Page 15 – Later that night
Oops, how can Jane become a steampunk superhero without a secret identity?
Return next Thursday, when things get… weird.
Original Script
CAPTION That same evening In the Webb home drawing room. Mom is sitting with a glass of red wine. Dad is standing and holding a newspaper. MOM Sigh. I cannot believe she blurted to the world of her mystical abilities. DAD Janie is not as matured as she appears. You should not have granted the interview. MOM Everyone saw her fall. And brush it off. The news pipes may be under the Royal thumb, but a story denied only invites inquiry. Jane is listening in the next room DAD This may end worse. The palace could label her some miracle of science. Make a spectacle of it to show up the Easterners. MOM The Queen would never… DAD No. Not Her. She’s never involved. But the others…
I see two opposing possibilities for Jane: Change her appearance and attempt to live quietly, to be hounded by every political hack or anti-Monarchist dissident who wishes to use her to further their personal aims, or judge a couple of politicians (no chance of endangering an innocent that way), and brooking no nonsense from those who see her as a resource to be mined.
She will be treated with contempt in the first instance, feared and hated in the second. Feared is better. 🙂
Either way, there are a lot of higher ups who are going to look upon her as a pawn in the Great Game.
Third option: Go away.
Not an easy one, with her mother so high up in the Queen’s circle. The Powers That Be might not let her go, since they could get a lot of mileage out of their Miracle Flavour of the Month.
But if she could leave for a few years and come back when the dust settles, it might take the heat off. The rebels would still be looking for her, however. Maybe that’s only prolonging the inevitable.
Or, fake her own death and return as the superhero known only as “The Mummy!” The Bandaged Batterer of Bad Guys! The Linen Wrapped Lover of Justice!
Politicians are similar to bullies, in that they strut and swagger around forcing people to submit, until someone knocks their teeth down their throats. Jane might need to judge 10-20 of them, but eventually even a politician may catch on.
And I was thinking “Avenger of the Gods”, myself. 🙂
Sorry for the late reply. This week can be summed up by Mom’s expression in the 2nd panel. Thank goodness for you guys and 3-day weekends!!!
Next up: “I, Nunny” (the convent years). 😛 I can’t promise nuns, but there will be more “Judge Jane, Mummy court”. Eventually. She might have to sacrifice a politician or twelve, for charity.
Wow, their consern is truly touching. And it’s not like she tripped overboard on purpose. Right?
Yeah, I chalk it up to stress and exhaustion. It’s hard knowing how long to show characters dwelling on past events when new and interesting things are just around the corner. Literally.
Poor Jane. She’s become a political tool, an instrument to be waved around by the state. Not that her parents have done much better by her…
You made me smile, Neil. I was nervous portraying the parents this way, but I think it’s working. More to come. And, NO government can keep Jane down (politicians’ kids get away with murder).
Pfft, Jane’s too unpredictable to become a political puppet. I don’t imagine she’s gonna like all the attention, though.
Yeah, they should probably just keep her under wraps.
Ba-dum-tssh!