2014.02.22 - Target Practice

You know, maybe Cissie should have gotten more information from Tony! But she's showing up with what she thinks she may need to show Tony friggin' Stark! She bites her lower lip when she arrives and is shown the entrance point to go up to the Penthouse. When she enters the Penthouse? Her jaw litterally drops. So does what she was holding in her left hand. It was a foldable archery target that clatters to the floor. On her back is a black quiver with regular arrows and hanging from a hook on it a beautifully painted black recurve bow. It's excellent quality, and it is not the one she is normally seen practicing with and definitely didn't use in the Olympics.
"Oh my...," and Cissie falls silent. How does one described what they see when they see...like EVEYRTHING! Flight deck, a park, a luxury home, she honestly just feels a little faint. Sooner or later she might get to the front door.
JARVIS told Tony that there was a guest coming up to the Penthouse. Tony was in the workshop, tinkering with some stuff as it's a weekend day. He's dressed down in an old, faded (through actual wear) Black Flag T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He makes his way to the living room and waits to recieve his guest. When Cissie arrives, he smiles. "Hey, how are ya?" he asks, warmly.
And she does finally arrive, though a little wobbly from shock. "I...hi," and Cissie feels so totally out of her league! But she smiles shyly, "Goo...good, thank you for asking. How are you Mr. Stark?" Yep, trying to pretend to his so completely and utterly normal! And failing. She's actually talking to THE Tony Stark!!!! Least instead of dropping the foldable target, she has a death grip on it. Yep, yep, death grip on the handle.
Tony Stark waves a hand and rolls his eyes, "Oh god, call me Tony. Please. Everytime someone says Mr. Stark and I'm not in a boardroom I age 5 years." he walks over and offers a hand to shake warmly, "Besides, any friend of Julie's is a friend of mine. Nice job on the Twitter Flower prank by the way. Took me twenty minutes to explain what was going on to Pepper." he says smiling that gigawatt smile of his. "Can I get you anything?" he asks, "I got everything in the kitchen," he motions off towards the cavern like setup.
And then it hits Cissie, and she laughs, "That was so Julie." But she's smiling more relaxed now, "And...alright...Tony." That is going to take some adjustment! And yes, Cissie practically skips to peek where Tony points and...just..."Wow....! How do you not get lost?! It's like...huge!" Are her arms flopping about a bit? Yes, yes they are. Her eyes get really big, "I don't know if this space would be lonely or wonderful to have."
Tony Stark smirks, "GPS." he deadpans, before breaking into a grin, "Nah, it's not so bad here..it can be a little bit both Wonderful and lonely at times but I don't dwell on that." he claps his hands together, "Coffee? You drink coffee?" he asks, heading into the kitchen, which lights up as he heads in and shows it's bigger and better equippped than some restaurants are. He starts making a couple of cappucinos, "So what brings you by, anyway?"
Cissie blinks at Tony at the GPS, and then blushes a bit before there is a soft giggle chuckle. "I might need GPS," she says quietly. But she nods about the mixed feelings before saying, "Actually, got juice? Or water be fine." She follows after Tony like a lost little puppy, trying not to bump into anything with her stuff! She keeps spinning about and staring at things, "This is huge! Do you really cook in this place?" Her bow sways on the hook it hangs from on her quiver a bit with her movements.
But then, she comes to attention, "Oh! I...the bow!" Cissie kind of just blurts it out. "You...mentioned maybe a custom bow and...well, I thought...," Cissie apparently has trouble asking things from people.
Tony Stark ohs! "Sure do." he finishes the one coffee, doesn't make the other, and grabs a bottle of water out of the fridge. "I have been known to commit crimes against the culinary arts once in a while for the right person. I eat take out more often than not..but when I have big formal dinners here, I just hire a chef and their crew and let 'em go nuts in here."
He walks back over and hands you the bottle of water. "Cheers," he says and glances at the, "I did say that..what do you have in mind - something for Rio, or..other things..or both?"
"Thanks," Cissie says as she accepts the water, very polite. She uncaps it and takes a drink of it at the cheers. Her mind is whirling, and it isn't thinking about the big formal dinners though those would be wickedly cool! Well, until she got bored to death at one, it's better to fantaize about them. "Umm...personal use. I do some community service, mentorship with archery, and...some other stuff, and sometimes I'm not in the best of areas. Though luckily even though my last bow broke, the mugger was more banged up than me by far," Cissie states. "He just wasn't worth breaking a bow over," and she frowns distinctively at that. Bows aren't cheap.
After another drink of her bottled water, she recaps it and sets it aside before she reaches back to unhook her bow and shows it to Tony. "This is a recurve bow. It is one of the traditional bows, and you notice how the tips curve away from me with the bow strung? This type is used in the Olympics and I'm most familiar with. It stores more energy than a straight bow. Furthermore, because of that it puts more strain on the material of the bow, and there is greater noise when shot. Bows if factured or damaged or completely useless because the strain would cause them to snap." She then holds the bow out for Tony to examine.
Tony Stark accepts the bow, nodding as Cissie speaks. "Gotcha," he says, and pounds the cappucino like a shot. Setting the cup in the dishwasher and heads into the living room. He speaks as he walks, "JARVIS - you up for me?" and after a brief second a dry British voice speaks from everywhere but has no source, "For you, sir? Always."
Tony waves a hand over the coffee table and it comes alive as a digital worksurface. "I need a composition analysis, if you would."
There's a moment, and the bow is cast in a bluish light. Then above the table at eye level, a digital representation of the bow appears, the layers that comprise the solid body of the bow peel back. "Sir, this recurve bow is made of a core of lamainated wood of alternate layers of point-zero-zero-eight millimeters ash and yew wood with an outer layer of point-five millimeter fiberglass composite with a aliphatic resin and a high temperature bisphenol catalyst. The bowstring is made of Darcon B50 polyester material currently outfitted for an olympic grade maximum draw weight of forty three kilos, or ninety four point six pounds."
Tony nods, "Thank you, JARVIS." and turns to Cissie, "Okay, so I'm thinking you want to have something that you can use for both competition and.." he makes air quotes "community service?"
BEAT RED! Yep, Cissie is a horrible liar, like mega-bad at it. But she nods silently, up and down, dramatically. It takes her a little bit and a hard swallow later before she says meekly, "I...I have a portable target and arrows if..if you want to see me shoot." She didn't bring any trick arrows, cause that would be a dead giveaway, like seriously!
Tony Stark nods, "Sure. Let's get set up in the armory. I can have JARVIS scan you while you shoot and I'll preceise measurements." he smiles and inclines his head. "Follow me." - with that, he walks out of the living room. There's a wall where a hallway splits off to lead to other rooms. That wall splits and opens like a Star Trek door.
Stark Tower - The Armory
This is an ultra massive place where Tony works, builds, tests, and
dreams. It's marginally comfortable and can accommodate more than a few
people judging from the chairs and couches here. Also here are a few of
his favorite hot rods, giving him a feel of being in Malibu away from
Malibu. Concealed within the floors, walls, and ceilings are the
fabrication units and painters where the individual Iron Man components
are made and finished. The first third of this area is devoted to R&D -
this is where Tony virtually comprises his tech with the help of 3D
manipulative tools. No materials are lost this way, and Tony can enlarge
and or compress his projects down to what he wants them to include. There
are also every tool and work surface known to man here for practical
projects. It takes up an entire third of the of the floor, which is a vast
footprint of the Tower itself. Anything can be worked on here.
Next is the testing area/proving grounds, which is different from the
training area on the forty-eighth floor. This area is cubically much
larger. A target range can be employed as well as an open ceiling for
flight practice. Anything practical to do with the testing of the suits,
tech, or anything else Tony's mind can come up with, is available. All
this, of course, is overseen by JARVIS. It's Tony's veritable Danger Room.
The last third has to do with the suits only. The suits are lined up,
beehive style from floor to ceiling. There is the old assembly/disassembly
gantry in the middle on a raised platform as well as a series of
undersuits to wear under the armor. There are far, far, more places for
armor to sit than there is armor currently. It looks like it could fit
sixty to seventy suits in all, but only the first nine are taken up by the
reassembled Mark I to the sleek and space-worthy Mark IX. There are more
coming down the pipe no doubt, and some that won't be residing here. This
is Tony's Batcave - where he gets down, and really gets to work.
Tony walks in, and as he does the place begins to light up and come to life. Everything is spread out here, except for the Armors which have their place and are likewise easily visible. "Welcome to the Honeycomb Hideout." he says, his arm reaching out and sweeping over the armory in a grand gesture.
Cissie's jaw totally drops again! And when she enters? She actually squeals!!!! "Oh my gawd!!!" Yep, she's going crazy! "This is seriously wicked! Sooooo coooool!" She just seriously stepped into fangirl status, and forgot herself. She drops the portable target she was carrying and tries to resist running about and touching things! But she's practically dancing in one spot!
"You got this in your hoooouse?!" DUH girl! She can't resist. She takes off running, dodging between the cars to check them out, checking out the lab section with squeals and typical fangirlness...and when she peeks in the testing area/proving grounds, she looks about to FAINT!
And the suits? She flops down on her cute little tush and just stares up at them. It is taking to take her a few minutes....and when those few minutes pass, her jaw is still dropped, and she's like, "Wooooow, can I come live with you?" And no, it's not sexual, least it doesn't cross her mind anyway. "I'd totally like hero worship you for ever and ever!"
Tony Stark shrugs a little, but can't help smiling broadly at Cissie's enthusiasm, but takes it in stride. "Well, actually I have them in /both/ houses. I have something similar in Malibu that I call the wine cellar. Pro Hint: It doesn't cellar any wine." he says, as he's firing up various equipment and computers come on line. "And you're more than welcome to stay, as long as you can handle the tabloids and TMZ calling you Tony Stark's latest kept woman." he looks over at the target you dropped and smiles, "Tell ya what," he says, he opens a cabinet and pulls out a case. He opens it up to reveal a dozen arrows. "I was working these up for Hawkeye, but SHIELD has him in the Balkans doing something all secretive. They're still in prototype phase, so why don't you give 'em spin on those targets over there." he says motioning to the target range. He speaks up, "JARVIS, scan the shooter please. I want draw measurement, grip style on both bow and string, sighting preferences, and degrees of drift."
"Of course, sir. Would sir also like an apple to be brought in to place on his head?"
"I don't pay you for your jokes, JARVIS."
"Of course not, sir. In fact, you don't pay--"
"JARVIS--"
"Yes, sir. Quieting down, sir."
And Cissie is like, "Wow, two of them?!" She blinks at the tabloids and starts laughing! "You can't be serious?! I mean...I'm not glamorous or some sexy woman! I'm just an athlete." She doesn't seem to even recognize what fame she does have as a Gold Olympic winner in archery. But she does at least remember to pick herself up and go get her bow which Tony still had. She actually giggles, "Like that ever happen." Her smile is wide and warm, and filled with self-humor.
And honestly? she's seriously thinking of moving in! Imagine not having to practice out in the cold anymore?! Wow!!! But she gets distracted then when Tony opens a cabinet. She wanders over to take a look at the arrows. "I...really?! Trick arrows have different weights and balances...," oops...she likely shouldn't know that! Cissie blushes again, and coughs into her hand. But she does reach for one of them and examines them, feeling the balance in her hand.
But She's then laughing again, "You should really pay him, JARVIS is uber-cute," she says with sincerity! But she is soon grinning at the arrows, "Wow...Hawkeye is going to use these...," a bit of hero worship in her tone. Hawkeye is like Green Arrow and Arsenal, an amazing archer! Of -course- she is going to hero worship Hawkeye. She swallows hard. And there is envy there as well, at their level of skill which excels her own.
Tony Stark looks up and smirks, "You're correct, trick arrows DO have different weights and balances. These aren't trick arrows. They're for a very specific purposes, though." he says, as he finishes calibrating things. He looks back up again and smirks, "Well let's see. You're young, you're beautiful, and you're a gold medal winning athlete. What do YOU think the rag mags would say if they found out you were bunking over at Tony Stark's? I doubt they'd assume it was for the milk and cookies." he says, voice a little sardonic. He still chuckles, though. "So yeah, Hawkeye will eventually use these. Go ahead and try 'em out."
Cissie blinks almost absently and finally looks up from the arrow at Tony in confusion? "I'll agree with the first and latter, but it's archery. Do you know how few people actually follow archery in the U.S. compared to the other sports like say...Beach Volleyball?" She doesn't even think to take it as a compliment! She just speaks matter-of-factly with a bit of dry humor.
A blink at what the rag mags would say, "Come to think of it, my Mom would never go home and likely try to seduce you." Cissie wrinkles her nose at that. "You are cool and everything, but being my step-dad...awkward...that and my Mom would drive you nuts in no time flat." Still, a little clueless.
"But you know it -could- be for milk and cookies! I like those, just run an extra mile when I eat them." But Cissie then says, "These are meant for penetration, pretty nasty. If you are off at all, you could...kill someone easily," frowning thoughtfully at the arrows. But at least she is moving over toward the testing area/proving grounds, not needing her portal target. It wouldn't survive this specialized arrow anyway.
Tony cocks an eyebrow, "More people follow that stuff than you think. Especially when Olympic Fever hits. And yes, you are /very/ attractive and don't discount that fact that you can be googled." he says. He comes out from behind the bank of computers and the like. "It could be for milk and cookies, but that's now what they'd say..and umm..no. Just no. I'm not Dad material, let alone step-dad, cool or not." he grins waving that part of things off. When Cissie mentions the arrows potential for killing someone, Tony nods. "Yup. That's kinda the point." he says flatly.5r
Cissie actually blushes this time for a different reason. The compliments. "Ummm...yay, not dad material." She glances away, hiding the frown that touches her lips and her blush at the comment of, 'That's the point'. Memories can be painful things. But she takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out, "Alright." Come to think of it...
Cissie heads back and picks up two more arrows, placing them into her quiver. The feathers have a different feel than the ones already there, then she returns to the range. She draws back the first one, holding her body properly positioned, taking a careful breath and slowly letting it out as her finger releases the arrow. It does fly true. Not the skill level of Hawkeye if that can be seen, though JARVIS may see minute differences in their stances, but it holds true talent and skill.
Cissie then reaches for the second one, finding it quickly in her quiver the right one and pulls it back. Only a half a second and it is released, before she goes to pull the next one, soon releasing that one even more quickly. Two end up in the bullseye, the third, off center and on the inner edge of the bullseye. She frowns at that last shot with displeasure.
Stark has gone analytical. He also is noticing differences between her style and Hawkeye's. Everyone's different so things are neither good nor bad - they just are. "Initial stationary scans are completed, sir. Measurements have been taken, and working on initial calculations."
A nod from Cissie, "Yes sir." It's instinctive, Tony accidentally taking the role of her trainer. She runs forward while carrying her bow and goes to retrieve the three arrows she shot. She then jobs back to where she was before. "Right, stationary targets I'm moving for one set, retrieve, then moving targets and I'm stationary." Cissie takes a look around with an attentive eye. This area has all sorts of stuff she can duck behind, jump over, or typically move. She picks her path and nods to herself. The other two arrows are back in the quiver, and then she is running. The way Cissie moves it is all or nothing, and when she leaps up over a short metal panel, she pulls that bow back and releases the arrow toward the stationary target while in mid-air before she lands, rolls, and catches herself back to her feet while still running. Her motion doesn't stop.
Even when Cissie pulls another arrow for the cover one, she does a baseball base slide, pulling the arrow back and releasing it while sliding across the floor right before she disappears behind cover. Her foot tilted to catch her so she doesn't skid out of cover, but she then shifts how she handles her bow, puts her hands behind her head and flips up back to her feet which is a basic martial arts move when one ends up on their back and prone.
She takes off again, doing a normal running shot with the last arrow before she skids to a halt, breathing just a little heavy. She didn't exactly build up to that, she just took off. Cissie definitely doesn't measure up to Hawkeye, but the potential should likely be pretty clear in her. "Set completed," she states. She waits for permission before moving to retrieve her arrows, habit.
Tony Stark blinks, more than a little impressed. "Damn." he says, "Who are you training with?" he asks, rubbing his chin, before motioning "Go ahead and grab 'em." as JARVIS confirms that her movement measurements were successfully recorded.
Cissie blinks at the compliment, "Mom my and my Olympic trainer, and I self train. When you do the same thing over and over again it gets boring, so...I change things up, challenge myself. That way...well, I hope I grow. I barely improved since the last Olympic match though," and she frowns at that, a worried expression on her face. But she's jogging again, retrieving the three arrows. They weren't all perfect bullseyes this time, but one was nearly perfect, and the other two were outer edges of the bullseye. She then jogs back to where she should be to create the distance from the target. She didn't pick a meek distance either to make things easy on herself. Then again Cissie seems the type to do things the right way, not the easy way.
Cissie drops the other two arrows into her quiver, and positions the one arrow on her bowstring. She waits for the targets to start to move before she will draw back. "Ready when you are...Tony," remembering to say Tony's first name this time after a slight pause.
A funny look comes from Cissie at the mention of that. Ya...he had to be joking, right? She bites her lower lip, but then at the order, she snaps to attention. Her eyes center on the targets and when she draws the bow back and shoots once, twice, thrice, each one of the hits the moving target. This time none of them are a perfect bullseye, but they are still bunched closely together where they should be and the firing was more rapid than the previous two sets. She didn't panic once about the moving target, her heart rate having remained steady.
Tony Stark watches, waiting for JARVIS to confirm the measurements are once again recorded. Comparison and contrast calculations will be ready in a few seconds. In the mean time, Tony smiles. "That's some tight grouping. Damn nice piece of work." he says, appreciatively. He walks over to the range now, surveying the work done closer as he nods. "Yeah..damn nice."
Cissie does beam proudly at being told how nice it is, saying, "Thank you." The words are spoken sincerely and with thanks. She is harder on herself than anyone else than perhaps her mother, so praise always seems a surprise to her and doesn't go straight to her head. "I still got a lot of improvement to go, there are people better...just so far haven't seen them enter the Olympics, but that isn't the point." Humility, honest to goodness humility.
Tony Stark mms and shrugs a little, "Yeah but considering you're likely to repeat gold in Rio, there's few that could improve on what you're doing. But I do know a guy.." he says trailing off. "I'll set up a little meeting when he gets back from being secret squirrel. Maybe get Widow in here, too. She might have some practical advice for ya."
Cissie's eyes light up. The young woman is hungry for knowledge, and she isn't the type to look a gift horse in the mouth! "Really?!" The excitement is betrayed in her tone. "I would love that! I've gotten to speak with She-Hulk before and...she was just amazing and really nice! And she had a lot of practical knowledge about life. It was really insightful." Yes, taking life philosophy from She-Hulk, that should have been interesting.
When Cissie grins, it's no holding back, full wattage, completely beaming, her entire face lights up like times ten! But that's how the girl rolls. Everything is done whole-heartedly. And if Stark isn't careful, he's about to get a huuuuge hug from said woman as she practically pounces him. Cause seriously? He just made her year.
"Sir, calculations are complete and I have some virtual prototypes prepared." JARVIS says, and above another virtual work surface are three different variations on the recurve. "All are Olympic-use legal, but offer some practical improvements over conventional recurve. None of them contain aids for draw strength or other mechanics that would or could become compromised. All three are made of the same materials, but offer different tactical advantages. The bow itself is a polycarbonate fiber composite with tensile kevlar interweave for maximum strength and molecular memory. The strings are a synthetic graphene matrix with a polyester kevlar blend. Draw strength remains within IOC standard parameters and guidelines for competition. All are custom fit for the shooter."
Tony smiles, "Yeah, I'll make that happen. You show up with one of these, Hawkeye's gonna get jealous. I'll trade him one for some one on one lessons with you. He'll appreciate working with another pro who knows how to shoot." he motions towards the bows, "Go ahead and try them for fit, you can manipulate them up to three feet away from the surface without losing the--OOF!"
Tony is not just hugged, but pounce-hugged.
"Well..alright then!" he says with a laugh and returns the hug.
Cissie is slender and a light-weight, but she's also has the muscles of an athletic so she doesn't feel breakable in the hug. She hugs Tony warmly and grins as she does so before she finally bounces back, "Awesome! Alright!" She then goes to hook her bow back on the hook on her quiver without forethought of the motion. The hook is not a normal piece of equipment for carrying a bow, it must have been something Cissie made custom herself as she heads toward the bows. "Wow, these are like...real!" Cissie likely never gotten to interact with hard-light technology like this before. A grin spreads wide across her face once more after the awe expression and she moves to touch one and interact with it. She seems to caress the bow, to weight it, and draw it back before slowly releasing it rather than letting it twang release without an arrow. "Can a fire an arrow with these to see how they sound?" She wonders if they are louder or quieter than the others, and she would love to test out each in turn!
Cissie's blue eyes are bright and excited, like a kid in a candy shop or ice cream parlor! She can't stop just...grinning!
Tony smiles and shakes his head, "Not accurately, because you'd be using hard light arrows instead of the real deal and there's no weight. So for now, it's dry fire only. If you tell me what you like about each one, I'll try and work features from them into one unit."
Cissie tests out the different bows, with surprising patience from the excitement she was showing earlier. "I like the molecular memory, least I guess that is what it is. String feels like it may be a hard to string, have to look into that." She mmms, testing them out a second time each, before she says what she likes. She doesn't concentrate on what she doesn't like, but rather on what she does, apparently a positive person.
Tony Stark nods, listening to you. Taking mental notes. "Okay..just as importantly, tell me what you don't like. Between the two we can eliminate as much of what you don't like as we can, and incorporate what you do like. We should be able to reach a happy medium for you."
"Oh...ummm...," that is more difficult, and Cissie seems sensitive about...is it Tony's feelings or JARVIS' feelings? But she does eventually list what she doesn't like or finds useless or even counter-productive. When all is said and done, "Does that clarify things?" She sounds curious about that.
Tony nods, and starts working. He literally tears apart all three bows, and reassambles a new one from the parts of all three that's different from any of them. He also opens the handle of the bow, and reaches into a virtual toolbox. He pulls something out, tweaks it, and adjusts it once it's in there. On the edges of the curves spring out a couple of blades. Almost like switchblades. "These are for close encounters.." he explains. "They work into the balance of the bow. There's a gyroscope in the handle also, so that it steadies and balances your shooting when you move and compensate for any drift you get with fatigue or the like." - he explains. He motions to the string, "I also came up with a monofillament woven string. Based off a friend of mine's hair, as easy as a fishing line to draw, and could probably tow a semi." he hands it over to Cissie and nods, "Okay, give this a try now."
Cissie's eyes widen again, "Someone's hair?!" She sounds amazed over that! But she then steps closer to Tony to accept the hardlight bow, and moves to draw it. It feels....goooood. If she was a kinky girl..shucks, she isn't! She slowly relaxes he pull as if it was a real bow, "I'd love to hear what it sounds like when I release an arrow," she confesses. "This is just...it just feels...amazing," she says breathlessly. "I'm going to want to cry when I can't use it in the actual Olympics cause of sponsors." Training takes money, the tickets, everything. Sponsors is a way to secure the funds.
Oh shoot! She looks like she is going to cry now! Cissie apparently really, really likes the bow.
Tony Stark eyenarrows, "...what sponsors?" he says, before saying "JARVIS - Start Fabrication of the CK1-Mark1 Tactical Bow. ETA?"
"With these dimensions, approximately twenty three point five minutes. The string can be manufactured concurrently."
Tony nods. "Book it done, JARVIS."
"Huh? Sponsors." And Cissie names about three sponsors: One is sports clothing, one is a bow company, and another is a company that makes top name sports shoes. "I work on advertisements, wear and use their gear during training and the Olympics, and I have the money to pay my trainer and go to college," but she already admitted she also uses scholarships for college. "It's expensive training for the Olympics and it isn't like I can hold a full-time job to pay for it," Cissie explains practically. "The fact I'm training while going to college can be difficult at times, but as long as I'm averaging a B, I'm happy."
Tony Stark hmmms. "You know, I may just have to get into the Sponsor business." he says, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "Any way, your bow should be finished in just a little bit and you can try it ou before you go if you want?" he motions to the counter, now down to about fifteen minutes.
Cissie mmmms, "What would you design for mass production for sport lovers Tony?" She sounds vaguely amused by this, not taking it too serious. But at the look at the timer, her grin widens. "I can't wait!" Roy is going to be soooooo jealous! Cissie can't help it, she claps her hands in front of her and grins manically. Though honestly? "I know who I'll show it off to first!" Lian. "She's too little to shoot it herself though." But then, "Oh! Paint!" She completely forgot about asking for it in black!
Tony Stark laughs and holds up a hand, "I figure basic black should be fine for paint. I'm figuring it being a tactical bow and you needing it for community service and all..you might want it stealth mode."
And there it is, another bright blush! Cissie face palms. "Right, right...of course. Community service and all." She is seriously hiding her face right now behind her hand as much as possible! She sucks at this secret identity thing!
Tony Stark is leaning against one of the lab tables, just smirking at Cissie. He's trying hard not to laugh, doesn't want to embarrass the poor girl, so he simply asks "We're painting that bow the matte-tac black, correct?"
"Yes, sir. Initial construction complete. Installing internal components now as well as the bowstring."
"I never thought about mass marketing a bow, though. Could be lucrative, just not sure how to make them..I dunno..have more dakka, as a guy I know likes to say."
Slowly, Cissie lowers her hand from her face as her blush tames down. She then nods, "I know a lot of the extra stuff you put in wouldn't be needed in a market bow. Bows are mostly used for recreation and hunting, but either or most people don't move while shooting a bow. It can be surprising competitive though, the bow industry because it can be a tight knit community. However, there is flexibility because each individual is different and enjoy different 'feels' to their bow." Cissie wears casual clothes right now, her jeans and the long-sleeved gold shirt. She wanted something nice, but not too nice, to see Tony in! She also has a black leather quiver on her back that has some hooks hanging out that she hangs her black bow onto so it stays there securely.
The armory door opens, and Captain America steps in. He's been absent for the better part of 10 days, sans communicator, and no word to anyone, but then...it's hardly the first time. He's dressed in the black 'stealth' Captain suit, and the typical red white and blue shield is covered in a matte black cover. A pair of pistols are strapped to his thighs, a combat knife to his chest, and an m-16 is across his back. Judging from the dirt, and the bullet dings in the shield's cover, and the faint smell of something burnt emanating from the man, the good captain has been someplace not so nice.
Steve seems to be muttering softly to himself about needing a shower as he walks in and then stops when he realizes he's not alone. The brief moment of looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar is quickly covered by a throat clearing cough and a nod.
"Hello." the Captain says, moving towards the weapons locker and letting the door close behind him. "Didn't think the armor was occupied. Am I interuppting?"
Tony Stark hears the armor doors open and turns, putting himself between whoever is entering and Cissie. It's a learned reflex action, one ironically taught to him by the fellow entering. He relaxes, then smirks when Cap comes in, looking a bit scuffed around the edges and waits for him to realize he's not alone.
Tony shakes his head, "Oh no. I was actually speaking with young Miss Jones here about various aspects of archery." he grins back at Cissie and then steps aside. "Cissie King-Jones," he motions from the young lady to the old man, "Captain America. Cap? Cissie King-Jones." he waves a hand in front of his nose, "But tell me when did they stop putting Safeguard in the rations?"
Cissie's head jerks to the side as she looks toward Captain America when he clears his throat and speaks up. She...just stares. And stares. And the only way her reaction could get more dramatic over the next few moments is if it had been Wonder Woman that walked through that door. She seems to sway on her feet a little unsteadily, and says a bit weakly, "Tha...that...that's...Captain America." Yep, totally yep, it is! And she has to slap her hands over her mouth, both of them for that matter, to stifle her fangirl scream! Her eyes are really wide, and she's shaking in her self-restraint not to start jumping up and down and going fangirl stupid crazy in glee! Poor, poor, Captain America. At least Cissie got a bit used to Tony on twitter and of course he isn't in the Iron Man suit right now, but Cap? Cissie got exposed to him with no protections or preparation. "Why does he stink?" This is NOT how it is supposed to be in her fantasies of meeting her superheroes!!!
Steve glances at Tony a moment, and raises an eyebrow questioningly at the man as he glances between the two. 'You don't normally bring your lady friends into the armory, and...isn't she a little young? Even for you?' the looks seems to ask before the Captain just smiles warmly and steps forward, extending a hand to Cissie. "Nice to meet you Miss King-Jones." he says warmly. "My apologies about the smell. Flamethrowers. What are you going to do?" he says with a shrug, trying to pass it off with a joke.
"So, an archery buff? Have you met Hawkeye yet?"
Tony Stark steadies Cissie gently with one hand so if she /does/ faint, he's got hold of her. "Actually, I'm building her a better bow. But I let her field test Hawkeye's new sniper rounds in the target range.." and leans in towards Cissie, "He stinks because he's a boy, and boys are fond of not bathing." he mock stage whispers as a retort to Cap's chiding him about his choice of ladyfriends and their legality of age. He winces at the Super Soldier's reason though, before responding, "Hawkeye's off being secret squirrel. Been gone a few days. I'm assuming you were on the business end of the flame thrower. Everything go okay?"
"La..lady friend?" Oh boy, does Cissie turn beat red! Thank goodness for that steadying hand that remains on her shoulder! But she then says, "I'm nineteen!" She likely didn't mean to say that too loudly, but she is apparently defensive about her age. Poor, poor Cissie. Poor, poor Cap. She then shakes her head, blonde tresses whipping side to side in a no motion about meeting Hawkeye. Yep, the girl is kind of freezing up right now and really trying not to! Least he didn't ask about Green Arrow or Arsenal or Hawkeye-girl, cause then she wouldn't be able to be as convincing! Still, the flick of her blonde tresses might tickle Tony's bare arm.
"Sor...sorry!" Yep, Carrie is still beat red. "It...it wasn't very nice of them." She could kick herself, the response sounds so...so...kid-like! She's horrified at herself! But she's also seriously fangirling, tripping over herself. She wants to cry! It causes all sorts of conflicting emotions over her face from the blushing, to horrified, to wanting to cry, to happy fangirl, to defensive, to...lots of things really!
"Freedom lives another day." Captain America responds to Tony's question, which is Steve's code for 'fine, can't talk about it.' He sets the shield down on a table, and pulls the matte cover off, revealing the gleaming stripes and white star. The cover is quickly followed by the pistols, the knife, the machine gun, an empty grenade belt, and the empting of pockets of what little spare ammunition is left.
"No...not very nice of them." Cap responds with a chuckle. "Sorry. I didn't mean..." he shrugs and then shakes his own head with a smile. "I've been out of touch a little bit. Please, I didn't mean to insult you. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Tony Stark chuckles good naturedly, and resumes the leaning against the table. "Oh, the good Captain here was not calling you into question in the slightest. His rib was aimed squarely at me. He's just jealous that I've been on a date this century." he gives Cap a nod at his response, "May the wings of liberty never lose a feather." which is Tony's code for 'I just watched Big Trouble In Little China a couple of days ago' and/or 'We'll talk later.'
"I...just...give me a bit...," Cissie's eyes are HUGE at the sight of all those dangerous, dangerous weapons. Publicly, Captain America primarily just has his shield. As a result, the other stuff are spending poor Cissie for a loop. "You guys are saying weird stuff." Yep, she picked up the code even in her fazzled self. But she then gasps, "I'm sure he didn't mean that! You are really nice Tony! And a great guy!" Awwwww, and this is where it is revealed that Cissie is a sweet, nice girl. She actually means those words!
Cissie then facepalms again. "I'm never, ever...ever...going to live this down, am I?" Even she realizes what a newb she is being!
It's the Captain's turn to look a little flustered as Tony calls out his dating situation. It's not like he isn't trying, but the ladies just don't respond to flirting techniques from the 40's. Not that Steve was an expert in the field even back then.
Steve turns, now disarmed, and leans back against the table. "Take all the time you need, please Miss King-Jones. I'd offer you a handkercheif, but I'm afraid it smells just as bad. So, how's the homefront been for the last week? Anything pressing?"
Tony Stark takes it all in stride and comforts Cissie genuinely, "Cissie, it's cool, seriously. We all get a little star struck from time to time. I even have to keep it in check when I work with Superman." then he motions to Cap, "And when him AND this guy are both in the mix, it's like I'll just go run and get coffee for you guys. I'm so not needed." he says, and is being serious about the statement. It hasn't happened often, but it has happened. He looks back to the living legend and shakes his head, "Nothing that hasn't been handled fairly well. I actually managed a couple of AAR's after I got done with them, too, so you have something to read later."
A...handkerchief? And Cissie starts to lose it! Not in a bad way mind you, but she starts giggling. But before she really loses it, Tony saves her! "Really?!" Her eyes are still widish, "If...it helps at all, you would the the cutest coffee fetcher guy evar Tony!" Awwwww, she's saying sweet things to Tony again! But she does smile shyly over at Steve. "And the good news, your uniform and good looks win out over the burnt smell!" Awwww, she's saying nice things to Steve too! Even though she is totally blushing. "My bow is done now, right?"
Because seriously? Cissie needs a bow and arrow in her hands right now before she faints for realz!
Steve blinks for a second and then grins and nods his head to Tony. "Thanks." he says, letting that answer both the compliment and the AAR's. "You are always needed though. Watching your mind work is awe inspiring." Steve compliments right back before raising an eyebrow at Cissie's giggling. The Captain is apparently not quite as used to people just going ga-ga over him as Tony might be.
"Thank you." he responds to Cissie, before glancing at Tony with a raised eyebrow again. "I'll try and smell better the next time we meet."
Tony Stark chuckles, and funny Cissie should mention that, because..
*DING!* an old school egg timer dings somewhere in the armory. He gets up and goes to where the fabricated parts are sent after they are finished being made. Tony cleans and dries the both the bow and the string. "Okay, here you go. A one of a kind CK-Mark-One tactical Bow." he hands it to Cissie and smiles. It's a sleek, matte-black finished piece of equipment. The bowstring is a silverly thing, looking like a gossamer thread.
"Wow...," and Cissies goes to reach for it. She caresses the thing, yes caresses the bow! She plays with the string and she smiles. It's actually a sweet expression! She then loops the string over one end, before setting the bow aside. She pulls off her other bow from the hook on her black quiver and pulls off her quiver, setting them aside. Unzipping the button of the quiver, she pulls out a sling-like leather thing. She uses it to loop on the recurve bow to help her with stringing the bow more efficiently and less risk to the bow though it is made to be more durable thanks to Tony. It is just habit. It takes effort though, as this is the first time the bow is being strung and Cissie wants to do it right. For however slender and light-weight she is, the girl has muscle and control.
Once that is completed, she puts away the sling-like thing and rezips the quiver and puts the quiver back on her back. She then grabs the new bow and races to the practice area. Cissie is wearing a huge grin on her face as she retrieves the three specialized arrows that Stark created for Hawkeye. She then puts them in her quiver and races away from the target. She soon draws the bow back, and slowly relaxes it to test the grip, before she pulls out an arrow. "Tony! Make the target mobile please?! I'll likely use my regular arrows too with this to get more practice in!" Yes, the girl is BOW NUTS!
Pepper Potts walks briskly into the armory with her phone to her ear, having been informed that she'd find Tony here, and he'd neglected to join a telephone conference call scheduled for about an hour ago. Not that was really all that unusual, but still. There must be SOMEthing interesting going on here for him to even forget to have JARVIS stand in for him on the conference call. She notices Steve first and steps over toward him, tucking her phone away in her bag. "Steve, welcome back." And that's when she looks over to see Tony and the bow-crazy young girl. "... should I ask?"
Bow crazy, indeed. Steve watches the girl as she gets excited about trying out her new weapon and then grins as Pepper walks in. Steve is dressed in his black 'stealth' suit, and looks more than a little worn out. And for some reason, he really really stinks of something akin to burnt leather and gasoline. "Good to be back, Pepper. Thank you." Steve greets with a smile, before thumbing at Tony in response to the woman's question.
Tony Stark looks over, "Pepper, hi!" he inclines his head towards Cissie, "Pepper, this is Cissie King-Jones." he looks at Cissie, "Cissie, this is Pepper Potts." he thumbs at her, "She was in on the flowers." he nonchalantly says.
Cissie? Meet Bus. See how roomy it is under here?
"That was Lightspeed! But I think I may have accidentally encouraged her, I hope it wasn't a problem Miss Potts. She really thought you deserved them, and I always hear nice things about you!" Awwwww, Cissie is being sweet again!
JARVIS is the one though that starts the targets moving, and Cissie is already in motion then. She is pushing herself, testing her limits and the limits of the new bow. She doesn't seem to do things half way!
Cissie takes off across the training grounds, pulling the bow taunt before releasing it with a twang! It hits the target! It's not a bullseye, but it's in the second ring. She is soon leap up on top of a short metal wall and is already letting another arrow go before she leaps down from where she was standing paused on that thin top. The next one she is jumping over, knees bent and heels practically touching her bottom as she fires in mid-air. When she lands, she rolls and comes back to her feet, the quick motions preventing the arrows from falling out of her quiver. She's on the move again, doing the baseball slide to get behind cover as she shoots while laying down the third custom built arrow. She doesn't miss the target and that one was almost a bullseye, it was in the border!
Cissie stops herself from leaving cover, and pulls out one of her regular arrows and pops up to fire. She's then moving again, this time leaping up to a higher wall and kicking off it to shoot from mid-air again before she lands. The new bow actually has improved her accuracy! Cissie is grinning wildly. She couldn't use the stablizer in it in the Olympics, but wow, she loves this bow!
Of Course Cissie doesn't really stop there, there is only a brief pause before she's moving again, "JARVIS! Uber-cutie, can you add more targets?!" Yep, because Cissie is going hogwild with glee and celebration! The girl could do this for hours till she is dripping sweat and about to pass out!!! And this is Pepper's introduction to Cissie King-Jones, Olympic Archer Gold Medalist.
Tony Stark watches Cissie and looks to Pepper and Steve, "See? I love making Christmas happen at random."
Cissie's level of skill as an archer is high, her talent obvious. She is a good athlete from her moves, and she likely is a decent parkour as well with how she moves about the walls and half walls. However, she isn't very combat trained. There are little pieces here and there that hint at martial arts, but not a lot of combat experience. It is a fine, but distinct difference that a soldier like Captain America would likely notice. The potential is definitely there, but Cissie is not completely at heroic level yet.
Pepper Potts did notice the smell surrounding Steve, but isn't one to point that kind of thing out. Manners. "Do you think you'll be back in town for a while?" When Tony calls out a hello and introduces Cissie, she waves politely as she responds in kind, "Oh? So I have you to thank as well for the minor coronary from thinking someone had sent me over six dozen roses?" She doesn't sound all that upset, which is probably more worrying than if she'd been flying off the handle. "I'll tell you about it later," she asides to Steve in case he's wondering about the mention of roses.
"I've learned not to ask anymore." Steve says with a chuckle as the talk of roses goes over his head. He studies Cissie as she moves and thrn hrrms. "Definite potential there." he says, nodding his head. "Needs some seasoning, but definite potential."
Steve turns to the pile of weapons behind him and starts expertly dismantling them, getting them ready to be cleaned and stored. "Think your friend would be interested in some training tips?" he asks Tony, nodding his head towards the girl on the practice course. Once the weapons are taken apart and put away, Steve glances down at himself and sighs softly. "I think I'm going to stop inflicting myself on everyone and hit the showers."
Tony Stark nods, looking at Cissie then back to Cap and Pepper, nodding. "If you'd be so kind, I don't think she'd mind. I'm gonna get her with Hawkeye and Widow when they get around again, too. Season her right up, I think. I don't have the brain you guys do, or the training. I'm just the toolmaker."
The young woman makes it like she's clubbing, this is FUN to her, exciting, joyful even. Moving about the course, being crazy, and shooting her bow as she lets the arrows fly. She doesn't miss a single target, though she doesn't always hit bullseye. No, she isn't Hawkeye's level, but she does very, very good. It is only when she goes to reach behind her to shoot once again and finding her quiver empty that she sorta stumbles, and has to catch herself. She actually pouts! "I'm out!" Yes, the first time she used a whining tone in front of Tony. She doesn't do it for attention, she does it because she's out of arrows to shoot.
However, since she's out, that means Cissie remembers something else, "Tony!" Yep, she remembered Tony. She suddenly goes running. This time, straight at Tony, careful not to hit him with the bow as she does another pounce-hug-attack! "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I looove it!" It's like her Christmas and Birthday wrapped all up in one! I mean seriously, how often does Tony get hugs for making weapons for people?! He isn't just a toolmaker for Cissie right now, he is her Santa Claus!
Pepper Potts raises her eyebrows at Cissie's enthusiasm, most especially the hug. She doesn't otherwise comment, though, and instead turns to Steve again. "I might order dinner in if it looks like bow season's going to be a while longer. Do you want me to get anything for you?"
Captain America grins at the girls enthusiasm, and steps away from the table. "Not bad. Not bad at all, Miss King-Jones. Let me know if you'd ever like a few pointers." he offers, before grinning at Pepper. "Just about anything that doesn't have rice in it." he says to the dinner offer, and nods his head in thanks before turning towards the door. "Let me hit the showers really quick, and I'll be back in 15."
Tony Stark sees it coming, seconds before it happens. He can't stop it. Can't dodge it. Doesn't wanna be rude.
For Pepper and Cap, who can see from a third party angle, they see the knees slightly bend and feet set themselves as he braces for the hug.
Oof.
"I'm glad it works for you. Now remember, don't take that to Rio unless I'm your sponsor, hint-hint, and be careful with all the community service you're doing. And.." he takes a deep breath, and gets out a card and writes on the back of it. "here. Once you get used to using that, give me a call. I'll have you back with Cap, Hawkeye, and Widow here. We'll see what we can do to give you an A-Game." he smiles.
Is..is Tony sick? A nubile young woman flinging herself at him and all he's doing is offering training? Dogs and cats, living together..
He looks over at Pepper, "Yeah, I think I could get in on that too, if you don't mind."
"Not so sure the gyroscope or blades would pass Olympic standards Tony," Cissie says with humor over his shoulder! And awww, she does the squeeze tight hug tooooo! But she finally lets him go so he can do his thing. Anyway, it was a happy hug, not a long, lengthy romantic one. She bounces on her feet as Stark rights something down. "An A-Game?" It isn't a term Cissie knows, but her face lights up as she accepts the card. "I definitely will! Oh boy!" Apparently, Cap isn't the only one with old-fashioned sayings.
But then reality hits again, "Oh shoot, what time is it?!" Cissie is in trouble now. "Can't wait to see you again Cap!" She then grins up at Tony, "I can't wait to see you again too!" She is then running toward the door, turns about, goes to grab her old bow, and then the portable target she dropped earlier. "Pleasure to meet you Pepper! I hope we get to talk next time, Lightspeed talks really well about you!" And then she's taking off, "Maaaan, I was supposed to pick up milk, mom is going to scream at meeeee!"
Pepper Potts chuckles and nods to Steve. Her initial thought of hamburgers (and maybe hot dogs as well) was apparently a good one. She starts making a mental tally of how many burgers and hot dogs to order as she knows Steve's usual appetite levels, and she's mentally adding Tony and Cissie to the order list as well. She lets the super soldier take his leave to shower and approaches Tony and his new little protege... or not. She does speak up, though, as the girl takes her leave, "JARVIS, please have a car waiting for Miss King-Jones when she reaches the lobby, with instructions to take her where ever she needs to go."
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