Paige Guthrie grew up in Kentucky with her large family. When she found out that her brother, Sam, developed his mutant power, Paige became jealous of him and the exciting lifestyle he would be living, she decided to discover her own mutant power.

Convinced she was a mutant just like her brother, she tried to discover her power for some time and in many different ways until, at last, completely frustrated, she screamed that she'd tear her skin off if she didn't find her mutation soon. Pulling her clasped hands apart, Paige found her skin peeling away to reveal a new form. She had found her power at the age of 13 - the ability to shed the outer layer of her skin to reveal a new layer of material. Despite her joy at the discovery of her mutant ability, Paige kept her powers a secret until, several years later, she was forced to reveal them.

Paige firmly believes that mutants are the next, and better step, in human evolution. She thinks that being a mutant is the best gift anyone can ask for and is convinced that mutants will inherit the world.

Paige is technically an omnimorph who peels off her outer layer of skin (which she discards casually) to reveal a new layer of skin which has been transformed to the material necessary to withstand whatever is happening to her. Her height and weight can vary considerably according to the form she has taken. Her eye and hair colour are also usually affected.

She has also discovered how to rip away the outer layer of skin and reveal, not a new form, but normal skin below. She can hold a new form for roughly an hour and is then forced to peel it away (again discarding it casually), revealing the ordinary "peaches-and-cream" Paige again.

If Paige is injured, either in 'normal' or 'husked' form, removing her outer layer of skin doesn't restore her to full health, she maintains a degree of the injuries inflicted. The husking process, however, somehow results in destroyed clothes - leaving her naked after the final transformation.