#4
PART 6
© 2002 by Scott Slemmons
Panel 128. Setting Change: Inside the campus greasy-spoon eatery. Mindy and Cindy Fincher are sitting at a booth eating. Both are eating tuna salads out of clear plastic cartons. Everyone else in the café seems to be keeping at least one eye on them. One girl is snapping flash photos. The atmosphere seems vaguely like a carnival: everyone's celebrity-watching. The twins are a little annoyed--Cindy more than Mindy.
CINDY: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!
MINDY: GET USED TO IT. WE'RE CELEBRITIES NOW.
Panel 129. Change POV.
CINDY: YOU'D THINK WE COULD AT LEAST EAT IN PEACE.
MINDY: I DON'T GUESS SO. I NEVER THOUGHT I'D FEEL SORRY FOR MICHAEL JACKSON.
CINDY: YEAH. PRICE OF FAME AND ALL THAT. WE SHOULDA STAYED CIVILIANS, MINDY.
Panel 130. Close-up on the twins as they lean closer over the table to talk.
MINDY: WELL, IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE'LL BE OLD NEWS. THEN WE'LL HAVE PRIVACY.
CINDY: YEAH. STELLAR. HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M THINKING?
MINDY: AS A MATTER OF FACT, YES, I DO.
CINDY: AND...?
Panel 131. Same POV.
MINDY: I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT. LAYING LOW FOR A WHILE MIGHT DO US SOME GOOD.
CINDY: WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO QUIT THE LONG-UNDERWEAR GAME FOREVER...
MINDY: ...JUST LONG ENOUGH TO GET PEOPLE TO QUIT FOLLOWING US.
Panel 132. Same POV. A person speaks to them from next to the table, but the twins don't look up yet. They're concentrating on their salads.
VOICE (O.P.): EXCUSE ME.
CINDY: FOLLOWING US AND ASKING FOR AUTOGRAPHS, RIGHT?
MINDY: WE'LL BE WITH YOU IN A MINUTE, OKAY?
VOICE (O.P.): EXCUSE ME?
Panel 133. Expand POV to show Triplicate standing next to the table. Although he looks like a bad-ass, he also has an amused smile on his face. Mindy and Cindy have looked up now and look surprised and a little embarrassed. The gawkers seem more excited: three different people are taking photos now.
TRIPLICATE: I DON'T USUALLY HAVE TO WORK SO HARD TO GET PEOPLE'S ATTENTION.
CINDY: OH MY GOD.
Panel 134. Mindy jumps up and enthusiastically shakes Triplicate's hand. Cindy settles back in her chair and tries to act cartoonishly blasé about it.
MINDY: TRIPLICATE! IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! WHAT'RE YOU UP TO?
CINDY: HEY, TRIP-DUDE. LONG TIME NO SEE.
TRIPLICATE: MACH-10, TURBO. HOW YA DOIN'?
Panel 135. Change POV. Mindy sits down, and Cindy quits acting blasé and returns to acting annoyed about the gawkers. Triplicate pulls up an empty chair.
CINDY: NOT BAD, EXCEPT FOR HAVING PEOPLE GAWK AND POINT.
TRIPLICATE: THE REST OF US WERE AFRAID WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO FIND YOU TWO.
MINDY: WHO'S "THE REST OF US?"
Panel 136. Triplicate sits down.
TRIPLICATE: WELL, YOU WANT THE LONG STORY OR THE SHORT STORY?
CINDY: HEY, YOU THE MAN. TAKE YOUR PICK.
TRIPLICATE: OKAY. BASICALLY, A BUNCH OF THE OTHER METAHUMANS IN ESS-BURG ARE PUTTING TOGETHER THIS TOWN'S ULTIMATE SUPERTEAM, AND WE WANT YOU TO BE A PART OF IT.
Panel 137. Change POV. Cindy and Mindy look at each other nervously.
MINDY: UM. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "ULTIMATE SUPERTEAM?"
TRIPLICATE: WE'VE COUNTED 37 SPANDEX JOCKEYS IN ESTRELLAS. WE WANT ALL OF THEM ON ONE TEAM.
CINDY: HEAVY. BUT WE WERE--AHEM--THINKING OF QUITTING THE GAME FOR A WHILE.
Panel 138. Triplicate stands up.
TRIPLICATE: YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT. THE FUN IS JUST GETTING STARTED.
Panel 139. Triplicate heads for the door, but talks to Mindy and Cindy over his shoulder.
TRIPLICATE: TELL YOU WHAT--THE TEAM WE'VE BUILT UP SO FAR IS MEETING ON THE ROOF OF THE CAMPUS UNION IN HALF-AN-HOUR TO HOLD AN UNOFFICIAL TEAM MEETING. WHY NOT COME ALONG? MAY AS WELL BE ABOARD FOR THE WHOLE RIDE, RIGHT?
Panel 140. Triplicate leaves the café. Everyone, including Mindy and Cindy, watches him go.
Panel 141. Same POV, but everyone starts to talk excitedly among themselves. Mindy and Cindy also confer.
CINDY: ARE YOU THINKING WHAT I'M THINKING?
MINDY: MORE THAN LIKELY.
CINDY: GREAT...
Panel 142. Mindy zooms out of the café at superspeed. Cindy leans her head back on her arms to wait.
CINDY: GO GET OUR--
SFX: SWOOOSH!
CINDY: --COSTUMES.
Panel 143. Setting Change: We're on the roof of the Campus Union. Aside from a great view of the campus, there's a lot of local supertypes up here. All are in costume. Here's the roll call: Crescendo, Dragonfly, Feather, the Fury, Frostbite, Gossamer, Hurricane, Ion, Javelin, Lifeforce, Lynx, Mach-10, Metalloid, Nightshade, Patchwork, Piledriver, Prism, Pusher, Quake, Retina, Seraph, Spellbinder, Spook, Thorn, Thundercloud, Triplicate, and Turbo. Everyone's mingling a little, though everyone who was previously on a superteam is clustered close to their teammates. Dragonfly and Gossamer look the angriest about the new arrangement. Thundercloud, Seraph, and Retina look the happiest. The Fury still looks pretty miserable. Lifeforce is crouching at the edge of the roof trying to ignore everyone. Mach-10 and Turbo are quietly conferring.
CAPTION: THIRTY MINUTES LATER...
GOSSAMER: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING UP HERE.
FROSTBITE: WELL, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE ANY RELIABLE WAY TO CONTACT THE OTHER HEROES...
Panel 144. Change POV. Damsel flies up and lands on the roof. Spook, who is the nearest to her, starts over to talk to her. Gossamer and Frostbite keep talking.
FROSTBITE: ...WE FIGURED THIS WAS THE BEST WAY TO LURE THEM OUT.
GOSSAMER: "LURE THEM OUT?" DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT SOUNDS LIKE?
DAMSEL: HEY, WHAT'S THE EMERGENCY?
SPOOK: NO EMERGENCY. LISTEN UP...
Panel 145. Change POV. Our focus stays on Frostbite and Gossamer. Damsel and Spook converse quietly in the background. Damsel looks a little surprised, but not hostile about the fact that this is just a recruiting drive.
FROSTBITE: SORRY YOU DON'T APPROVE. WE WANTED TO GET EVERYONE TOGETHER. A BIG GATHERING OF COSTUMES WAS THE BEST WAY TO ATTRACT EVERYONE'S ATTENTION.
GOSSAMER: THE FORMATION OF THIS "MEGA-TEAM" HAS SEEMED VERY PREDATORY. USING FEATHER TO GET TO THE SUPERNATURALS...
FROSTBITE: YOU'RE BEING UNFAIR. AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO AGREE TO COME ABOARD.
Panel 146. Stay focused on Frostbite and Gossamer. Meanwhile, Brainwave and Partisan burst onto the roof from the access door.
GOSSAMER: I WAS OUTVOTED.
FROSTBITE: AW. IF YOU THINK WE'RE SO BAD, YOU SHOULD FEEL FREE TO LEAVE.
PARTISAN: OKAY, WHAT'S GOING ON?
BRAINWAVE: THIS USED TO BE SUCH A QUIET TOWN...
Panel 147. Change POV. Frostbite turns away from Gossamer. Meanwhile, Ion has stepped up to talk to Partisan and Brainwave. Partisan reacts with disbelief, and Brainwave acts a little cross.
FROSTBITE: BUT WE'RE NOT SO BAD, AND I HOPE YOU WANNA STICK AROUND.
PARTISAN: NOTHING'S WRONG?! THEN YOU GUYS BETTER BE ROASTING HOT DOGS...
Panel 148. Shift POV to the edge of the group, where Crescendo, Hurricane, Fury and Piledriver are talking.
CRESCENDO: THAT'S A BUMMER WAY TO LOSE A SECRET I.D., FURY--MAGGIE. I'M SORRY. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO CALL YOU NOW.
FURY: I GUESS EITHER ONE. I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT YET.
PILEDRIVER: I THINK DIANE GOT IT WORSE. SORRY, BUT I DO.
Panel 149. Change POV.
CRESCENDO: LAURA? TACT? YOU REMEMBER TACT, DON'T YOU?
PILEDRIVER: I'M SORRY. I KNOW YOU GOT IT BAD, MAG, BUT DIANE KINDA SACRIFICED HER I.D. FOR YOU, AND--WELL, I KNOW WHAT I MEAN, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT.
FURY: IT'S OKAY. I AGREE WITH YOU.
Panel 150. Shift POV to the other side of the roof. K.A.B.O.O.M. flies up to the room. Flying under their own power are Vision, Knockout, and Sunburst (who's on fire). Heavyweight, glowing slightly, is flying up, thanks to Vision's power. Waterspout, in her water form, stretches up to the roof from the ground.
WATERSPOUT: HAVE NO FEAR! K.A.B.O.O.M. IS HERE!
Panel 151. Shift POV to near the center of the group. We're focused on Javelin, Retina, Seraph, Prism, and Damsel, who is just now walking up. In the background, Frostbite is walking up to talk to the members of K.A.B.O.O.M.
PRISM: HEY, DAMSEL. ARE YOU IN?
DAMSEL: YEAH, I GUESS I'M IN.
RETINA: ALRIGHT!
JAVELIN: THE MORE THE MERRIER.
Panel 152. Change POV. Damsel's shaking hands and getting congratulations. She looks a little sheepish.
SERAPH: IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU ABOARD.
DAMSEL: SO WHAT'S THIS TEAM CALLED?
PRISM: BEATS ME. I WISH SOMEONE WOULD TELL US.
DAMSEL: YOU MEAN NO ONE KNOWS YET?
Panel 153. Change POV. Stay focused on this group. In the background, Enigma flies onto the roof, carrying Myriad. Enigma's flown from the ground next to the Student Union straight up to the roof. She's holding Myriad by the arms. Enigma looks like she's straining to get up to the roof, and Myriad looks tense and nervous.
JAVELIN: ASK FROSTY.
SERAPH: SHE SAYS THEY'LL GIVE US THE LOWDOWN ONCE EVERYONE GETS HERE.
RETINA: I'M BETTING ON "SQUAD SUPERSTAR."
MYRIAD: COME ON. GET ON THE ROOF. HURRY.
ENIGMA: SH-SHUT UP. WE'LL MAKE IT.
Panel 154. Setting Change: A sparsely-populated residential/rural area. There's a bunch of trees--dark and spooky-looking. Arlen is stumbling along the road looking freaky.
CAPTION: A FEW MILES AWAY...
ARLEN: SHUT UP. WE'LL MAKE IT. NO, WE WON'T. YES, WE WILL.
Panel 155. Change POV. There's an opening in the trees ahead, where a smaller road enters.
ARLEN: HAVE FAITH AND YE SHALL BE BORN AGAIN IN MUD. HMP. LET MY PEOPLE GO.
Panel 156. Change POV as Arlen weaves closer to the road entrance.
ARLEN: ZIONISTS WILL NOT STOP ME. CANNOT STOP GOD'S WILL. HMMM-HMM. JOIN MY FLOCK? JOIN MY FLOCK? STARREEEE WISDOM. LET MY--
Panel 157. Close-up of Arlen looking up and seeing something. He's having a revelation.
ARLEN: --PEOPLE--?
Panel 158. Wide-shot of Arlen, exultant, fists raised over his head. He's standing before the entrance to a cemetery. A wrought-iron sign over the entrance reads "Estrellas City Cemetery." A sign by the gate says, "Speed Limit – 5 MPH." The cemetery looks clean and well cared for, but dark and spooky because of a canopy of trees overhead. This should look a bit dramatic--even apocalyptic.
ARLEN: YEAH, BABY, YEAH! THE PROMISED LAND!