There was no account of Damask’s exploits or whereabouts until she appeared in the company of the Shadow King. It was revealed that she became his student and a high-ranking assassin. She was appointed leader of Apocalypse's elite task force, the Pale Riders. Her fellow Pale Riders were Danielle Moonstar and Dead Man Wade.
One of Apocalypse's spies found out about Avalon, which was a secret haven for the humans in the Antarctic. Apocalypse dispatched the Pale Riders to destroy it and all its inhabitants. On the way, Dani amused herself by torturing Wade, whose advanced healing factor makes him regenerate quickly. Moonstar’s childish antics became annoying to Damask, who killed her and relished her death.
Upon their arrival, Damask and Wade found and followed Nightcrawler, Mystique, Destiny, Switchback and Doug Ramsey, who was Destiny's son. Damask sees the beauty of Avalon and begins to doubt her mission. Wade, who hates everything that lives, attacked the group; however, he was quickly defeated by Damask and Nightcrawler. Damask explained how she never knew that life could be this way and wished to join Mystique in her mission. Damask, Mystique, Nightcrawler and Switchback form a group called X-Calibre. They chose name because it referred to the caliber of Mystique's bullets. The group wished to take Destiny back to the X-Men before the future she saw happened.
X-Calibre was attacked by the Shadow King, who possessed several people on Avalon, and forced them to turn against their loved ones and he set Avalon on fire. He was also able to overtake Mystique, but Damask, Nightcrawler and Switchback combine their powers to kill the Shadow King, however, using the last of his strength he killed Doug. Having seen her son die Destiny agreed to be taken back to the X-Men.
