First, just wanted to say how much I really liked the intro's write-up description:



... 'cause I thought it hit all the right notes. ;D

Immediately after what we saw in the previews, comes the first of what I thought were the two best parts of the book. It's a scene between our girl and... COLOSSUS! And let me tell you, for me, these moments with her & Piotr were EVERYthing - LOVED them! They were warm, touching, and just the right amount of meaningful, ya know? The two of them are talkin' about where things are at, where they're at, and then she asks what's up & why he's there. He mentions here that She-Hulk let the X-Men know Dazz left A-Force, and we see that she still has her departed Thor counterpart's hammer, Lightbringer. He eventually gets around to his motive, which is seeing if she wants to rejoin them at the mansion, now that things are settling down. She declines, saying she's not feelin' it, and they hug & he lets her know they'll always be there for her. It was a really nice sequence, I thought, that allows us to catch-up with Dazz's current status quo, how she got there, and that her Mutant fam hasn't forgotten about her.

NeXt up, it's those 2 Inhumans girls - Nora & Zee - we saw from the previews, gettin' harassed by a gang of goons callin' themselves 'Mutant Action'. Dazz intervenes & kicks their asses, then the girls fill her in on what was goin' down:


After, we enter a flashback of sorts, where Dazz narrates how things progressed from there & escalated. They even showed up at one of her signings, threatening & trying to intimidate her:


Following that, we learn she's talkin' to one of her band mates 'bout all this, as they ride together to a gig. His name is Farley, and after they discuss the likelihood of her returning to a super hero's life, she talks about how the rising anti-Inhuman sentiment within the Mutant community was bound to happen. Inhumans outnumber Mutants now, who are still battling back from the brink of eXtinction, which has understandably led to some desperation out of fear & anger.

Now we're at the venue, and the Mutant Action crew have increased in number, have a power dampener specifically attuned to the Inhuman signature, and are beatin' up again on those 2 girls. Once again, Dazz is on it, and gives their leader a poundin'. She's runnin' low on juice tho, and asks the girls to start singin', to amp her up. It works, and long story short, the bullies are sent runnin' with their tail between their legs.

At the concert, Ali talks about unity & family, while still remaining an individual. Colossus is in the crowd, and they meet up again after the show, for my other favorite bit. He reaches out to her again, and this time she seems to have a change of heart, after everything she's been through recently. She talks about how fighting for a better world again, felt good. He gives her a way to reach them, when & if she decides to. Her response was one of the funniest:

"HOLY JEEZ. YOU GUYS STILL HAVE THESE? THIS ISN'T A SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON, DUDE.

CAN'T WE JUST TEXT? LIKE ON A PHONE?"

He comes back with:

"HEY. SOME OF US STILL PLAY THE CLASSICS."

Once again, LOVED their eXchanges. It ends on the final page with him walkin' away, while Dazz reflects on where she's been, and where she goes from here. Cue Astonishing set-up & segue, in a damn fine way, IMO. Needless to say, I'd enjoyed this MUCH! 8D