"We need to disrupt this circus without getting executed. I’ve already sent out an anonymous alert to the JPCU, but they won’t be here for a while." The Blur hated rushing in blind, however, time was scarce to plan a clean operation. Their element of surprise had to be maximized somehow. But how?
Just then, the side door was cracked open by a caterer's assistant lugging in more drinks. Cain’s idea instantly became clear. "Wait for them to fully open again, then rush us both inside quickly and get ready to brawl!"
They crouched tensely until the worker re-emerged hefting empty crates. As soon as a gap widened, the duo sprung into action.
"Now!" The Blur shouted. Inhaling deeply, he instantly decelerated time to a glacial crawl around them. To the frozen onlookers, the pair blinked out of sight. Only Cobalt's powered suit registered the abnormality during transit. They rematerialized centre stage an eye-blink later.
"This is an illegal shindig!" The Blur hollered loudly, drawing all slack-jawed attention front and centre.
"Cease yuh illicit activities before we crack down hard." Cain emphasized the threat by releasing Sapphire Dust from his palm into a container of bugs he carried with him. The insects mutated and fused together into a malicious animal that looked disgusting to the onlookers.
“Who are those punks supposed to be? Are they heroes? I’ve never seen them before. Must be newbs.” Members of the crowd weren’t all that frightened by fledgling heroes.
“We’re shutting you down!” Hollered The Blur hotly.
"Empty threats, upstarts!" yelled a bullish patron, lunging from his seat angrily only to be ensnared in a flash by Dread Webs launched from the Blur's electrically charged locks mid-spin.
"Pl-please, settle down!" stammered the auctioneer, he was dismayed by the sudden interruption. All around, his shadowy clients set down drinks and closed auction tablets with hard looks towards the two meddlers. "Security! Remove this rabble at once," the large figure commanded through gritted teeth.
On cue, a dozen henchmen materialized from the shaded perimeter, cracking knuckles and powering up dangerous-looking abilities. The illegal bodyguards looked eager to unleash mayhem on the arrogant party crashers.
"Get ready, they look loaded for release," The Blur warned Cobalt. This operation was clearly under heavy muscle. He and Cobalt stood shoulder to shoulder as the glowing-fisted gang stalkers closed in ominously.
"Heh, I got something loaded for each of them too." Cobalt focused and materialized thick chest plates over his suit made entirely of fused Sapphire Dust scarabs. "Come get some, yuh shithead!"
The Black Market entertainers were all fleeing quickly or ducking behind the remaining chairs. The next few moments would determine whether the pair escaped this viper's nest intact or suffered vicious punishment for their brazen interference.
As the lead bruiser lunged, Cobalt and Blur shared a tense grin. The burly lead enforcer charged straight at Cobalt with energy rippling down his thick arms. But at the last second, Cobalt neatly sidestepped and the brute slammed headfirst into a sturdy beetle chest plate.
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"Too slow, meathead!" Cobalt taunted while capitalizing on the gangster's daze by grabbing his ankle with an elongated beetle claw then flinging him violently across the room into two other advancing thugs. They bowled over cursing in a tangle of limbs.
Nearby, the Blur nimbly evaded a flurry of superheated cards flung his way and returned fire with thin arcs of electricity that stunned his projectile-wielding opponent. "Is that all you got? My grandma slings harder than that!" he mocked, further enraging the Coco-powered card user.
Boom! Boom!
More enraged attackers came at them from all angles. The Blur wanted to utilize Hyper Rush but soon found his electricity lacking. “Rhaatid! I need to juice up!” He quickly extended his dreads, plugging them into any available energy source to recharge. While doing this he fired off a few Dread Bolts to neutralize the brawlers who came gunning at him.
"Cobalt, spiders up top!" He shouted quickly while gesturing to the dusty siders in the ceiling.
Trusting his ally's lead, Cobalt instantly sent out his Sapphire Dust to mutate the gang of spiders, subsequently, they began releasing a wave of sticky webbing. With perfect coordination, the Blur immediately electrified the webbing as it launched forth, creating a spastic trapping field that snared three thugs at once. They collapsed howling in the electrically charged webbing.
"Nice!" Spinning, Cobalt formed a spiked beetle mallet in time to counter another bruiser trying to tackle him. The fool impaled himself with a cry. Tossing the limp body aside, Cobalt called, "I'll squash more bugs, you grab the score!"
“Right!” Finish charging his dreads, The Blur vaulted onto the stage during the chaos and snatched the prime artefacts waiting to be auctioned - the glowing Dread Spire lance and bejewelled amulet. Time was scarce to loot more before the JPCU arrived.
"You shall not steal such treasures you bandits!" Suddenly the broad-chest auctioneer filled The Blur's escape path with his weaponized arms that transformed into spinning motorized saw blades.
Thinking fast, The Blur hurled the metal lance straight into the grinding shredders. It became jammed between the whirring teeth, sparks flew as the motors violently seized up and tore themselves apart. The burly villain wailed over his destroyed robo-chainsaws.
After jamming the auctioneer's weaponized arms, the Blur landed behind the disabled figure and swept his legs out from under him with a swift kick. The large man collapsed onto the stage.
Seeing a hovering anti-gravity cart nearby that the vendors had been using to transport artefacts, the Blur jumped on it and sped over the fallen auctioneer towards the exit. The anti-gravity cart gave him a quick means of escape since he wasn’t fully charged to utilize Hyper Rush.
"Cobalt, let's jet!" Zipping past, the Blur snagged his ally by the armour's shock dampeners and dragged him onto the speeding ride. Together they burst through the warehouse door back out into the open night just as police sirens began screaming arrival down the block. The illegal auction was left in ruin and disarray.
"That's how real heroes make an entrance babyyyyy!" Cobalt whooped once they were safely speeding under the rural moonlight. The anti-gravity cart proved a smooth getaway ride. He and The Blur exchanged amped grins and fist-bumped over the hard-fought victory. Their original mission of tracking down the Toxic Trio was yet to be accomplished, yet they were happy they came across and thrashed that Black Market auction.
Finding a discreet spot to stash the stolen treasures and abandon their conspicuous ride, the duo took a moment to rest and let the adrenaline settle. Here under the open starry sky, they could reflect on what was accomplished.
"Man, we tore that place up!" Cobalt laughed exuberantly once his heartbeat normalized. "I never felt so powerful. Did you peep those crazy abilities everyone was rocking?"
The Blur allowed himself a tired smile before gulping fresh air. "Yeah man, we caught them off guard for sure. The JPCU is probably rounding up the criminals right about now."