Hours passed and Cain kept a mental connection with his beetle sentry through the Sapphire bond. He observed the van visiting his school and empty mansion without much success. He was glad that they didn’t interfere with his pet anaconda Jahvis. Now the frustrated villain team cruised the main commercial district. The beetle signal started to wane due to the increasing distance, forcing Cain to disable the mental link temporarily.
"Think they'll assume you fled the parish?" The Blur asked hopefully. Extra time could prove useful.
Cain shook his head, refocusing from his remote viewing. "Nah, those crooks know I'm too attached to the attention here. Leaving Portland isn't my style." He turned thoughtful. "But it does give me an idea..."
Rising with renewed purpose, Cain gestured for his masked companion to follow him somewhere. "There's a hidden spot near campus I use occasionally to ditch annoying guards." He glanced back wryly. "Rebellious rich kid stuff, you understand. But it has clothes and useful items."
The Blur detected no deception and trailed Cain to a concealed hollow shrouded by the imposing trees all around. Inside a dry natural cave filled with scattered supplies awaited Cain's book bag.
Rummaging eagerly, Cain retrieved an EMP watch and bandages for his shoulder, plus a change of clothes and trail runners to replace his tattered Oxfords. Freshly energized in shorts and tee, he turned to show The Blur his prize possession next.
"I was hoping it hadn't been discovered." Cain lifted out an intricately designed armoured bodysuit jacket with cobalt accents. "Had this baby custom crafted last year to live out my vision."
He quickly donned the detailed jacket and zipped it up fully. Matching metal bracers formed over Cain's lower arms. Glancing at The Blur's masked impression, he explained "Vibranium alloy layers make it impervious to most forces and elements. I wanted protection with flair."
Indeed, the crafted jacket suit fitted Cain's wiry frame perfectly while exuding a powerful aesthetic. Segmented composite armouring shielded his vital organs without limiting agile motion. Currents of laser energy circulated in controlled arcs down his limbs. This was a heroic design of form meets function befitting Cain's pompous nature.
Flexing to highlight the luminous tech accents, Cain revealed the final touch - a sleek half-mask that materialized to shield his eyes and nose on mental command. "Epic, right? Call me Cobalt while I'm rocking this masterpiece," he demanded, adopting a codename befitting the stylish suit.
The Blur smirked approvingly. "Fashion is crucial for any icon. And the tactical design looks legit." He couldn't deny Cain cut an imposing figure now between the armour and insect manipulation gifts. Maybe the rebellious teen did have untapped heroic potential when focused on bigger purposes than selfish exploits.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Checking his high-tech watch, Cain showed The Blur its advanced capabilities. "My dad's company designed this. It can pick up radio transmissions and detect concentrations of lifeforce energy nearby." He pointed to a cluster of glowing dots moving across the display's digital map. "See those clustered signals? It's tracking a convoy of some kind. Could be our villains on the move or other assortment of baddies."
"Let's trail them and find out. I’ve been itching to crush some villains." The Blur set off swiftly through the woods with Cobalt. Their unlikely alliance was already yielding dividends.
Utilizing Cain's tech-tracker, the pair stalked the pulsing cluster of signals to the suburbs bordering rural St. Thomas Parish. Night had fallen when they arrived at the location, a bland warehouse.
"Figured that weak signal brought us way out East for nothing." Cobalt rolled his eyes. "Not even a single luxury dealership in sight."
The Blur's intuition warned they were likely in the right place despite the silence. He felt subtle energy fluxions nearby that set his dreadlocks tingling strangely. "No, something sinister is definitely brewing here. Get ready for anything."
They approached cautiously just as muffled sounds became audible from within the bland structure. Strange voices and mechanical whirrs echoed eerily. The Masked duo crept nearer a window and peeked into a stylishly lit interior filled with gathered figures. Both gasped aloud.
"An underground Coco artefact auction!" The Blur exclaimed under his breath. He never expected to discover anything so major while chasing a random target instead of investigating the Toxic Trio which was also important. He spied illegal vendors flitting between extravagantly dressed attendees who sipped drinks casually while inspecting items on offer. This was an underworld gathering for sure.
Cobalt pointed excitedly to a raised platform where an intimidatingly large man with cybernetic arms demonstrated a glowing lance for his enthralled audience. "With toys like that floating around, no wonder Skull runs Portland's freak shows!"
Indeed, the goods up for bidding looked potent. High-tech Coco weaponry with intricate filigrees, luminescent vials and elixirs brimming with otherworldly essence, even jewelled relics supposedly recovered from perilous mythic domains known as Jelly Dungeons.
As they eavesdropped, the broad-chested auctioneer spoke, "...crafted from rare Zyxcryte alloy and socketed with three Coco Runes of power!" He hefted the radiant lance overhead. "Who'll open at 100k for this Dread Spire, perfect for skewering meddlesome heroes?"
A masked woman casually raised her bidding paddle while examining a glowing amulet, sparking a round of competitive offers from others. These bizarre antiques clearly commanded heavy prices from the shadowy patrons.
Cobalt watched the illegal proceedings tensely through his face shield. "Man, I had no clue how vast the black market for Coco items ran. Now it makes sense how Skull's crew got access to such advanced mojo for concocting freaky pills and weapons."
The Blur agreed this likely wasn't the first auction supplying villains with potent contraband freshly looted from dangerous mystical domains around Jamaica. Such rare artefacts bestowed users unfathomable powers in the wrong hands. They had to stop this spreading rot at the source.