4492/Rock and Roses

Rock and Roses
Date of Scene:	31 August 2016
Location:	New York-199999
Synopsis:	Steven and Toph discover something while bending on the beach.
Cast of Characters:	20, 1023, 301

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Even if Toph has been rather busy with the Beifong Metalbending Academy since its opening, the blind teenager hasn't been spending all of her time there. After all, Pepper needs some extra care now, and Toph doesn't want Tony to feel he has to be home all the time. So she likes to think it helps when she's home as much as she can be. It's not like the students need her to hold their hands all the time, right? And they need some time off after a busy day.

    So how does Toph relax? By doing some more bending, of course. And what better way to do that by showing it off to one of her friends?

    "The key," Toph explains after kicking into the sand on the beach, "is to be firm and focused. Earthbending isn't something you can do if you're not stubborn enough!" It seems she has no problems bending the sand on the beach here in Malibu at least. Even if it's not that firm like the rocks and ground she usually deals with.

Steven Universe (1023) has posed:
    Steven nods, setting his face to Serious Steven. "Right! I can be Stubborn Steven!" And it's actually probably true, given his history of refusing to give up on people...

    "So, it's both the movements and the focus? The will I guess? I've been practicing some moves of my own, but they're not really like the way to move. Mostly. I think?" He takes a stance, the one he always does when he summons his shield, but watches Toph to see how she does it.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Somehow Toph looks amused at Steven who seems to think that he can pick up earthbending without being an actual earthbender himself.

    "It's in your stance. Keep your balance low to the ground, be immovable like rock yourself... and don't hesitate. If you pull your punches then your attacks will be weak!" Toph demonstrates this by throwing both her hands forward, sending a spike out of the ground away from them. "My style of bending is different from the other earthbenders, because I learned from the badgermoles. I can bend like they do, but... eh, I prefer this way. It's more natural."

    When she realises that Steven is trying to copy her though, she does slow down and shows him the movement again, this time it's without any actual earth being bended however. "Like this. Keep your wrists stable, but don't lock them."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony Stark is just hanging out on the balcony by the pool, having situated his chair for a good view of the beach below. It is his beach, after all. He can keep an eye on Toph and her little friend if he wants to. It doesn't hurt that he likes the Universe kid, anyway. Good vocal backup.

He's not paying a ton of attention though, most of his mental energy focused on a little gadget in his hands as he fiddles with it with a precision screwdriver. He's played around with forcefields before -- Pepper's Rescue suit is proof enough of that -- but this is a much smaller model, just about the right size to install in a car seat he's thinking.

Steven Universe (1023) has posed:
    Steven looks at Toph for a second, kicks off his flip-flops and takes his stance again. Still Serious Steven. He's not really sure what he's doing, but he heard Earthbending was not a super rare ability, and he wants to understand it better in case it can in some way interact with gems, and someone less trustworthy than Toph tries something. Also, maybe it can help heal corrupted gems!

    "Okay. I'm feeling the sand under my feet, focused on the sand, the tiny little rocks..." He copies the pose Toph showed him surprisingly well, apparently he has some experience being taught to move and fight.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "That's good, keep your attention on what you want to bend," Toph chuckles. Nah, there's no way he's an earthbender. But she can understand him wanting to learn, that's good. Again she demonstrates, keeping her feet apart. "Spread your legs more, it will give you a better balance. That's an error many people do," she explains, walking over as she pushes down on his shoulders a bit, then she takes a hold of his wrists. "And then you move your right hand forward, keep your palm open!" She demonstrates, adding force to his arm. "And then you bring your right foot forward and kick it down into the ground!"

    If she's aware of Tony watching, she hasn't said anything. It's not like she minds, as she herself tends to be there when Tony is working on stuff in his workshop.

Steven Universe (1023) has posed:
    Steven nods, stepping a little wider, bending his knees to lower his already short body. He moves smoothly with the motion as Toph guides, keeping his palm open, then stomps his foot into the sand, all stubborn force and focus. Of course, he isn't an earthbender, he is a gem hybrid, but he is trying his best anyway.

Once the move is completed, he looks up. "Was that right?"

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony can't really hear what's being said far below, but he does smirk a little bit at the sight of Toph urging Steven to take a wider stance. Girls, right? He'll stick with keeping his crotch armored. He depresses a button on the side of the spherical device and a shimmering bluish field flares out in a cone in front of him for a moment before it fizzles out. Evidently satisfied with this, he purses his lips and mutters something to himself as he takes his eyes off the kids again to make some more adjustments.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "As right as it can get!" Toph states with a nod, then moves Steven's arms. "If you want to do the big stuff, you need to keep your arms out from your body in order to generate more force, and sometimes it's better to repeat the motion several times, thereby adding even more force to the final attack!"

    With that she grabs onto Steven's left arm, pushing it forward, perhaps with more force than Steven would have anticipated...

Steven Universe (1023) has posed:
    Serious Steven tries the move as shown, his arms stretching further out, and it is... a little less graceful, but still fair for early practice. But then, just as Toph grabs his arm to add force to his strike, something odd happens.

"Hahahaha, that tickles!" He convulses with the tickling, spazzes and falls at Toph, flailing his arms!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Hey, just calm down and--- HEY!" Toph begins, interrupted as Steven falls at her and flails. The girl is kick to shove a hand in his face, the other grabbing for one of the arms as she tries to catch him, but then something unexpected happens as a bright light bursts from that area on the beach.

    Another cry can be heard as /somebody/ falls to the sand on the beach, yet it's none of the people who were just there. Or rather, they are still here. But the person who abruptly pushes themselves up into a sitting position looks rather shocked, light green eyes staring straight ahead underneath a big push of wavy, black hair. She's not all that short, though her limbs are stocky and sturdy. And she lets out a shriek before she throws her arms up over her eyes. "Oh god oh god oh god oh god...!"

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
That flash of light did not come from the miniature forcefield generator in his hands. Frowning, Tony casts another glance down at the beach, and though he can't make out the words he can hear screaming. And he can see that there's only one kid down there where there should be two.

Stark launches himself out of his deck chair and races through the house, taking the switchback stairs down to the beach two at a time and shouting, "Toph! Steven!"

He thumps out into the soft sand, the footing not particularly stable or the best for sprinting on, and reaches out a hand to whichever kid it is that's screaming bloody murder. Honestly, you'd think being a dad he'd recognize his own kid or not but he really can't tell which one it is. "Stop, stop!" he cries, out of breath. "I'm here. What happened? Jarvis, what happened!"

In his ear, the AI can only reply hesitantly, "I'm not... sure, sir. One moment both of the children were there and the next, only... this one."

Steven Universe (1023) has posed:
    "What, I didn't, how are we, fused?!" The fused being that was Toph and Steven (Stophen?) seems awkward and ungainly, though she seems to be gaining her balance quickly at least. Her voice is a little low and almost gravelly, with the kind of sultry sound some singers would kill for. She feels at her waist, her face, with her hands as she takes a few unsteady steps.

    "I can feel the sky?! The ground is so bright! What is this like you feel see all the time?" she asks herself. The rush of the surf, movement under the sand, the scent of ocean and decomposing fish in the air, the sounds of seagulls, it is suddenly overwhelming! "Dad?! What we fused?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The fusion reaches one hand up to her hair, pulling on it slightly. "And... this is how you see...? Ah, and this isn't even a gaaaame!" she whines, closing her eyes. "Just how did this happen? You... or I, should have kept our footing!"

    When Tony holds out his hand he will find that the fusion grabs onto it, her hand shaking a bit. "Dad... we were practicing, we slipped, and now we...am I?" The strange girl does sound a bit confused as she speaks. And it seems she can't decide whether she wants to keep her eyes open or not.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Fused? What the hell does that even mean? In his experience, fuses are something you blow while priming an arc reactor. Tony reaches out with both hands now, gripping the... person's shoulders carefully but firmly. "Shh-hh okay stop, stop stop stop," he babbles, trying not to sound panicked himself. She called him Dad. It has to be Toph. But it's not Toph. He stares at her face, seeing the Universe kid's eyebrows, nose. She's /looking/ at him. Toph can't look at him, not outside of that VR game.

"Toph?" he asks uncertainly. Then, "Steven? Are you both in there?" Quickly, trying to cover his confusion because he has to be the clever one here, "Just settle down, it's okay. I'm here, we'll figure this out. Maybe you should sit down."

Steven Universe (1023) has posed:
    "We, I this isn't a problem. I can see. With my eyes, and my feet. We, I, just have to communicate. Conversation, inside. It won't last. But we-I the moves must be like a dance I was working together? We trained danced and fused. I'm so confused but it's getting easier. It really is like a conversation?" She does seem to be leveling off, covering one eye with a hand, then the other, then both, then neither. She sits down almost without realizing it at her dad's suggestion.

    "Dad, everything is so beautiful, the color is so bright, it's not like the VR at all really, except it kinda is? This is so weird... But it's not bad I think."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    What is means is the person in front of Tony, really. And it seems he is able to help the fusion calm down, mostly because the part of the fusion that is worried about this is the part that also trusts the man. And well... the other part of her is helping too.

    "Yeah... not bad, but weird. Like... seeing all at once weird, I guess. Like she does and he does at the same time, if that makes sense." Then she looks down at her hands, flexing her fingers a bit. "It's... not permanent." Perhaps that's why she's a bit calmer now. "We're both in here, yeah, and..." Then she looks up at Tony again, squinting. "Your ears aren't pointy."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony crouches beside her, eyes wide in both fascination and still some alarm. "It won't last," he repeats, almost but not quite a question. He hopes that means they're not going to be stuck together like this forever. He takes one of her hands and clasps it in both his own, squeezing. "Well it is the Pacific Ocean," he ventures a light sally. "And -- let's face it -- I'm not so bad to look at either." That one comes with a tenative grin, even.

Keeping hold of her hand with one, he reaches out to brush her hair back from her face. "Speak for yourself, round-ears," he teases. The way she refers to the two kids as he and she, as if she isn't either, but a... gestalt being? Both of them, but also someone else? Now that actually makes him think of Pepper and the squid. "Okay," he says softly, more to himself than to her. He can deal with this. It's not permanent; she just said so. He supposes she'd know, if she can be that confident about it. He's pretty sure this isn't an Earthbending thing, so it must be a Steven thing. "So what do I call you then? Toph, Steven... Stophen?" he suggests, with a smirk.

Steven Universe (1023) has posed:
    "...Yeah, yeah that works. Steven has done this before, but I didn't expect it to happen out of the blue like this... I guess I should know better by now. Toph is a good teacher. Well of course I am. Anyway, I can unfuse I think, but this is kinda cool. I'm fun, it's kind of like... Well, there's this." She stands up again, takes a low stance facing the water, and repeats the strike, kick sand spike move she did earlier, but a pink rose-themed shield appears in her left hand and she punches again with it and the spike snaps off and flies out into the open water like a missile with a surprisingly loud boom! It leaves a wide wake of spray without touching the water, and disappears into the horizon.

    "Whoa... That worked even better than I thought it might! Earthbending is so cool!" The excitement so uniquely Steven is still there, but slightly muted. "I better not do that again, there might be someone out there in a boat except I can see and there isn't."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"There might be sharks," Tony suggests helpfully. "Those poor sharks, attacked out of nowhere by a rain of stalactites."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Of course earthbending is cool!" the fusion begins, then turns back to Tony, as if only now registering what Tony said. "Stophen...? Sounds a bit weird, but then again, I am weird I guess, with both of them!" That smirk is all Toph though, and she looks down at the shield in her left hand. "Huh... kinda girly for my taste, but... eh." As for the sharks? "The sharks will be okay, don't worry...! Okay, what do I wanna do while we're still me..."

    Better take advantage of this fusion time after all, especially before Pepper finds out and gets worried. That won't be good for the baby!

    "Maybe... I could get into clubs now! I do look older, huh, don't I? And I'm taller than either of them!" Sure, the girl... Stophen, looks like she could be in her late teens at least. Though she's hardly dressed for clubbing with her leggins and shirt.

    "Or I could finally see a creepy movie for once! Or head to the Ring and kick some serious ass with another shield bending combo!" Oh yes, now the fusion seems... giddy.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Okay, take it easy there Fusenstein," Tony cautions. The more she acts like a kid, oddly, the easier it seems to be for him to talk to her. He's been practicing after all. "You wanna see a creepy movie? No problem." Hell, he'd take Toph to R-rated movies without a second thought if she could have seen them. "But let's... hold off on the clubbing and fighting until we know how well you can control this." He glances up at the house. "And maybe talk to your mom /separately/ before we spring this on her."

Steven Universe (1023) has posed:
    "Oh, yeah, clubs are fun, but sometimes there's dunderheads. Well, there's always dunderheads. I like that word. But fighting. The ring? Oh yeah, that sounds like fun! Wait, I... This is still confusing. I don't think I'm stable, like Garnet says. But the shieldbending worked so well! But yeah, Dad, I don't wanna freak out Mom oh my gosh I wanna meet he-"

    That glowy flash of light starts happening, and one can almost see the pair coming apart!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    As soon as the fusion splits the blind girl stumbles away, eyes wide in horror as she just barely manages to catch herself by grabbing onto Tony's arm. She doesn't seem hurt nor freaked out, but... it's clear that the short time she and Steven were one being has had some effects. "OKAY, that was cruddin' weird..!" she exclaims, reaching a hand up to her head as she rubs between her eyes. "Mom would /freak/ if she saw that..."

    "Steven...?" she asks carefully, even if she's able to 'see' him through her seismic sense. Man, it's so much easier just seeing the way she usually sees.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony catches Toph easily enough, though Steven stumbling in the opposite direction, he can't quite reach. Oh well, the sand is soft. "You think?" he retorts to Toph's comment, and then can't resist pulling her in for a quick one armed hug in relief. THEN he offers Steven a hand up, if he did indeed fall. "You've done this before, huh?"

Someone has a lot of explaining to do.

Steven Universe (1023) has posed:
    Steven mostly manages to keep it to a stumble, it's not his first time unfusing. "Wow, Toph, that was weird... Not like when I fuse with Connie at all. But it was fun, it's amazing how much you can feel! I..." Then he realizes that Mister Stark expects some Explanation. "Uh, huh huh..."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    There's no resistance to being hugged. No, the blind girl wraps her other arm around Tony's back when he pulls her close. Yeah, she's relieved to be herself again too. Because the first seconds of that was alarming! What matters is that they're okay and that the whole process wasn't dangerous.

    "So you /have/ done this before," she points out, though she doesn't sound upset. Let Steven explain the whole thing to Tony though. Then perhaps they will know what to say to Pepper later. Before Jarvis tattles.