Origin

Dust is a mutant from Afghanistan. She was taken into captivity by slave traders who planned to sell her off as a mutant slave. When her capturers attempted to remove her headdress she lashed out at them, turning into her Dust form and stripping the flesh from their bodies. It was Fantomex who initially discovered her to rescue her. Wolverine had also been out to locate her, and assisted in killing the remainder of her would-be capturers and getting her to the safety of X-Corporation headquarters in Mumbai. While Wolverine was sleeping and allowing himself to heal she turned into her dust form, hiding all around the room. Jean Grey recognized telepathically that she was there and attempted to comfort her, but she would only say one thing: Turaab (meaning "Dust").

She was placed in Xorn's Special Class. When Xorn asked her to join his new group and she refused, he controlled her dust form and forced her to destroy Cerebra. With other students such as the Stepford Cuckoos, Dust went into hiding and helped Cyclops and Fantomex plan to take down the crazy Magneto/Xorn.

After Xorn

Choosing Sides

While at the Xavier Institute, she befriended and joined the Hellions. Instead of wearing a traditional X-Uniform, she decided to keep her traditional clothing, an abaya and a niqab veil. While also at the Institute, Dust was placed in a room with Surge. Surge and Dust didn't become friends, as the two had very different ideas about how to dress.

During the first field training, Dust used her powers to mask the maze from the New Mutants view.

When the Hellions and Wind Danver (now Renascence) went to break Kevin Ford out of jail, Dust went because she was obliged to do so as a member of the team and because Julian had said so. But, when they got there, the New Mutants managed to talk Wind Dancer around, so the Hellions (minus Icarus) and the New Mutants (plus Icarus) battle. Firstly, Dust battled Surge, but Prodigy instructed Surge to switch places with Wind Dancer, and Wind Dancer used her powers to send Dust out of the battle. It was later revealed that she was flung back to the Institute, where her niqab veil and abaya had lost, so she was naked, but Icarus had asked Surge to take her one of her others, seen how a girl was the only one who can see her without them.

Dust also began to develop a good relationship with Icarus during this time.

End of the School Year

Dust attended Northstar's funeral after he was killed by Wolverine.

Icarus asks Dust to the dance, but she turns him down because she doesn't feel comfortable with the idea of a dance.

Dust battles the Blob with the others (the Hellions and the New Mutants).

House of M

See below for information on Dust in the House of M.

After M-Day

Childhood's End

Dust was one of 27 students of the Institute that retained her mutant powers after M-Day.

After the chaos in the Mansion, and a breif arguement between Hellion and Surge, Dust with the other Hellions, follows the New Mutants to the Danger Cave, a cave that performs simular tasks as the Danger Room although only with previous X-Missions, built by Prodigy. After some messing around with the Danger Cave, Dust asks can they stop and they all leave.

In this arc, it is revealed that Surge has moved out of her's and Dust's room, so Dust is given a new room mate, X-23.

Later, Emma Frost organizes a battle between the remaining powered students, with the winners being drafted into the New X-Men team. Dust battles Indra, and then she is seen again at the end of the battle as one of the winners, and she is drafted into the New X-Men team.

Crusade

In the first issue of this arc, Dust and the other New X-Men have a training exersize where they have to take down Colossus, but when she is instructed to attack by Hellion (who is not the leader of the team), she is quickly taken out when Colossus lifts up a water pipe from below and sprays her with it.

During this arc, Reverend Willaim Stryker targeted the Xavier Institute, because he believed that God had sent the Decimation and it was his job to kill the rest of the mutants.

Icarus had his wings amputated by Stryker, because he believed that if he gave up his wings his friends would be saved. Icarus went to see Stryker again, but before he did, he gave a note to Dust, asking her to come to this address. X-23 said that it was a trap, but Dust didn't believe her.

At the address, and the Purifiers see Dust arriving and they open fire. Stryker allows Icarus to see this, and then Stryker kills him (this is all because in Nimrod's data banks, Dust killed all the Purifiers as the invaded the Institute).

But, Dust wasn't shot, but rather knocked out and left on her's and X-23's bathroom floor by X-23. X-23 took her niquab and abaya and left her just in her underwear. Dust goes outside to find Mercury and Rockslide battling Purifiers, and after Rockslide realises that she isn't wearing her abaya and niqab and he can't look at her, she says "Turaab" and turns to Dust, and rips the skin off of the Purifiers.

Note: Dust also attends the other students funerals during this arc, and she prays for them.

Nimrod

Dust, with X-23, Cyclops and the Stepford Cuckoos in Cerebra as they search for Jay, and Dust is very distraguht, and blames herself for his disappearance (actually he was killed), but X-23 tells her she would have been killed if she followed him.

When the New X-Men eavesdrop in on Cyclops and Ms. Marvel, it is revealed that Icarus is dead and Dust begins to cry. Later, they try to put the clues together to figure out who the new enemy is, and David figures out it's Nimrod.

The New X-Men head to Texas to save Forge. After the Blackbird their in is crashed by Nimrod, the team enters Eagle Plaza. After a breif battle with several robots, an explosion is set off. Luckily the group and Forge are saved by Hellion, but he gets concussion and Dust cradles him in her arms. When Nimrod gets closer, she battles him for a while with various others of the team, but is then dispathed by a beam he fires.

Whatever Happened to Wither?

When Lucinda Guthrie comes to collect Icarus's body, Dust runs to her and breaks down in front of her in tears.

Mercury Falling

Dust is seen in this arc talking to Emma Frost, where Emma tells Dust that she's still had no luck at all in finding Dust's mother.

She is then seen asking Pixie about X-23 and Hellion, where she learns that X-23 came out of the old Morlock Sewer enterance all bloody, and then there was a big noise and no one has seen them since.

Later, outside, Dust prepares to leave to look for her teammates with Rockslide and Surge, but they are all called inside. She then battles

Quest For Magik

Dust is first seen in this arc praying in her room, but is then pulled into Limbo with the other students.

In Limbo, she is held captive with Mercury and Prodigy. After realising that she is in hell and out of Allah's sight, she and the other two are interrogated by Belasco, who asks about Illyana Rasputin. Belasco was able to sense that the three of them had been near her, but this was only true in the House of M reality, which none of them remember.

Belasco rips out Prodigy's heart, and as Mercury and Dust watch in shock, they are freed from their reststraints by X-23 who tells them to fight. She is quickly disposed of by Belasco, but Mercury and Dust fight back hard, and luckily for them, their mutant forms are resistant to magic. The two manage to hold Belasco off until he is stopped.

Dust dusting around

Children of the X-Men

Dust's shoulder was dislocated during the battle with Belasco, and it was relocated by Beast in the medical bay of the Institute. She was in quite a bit of pain, but didn't want to cause any fuss by asking someone to help.

There Pixie asks why she still wears her burqa even after everyone has seen her without it? This is answered by Nezhno, who corrects Pixie telling her that it isn't a burqa but rather an abaya with a niqab veil, and he asks Pixie to respect Dust by learning about her.

When Surge goes around asking about what happened to David in Limbo, Dust tells her that he broke a rib but Elixir healed him.

We then see that Matthew Risman is leading Predator X to Dust, because she severly disfigured his face when she attacked the Purifiers at the mansion.

World War Hulk and Messiah CompleX

Dust fought the Hulk with the other New X-Men in [[World War Hulk: X-Men:vol:18786]]. She was quickly taken out by the Hulk when he lifted a pipe from underground, spraying her with water.

During Messiah Complex, Dust stays behind, choosing not to take part in attacking the Purifiers without permission. When Cyclops asks, she uses her powers to enter and investigate the inside of a Sentinel, only to be flushed out by it's mutated pilot moments later. She then helps in the final battle.

Young X-Men

After the X-Men "disbanded", Dust returned to Afhganistan, and as seen in the first issue of the new series, Young X-Men, protects a small village from invading members of the Taliban. She is then recruited onto the new team along with old friends such as Rockslide by Cyclops.

Powers

Dust can transform into a cloud of sand or dust. In this form she can propel herself through the air at great speeds. This form makes her particularly dangerous, as the microscopic edges of the sand particles act as tiny blades, stripping the flesh off an opponent. She can use this form to move through cracks and crevices, allowing her to venture where others cannot.

According to several different people, Dust's dust form is very hard to detect and effect telepathically.

Dust's main weakness is water, but has also been shown to have a vulnerability to air.

Even though Dust can control her dust cloud, it can be controlled by others who have abilities such as Telekinesis or Aerokinesis.

Dust's dust form is resistant to magic according to Belasco.

Outift

Dust is recognized by that she always wears an abaya and a niqab veil instead of the traditional X-Men uniform.

Although, since she has joined Young X-Men, Dust has worn yellow tassles/bands on top of her traditional abaya and niqab veil.

Status

Hair: Black

Alternate Realities

Earth-58163

House of M Dust

House of M - In this reality, Dust was extremely different, no longer did she wear he traditional Muslim clothing, she wore crop tops and tight jeans and was Jubilee (Jubilee)'s best friend. They were both referred to as the 'shallow twins' and their main interests seemed to be the mall, fashion and boys. She never prayed or made reference to 'Allah' at all in this storyline and she seemed more American/Californian than Sunni. During a fight Dust had with Jubilee (enraged by the pheromones Wallflower sent her way to make Dust want to kill Jubilee), Dust denounced Jubilee, saying 'You claim to be my friend, but look at me, I'm a JOKE! I remember my life before I came to America, I had faith, I had MORALS' to which Jubilee (unaffected by the pheromones at the time) replied 'I helped you fit in' which is when Dust started using her powers against Jubilee and Dust exclaimed 'Fit in? You made me PATHETIC, a shallow mall rat like YOU, I'll KILL you!' Wallflower was killed by Mercury which ended the fight and Dust begged Jubilee for forgiveness, but what was said during the fight is the only reference made about how Dust is currently living in the original timeline/reality... with her strong faith and morals. Dust also seemed to be more aggressive in this alternate reality, and a lot less withdrawn.

Creators

Dust was created by Grant Morrison and Ethan Van Sciver.