Sorpresa de Octobre: Pages 5-8

Page 5, 5 Panels- Bar, just outside Ciudad Juarez Mexico Panel 1: We move to a close-up of Arthur and Rose a few moments later. Arthur can be seen standing to the left of her, helping briefly to get his friend back up on her feet. At this point though, you can see his hands starting to lift away from her back at the same moment that he’s speaking to her. ARTHUR [whispering with a little smugness, to Rose]: Welp that was an almost inauspicious start. ROSE [firing back in a whisper, to Arthur]: Keyword being "almost." Panel 2-4: A three-part set of panels centered on our two protagonists as they make their way over toward Maria’s table. The background behind them changes ever so slightly with each preceding panel, taking in bit by bit the full interior of the bar as they speak. You can also see the faces of the Freedom Fighters inside. Some looking cautiously at the two of them as they pass them by, and others moving back to their own conversations by the time we reach Panel 4. ARTHUR [Cont., Panel 2]: So…what's with this Maria de Meras lady? ROSE [exasperated, Panel 2]: What the—I briefed you on it before we got here! ARTHUR [Panel 2, Bubble 2]: That was over 115 years ago, Rose…can’t blame me for wanting a refresher. ROSE [sighs; Panel 2, Bubble 2]: Fair enough… ROSE [Cont., looking up toward the ceiling, recounting his knowledge from memory; Panel 3]: She’s a famed soldier of the Mexican Revolution. She’s a legendary colonel (I think at this point in time) in Pancho Villa’s army, outranking her husband…well-respected amongst the soldiers, even if Villa hated women fighting…she’s already fought in ten battles up to this point. She also didn’t want to be paid by Villa to fight in his army. ARTHUR [surprised, to Rose; Panel 3]: Seriously?! ROSE [nods, to Arthur; Panel 4]: Yeah...I had a hard time believing that, too. Total badass! ROSE [Cont.; Panel 4, Bubble 2]: Also, there was a rumor that she had supernatural powers somehow. Panel 5: We move back to a shot of Ms. de Meras seated at her table, dressed to the nines in the typical outfit worn by the others in her unit. Her shoulder length brown hair matted and shaggy as a result of the battle that the others had been involved in earlier. Her face, at least as much as can be seen due to the lighting in the bar, looking down at the table in ponderous thought at the moment. You can see the left edge of the sombrero she’s wearing rested on the table next to a glass of tequila. ARTHUR [Off-Panel]: That's probably just BS—at least I hope it is. Page 6, 7 Panels- Maria Quinteras de Meras’ table, Bar, just outside Ciudad Juarez Mexico Panel 1: Same setting/layout as the last panel of the previous page. A minute passes by, and we see her eyes tilt up from the table in front of her as our two young protagonists from the future appear off-panel. There’s a look of annoyance and curiosity as they speak to her, trying to figure out who exactly these young people are. ROSE [clearing her throat, to Maria; Off-Panel]: Umm, hello—Mrs. De Meras? Panel 2-3: Cut to a shot of Arthur and Rose standing inches away from the edge of the table a second later. Rose has her hands to her side, showing a little touch of nervousness as she speaks to the legendary soldadera in front of her. You can see the tension in her body language as she tries to hide it from noticeable view. Arthur, meanwhile, stands next to her, waiting for any sign of slip-up from her friend. In Panel 3, both of them end up getting flustered by the response from the young woman. ROSE [to Maria; Panel 2]: My name is Rose Ortiz… ROSE [Cont., pointing in the direction of Arthur; Panel 2]: And this is my friend Arthur. We’re from— MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERAS [Off-Panel, Panel 2]: The future. Yeah, I know… ARTHUR [surprised, to Maria; Panel 3]: Whoa, h—how do you know that? Panel 4: Cut to Maria a few seconds later. For the first time, we see her head lifting up toward a normal position and a smile comes across her face. It’s followed by the sound of a deep, belly laugh at Arthur’s question. You can see her right hand moving toward the base of the tequila glass, grabbing it as she speaks. MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERAS [chuckling, to Arthur]: Don’t worry, gringo! It’s not like I can read your mind or see the future... Panel 5: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. A second later, we see the legendary soldier raise the glass of tequila up off of the table as she speaks. The chuckle that was so prevalent back in Panel 4 has now settled down, and her smile has faded slightly to a smirk as she finishes the quip off. MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERAS [Cont.]: Those strange clothes of yours gave it away, and the fact you both know Spanish gave it away. No American worth their salt knows, or gives a damn, about learning the language…or about our struggle. Panel 6-7: A two-part set of panels set around the same setting and layout that was seen back in the previous panel. In Panel 6, it centers on an action shot of Ms. De Meras taking a big swig of the tequila, chuckling to herself as she does that; her head and gaze tilting up slightly toward the ceiling at the same moment. In Panel 7, a couple of beats later, Maria returns her gaze back toward Arthur and Rose. The now empty glass already on its way back to the tabletop as she speaks. MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERAS [refreshed, to Rose and Arthur; Panel 7]: Now…pull up a chair and tell me what the fuck brings you down to Ciudad Juarez. Page 7, 6 Panels- Maria Quinteras de Meras’ table, Bar, just outside Ciudad Juarez Mexico Panel 1: We cut back to our protagonists from the future on the other side of the table as they sit down. Rose takes the chair around the left area of the panel view, with Arthur taking the one next to her on the right. His hand already reaching into his pocket, grabbing something unseen. In the background, you can see the remaining Freedom Fighters who had stuck around to look at the freaky looking future travelers return to their own business. ROSE [to Maria]: We came here on a machine that can travel through time too-- ROSE [Cont., slightly confused; Bubble 2]: Hold up—you’re not going to ask us how we are able to speak perfect Spanish? Panel 2-3: Back to Maria at her side of the table, shaking her head and chuckling at the question. As she speaks, you can see her right hand start to move out of view as if to grab something which we see in Panel 3 in the form of a gun that she casually aims at the two of them. Her face suddenly becomes very serious and stoic, almost threatening them in the subtext of her statement. MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERAS [to Rose, nonchalantly; Panel 2]: I honestly could give a shit about that, Ms. Ortiz. I assume it has something to do with the piece of future technology I noticed sticking out of your friends’ pocket. Unless…it isn’t, and this is just a long-winded to kill me. MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERAS [Cont., to both of them; Panel 3]: But you two don’t strike me as people looking to die…are you? Panel 4: Back to Rose and Arthur in a setting and layout very similar to the one that we saw back in Panel 1. Arthur violently shakes his head, pulling out the mystery object. It turns out to be a fairly large-ish iPhone with the screen off at that moment. He has it gripped in his right hand and pointed at Ms. De Meras in order to placate her. ARTHUR [to Maria, deferring and fumbling his words at the second sentence]: Not at all, ma’am. It—It’s…um… ROSE [interjecting more strongly with a smile and her hand on the table, to Maria]: A Tricorder! It…It’s how we get in touch with our people back in the future. ARTHUR [more confidently, Bubble 2]: Yes--Yes, that's it! Panel 5-6: A two-part set of panels that exist in the same setting/layout as the previous panel. You can see Rose grabbing the phone from her friend’s hand in Panel 5, and starts to type something into it quickly. A minute later, in Panel 6, Rose straightens her posture out slightly and places the phone/"Tricorder" on the table, sliding it in her direction. ROSE [Cont., Panel 5]: It’s also where they left the mission for us… ROSE [to Maria, slightly correcting; Panel 6]: I mean, to you, to explain what exactly we want your help with. Page 8, 5 Panels- Maria Quinteras de Meras’ table, Bar, just outside Ciudad Juarez Mexico Panel 1: Back to Maria a moment later, in a setting and layout that is similar to what we saw in the third panel of the previous page. The gun that she had pointed at our protagonists before, at this point, is now lowered back out of view. With her free hand, we see Ms. de Meras extend out and grab the phone, cautiously looking back at them. Panel 2-5: A four-part set of panels set in the same setting and layout from the previous panel. A couple of beats later, we see her holding the phone up toward chest level. At first, in Panel 2, she is noticeably confused by the new display of technology in front of her. But after an assist from Rose, we see her in the remaining three panels watching the video. With each preceding panel, as it goes on, you can see the level of anger and rage building inside the revolutionary. MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERAS [slightly confused, to Rose and Arthur; Panel 2]: Do I click this sideways arrow to start it? ROSE [Off-Panel, Panel 2]: Yeah, that’s it. MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERAS [Panel 2, Bubble 2]: Okay… DONALD TRUMP [from the speaker, Panel 3]: "You have people come in and I'm not just saying Mexicans, I'm talking about people that are from all over, that are killers and rapists and they're coming to this country." DONALD TRUMP [from the speaker; Panel 4]: "When Mexico sends it people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us." DONALD TRUMP [Cont., from the speaker; Panel 5]: "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."