[center][img]https://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/b/b2/Koopa_Troop_artwork.png/658px-Koopa_Troop_artwork.png[/img]
[h2][color=FD0000]The Koopa Troop[/color][/h2]
[b][color=FD0000]wordcount:[/color][/b] 1,308 (+3)
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 7 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]///////////////////////////[/color]//////////////////////////////////////////////// (27/80)
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] The Dead Zone
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Bowser insists on going first through the portal to the Deadzone, and that was probably for the best for everyone except the king himself, who wretched at the sight and smell of the Flood. His son and advisor, the king thought, had not been over exaggerating when they said how bad the place was when compared to the last two locations. Or, at least the outset of them. The king didn't really have time or inclination  to examine the fact that horror seemed to have lurked around every corner since they left the delightful grounds of Peach’s castle, and instead focused on what was important. Namely not dying and clearing the way for the rest of the team.

As the gibbering hord of warped flesh began to charge the invader in their mist the king inhaled, and then let the fire flow. Bowser’s flame breath swept forwards across the front ranks of the incoming undead, flash frying the smaller faster multi legged once in an instant, their round bloated bodies bursting like flaming popcorn kernels. Bowser swept his flame breath across the foyer, cleansing it clean of the little runners as he drew in dark magic and increased further in size till he stood a head taller than even the largest of the abominations. It made him a very obvious target. 

As Bowser’s flamethrower sputtered out due to the king having expelled his lung capacity in his opening attack those flood still capable of wielding weapons and who actually had them at hand began to return fire, bombarding the large and obvious target of Bowser with an inaccurate hail of small arms fire.

[color=FD0000]”Gahhh!”[/color] the king roared in pain as a bullet stabbed into his face, perilously close to his eyes. He brought his mecha-mit up to shield himself, the small orange shield allowing him to withstand the onslaught for a few moments longer. His suit, so recently patched up by Sectonia’s ant minions, had no such luck as it began to be perforated by their gunfire.

[color=FD0000]”GET IN HERE AND HELP”[/color] Bowser called back as larger masses of flesh closed the distance, trampling the scorched bodies of its allies as they went. With a hammer of his fist the king struck forth, scaled fingers crunching into the torso of the first of the monsters with a massive secondary clawed hand growing over its first, sending it flying backwards, its crippled body colliding with several others, sending them all sprawling. Then he grabbed another up in front of him to further act as a shield, only for its still writhing form to launch disgusting feelers from where its head had once been, attempting to infect him with its taint even as the other combat form’s weapons tore into it’s back to shreds. The king hurled it aside before kicking another with his steel capped boots. Yet even with his devastating blows the swarm were numerous, and before he obliterated or burned them away their clawed hands slashed against his scales, leaving gashes and bruises in the softer flesh hidden below.

Linkle was the fastest and most obvious of the squad entering the fray, her bombs and rapid fire crossbows tearing into the swarm, while her ice formed barriers to shield her from the infected’s fire. Between their aoe, the pair had put a significant dent into the first press of foes trying to reach them, but as the sound of battle echoed out into the dead zone, it drew more and stronger foes towards them from inside and out. A titan of flood power had lumbered into the fight, its massive tentacles smashing a hole in Linkle’s ice wall and refused to go down even as its lesser allies fell around it as they tried to swarm the breach.

Bowser moved to assist, taking a short run up, shoving combat forms aside with his weight, before diving forwards onto his belly and retracting his arms and legs inside his shell. Spinning like a top, the spiked turtle shell plowed through several lesser minions before colliding with the tentacled beast, smashing it backwards and into the wall of the building. The wall cracked with the force of the impact, but the beast was still intact, even as it batted the spinning shell away, but it was clear of the ice wall. For now.

Uncontrollably, the king spun on, leaving a trail of devastation as he plowed through the lobby till, eventually he came to a stop next to a doorway. He popped back to his feet and almost immediately let loose another gout of flame, incinerating yet more flood fodder with his fire.

Surprisingly, it wasn't just the Red Team who came to back him up, but also another mysterious hooded figure akin to the Master of Master and the former King Dice who came in and flash froze a flaming zombie in time before complaining they were late. The team had their hands full, and Bowser was done wasting breath when it could be used for frying their foes.

Suddenly, steam filled the air. A torrent of putrid water struck the king’s flames, extinguishing several flood forms and forcing the flames back, before punching through the king’s fury breath, hitting him in the mouth. The king gagged and coughed, cutting off his attack as he tried to block the water. Then when it died he growled, trying to identify the source. Said source charged right at him, firing concentrated streams of water from it’s shoulder mounted cannons as it did so. It was a hulking, if smaller than him [url=https://i.imgur.com/8bJrNXX.jpg]turtle[/url], flood forms extending from its slack mouth, unable to push its rigid scaled head aside. The infected Blastoise cleaved at him with massive oversized claws growing on its remaining hand. Bowser turned his back to the side, blocking its blow with his own shell, before driving his own mecha-mit claws into the creature. 

Something about the turtles constitution seemed to shrug off the heat damage of the weapon and, worse, Bowser now saw that the infected pokemon wasn't alone, as a writhing mass of tentacles pulled themselves through one of the tower’s doorways right beside him, ripping the hinges aside as it forced its bloated head into the room. As Bowser tried to fend off the Blastoise the [url=https://i.imgur.com/ZXONBW6.jpg]Tentacrule[/url], flood tendrils poking out of a missing eye, grappled him, dragging its massive lower pincer towards him, locking the colossal jaw around his shell before beginning to crush the thoroughly trapped turtle like a nut in a nutcracker.

[color=FD0000]”GAAAAH!”[/color] Bowser roared with fiery rage, yet as his flames licked at the giant squid it seemed to be as ineffective as the mecha-mit had been on the other undead water Pokemon. As to add insult to injury a muscled human flood dressed in a sailor’s uniform joined the battle, the dead trainer clawing at the king alongside his infected Pokemon.

[color=FD0000]”MINIONS! HELP ME!”[/color] Bowser roared, summoning every striker he had. Mallet, Sledge and Heel all appeared inside the writhing scrum and were immediately waylaid by tentacles that wrapped around them. The two hammer bros and the Rabbid supporter did not go down easily however, hurling hammers and bombs at the Tentacruel, causing it to loosen its grip just enough for Bowser to free an arm and punch it hard in its missing eye where the flood core lived, while Carri the Trowlon swooped under the Sailor, hauling them into the air and slamming them into the ceiling, pinning him there and drawing the Ire of the Blastoise.

The turtle disengaged to chase after the Trowlon, blasting it with a hydropump, destroying it and causing it to drop the infected trainer to the ground while the Tentacruel was smashed away from Bowser by his desperate blow. Bowser was free, but was deeply wounded, cracks marring his shell and both the fire resistant flood were still at large.

[color=FD0000]”Blazermate! Heal me!”[/color] the king demanded loudly, failing to hide the pain in his voice as he pushed himself to his feet to face the flood closing in on him.