destroyed. X-Factor had no objections and, as a result, the two groups of teens were merged into one, the “new” New Mutants. [New Mutants (1st series) #74, X-Factor (1st series) #40, New Mutants (1st series) #76, X-Factor (1st series) #41]
The New Mutants soon found themselves in way over their heads, as they had to face two problems at once. Not only was Dani Moonstar possessed by some evil spirit, causing her to burst into magical flames, but also Freedom Force were again after Rusty Collins. The governmentally sanctioned team confronted the New Mutants on Liberty Island and, with Dani’s condition turning worse each passing minute, Skids made a dramatic decision. She told her teammates to leave and get X-Factor’s help, while she and Rusty would stay on the island, protected from Freedom Force by her force field. What she couldn’t have known, at that point, was that X-Factor were unavailable as they were in outer space, and the New Mutants would get transported to Asgard by Dr. Strange, from where they only returned a couple of weeks later. [New Mutants (1st series) #77-78]
Surrounded by Freedom Force, Sally and Rusty stood their ground, when the Blob had a slip of tongue. He accidentally revealed that the mutant babies, whom X-Factor had handed over to 
Freedom Force, had not been returned to their parents, but were held at a secret location and to be trained as governmental operatives. Skids knew that they would only have to last through the night, as Freedom Force couldn’t risk a fight with tourists and the media visiting the island the next morning. Freedom Force knew that too, which is why they excavated the slab of ground underneath Sally’s force field, and took the two of them, still inside the force field, to a federal prison in upstate New York. Eventually, Sally tired after several continuous hours of using her mutant powers, and collapsed, enabling Freedom Force to capture the two mutants. Wanting to keep Sally quiet about the mutant babies, Freedom Force had her charged with helping Rusty resist arrest, so that both of them would be locked up. [New Mutants (1st series) #80, 82]
In prison, Sally and Rusty were assigned to separate cells. Several weeks later, the foe known as the Vulture started a break out, and Rusty was freed in the melee and tried to stop the villain, 
who intended to bust out an even more dangerous criminal - Nitro. When the prison guards began opening fire on Rusty, he realized that he needed help and melted the prison bars of Skids’ cell window. Sally then displayed her powers in a new way, by using her force field to cushion her fall as she jumped from a high level in the prison. Shielded from the guards’ bullets, Skids argued why they should even bother about the Vulture’s escape, but her lover convinced her that they would best aid the mutant cause by saving numerous innocents from Nitro’s explosive powers. Additionally, if the press showed up, they could tell them the truth about the mutant babies.
By the time they caught up with the Vulture, however, Nitro had already been freed from the containment canister holding him. When he prepared to blow up and kill hundreds of people in the building they were standing on, Skids leapt forward, keeping the blast contained with her own force-field. Whereas the concussion within the confined space kept the villain from reforming his body for quite a while, Skids passed out due to the tremendous pain the stunt had caused her. Rusty’s plan involving the media also failed, as Freedom Force arrived in the nick of time to tell the arriving reporters that the two mutants had been working together with Nitro and the Vulture, and that they had stopped all four of them. Also, by pointing out that every criminal would pretend to be innocent and sully the names of their captors, Freedom Force ensured that the media would not believe anything Rusty tried to say. [New Mutants (1st series) #85-86]
Sally learned about this latest turn of events only after waking up in a prison hospital, by watching the news. Seeing the recording of Freedom Force’s speech on TV, she almost believed 
herself that she and Rusty were “evil mutants,” if she didn’t know better. The news report also involved a new terrorist faction known as the Mutant Liberation Front. Mystique arrived, apparently to interrogate her about her (non-existent) connection to the M.L.F. During their exchange, it became quite clear that Rusty and Skids would never be let go, so that she could not reveal Freedom Force’s deadly secret regarding the mutant babies. Later that day, the Mutant Liberation Front indeed broke into the hospital, and immediately the guards shot at Rusty and Skids, as they had been ordered to not let them escape alive. Although Sally was protected by her power, Rusty was hit and in no shape to consider the M.L.F.’s offer to join them, which is why Skids had to decide for them both. Well aware that staying in prison would have meant death sooner or later, Sally chose the lesser evil and accepted the terrorists’ offer, even though it further damaged hers and Rusty’s reputation. [New Mutants (1st series) #87]
Before long, Rusty and Skids began to participate in the Mutant Liberation Front’s missions, which mainly included damaging civilian property and robbery. Although they both voiced their concern over their terrorist actions, the group’s leader, Stryfe, claimed they were necessary to get their message across. [New Mutants (1st series) #100] Apparently, they questioned Stryfe’s orders once too often, because at some point he injected neural tissue implants into the lovers’ brains and had them brainwashed into becoming loyal followers of his cause and be as ruthless as their teammates. [X-Force (1st series) #25, Cable: Blood & Metal #1-2]
When Stryfe assassinated Professor Xavier during a public speech, the various X-teams banded together to hunt him down. Eventually, they also battled the M.L.F., which is when Sally 
and Rusty were reunited with two of their former teammates, X-Force members Cannonball and Boom-Boom, now going by the name Boomer. Cannonball and Boomer soon realized that their friends had been brainwashed and that reasoning with them made no sense. During the inevitable fight, Skids even went as far as breaking Boomer’s jaw with a well-placed kick. In the end, though, Rusty and Skids were eventually captured and incarcerated. [X-Men (2nd series) #15]
Val Cooper, the governmental liaison on mutant affairs, arranged for Sally and Rusty to be transferred to the Xavier Institute, hoping that the Professor could undo their brainwashing. 
However, along the way, the mutant-hating group "Friends of Humanity" hijacked the transport and kidnapped the two mutant teenagers. Due to their high-profile status, Sally and Rusty made perfect targets for the Friends of Humanity, who wanted to make examples out them. Fortunately, as soon as X-Force got word of what was happening to them, they managed to track down the hideout of the Friends of Humanity and rescued them. Not that Skids and Rusty were thankful, as their neural implants still made them loyal followers of Stryfe, insulting and belittling X-Force for believing in the wrong cause. [X-Force (1st series) #24]
As X-Force had no way to undo their conditioning, they placed Sally and Rusty in suspended animation at their headquarters. However, on the same day, the mysterious Exodus appeared and invited several members of the group to join Magneto on his orbital station, Avalon. Feigning interest, Cannonball accepted on the others behalf, and they were transported to Avalon, including Rusty and Skids. Turned out that Magneto was capable of magnetically rerouting the blood flow in Skids and Rusty’s brains, effectively destroying the brain tissue which Stryfe surgically and telepathically had altered. Able to think for themselves for the first time in many months, the two lovers truly accepted the offer of staying at Magneto’s safe haven, whereas the others returned to Earth, having only wanted to check out what Magneto was currently up to. [X-Force (1st series) #25]
Whether Sally and Rusty had made their decision out of thankfulness for freeing their minds, or out of fear of humanity on Earth below, staying on Avalon also meant joining the Acolytes, a group of mutants worshipping Magneto and blindly following him. [X-Men (2nd series) #25] However, they rarely took part in any missions of the group, unlike several other Acolytes who thrived in combat. Things took a turn for the worse when an encounter with Xavier left Magneto nearly brain-dead, and Exodus assumed leadership in his name. Despite his claim that he was loyal to Magneto, Exodus’ rule was far more radical. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #315]