15146/Tuning the WonderBow

Tuning the WonderBow
Date of Scene:	14 June 2023
Location:	Labs - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	While doing some maintenance on her bow, Kate confides in Caitlin her concerns about her father's shady past.
Cast of Characters:	Kate Bishop, Caitlin Fairchild

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Kate Bishop has posed:
    Kate sits worried on the nearby lab table. Not the best lab ettiquette but it is one of the ones cleared off with no equipment and no one using it right now. She is in yoga pants nad a tank top, not kitted out in all her gear. Just home casual as she waits.

    It is like having a belowed pet in for surgery. That or a parent maybe. Waiting for your spouse to give birth perhaps.

    Hell at least she is sitting still and not pacing as she looks on to the scene of anxiety just one table away. "Is it going to be okay?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin is in her usual attire; lab coat, safety goggles on her forehead, and athleisure wear to give it a casual/cool look. With a furrowed brow she examines Kate's WonderBow, the epic marksman's weapon that the whole Team Titans had pitched in on creating. A combination of modern science and Amazon bowmaking techniques, it was a formidable tool in anyone's hands-- in Kate's, it was like a violent paintbrush.

"Hmm? Oh, it'll be fine," Caitlin promises Kate. She sets the bow in the inset of her foot and with little visible strain, bends the bow and starts unwrapping the steel threads that pin the bowstring in place. "It's just the bindings that have cracked. It happens with regular bows all the time. They're actually *designed* to do that," she clarifies. "That way the bow doesn't just shatter if you land on it funny. How did this happen, again?" she inquires, and lofts a brow at her friend.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "I mean.. I know that they crack on regular bows, I just wasn't expecting it to happen with this bow considering what it is made of." she just quietly frets and watches as Caitlin gets to work unwrapping the string to work on fixing it.

    There is a big puff of held breath at the question. "Oh... you know... killer cyborg robot thing that this gadgeteer mad science quack made. I blocked a strike with the bow... which to be fair to me was better than letting it crack my head open like a melon." which considering it actually damaged the bow, even if in an expected failure point, is impressive and would have cracked her human skull open. "Mostly I just..."

    She trails off and sighs again. "I deflected.. I figured it wouldn't cause any damage to parry it to the side and send the momentum away but.. wow it hit harder than I thought..."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"It looks like it got hit at just the wrong angle in just the right spot," Caitlin confirms. "I'll reinforce the joints a bit more though; it'll add an ounce or two to the weight but it should shore it up. This really isn't *intended* to be used for melee, you know," she informs Kate, and cracks a teasing grin.

Once the bowstring is off it's quick work to dismantle the bow and address the internals. The construction of an Amazon war bow goes far beyond merely chopping town a healthy tree. There is the inner core, the outer core, the frame, the bindings... No small amount of work went into building it and Caitlin approaches the repairs with the same cautious diligence.

"I hope you gave the cyborg a good smack though," she tells Kate with an encouraging tone. "Did you guys send him over to Riker's or was he a hard case, for Belle Reve?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Well.. I let the meta unit take it in. I am honestly not sure if he was actually a cyborg or just a smart robot or what. I figured they can sort out the whole sentience and how and where to charge or hold situation. Not my specialty."

    She rocks a bit watching the dismantaling. "Also not like I want to use it as a shield or intend to.. just you know.. I'm squishy." and fast, but only so fast.

    "The gadgeteer mad scientist.. he went to Rikers.. or maybe the raft.. one of those off shore jobs. I don't think they routed him to Belle Reve." she shrugs a touch.

    Kate doesn't really spend time dealing with or digging into the post take down logistics. She gives her statement to the authorities and tends to move on quick. Probably because she is juggling this, the Young Avenges thing, School, and Family. Researching crime is not in her schedule right now honestly and she isn't a great detective like the Robins or such.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"I think Riker's, then." Caitlin's hands pause while she thinks. "Yeah, 'cause the Raft is mostly for SHIELD's hard cases. Especially if he didn't have any inherent powers, they use Belle Reve for the powered villains, because--" she breaks off that train of thought. "Anyway, yeah, probably Riker's."

The new wedges are inserted and careful application of a coping saw fits them smooth with the bow. They're removed again and Caitlin starts smoothing them out with a sanding block to get rid of any rough edges. "It's actually been kinda slow lately, which is nice. The regular stuff-- you know, bank robberies, that kinda thing. But we haven't had cosmic entities wreck property in months now. If I had to ask for any more leave from school I think they'd make me restart the year." She pulls a face at that idea.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Isn't there a big prison somewhere out in the Mojave or Nevada or something too... the Cube... " she trails off unsure. "Wonder who they send there."

    "Honestly now that I think about it, lot of prisons... I really wonder how it is a good idea to store so many super powered villains all together. Like talk about a keg of dynamite..."

    "Also are you trying to jinx us.. I will take all sorts of bank robberies and mad scientists over cosmic or alien horrors thank you very much Caitlin." she smirks though. "It is summer break though.. so if we did have an invasion it would either be the best or worst time.. no missing school but also this is the nice time for vacations..."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin grins at Kate's upbraiding. "Sorry," she apologizes. "I'll try not to put a crimp in your plans this summer. I'm just saying, it's--well, I won't jinx it," she says again.

Oil and stain are applied to the raw wood and then Caitlin layers the protective wax that makes the wood resistant to bugs and weather. The entire affair is put in a UV oven to rapidly cure it.

"I wish I got a summer break, though. I'm trying to fast track the program /and/ they're not making me do residency. They already waived a lot of coursework after I told them who I learned trauma care from. I gave them a copy of an Amazon surgical scroll and apparently it made people go nuts?" She lifts a broad shoulder. "I mean they've had a few thousand years to perfect their trauma care."

She uplifts her chin at Kate. "So what's the plan once you graduate? Are you gonna work for your dad or something...?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "I'm just saying don't go borrowing trouble for us." she relaxes back planting her palms flat on the lab table and being as relaxed as she can be right now. Honestly it is hard work to be this relaxed with your prize and joy undergoing surgery.

    She studies the work, not leaning forward as it is tweaked. "I'm just glad you all thought to lay aside some of the materials we built the bow with. It isn't like we can go to an archery store or pick them up online if it breaks too badly."

    "I..." she falls quiet at the question. "I need to figure that out. My dad that is. I've still not acted on the doubts I got from wonderland... I just .... " she sighs "I don't want to dig but I know I should... but something is wrong in the Bishop empire."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin's face falls at Kate's quiet concern. It troubles the young archer, therefore it troubles her friend. She works in silence for a beat or two until the silence pressures her to speak. "It's-- it's fine, I have my bow an' Donna's too here, so it, uh, makes sense to keep spare parts around," she says, a bit lamely.

The redhead goes over to the UV oven and watches the timer count down the last few seconds. "Is it possible this is just Wonderland messing with you?" she wonders, and looks back over her shoulder at Kate. "I mean it does that. Prophecy and riddles. If they planted a seed of doubt then it can definitely mess with your head. Can you tell me what the problem *is*, or is it just a hunch?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "True." on the spare parts and materials. "Though some of them are Kryptonian adjusted and god knows what Nadia did..." she just shakes her head at the mix of magic and sciences.

    Thanks to the family stuff though she is less worried about the bow.

    "Not a hunch, memories lost but thanks to that spell we used on the woods of forgetting found. Only in Wonderland." she sighs. "I recalled my dad meeting with men... that didn't strike me as businessmen but ... scared me badly as a child. I was hustled out after coming upon them and put to bed but... it wasn't a business meeting of magazines and news stories ... they had guns. But I don't know what it was.. just gnaws at me. I keep making excuses to not look into it..."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
An expression of sympathy crosses Caitlin's face as Kate recounts the tale. Guns pose no particular visceral fear for the redhead, but she can at least empathize with the concern it generates in Kate. While she talks the bow is extracted and Caitlin moves to the table to hand-smooth the wax before reattaching the bowstring and tightly wrapping the bindings back up.

"I don't know how to help you," Caitlin apologizes, and seems troubled by that fact. "My brother isn't exactly Mr. Lawful, but he's a good person. I know Uncle Billy did some bad things in his day, but he worked with my dad, so--" she shrugs. "You have to take people as they are, I guess. I'd do just about anything for either one of them, and I'd love them all the same if they got arrested tomorrow."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "I could just ask one of our tech inclined hackers to dig through my dads business and make sure everything has a clean bill of health."

    She nods a bit though "I mean .. it is the not knowing and not wanting to know at war Caitlin. I am sure he has done ruthless things in business. The rival news orgs trash him sometimes for his tactics. The memory of those men meeting with him though was.. stark but through a four years olds eyes." she sighs. "Not that Im not thinking he is complicated and a bit cold but... if he is an actual crook I need to consider it. The irony would not be lost about our roles if he was.. but for all I know it was thugs threatening him over a story."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
A few moments pass, and Caitlin reaches over to lay a palm on Kate's shoulder. "Hey," she says, softly, and ducks her head a bit to make eye contact. She flashes a warmly reassuring smile at the archer. "Whatever comes of it, you've got *this* family to help you pull through," she reminds Kate. "And you know we'd be there for you every step of the way, good or bad-- no matter how it shakes out in the end."

Kate's shoulder is given a reassuring squeeze and the redhead returns to the task at hand. A few careful coils more are wound in place and then she puts the leather protective sleeves back so once more, the bow looks brand new. Her fingers pluck the drawstring and she holds the bow at full draw, staring at a scorched target on the blastwall at the back of the lab.

"...nine, ten. I think it's good to go. Didn't hear any cracking or grinding," she informs Kate, and with a little ceremonial grace, flips the bow over in both hands to offer it grip-first to its owner. "Want to go on the roof and shoot at balloons or something?" she offers with a mischevious smile.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    The archer looks up at the palm on her shoulder and then she nods, reaching up and closing her hand over Caitlin's and giving it a squeeze.

    "I know you are all behind me. You're my found and chosen family and I wouldn't trade for that for anything."

    "It's just... problematic and some anxiety. I'll get around to dealing with it when I can deal with it."

    She accepts the offered bow and then slides off the table to her feet with nimbleness. "Absolutely. I need to start adjusting to the extra bit of weight so it will take a bit of practice." a smile back, even ounces matter at the speed she handles the thing.