Panel 2: To forestall any quibbling in the comments, rest assured that you will soon see the reason why Emp's hands are bound in front of her (beyond incompetence on her captors' part, that is).

Panel 3: Judging by her shirt, looks like the girl at far right is a fan of Awesome Girl, just like Very Young Emp from the back cover of vol.5.

Today’s Patreon update: Originally done as a means of scratching out more worktime to complete the long-gestating Empowered vol. 12, I've switched over to a Monday/ Wednesday/ Friday Patreon posting schedule that won't feature the fixed content format I previously used. However, my vast archive of years of Patreon posts—extensive Empowered previews, vintage con sketches, work stages on covers, "damsel in distress" commissions, life drawings & much, much more—remains available for Patrons' perusal.

-Adam Warren