13843/Putting the Punch in Punctual

Putting the Punch in Punctual
Date of Scene:	15 January 2023
Location:	Penthouse - Kord Co
Synopsis:	Carin visits beetle-dad (Ted) to catch him up on things and secure some gear! Joan adds a little moral compass and kind words and Carin leaves feeling better about herself. (Time bubble - set prior to Outsiders thread)
Cast of Characters:	Carin Taylor, Ted Kord, Joan Wright

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Carin Taylor has posed:
    It's a simple message. Carin had wanted to check in with Ted! She wanted to grab some of her things from the guest room, not that she had much of anything, and move them into the Triskelion. She also figured he would like an update on what she's been up to since the pizza party with HYDRA. She's also quite sure Bailey would like to see her, too! She's grown fond of that little robot with the keen talent for makeup.

    So Carin arrives, not at top speed, to pay a visit to Ted in his tower.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord did notice some of Carin's preparations. He expected her to move to SHIELD quarters honestly. Probably a good thing. He looks at the screen of his monitor. It isn't correct to say he's distracted. More like he's focussed on several panels at once, as close to mutitasking as a human mind might come. Nevertheless he looks up as the elevator doors open. The big bot -Bingo? is at his side with a clear cup of dark tea. He gives the machine a pat on its casing and shuts the monitor down, looking up.

Joan Wright has posed:
With the proximity of Ted's penthouse to worke, Joan has been finding herself at Ted's more and more as time passes. But just because her time at the penthouse has gone up does NOT mean she has neglected her house. Which is likely why she is currently seated at the sofa looking over paint samples.

Bailey is currently situated near her, holding up one particular sample in an eager manner.

"I know it's a lovely shade of pink, Bailey. But, I'm not sure cotton candy extravaganza is historically accurate."

Restoration work can be frustrating for some. Catching a glimpse of Ted looks towards the elevators, and then to the elevators curiously.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    The elevators open and it's a Carin! The pale redhead steps into the penthouse, looking around. She's wearing some baggy jeans and a zip-up hoodie, which isn't zipped all the way up. Underneath? The tell-tale signs of her super suit. Just in case. "Hey!" she calls out, bordering on cheerful. She spots Ted and Bingo, and then Joan and Bailey, giving all of them a small smile. "Sorry for the short notice... I um. Hope I'm int interrupting anything...?" she asks, chewing on her lower lip.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord shakes his head. "I can use a break. I was just catching up on some correspondence. Joan is doing some decorating in her head. Apparently Bailey wants to do everything in pink. She doesn't dare try it here. Come in, have a seat. Everything okay?" He gestures at the sofa.

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan smiles to the newcomer, recalling small details of the last meeting. Ok, super speed is not a small detail but it is a detail. The paint samples get lowered. "Nothing that can't wait a little longer." Joan assures, "I'm just figuring out paint samples for the last room of my house. Bailey's advising."

Bailey on the other hand is crossing her manipulators, apparently still reacting to the comments on her paint choice.

"....Carin, correct?"

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Carin does remember Joan, even if they maybe hadn't spoken too much. She nods to Ted and makes her way over to the sofa. "Yeah, Carin," she confirms, nodding. "And... everything's great, actually! I um. Wanted to ask for your help with something... and.. give you an update on things..." she focuses on Ted for the moment.

    "I.. got the job..! And I was planning on moving... well. Not that I have a lot of stuff... but clear out the space for you and take it with me..." She seems a little cagey, she doesn't know Joan's particular level of trust regarding government organizations and the like. "But I did need help with some.. um. Equipment."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord nods. "Joan understands if you have to talk to me about my sideline, privately. It was good having you stay here. So tell me about your equipment. It's not the costume is it? I almost have that done. I now can work in blue, red, green, black, and white. Some I can basically do any color. So what do you need?" He rubs his eyes a moment.

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan looks over to Ted and then back to Carin, "I could go into another room if that would make you comfortable."

Bailey's grumpfest does get Joan to look over to the bot, "While I don't think it'll work for the walls, It is a lovely shade. What if we got a few accent pillows that shade instead?" Joan suggests, reaching over to sort through the samples to tug out a few strips of the light blue shades available, "We could pair it with one of these maybe."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "Omigosh the costume!" Carin makes a noise, "I had. Completely forgotten! There's been so much going on!" She slaps her forehead with the heel of her palm and sighs. "No, no, it's not about the costume... but it... will still be nice.." she looks down at herself in that tight green number that shows off way too much upstairs. "Um... does it... have proper ventilating ports or anything?" she asks softly. SHIELD might've issued her combat attire but that's not exactly something to wear around the town.

    Not that a hero costume is, but...

    "And... we... talked about... some new gloves, right? The uh... not-stabby-kind...?" She looks intensely uncomfortable for a moment, as if she's projecting the aura of a dog that did something bad and feels utterly terrible about it. "...I really need those soon... shocky, graspy kind... n-not... stabby kind..." she stutters. Oh no did she stab someone?

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord frowns a little. "The costume will have a cooling system so you can zip up. It seemed silly to give you added protection and leave your sternum exposed. I can have... shocky gloves for you in a couple days." He goes over to sit near Carin on the couch and hands her the untouched mug of tea, looking at her questioningly, and shooting Joan a glance.

"What happened?"

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan glances up to the hints of stabbing and then looks over to Ted, catching his own glance. Powers gone wrong perhaps? Thoughts of broken chopsticks and LEGOs start to come to mind.

Bailey in the meantime seems to have focused upon more important things. Such as browsing the web for pretty pink bedroom accessories.

PRIORITIES.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "That's... that's smart..." Carin says with a nod, taking the tea. She looks between Joan and Ted before staring down at her tea. "Ah.." she worries at her lower lip some more, mind racing to map out a sanitized version of events. "..there was a job.." (SHIELD op) "...and... we got attacked... there were some bad guys..." (Armed mercenaries) "..but they had special guns..." (Stolen Shi'ar energy rifles) She then sighs and sips the tea for a moment, clearly getting to the hard part.

    "..but I couldn't.. take them apart.. or.. or break them.. so... so to make sure nobody got hurt I.. I..." she trails off and grips the mug in one hand, pantomiming holding a firearm. And with her other hand, makes the motion of stabbing into her hand. Then she grimaces and drinks down a huge gulp of that tea. "...I felt.. really sick after.. but.. my new roommate took care of me.." She picks up in mood a little when she mentions the roomie.

    She pointedly leaves out the part where she got shot herself.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord nods. "Sounds like you made the best of some limited options. You stabbed him in the hand, not the heart. No one asked them to terrorize people. I try not to hurt people. I have my gun that will blind them or shoot concussion blasts at them instead of bullets. I still hurt people occasionally. I'm not perfect. Sometimes you hurt people because it's still a fight." He goes to pat her on the shoulder and stops, instead signaling for a another tea. Bingo flies off and Ted gets up to to return to his desk.

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan listens to the confessions of a battle gone wrong and quietly nods. "A guy came at me with a sword once so I hit him with some bricks." She offers up. "There was that time in the warehouse where I had to use measuring tape on someone and the steel toed boots were helpful. They had guns..."

She looks over to Carin, "Hurting people might not be the first option to try but sometimes it's that or letting them hurt you or others."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "I know, and... and I tried other options first..." Carin says, looking between both Joan and Ted. Then she sighs, nodding at the former. "...I didn't... want the others to get hurt... but.. still I... I can still.. feel it... the... blades. Going in..." She puts the mug down. She'd emptied it. And just. Hugs herself in both arms, shuddering.

    "There's... people out there who are /used to/ that. Who /enjoy/ that... But for me it just. Makes me feel sick. I want to help people. And... and ... protect people... but.. that's.. why I want a better way?" she looks up, hopeful, at Joan and then Ted. "Even... one of those special guns they have.. but.. that's why I need the... gloves thing solved.."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord nods working at the monitor feverishly now. The mouse is skittering on the pad. "I took measurements of your entire body via robot scans for your costume. This includes your hands fortunately. I pulled up a work sparring template I had, changed some of the materials to metal and composite. The taser is a model I licensed. I'll have a test model sent to your new place. Probably tomorrow. Anything else?" He hits a button and a task bar marked 'Fabrication' comes up. He links his hands behind his head.

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan nods to the explanation. "It is good that you want to find another way. I'm by no means endorsing the hurt first ask questions later approach. Just, letting you know that we both know these things can happen." She pauses, "It can be upsetting..."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "Wait, really?" Carin asks, dumbstruck. "..I.. I know I'm fast but I didn't know you could work that quickly, too.." she says softly, watching over at Ted's workstation. "They'll.. be safe from the friction and stuff?" she asks, bllinking. "N-no, nothing else. I should. Probably get back to Toni before she gets worried about me..." there's a hint of a blush rising in her cheeks. She nods to Joan, too, rubbing the side of her head as she stands up. "Thanks. Really. It's. It really is upsetting... but. I want to do my best. For others. And. For me..." she nods.

    "Um... Ted? Be careful? I.. feel like Cyberdata's been... really aggressive in looking for me again. So.. laying low in Westchester is probably good for me... and for you. It's.. getting a little scary, they know I'm in the tri-city area still."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord shrugs. "Like I said it was just adding some templates and licenses I had together. It took a few keystrokes. As for cyberdata... I got my start taking on a dangerous corporation and its deranged CEO. Unfortunately it was K.O.R.D. and the deranged CEO was my uncle. Like I said don't worry. Cyberdata isn't going to touch me, they may want to do business with me ad... you're leaving so no problem there. You better get going. Stay in touch. I'll have your gloves probably tomorrow." He throws his hands up in a little ta-da.

Joan Wright has posed:
Carin's surprised response causes for Joan to give a knowing smile, looking over to the billionaire. "Oh, Ted's full of pleasant surprises." There's little more offered to expand on the comment, leaving it open to interpretation.

The time to mull over the meaning is short as she seems curious to the mention of the name. "Cyberdata?" She frowns, "Just how many evil corporations are th-"

She pauses, "Don't answer that."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "T-too many...?" Carin asks with a frown and sighs. "...they want me back... AIM wants what's in my head... and there's... probably a half dozen more piggybacking off of whatever those two leak.." She slumps over, seeming defeated. "Just... want to be sure you're both safe... and not get hurt because of me.." She straightens up and heads for the elevators. "I'll... grab my other clothes and head out.. thanks again. You know where to find me... maybe.. we'll work together in the future, too?" she asks, sounding hopeful. There's almost a moment where she considers calling Ted 'dad', because he's sure as hell been there for her more than the last two.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord nods and says, "We can work together. Sure. We probably will. If I do some fieldwork I'll request you specifically. I don't like working with shooty stabby people. They have a hard job and I don't judge them but it's out of my comfort zone. As for safe... try getting in here sometime without your ID card At the very least the bots will take a very dim view of that. Google Robot Rampage at Stark Expo to get an idea what happens when you get Bobo angry. I have a lot of fine security besides and a 30 ton Bug with more firepower than a lot of countries. We're safe." He smiles faintly in a sort of been there, done that, still here sort of way.

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan doesn't have much to contribute in the assurance of security thing. She's got... construction tools, not security staff and bots. "Do be careful, Carin."

As if the speedster wasn't going to do that already.

It's something at least.