DAZZLER: BIG IN ATTILAN(In a paragraph, as youre busy,

like.)
Her career in the doldrums and critically savaged, Alison Blaire
gets a once-in-a-lietime opportunity. !hes invited to be the irst
outsider to perorm in the Inhumans home city. !he arrives to
ind it in strie, bet"een traditionalists outraged at her presence
and her ans "ho # due to Attilans $ast-$uropean Iron-curtain-
es%ue Isolation # only really liked her old-&isco material any"ay.
Ater a disastrous, conlict-ruptured gig, the situation takes a
bi'arre and dangerous turn "hen a (elestial appears outside the
city. &oing nothing. At least until, during an oicial ball, the
classical inhuman music act is disintegrated. )thers ollo".
&a''ler reali'es that its here, someho", to *udge art. Her band #
"ith Black Bolt guesting on backing vocals # dont have to *ust
play the gig o their lives # they have to play the gig to
save everyones lives.
DAZZLER: BIG IN ATTILAN
+hile Alison Blaires lie as a costumed adventurer is on the rise,
her career as the "orlds irst mutant superstar has collapsed to
,rance toilet-venues. It reaches a ne" lo" "hen, ater playing a
!tudent -reshers "eek gig, shes savaged in an e.tended revie" in
a broadsheet ne"spaper by a /-day depo"ered e.-mutant critic #
that its a tragedy that the sole surviving artist rom the mutant
community is the one "ho, instead o making /utant Art,
crouched in the gene closet or most o her career making
derivative Human music. Its unair, she kno"s, but it cuts her
legs rom under her. +hy be an artist at all0
Its then her agent her "ith an unusual # nay
# unprecedented gig. A diplomat rom Attilan has re%uested that
&a''ler play the Inhumans city on the moon. 1o human has ever
done this. Its like being the irst band to play behind the Iron
(urtain2
Accepting causes problem. In the atermath o the !ilent +ar a 3!
citi'en traveling to Attilan is a touchy matter any"ay. Her
government "arns her o # but, o course, theres a reason "hy
Allison isnt living in the 3! at the moment. This Blair isnt the
sort to do something *ust because America tells her so. 4iding a
"ave o hype, shes elated pretty much until she actually reaches
Attilan.
At "hich point a e" problems come to light. -irstly, yes, shes
popular in Attilan. ,hat its isolated means that in terms o
culture, theyre at least 56 years behind the rest o the "orld..
,hats "hy &isco &a''ler is still the 1o. 5 oreign artist. ,hat shes
moved on rom &isco immediately alienates her rom the ans.
!econdly, the 1o 5 oreign artist in Attilan means little. Its an
isolationist state, and the dominant traditionalist actions are
outraged atany outsider. ,his is made "orse "hen it becomes
clear she "as invited under alse pretences# the &iplomat "asnt
actually an diplomat. It "as a young Inhuman "ho runs small
club gatherings or &iscophiles. ,his outrages traditionalists
more, and all that stops &a''ler being e*ected is # someho" #
despite the &7 not being an actual &iplomat, Black Bolt did give
permission or her to come. +hy0 1o-one kno"s, and Black Bolt
# as al"ays # isnt talking. ,hirdly # and the particularly oul
cherry on the "hole cake # is that her agent invited the critic "ho
tore her apart on the *ourney, to report on it and in hope the level
o access "ill make him change his position. Alison and him dont
e.actly get on.
In short, "ith stresses both inside and outside the visiting party,
the situations a po"derkeg. Her irst gig, a small "arm-up to the
main perormance, is a iasco. Her ans dont "ant the music she
plays and it descends into an Inhuman bra"l "hen traditionalists
try and stop the perormance. Ater the smoke had cleared, the
critic smugly notes that this sort o disaster is "hat youd e.pect
"ith such a minor talent as a cultural ambassador. All that stops
Allison rom inally snapping at him is some une.pected ne"s.
An enormous igure has appeared outside Attilan. A (elestial8
Arishem, speciically.
Already the po"der-keg, matches start lying. ,hat he doesnt
appear to be doing anything only makes people more paranoid.
+hat does he "ant0 +hat caused this0 +hat can they do0 Is there
anything they can do0 Black Bolt keeps as calm a hand on the
society tiller as possible, but the pressures sho". /any ingers,
understandably, point at the presence o &a''ler. +ith the
(elestials silent presence not sublimating into something speciic,
lie continues nervously on.
,he ne.t ma*or event is at an inhuman ball "hich Alison is
present. A traditionalist unction, the music is provided by one o
the Inhumans "hos been most outspoken against the debauched,
immature and corrupting nature o &a''lers "ork. Hal "ay
through his perormance o ornate classic Attilan sonnets2 the
(elestial rouses outside. !hortly ater"ards, the perormer
disintegrates.
9anic.
,he military plans step up hugely, as the race o metahumans
"orks out ho" it can possibly take on a (elestial. ,he pressure
around &a''ler amps up urther, as she ends o an assassination
attempt. Attention is only distracted "hen a couple more
inhumans are disintegrated2 also during their perormances.
,alking to the venomous critic, Alison has a moment o insight. As
is their nature, the (elestial is here to *udge, yes. But someho" its
here to *udge art. ,his isnt something she can ight like an :-man
or a member o $.calibur. !he has to someho" put on a sho"
thatd please the !tar ;od that to"ers over the city.
!he puts her plans into order, disappearing into hurried practice.
Her stage beore the to"ering (elestial in one o the enclosed
domes o Attilan. A cro"d o her previously disappointed aithul
and the disgruntled disbelievers gather.
!he steps on stage. And its in her old &a''ler gear. ,he band
steps out. !he introduces hersel to the cro"d, promising a very
special sho", and then calls orth an ne" addition to her band.
Black Bolt steps out o the shado"s. ,he 9rime ruler o the
Inhumans is, or this sho", backing vocals.
&a''ler starts her set. Its old school &a''ler, but merged "ith the
her more modern take, her classics reinvented # its populist,
cro"d pleasing, communal, a "orld a"ay rom the austere
chamber music o the people. <ou can dance to it. <ou can cry to
it. <ou can live to it, ykno". And # as Black bolt sings # Allison
absorbs all the energy into the biggest lightsho" on earth, her
body gro"ing in energy, gro"ing in intensity, *ust gro"ing2 until,
at the songs ape., shes literally the star shes al"ays "anted to
be.,he song inishes, laser light dripping o her like s"eat.
,he (elestial stares. 1otably, no-one is disintegrated.
At "hich point the rest o the (elestial host materiali'e and *oin
Arishem in his vigil. ,he gig continues, the Inhumans dance and2
"hile the (elestials dont, they "atch.As the gig inishes, a handul
o the (elestials disappear. !ome remain. =+hat do they "ant0> =I
think2 they "ant an encore>. &a''ler plays the coy star, saying
that shed only really be able to play another song i a e" e.tra
people "ere in the audience. <ou kno" # the ones you
disintegrated a e" days ago.
A moments tension.
,he celestials remateriali'es the *udged ones, then return to their
?igil.
&a''ler tears o her blonde "ig, gestures to Black Bolt to start
singing and she kicks into a rapturously achieved encore.
,he story picks up the ne.t day. ,he (elestials vanished at the
close o the gig. ,he party continued through the night And no",
&a''ler and party are about to leave. In the are"ells /edusa
inadvertently reveals the inormation everyone "as "ondering #
"hy Black Bolt "ould actually allo" the &7 to invite her to Attilan.
Its very simple.
=Black Bolt "ould like to kno" ho" pleased he "as to be able to
perorm "ith you last night. A chance to see you live "as all he
"as hoping or, but that2 "as too much. <ou al"ays "ere his
avourite>.
&a''ler leaves Attilan "ith her aith in the importance o music #
and her relation "ith it, as a perormer # restored and those her
mocked her "ell and truly humbled. It doesnt matter "hat a little
critic makes o her "hen Arishem the 7udge understands