WMAT C1 Bowser vs. Toph Beifong

WMAT C1 Bowser vs. Toph Beifong
Date of Scene:	21 June 2014
Location:	WMAT Arena - Gizard Wasteland
Synopsis:	C bracket, round 1. Bowser faces Toph Beifong in a battle of rock and fire, complete with cheering from Feds and Union, family and friends. And also underlings in Bowser's case. Commentator: Mithos Yggdrasil and his two summon spirits Efreet and Gnome.
Thanks to:	Mithos Yggdrasil
Cast of Characters:	Kotone Yamakawa, 20, 43, 127, Steve Rogers, 232, 301, 424, 435
Tinyplot:	WMAT

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
The Gizard Wasteland seems to be filled to the brim today with spectators on the anti-grav platforms, and the huge monitors are filled with various advertisements as well as shots from the earlier fights in this year's WMAT. The mood and excitement is high, and people are here to see some serious fighting.
Or in Lao Beifong's case, one might wonder what the man want to see. The Beifong patriarch has taken a seat in Tony Stark's private box, looking over the crowds with an uncertain look on his face. And a soft drink and a bowl of nachos next to him. "Is this really customary...?" he asks of Tony, trying to hide the unease that is all too readable on his face.

Suddenly the the advertisements on the screens stop, and some rock music begins playing over the impressive sound system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhInhE6emE

As guitars kick in, it looks like something is burrowing under the ground to the middle of the fighting area... and as the vocals begin, a small figure bursts out of the ground, rocks and gravel flying everywhere. Toph Beifong has arrived! But she doesn't stop as she lands, kicking into the ground as she creates a small earthen wave that begins circling, kept going with her feet as she raises her arms into the ear, grinning wildly at the audience at large as the rock music plays. At least until the refrain starts, and she kicks up a large ramp that sends her flying through the air. At that moment she bends up a huge pillar of earth that she /smashes/ through, dust whirling up as she lands on the other side, crashing into the earth in a crouch before she rises to her full height with a somewhat mighty roar!

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Gnome says, "Oh, MAN! There's Toph now! Look at that entrance, man! Rocks flyin' everywhere!! Has she got style or has she got STYLE? HEY, TOPH! You'd better prove to all of these people once and for all that Earth is the BEST ELEMENT!"

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony has a beer and a bucket of popcorn himself. And he smiles and squeezes his eyes shut, and headbobs appreciatively at Toph's choice of music. That's his girl. "Wooo TOPPPHHHHH!" he shouts down along with the other wild cheering from the crowd. "Entirely customary," he assures his guest, switching back to conversational tone just like that. "People would think it was weird otherwise. Popcorn?" he offers, as he reaches to steal one of Lao Beifong's nachos. He paid for it all, he's entitled.

Bowser (435) has posed:
In the stands, one of the spectators, a diminutive creature that vaguely resembles a turtle fusses with several of the other spectators. "HEY!! Get your big head out of the way," he shouts at one of them, throwing popcorn at the back of the man's head. It is /only just/ halted by Kamek, who reaches out with his magic wand to carefully shapeshift the chair into something that Bowser Junior can sit on without getting himself kicked out of the stands. "YEAH GO DAD KICK HER REAR END BACK TO THE STONE AGE!"
Popcorn showers upon Lao from way over there from the exciteable Koopa kid. What an awful child.

A distant sound of an airship flutters into the edge of hearing... and then a thunderous bass begins to play over the audio system at a volume that shakes everyone's teeth. This song is as such: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz8mSVPmFTE

And then the guitar wails into hearing as the airship coasts over the battlefield. A silhouette, a shadow, forms beneath Bowser as he plummets from the distant airship. He falls from the sky rapidly, and when he slams into the ground, it is with a loud KA-THUD noise, complete with cracking stone and shattering terrain, two craters formed beneath his feet. Dust flies up around him.

Bowser hunches forward, his eyes closed. He flexes his fingers, getting into what could be called a grappler posture. He reaches up and pushes at his chin, and a KRICK noise sounds out as he pops his neck. His eyes open, and the WRATH of the Koopa King glows in his eyes.

And he proceeds to roar at Toph so loud she can probably smell it from the couple dozen yards he is away from her, and feel his breath on her face. Warm... and sooty.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Normally, Steve is the sort who'd rather be in the bleachers than a skybox - but given the lack of proper bleachers here, at least with a suitable view, he's accepted an invitation to Tony's 'skybox,' fairly literally named in this case. He's got a hot dog in one hand - not a proper New York frankfurter, maybe, but as close as they can get here; he's not complaining - and a beer in the other, sipping from it occasionally.

Not that he has to worry about getting drunk, but he's tasted better beers. Even at the ballpark.

"Go for it, Toph!!" Steve calls out in response to the Earthbender's entrance ... falling conspicuously silent as Bowser makes *his* entrance.

What, Steve Rogers, biased? Naaaaaah.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Efreet says, "And there now is the noble King Koopa, brandishing his fangs and demonstrating his own fiery rage through another roar in reply to the little Earth girl. Ah, I could feel his strength from here. I don't quite understand why that little human isn't running away already."

D (232) has posed:
D is in the stands, a solemn figure as he ever is, despite the excitement of the occasion. He is likely here in support of Toph, yet his keen attention is split equally between both contenders.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Gnome says, "HEY! You shut up, Efreet! Toph is totally gonna -- !!" His mouth is covered by Mithos, who gives a slight wave - and a noticeable sweatdrop to the audience.

Kirikou (127) has posed:
For some bizarre reason, Kirikou's friendship with Toph has survived two beatings and a year of being on opposite sides in a war. Mostly they don't obsess over things like their reasons for joining their respective sides, and both appreciate a good fight with no coddling or holding back. So when she called him, mentioning her fight, he'd promised to show up to watch and to cheer.

He didn't promise to cheer for HER, of course. Kilik figures Toph might be more amused if he cheered against her. Besides, Bowser's a badass dude. Badass dudes before... well, before whatever Toph is. "Go Bowser! Kick her butt!" he calls out. This might end up as a bit of a surprise to Lao Beifong, mind. Toph's father doesn't know Kilik's Toph's frenemy. He just knew of their friendship, not their rivalry. And meanwhile the Twins are cheering in their own way, each pumping a metal-clad fist into the air with their mouths wide open as if screaming. Their roars, if they do roar, are no doubt completely drowned out by the crowd.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"He looks kind of like the duckturtles in your garden," Tony jokes with Lao, glancing at Steve for support. Toph didn't think the resemblence was really there, but she's BLIND. Anyway, he wants her father to relax and maybe even smile and enjoy himself a little. Friendly banter ho!

"Noble, pssh," he scoffs, twisting his neck around as popcorn showers down from somewhere. "Well, I'm impressed with his kid's manners," he observes whimsically.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Somehow it doesn't appear that the WMAT fighter's father approves like her supervising officer does. The popcorn earns a raised eyebrow by Lao, who then sighs and accepts some, popping some in his mouth. Only to go wide eyed as the sinister organ music begins playing. And the popcorn rain from behind. Sure, he's frowning now... but that quickly is replaced by shock when Bowser drops down from the airship. Tony will probably have to help him get his jaw up from the floor.

The younger Beifong however has a determined look on her face. She hasn't really 'seen' her opponent before, and videos and photos doesn't exactly explain much. But as the King Koopa crashes into the ground, her eyes widen just slightly. As he roars at her she doesn't flinch, but she does make a slight face. "Whew... and here I thought your minion had bad breath. And it was dead already! What did you eat?" she says, trying to lighten the situation. Man, she didn't know Bowser was /this/ big. But hey, she's fought big opponents before, right?
So the blind girl falls into a wide pose, her feet apart as she raises her forearms in front of her, palms facing inwards. "I beat your minion before, I can certainly beat you!"
And then she waits, her expression focused and serious.

Rainbow Dash (43) has posed:
There's a flash of color as Rainbow Dash takes to her seat down in the front portion of the stands. Good thing ponies are small enough that they fit in ordinary stands. She doesn't remain in her seat for long though. Dash only remains there for a second to set her nachos in front of her chair, before taking off a few feet in the air. "WOOO YEAH!" Dash shouts, hovering there much to the annoyance to the people in the stands behind her. "GO TOPH! KICK HIS BUTT!"

The orange pony that was following her grabs ahold of Rainbow's tail in her teeth and promptly yanks the pegasus back down again. "I'm as excited as yah are, sugahcube," Says Applejack, spitting out Dash's tail with a 'ptew', "But we're gonna have a fight in the stands if y'all don't stay grounded."

"Oh come on, AJ," Rainbow Dash huffs, folding her forelimbs over her chest, "Like anyone's going to care once the fight gets going." None the less, Dash stays grounded, and grabs her box of ultra-hot nachos from where she left them. When Bowser comes on, the pegasus lefts a hoof to her mouth and shouts "BOOO! BOOOO!"

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Mithos sounds even more bashful than usual. "U-Uh... i-it won't be long now before Bowser and Toph start fighting! Y-Yeah! They're gonna... uhm..." ... and Gnome seizes the opportunity, stealing the microphone. "Before they ROCK this place to the ground!! Seriously, there isn't gonna be anything left of this place when TOPH is through with this spike dude!"

Bowser (435) has posed:
Junior lobs his now-empty popcorn container all the way over at Rainbow Dash's head, which misses because Kamek hits it with a magic blast from afar. The Magikoopa is sweating /bullets/ and doesn't want to get thrown out of the stands because that little scamp is causing problems. He floats up on his broom and BONKs Junior with the large jewel end of the staff. The two of them squabble, the argument getting to incoherent levels quite quickly and eventually winding down. Junior crosses his arms and GRUMPs as defiantly as he can, but he stops his rambunctious behavior.

Bowser, down below, comes out of his bellowing intimidation roar with some new information. Toph is no joke. She is a serious threat just based off of her confidence alone, and the fact that she's waiting for him means she wants to see what he's made of. He can provide that, oh yes, but he's not on a hair trigger. He's been in too many fights and learned the hard way that a fight needs a little more thinking sometimes.

"You beat a big bag of bones I put together in my spare time!" he retorts to her, with smug amusement. "I'm KING KOOPA! You aren't going to have an easy time with me!" he continues. He's not lying. He fully believes that.

He leaps into the air, which may not be the easiest thing to predict from something that obviously weighs a ton. His mass is propelled faaar up into the air, and his trajectory is aimed right at SLAMMING down on Toph with his scaly feet. His accuracy leaves something to be desired, but his power is incredible. He could obliterate the bones of a normal man in one strike just from sheer weight and brute force!

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Efreet says, "Ha! You can truly -feel- the unmitigated -force- behind his strike! It was unconventional, but as I'm /certain/ this fool beside me could inform you, I believe there might just have been a shift in the tectonic plates. Perhaps there was also a shift in the little girl's /bones/, if indeed anything remains of her now." Mithos is cringing, and that Magikoopa isn't the only one sweating bullets, now. "T-Toph? A-Are you okay??" But Gnome just laughs before snatching the mic again, a vein bulging from his forehead as he shouts to the little Earthbender. "Oh shuttup, Efreet! That was NOTHIN'! Come on, Toph! Hittim with a stalagmite! Rush 'im with one of your rock waves!!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
"I'd say..." Lao comments in response to Tony's observation. But it doesn't seem like he's relaxing at the moment.

Toph isn't relaxing either, but she doesn't appear to be too worried. "HAH! I beat King Washington!" Helped at least. "The bigger they are, the larger they fall!" Man, he sure sounds confident. At least this should be amusing for the spectators, though.
As Bowser leaps up into the air, Toph's eyes widen. Judging from his trajectory, he is bound to land... there! So Toph kicks off, though it's not enough to avoid getting hurt though she manages to escape being crushed underneath the King Koopa. As he lands he knocks into Toph, who cries out and looks like she's stumbling. But steady as she is, she manages to avoid tripping and falling, and she even throws her arms out to the side towards Bowser. In response the earth awakens, sharp earthen spikes aimed at Bowser's side, and as Toph skids to a halt she kicks her left heel into the ground, erecting a wall in the direction that her spikes hopefully sent him should the attack hit.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is on one of the hovering air platforms with a few other people she's also got a sign that reads GO TOPH GO in both English and Japanese, also someone's doodled an little SD Toph flexing on it and Kotone seems to not be bothered at all by being up close to the action!

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Gnome jumps, clapping his paws together and almost dancing. "YEAH! Way to go, Toph!! Man, that's gotta sting! Yeeeaahhhh, stalagmite to the side~!" Mithos... exhales. "O-Oh, thank the spirits she's alright..." Efreet just shakes his head, arms folded. "Surely you recognize the toughness of his skin, and the spikes on his shell. There is no way such a pathetic strike could do anything whatsoever to harm him."

Bowser (435) has posed:
The Koopa King finds that he has not crushed her under his feet! UGH. It always works for Mario! He turns around, a lumbering movement that betrays the sheer weight of this tough turtle-dragon. The dance-like movement isn't missed, the Bending art catching his eye. It results in a crashing THUD as stone spikes drive into his side before he can fully turn about! He lets out a briefly pained "HRRRGH!!" noise and staggers one one foot. The stone spikes, however, snap against his shell and leave but a few small cracks and scratches. Beneath the surface he is doubtlessly bruised from the impact, but only just. His shell barely saved him from, say, a broken bone.
He lets out a building roar, as he balls his hand up into a fist, and DRIVES it into the stone spikes, shattering them into chunks! He bats away the rest of the structures as he barrels toward Toph, and tries to do a bull charge with his horns! It isn't the overhead toss he tries to do to her with this that would hurt, it would be the momentum and the crushing strength he has backing it!

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony cups his hands to his mouth and bellows, "Shake it off, Toph! You got this guy!" Although inwardly he winces at the pounding Bowser has doled out already with his first two maneuvers. "Just like fighting another Earthbender! Out-think him!" If the Koopa King can shatter stone that easily, she's going to HAVE to rely on brains to beat him, not just rocks. Stark gives Lao Beifong a confident smile to cover his nerves. "She's just getting warmed up, you'll see."

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Efreet says, "HA! With all the force of creation behind him, that King strikes the girl. I can -see- the fire in his eyes. I can sense the unmitigated ferocity behind his every minute motion!!" Gnome doesn't let his statement rest for a single second before adding, "AAAnnndddd Toph takes it like a total champ! C'mon, Toph!! You've got this guy! He's just like a big turtle, right? Make him go back inside his shell! Make him never wanna come back out again!!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Toph frowns as she feels the hit not connecting properly, and as she hears the commentary, she knows that Efreet is right. Bowser has a tough shell, so obviously she has to aim for somewhere less armored. Or change her style of attacks.
The shattered rocks are easily brushed aside by Toph, but something far more dangerous is coming as she feels her much larger opponent come racing towards her. But rather than flee, it looks as if Toph intends to stand her ground, bringing up her arms to her sides as the ground begins to shake even more in addition to Bowser's heavy steps. And just before he barrels into her, Toph throws her arms forward twice in rapid succession. That's when the area explodes in a myriad of spikes, coming from underneath.
Of course this doesn't stop Toph from being thrown through the air, and she lands roughly behind Bowser with a pained cry, wincing as she forces herself up.

Despite Tony's reassurances, Lao doesn't appear convinced. "Why did they pit my daughter against that... that monster?" No, judging from those two attacks, the horrid beast will attempt to make mincemeat of his little girl. "They /will/ stop it from going too far, right?" he demands, looking at Tony with obvious worry.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Gnome says, "WHOA! Do you see that? Do you SEE THAT? Yeah, read it and weep, Efreet! Take one to the stomach, you oversized turtleman!" Gnome claps his paws together and Efreet lowers his head, grumbling. "Nnn. So the little girl has /some/ intellect, I cede that much. But King Koopa has strength to trump her. Intelligence means nothing if it is not backed by might!" But Gnome's voice wins out in the power department, here! "Booo! Toph has strength to spare! She may look small, but you haven't seen her in person like I have!! YOU CAN DO IT!"

Bowser (435) has posed:
THUD THUMP CRASH! Bowser had pushed right through the assault, but he suffered as a result. His brute strength drove him /hard/ against the three heavy strikes that did a lot to rival the great and terrible strength he has brought to bear against her. He spends a few moments wheezing to get the air back in his lungs, eyes wide from the force that was put into that blow. He closes his eyes for a moment and shakes his head, dust flying out of his fiery red hair and off of his eyebrows.
He turns around, pivoting on one foot and rebalancing with a sumo-like STOMP STOMP!! He breeeeathes in, and light can be seen shining from his mouth. And then he projects three VERY LARGE fireballs at her. They aren't impossible to dodge, possessing a comically similar lumbering trajectory to the person who projected them, but they are also very dangerous, and they EXPLODE on impact in showers of heated stone and concussive force, not to mention plenty of fire!

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"WOOOO!" Tony shouts as Toph makes a big counterplay! Then he sits back in his seat to refresh himself with a pull from his beer bottle. "Oh yeah, very strict rules. It's not to the /death/ or anything," he assures the Beifong patriarch. He scoops up another handful of popcorn and pops it into his mouth. "It looks a lot more lethal than it really is." Which, as lies go, is a little white one he thinks. Though there ARE rules against killing your opponent. "As to why she's fighting that monster," he smiles confidently, "they had to make it a fair fight or it wouldn't be very interesting, would it? She put herself in the top bracket this year for the challenge."

A beat. "You should make some noise, Lao Beifong," he encourages. "Make her hear you rooting for her. Do they just shout and cheer in the Earth Kingdom or do you have some special way of showing approval?"

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Efreet says, "YES! PULVERIZE her with the ultimate power. The power of FLAME!" Gnome spreads out his paws, eyes going wide. Gnome says, "Whoa, this guy can shoot fire out of his /mouth/? How much hot sauce has that guy been eating??"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa says "Look at her go! Come on Toph! Make Turtle stew out of em!"

Also the commenators are makinfg the young Cyborg burst out laughing. This is quite the fight and she's quite happy to be here watching Toph fight.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
The immense earthen attack makes Lao blink, staring down as Bowser gets to feel a real earthbender's handiwork. At least Tony assuring him that death is not the aim of this fight seems to have a little effect. "I would have preferred if she didn't fight at all..." Lao repeats with a worried sigh, reaching up to stroke his mustache a bit.

As Toph pushes herself up she can't help but allow herself a brief grin. He ran right into that attack and she got him good. Again she assumes a defensive stance, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. That's when it seems like he's preparing another attack, and while Toph can't see the light from his mouth, she can tell that /something/ is going to happen, so she begins circling the large Confederate. But the thing is, since the fireballs aren't touching the ground, the only way for Toph to know where they are is to feel the heat that comes off of them. As one of them nears her, the blind girl blinks, then sends out an earthen spike towards the three fireballs with a quick kick to the ground, causing all of them to explode and push Toph back with a brief cry of surprise, wincing as some heated stone hits her raised arms and torso, and it does look like she's pushed back, her arms reddened and clearly burnt from the force of the blast. Damn, those nurses in Papaya hospital better have more of that salve!
Not discouraged just yet, Toph spreads her arms again, fingers shaking as the ground underneath her begins to shake, rocks quivering on top of the earth... as it begins to rise in a massive wave that casts shadow over Bowser, all before crashing down and threatening to bury him!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
With a slight sniff, Lao turns his gaze to Tony. "It is far more polite to clap and not make too much noise." And behold, the man claps his hands carefully.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Gnome, says "YEAH! There ya go, Toph! Bury him! No flame can survive if you stop it out with a little EARTH! Man, if only Undine could see this wave now...!" Efreet closes his eyes and raaaises his head, looking away from the arena just slightly. "... hmph. /Mildly/ impressive, human." But then, Gnome breaks in with another psssshhh. "Yeah RIGHT, Efreet! That was awesome and you know it! I can see you over there, quakin' in your... uh... I can see you over there, EARTHQUAKIN'!" Gnome takes out his pair of reflective, sharp-edged sunglasses, sticks them on, and folds his stubby arms together. His appearance right now should be captioned with the words: 'Deal with it'.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony scoffs, but good-naturedly. He wants to IMPROVE his relationship with the man after all. And the one between him and his daughter if he can. "The WMAT isn't about being /polite/, Lao Beifong. This is Toph's world. Let her hear you!"

He winces as he sees her get scorched, recalling all too vividly what that feels like, but then he's on his feet again an pumping a fist in the air at the rocky tidal wave! "Atta girl! You can take it!"

Attention back to Lao, wheedling a little bit. "C'mon, you can do it. Let's try a... oh, how about 'send that ugly duckturtle back to the STONE age?'"

Bowser (435) has posed:
Bowser was not expecting such a powerful and PAINFUL opposition from Toph, but here it is! He grunts as he finishes his fireballs, witnessing the explosion of stone and dirt as she girl is sent flying. He is already preparing to make another charge at her, stepping forward with menace -- and a wince, from his bruised ribs and aching muscles -- when she makes another attack. It's something he is not prepared for because no one is quite able to do what Toph does in his world. He makes a panicked arm-flailing motion as the ground molds under his feet, sucked down from the shifting of earth, and his eyes widen in surprise as rocks and stone crash down on him!
The Koopa King ROOOOOOARS as he stands his full height out of the ground, holding up a tremendous formation of stone above his head. Blood drips from one of his brows, and his mouth is pulled into a determined frown! He LOBS the huge boulder at Toph, but he knows that won't hurt her! She's just the type of person to be able to avoid that! So he lunges forward, thudding as fast as he can. She'll have to deal with the boulder in order to stop him, and by then he's up in brawling range again, swinging his weight down at her in a vicious motion to try to knock her aside with one slap of his hand. He very pointedly avoided using his claws, for a not-so-obvious reason. This is because, for however might he is, he is not a lethal fighter if there's no reason for it. He doesn't want to impale her on accident with those claws! He is, however, swinging much harder than his very general charging attacks from before!

Bowser (435) has posed:
Meanwhile, Junior snaps over at Tony, "HEY!! DON'T STEAL MY CHEERS, JERK!!" Kamek squawks a complaint at Junior. Junior promptly resumes his childish grumping, pouting about the idea of BEHAVING HIMSELF. Ugh.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa watches as TOph takes a heck of a hit, the cyborg lady cringes quote visably.

"TOPH! Don't take that from that half pint Gorjia!"

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Efreet says, "Intellect /and/ brawn. King Koopa is /clearly/ the superior warrior. You can see based on the mark on her face and the distance she was flung the power, the pride, the --" Gnome jumps in front of him, pushing his face away from the microphone. Then he shouts as loud as he can, "YEAH, TOPH! Get back up! Show him who's boss!! You can't less this overgrown mutant lizard keep you down for long, can ya?" Efreet just smirks. "We shall have to see."

Rainbow Dash (43) has posed:
Even Rainbow Dash winces visibly when Toph gets swatted about. "Come on, Toph! You going to take that from him!? SHOW HIM WHAT YOU GOT!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
All Tony gets in return when he tries to make Lao cheer loudly is an arched eyebrow and a rather distrusting look. A first class citizen does /not/ behave in such a way! "Mister Stark, I hardly want to encourage this sort of behaviour from anybody, even less my own daughter! It--" Whatever Lao was about to say gets cut off as Bowser burrows his way out from under the remains of the earthen wave.

Toph frowns as Bowser roars, narrowing her eyes as she senses him holding that large stone piece. Really? The moment he lobs that huge boulder at her, the young earthbending master is already stepping forward, bringing her hands forward. As the rock hits, Toph's small hands /dig/ into the rock, tearing it apart so each large piece of rock crashes into the ground on either side of her, whirling up some dust. At that same moment she kicks into the ground, raising a sturdy earthen pillar to block the swing from Bowser... only for it to be shattered, causing Toph's eyes to widen in shock right before impact. The much smaller girl is thrown like a ragdoll across the field, crashing through some of her earlier earthen spikes until she stops, wincing. Her arms and legs are visibly bruised, and she's even bleeding in places, with a cut lip. Oh yes, she did indeed feel that one!

"Toph!" Lao looks absolutely horrified, nearly standing up from his seat.

But stubborn as she is, Toph pushes herself up on slightly shaky arms, her pale eyes more determined than ever. Once she gets to her feet she kicks into the ground, launching herself forward into a smaller rolling wave that she rides around Bowser without getting too close, arms spread out before she throws them forward twice, repeating the motion as some rather sizable spikes shoot out at Bowser from around him.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Gnome says, "Man, Toph, you're so fast that you may be even better than /my/ ground dasher! Seriously, look at those spikes! And /another/ wave? She really -is- gonna make this stadium fall down!" Even Gnome looks a little worried as he notices all of the little nicks and bruises covering her, but he pours his heart into every word. Efreet is as haughty as ever in his reply. "King Koopa is dodging many of her strikes without any effort at all! You're living in a land of delusions!" But Gnome shouts over Efreet again before he can even finish his sentence. "TOPH! You've got him! He's bleedin', and the entire ground is yours! Throw him up in the air! Toss 'im like the oversized pancake he is!! Cover him in so much dirt that people start callin' him -chocolate- turtle!"

Bowser (435) has posed:
Bowser has absolutely no time to feel smug about his decision. She was quick enough to try to parry his attack -- and failed, he noticed -- and so she is very much not someone he has the time or luxury of taunting. She isn't Mario, and so she gets infinitely more respect when he fights her. She is, however, fragile enough to bruise when he hits her like that. He huffs as he prepares himself, hunching his stance once more, watching for how she's going to attack him.
Steam billows from his nostrils as he watches her surf the very ground itself around him, keeping up momentum. She snaps her arms in a motion that, much to his displeasure, manifests more stone spikes that nearly hit him. One he smacks aside with a loud THUD, scratching his hand, the next he smashes between both hands, and the third slams into the plates of his shell, bowling him over into the forth spike, which hits him squarely in the nose and bloodies it a bit. "Hnngh," is his vocal response to the feeling of the red liquid dripping off of his chin.

He tilts his head to watch her trajectory, and then liiifts his foot. And SLAMS it down with enough force to fracture the earth around him! The whole area SHUDDERS from the impact, a distant stone formation collapsing as if a minor earthquake had just occurred. With the hopes that he had thrown off her momentum for a second, he tilts his head back, and bellows a wide wave of flame at her, sizzling at the ground and kicking up a lot of dust around him and behind him!

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony had been frowning when he saw how well Bowser handled the flying spikes -- again -- and his face scrunches into a wince when he sees him drawing breath for another fireball; but then he lets out a long, low sigh of relief as it doesn't appear to have cooked his young friend. "She's still in this," he informs Lao. "Remember, even if she loses she'll be fine. But she's still in this." Since her father doesn't want to cheer for her, he tries to make up for it with double volume. "Come on Toph you can do it! He's just another big fat bender to cut down to size!" It's a shame, though, that Lao won't cheer for her. She could probably use the morale boost just now. Like Rocky and Eye of the Tiger.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Efreet audibly smirks. "Bowser's own control over the powers of the Earth are rather impressive, wouldn't you say, Gnome? He just might be able to best her at her own game. And then he shall have fire -and- Earth, and she shall have nothing but dissapointment!" Gnome is silent for a second before saying, "... hell no! Toph is the GREATEST Earthbender EVER! No one could ever beat her with Earth magic! And I'm saying that right now as the spirit of Earth, Gnome!" He beats on his chest a few times! "Toph is the best! Toph will win!!" Efreet sighs. "Stubborn. As. Ever."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
It does help with the cheering, knowing that there are people rooting for her. Even if she feels Bowser evading the brunt of the attack, she doesn't stop or pull her punches, and well... it might not hurt too much, but that strike hitting his nose did feel kind of good for her.
Since when could somebody best an earthbender with their own element? And especially the self-proclaimed greatest earthbender in the entire multiverse? As Bowser slams his foot down Toph remains steady, narrowing her eyes as he tilts his head back. Another attack, huh? Like that will work again! As Bowser breathes fire at her, the blind earthbender stomps into the ground as well, really making it shake as a thick wall shoots up right in front of her. And while the flames lick around the edges and the heat is immense, the flame doesn't strike Toph directly, though her skin is seriously sensitive and burning right now.

Lao watches Tony as he cheers, though he frowns. "At least her mother isn't here to see this..." No, the woman would surely not want to see her daughter being injured in what he deems a pointless fight.

Enough with this! While the flames is still melting the earthen wall in front of her, Toph brings her arms back, then forward in a split palm attack. Perhaps Bowser notices it, how the earth shakes underneath his feet. All before a large earthen pillar shoots up, aiming to knock him high up into the air.

Bowser (435) has posed:
Bowser coughs up soot as he witnesses her put up a massive wall of earth, frowning in that VERY PRONOUNCED way that he's been doing through most of this fight. He's used to people jumping around and dodging his attacks, not outright blocking them and overpowering him! He rumbles as he tries to take in how to deal with her now--
He's sent flying into the air. Uhh. He flails his limbs and makes a loud and distressed roaring noise that probably sounds more silly than scary, "WAAAAUGH!!" And he slams headfirst into the ground with a loud THUD! His horns get embedded in the stone, and his legs tremble from the physical force shoved into them from the pillar that struck him. He pulls his head out of the ground, looking momentarily dazed... and then just glowers at Toph. He has now lost his patience. No one does that to the King of Koopas.

Strange geometric shapes climb up from his feet, following a flourish of his body. The dark magic accumulates in his finger, and a single bright, thunderous noise fills the Wasteland. A lightning bolt was just projected out of his hand at her, made of magic and tingly pain! It's not strictly REAL lightning, possessing none of the superheated problems that lightning tends to have, but it is still nothing to sneeze at, and it has enough dramatic impact to kick up a huge spray of dust around Bowser when cast!

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Maybe, if she gets into the finals, her mother might want to see," Tony suggests, but lightly. "I mean hey, look at it this way. She's gonna do it either way, so we might as well cheer her on, right? And how great would it be if she won? It's the /challenge/ she loves, Lao Beifong. --Anything worth having isn't easy," he points out, remembering something his own father said to him once. "But remember she's in no real dan-- YEAH!" he roars suddenly, leaping to his feet and spilling popcorn on Steve as he thrusts both hands in the air. At least the beer stays in the bottle.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
For the first time in a while, Mithos pipes up. In a sudden fit of excitement at seeing Toph toss Bowser into the air, he jumps! "YES!" But a few seconds later, he realizes that he let that slip out... and he rubs his arm, backing away. "I-I mean... uh... way to go, Toph...!" Gnome /more/ than shares his enthusiasm, though, as always. Gnome says, "YEAH! Look at him, flyin' up there! Who's helpless now, you big, mean old turtle?? Way to go, Toph! If I were down there, I would give you a high-five right now! Great Earth users /always/ think alike!" After he finishes his statement, he does a goofy 'Walk Like an Egyptian' dance mimic. Yep, that's Gnome for you. Meanwhile, Efreet doesn't seem quite so excited. Efreet says, "Hnnn... so she still has some fight in her even now..." Pause. "But you and I both know that she cannot match your strength, King Bowser! You can recover from this, and you can drive her in to the ground!"

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Efreet says, "Were Volt here, I'm certain he would agree that this battle's victor has long since been decided." But even Mithos can't stay quiet now. "I-It's not over until the battle ends! You can do it, Toph! There's always a chance, there's always a way...!" Gnome looks even more worried, but Gnome LEAPS back up, that vein in his head bulging again! "TOPH! Hit him with ALL YOU'VE GOT! Pound him into next week! Dig 'im an early grave...!"

Steve Rogers has posed:
While Steve has mostly been watching quietly - partly out of courtesy to Tony and his other guests, partly out of savoring his food - he calls out, "Go for it, Toph!! You can do it, don't give up!!"

Followed by a quiet sip of beer and another bite of his hot dog.

Kirikou (127) has posed:
"Hail to the king, baby~!" Hollers Kirikou. No doubt earning him a few glares. Who cares, this is great all around!

Bowser (435) has posed:
Somewhere in the stands, a horde of Koopas and Goombas are hollaring like soccer hooligans, complete with absurd and stereotypical accents based off of various countries that are popular in the World Cup. There's a lot of facepaint and foam fingers and red plastic cups full of (non-alcoholic) beverages of unknown origin. Are they even in the right place???

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Toph can't help but grin as she feels Bowser land face first into the ground. Maybe that knocked some sense back into him. But she can hear him not being too pleased. Though when he begins summoning up magic, she blinks a bit, not entirely sure what's coming. But she can make an educated guess as she hears the thundering noise. Uh oh...!
Previous experience has taught her just how painful lightning can be, so she kicks off to the side, but too slow. The lightning strikes her, and Toph cries out as she stumbles, nearly falling over as her muscles lock up from the attack.

Next to Tony, Lao Beifong appears to be biting his nails, finding them preferable to chew on rather than the snacks they have in Tony's private box. "Perhaps it's better if she loses..." Then she wouldn't have to do any more of these fights!

Contrary to Lao's opinion, Toph seems determined to not give up, gritting her teeth even as the remains of the lightning lingers, dancing about her small form as she skids along the ground. She has to do something serious in order to hurt this guy. This is really something other than bracket B, as Bowser is tougher than most opponents than she has faced. Reaching up a hand to wipe some blood away from her chin, Toph turns fully against Bowser, all before she kicks into the ground and moves her arms up, erecting a thick earthen wall underneath her as she rises up, her expression serious. Then, placing a leg behind the other, she reaches out towards Bowser before she pulls her arms back.
An earthen pillar shoots out, aiming to knock Bowser at the wall and through it. There is no way such a huge guy can be stopped by a single wall. But should the first step succeed, then step two will entail in Toph turning around, gesturing for another earthen pillar to shoot out at Bowser to knock him back through the wall yet again.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Gnome says, "Oooohh! I've heard of people being floored, but Toph may have invented -WALLING- people! That was awesome! Did you see that guys?? One stalagmite, BOOM! Another stalagmite, CRASH! Yo, Toph! Never stop being awesome!!" Gnome puts his paws together and is as loud as he can possibly be, straining his lungs to be able to give Toph every last ounce of his confidence. Efreet, however, completely disregards him. He scoffs. "And Bowser takes it as well as ever. He is completely unyielding."

Bowser (435) has posed:
There's this moment from Bowser Junior where something in his mind clicks. He looks down at Lao, and goes "HEY. HEY YOU!! Your daughter is strong enough to fight my dad one-on-one! Don't insult her, or my dad, by coddling her like she's some kind of cute little flower!" Junior sort of used it as a sideways way to defend his father, but... he is, in fact, defending Toph's strength here. Kamek turns his head, baffled by this turn of behavior in the young Koopa.

Bowser huffs from the effort of the spell. This girl is seriously taking a lot out of her. He still frowns in a way that would send chills up one's spine, but it's not enough to stop an Earthbender. He watches her as she puts up a wall. He snorts at the perceived defensive tactice, disapproving of it. That is, until he's launched forward violently by another pillar! He spins in the air, shouting his disdain for Toph as he soars through the wall with a cacophonous shattering of stone! He is, however, prepared for the attempt to shove him through the wall again.
He retreats into his shell completely. A comical POP noise sounds out as he does this. The pillar slams into him, but he has begun to rotate in such a way that he quickly turns into a rock grinder, the horns on his shell pulverizing the stone rapidly in bewilderingly fast spin!

And once he hits the ground, his shell kicks up sparks, making a loud screeching noise. It whiiirls around like that, spinning, and then it flies around the arena, and he pops out of it all at once. His hand is balled into a fist. It was only a fraction of a second, and he's dizzy, so he's not going to have the best aim. But if he gets his way, he's going to punch /her/ through the compromised structure of her own stone wall!!

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Efreet is quick to speak words of finality. As he sees Bowser land his final, decisive hit on Toph through the stone wall, he smirks, giving a gruff laugh. "... let us see her rise again now." Mithos freezes, and his voice is barely loud enough to reach the microphone. "Toph...?" And Gnome... Gnome is uncharacteristically silent. His pupils are gone. His eyes are completely white. And he's just sitting there, frozen in place, as a comedic white spreads over his entire body. And then he falls over. Mithos... stares out at the stadium a while before looking down to Gnome. Efreet takes the opportunity to steal the mic away.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
The comment from behind him makes Lao blink, and he glances over his shoulder, staring at the little miniature version of the large fiend that Toph is fighting. "I beg your pardon, but he is over twice Toph's size and while she might think this is something she should do, others disagree." Sure, he does look a little irritated, but mostly he appears to be worried.
Even as she feels Bowser crash through the wall she made, Toph keeps her concentration up. Just a little more...! When he pops into his shell though, she blinks, not really understanding what made that noise. But when the pillar gets shattered though, she frowns. As the massive shell goes spinning she assumes a defensive stance, starting to raise another massive earthen wall around her, anything to slow him down... but as before, Bowser proves to be quicker than you think a guy his size would be. As he swings at her and knocks her down and through the wall, the earthen wave falls down again, and Toph cries out as she is knocked down, rock and gravel flying everywhere along with dust, obscuring the view of the field.

When the dust settles though, the blind girl is lying there, no longer awake, but fortunately still breathing. Even though she's clearly injured and bleeding.

That is Lao's cue to rise from his seat, a look of horror on his face as he hurries on out from the box and down the aisles, even as the medics begin making their way onto the field as it's clear that Toph is not getting up this time.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Efreet gruffly intones, "Ladies and gentlemen, small sapients of all shapes and sizes... it would appear that this contest of might has been concluded in favor of King Bowser Koopa."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony winces hard and half turns his face away from the battlefield. That looked like it hurt. He steals a glance at Lao, to make sure the man doesn't go ballistic or anything. Toph is going to be SORE after this, sure, but she's not /dead/. At least he's pretty sure she's not dead. It'd be a cold day in... well, Malibu, before she got killed by something made of earth.

He tilts a look upward again, then, at the unexpected support from Junior. ...Huh. Maybe the kid isn't so bad after all.

"Well, I think that's it," he announces, with perhaps a tiny little tone of reproach. Maybe if Lao had CHEERED for her instead of hoping she'd lose... but as he turns his head he sees the man already hurrying down to her. He leaves his beer and snacks and scurries after.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve does not turn away as Bowser delivers the final blow and lays Toph out flat. He does, however, set down what's left of his beer, having finished his hot dog just a moment before the match concluded. And he heads out as well, to help make sure Toph is all right - there's a lot that can happen to somebody that won't necessarily kill them, after all.

He's not going to get in the way of the medics, or Lao Beifong, or even Tony. But Toph is his friend too.

Mithos Yggdrasill (424) has posed:
Mithos swallows, finally collecting himself enough to speak again. "U-Uh..." Pause. "T-That's it! The fight's over! C-Congratulations, Mister Bowser! And... oh, geez, I really hope Toph is okay..." Mithos, too, runs down to help Toph. And eventually, Gnome peels himself off of the floor, tiredly taking the microphone again. "... are you kidding me? Nah, it would take more than that to off Toph." He gives the audience a goofy yet somehow sincere grin. He sounds a bit more somber than usual, but he's still got it. Some of it, anyway. "Well, you guys, thanks for bein' here. It's been fun, and even though King Turtle ended up winning, this battle just taught me again how awesome Toph is. And I don't know about you guys, but I think Toph... I mean... I think they /both/ deserve a big hand. So..."

And with that last word, Gnome leads the rest of the audience in a clap. And clap they do, beginning with a small group near the commentator's stand and eventually spreading out into the entire field. Eventually, people begin to whistle, and as Lao and Tony run to their injured daughter - yes, /their/ daughter - the love is in the air.

Bowser (435) has posed:
Bowser looks over in that direction, staring for a while, as he settles back into his stance. The dust rolls off of his body slowly, a few chips of stone falling from his shell and face. When it's clear she isn't getting up again, he puffs a little huff of relief, and falls on his bottom, sitting there and rubbing at his face. He looks /exhausted/. He may have won this fight, but she was not a pushover by any stretch of the imagination.
The minions, Bowser Junior, and Kamek are all going wild, celebrating, and having a whale of a time. That is, until Bowser looks up at them, frowning. They all fall deathly silent in a gradual wave as they notice the look. Bowser has a headache and he's not gonna sit there listening to shouting. At the very least the can be considerate enough not to contribute to the POUNDING PAIN in his skull right now.

He gets up from his butt after a minute or two, and begins to walk off in a direction he deems 'the way to the airship.' Some Paratroopas phone the airship to meet Bowser halfway.