Golden Gate Comic Con, Chapter 8: Pages 17-18
PAGE 17
PANEL 1: We move to a shot of the two of them a short time later, with Jenny coming into view a few moments before she takes her seat next to Ms. McKinney. You can see some of the people in the row behind them straining to see the action, annoyed by their chatter as they try to join in on the auction bids.
JENNY [apologetically, to Michele]: Thanks for inviting me along, hon. I would've been here earlier, but there was a Nooner Flood on the 280 which bogged down traffic in my ride for forty minutes. MICHELE [unfazed, to Jenny]: I slept in till 11--not gonna fault ya for a...
PANEL 2: Slight close-up on Michele's face a moment later, watching her lady friend as she finally takes a seat on the open chair next to her. You can see a look of confusion on her face finishing the rest of her statement.
MICHELE [Cont.]: What'd you call it? "Nooner Flood?" JENNY [explanatory]: Yeah, it's when the tide rises up just enough to flood chunks of the coastline, oftentimes during the afternoon. It also sometimes happens when the water gathering system gets honky and starts dumping chunks of dirt and garbage from nearby apartments on the road. MICHELE [Bubble 2]: Yikes! JENNY [Bubble 2]: Yeah...You don't get those in England? MICHELE [Bubble 3]: Not where I live, but we don't call 'em "Nooner Floods" though.
PANEL 3-4: A two-part set of panels that takes place back in England in the basement of some nice looking house. It starts in Panel 3 looking perfectly normal, filled with the assortment of decorations and old useful wares and clothing from someone's house as well as a water heater of some kind. Then in Panel 4, the area is flooded by a good two feet of water, ruining much of the stuff inside.
MICHELE [Cont., caption; Panel 3]: We call them... PERSON [Off-Panel, yelling; Panel 4]: For Fucks Sake!!
PANEL 5: Back to the two of them in the same setting/layout as Panel 1. Jenny laughs out loud at the name, with Michele providing a knowing chuckle/smile combination. Meanwhile, the audience applauds in regards to the auction Host's call from the stage.
HOST [Off-Panel]: Sold! For 20,000 PatCos, to the Baron of Winston-Salem! JENNY: 'Kay, that's--that's a way better name. Funnier, too. MICHELE: True. At least till you have to deal with sweeping up crab carcasses and chunks of plastic off the street.
PANEL 6: Same setting/layout as the previous panel, taking place just a few moments later. As the Host moves on to the next item on the bidding list, the sense of laughter from both of them fades away at this point. For Jenny, you can see a level of curiosity in her face and body language to the main point of being here. As for Michele, she knows precisely what she's aiming for upon seeing it come to the stage.
HOST [Off-Panel]: The next lot up for grabs... JENNY [curious]: So, anything cool you're hoping to land outta this auction? MICHELE [pointing with her left hand]: That!
PAGE 18
PANEL 1: We cut to a close-up of the table a few moments later. A tech is seen (at least the arms and torso that are visible in the panel) carrying out a giant sized version of the Infinity Gauntlet with each Gem attached to it; its fist closed and placed in front of the reader. You can see the black of the techie's shirt in the background of the shot.
MICHELE [Cont., Off-Panel]: A life-sized version of the Infinity Gauntlet made of copper and actual gem stones. They only made seven of 'em, most of which were snagged up by billionaire goonas. They usually go mega riche, but thanks to the Con's ban on private actors bidding in the auctions I think I might have a shot-- LIL' JARVIS [interjecting, to Michele]: You better not be thinking of wearing that on my hand, if you win it! MICHELE [Bubble 2]: Don't worry, buddy.
PANEL 2: Back to a shot of Ms. McKinney in a slight close-up, focused specifically on her seat a moment later. She glances down in the direction of her comm/metal hand in order to calm the panicked AI down a little bit. All the while, the Host has ended their particular spiel and is set to begin the bidding.
MICHELE [Cont. comforting, to Lil' Jarvis]: I was planning to use it as a makeshift guard dog for the flat. It shouldn't be too hard to do- just slap one of those mini Proxtasers in the middle gem, a mini V-Box inside, and we're good to go. HOST [Off-Panel]: Bidding starts at 500 PatCos... MICHELE [prepping, Bubble 2]: Here we go...
PANEL 3: Cut to a full-body shot of Michele in the same cosplay that we saw her in in the previous panel. The layout of the scene though has changed, resembling something akin to a scene from "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World." In '90s Street Fighter-esque font above her head, it reads "Rich Bitch Melee!"
BOOMING FACELESS VOICE: RICH BITCH MELEE...
PANEL 4: We move to an action shot of the young woman running full-speed toward a rush of affluent rich white men coming at them with swords and various other weapons. All that we see in terms of her weapons are a pair of glowing fists emanating from the dark purple gloves she's wearing as part of her ensemble. The "BEGIN!" is made from the same Street Fighter-esque as we saw in the previous panel.
BOOMING FACELESS VOICE [Cont.]: BEGIN!
PANEL 5-7: A three-part set of panels that consists of a bunch of action shots of Michele punching and kicking through each competitor with the same impressively effective technique of a black belt in kung fu. With the punches that are visible in Panels 6 and 7, you can see the glow of electricity shooting out in every direction. Also, the tally to the right of each panel symbolizing the bid in PatCos for the life-sized Gauntlet, increasing from 500 to 750 to 1,000 PatCos.