Sprinting under the cover of vegetation, Cobalt circumvented inhabited areas carefully until reaching the rural farming district. Out here, folk remedies and nature's secrets remained alive through generations. Someone must know of a cure for venoms and poisons.

Approaching the nearest homestead cautiously, Cobalt knocked on the wooden door. An elderly woman answered, startled to see a winded teen on her doorstep so late. "My friend got bit real bad by a deadly snake in the bush," Cobalt hastily improvised. "Anything you have that can help ease the poisons raging in him?"

The senior surveyed Cobalt pensively before shuffling inside and returning with a knotted cloth full of pungent herbs. "Put these on the wounds and make him drink the boiled leaves," she instructed. "Should purge impurities if the spirits allow it."

Cobalt smiled gratefully and offered a small cash bundle that the woman refused. Her only condition was receiving news whether the treatment proved effective. With the traditional remedy obtained, Cobalt raced back through moonlit fields towards his ailing partner. One way or another, the night's outcome would be decided soon.

Bursting back into the dilapidated hideout, Cobalt rushed over to administer the herbal antidotes. But he froze mid-step at an alarming sight - the Blur was gone! Only swaying intravenous tubing remained on the dusty couch.

"No way, he couldn't have bailed in that condition..." Cobalt glanced around urgently for clues. None of the building's exits showed signs of use. It was like his comrade had simply vanished.

Just then, faint crackling sounds reached Cobalt's ears. Gripping his powered lance warily, he proceeded towards the back rooms. One door at the end of a gloomy hallway was sealed by a dense lattice of woven electricity. Cobalt's eyes widened in realization.

"He barricaded himself inside!" Rushing forward, Cobalt pounded the fused door urgently. "Open up, it's me! I got medicine that can help beat this freaky venom."

No response came, but Cobalt could hear strained grunting from within the sealed room. Suddenly, the door frame splintered in his grip. Staggering back, Cobalt shielded his face from cascading debris as the entire rear wall exploded outwards violently.

"What the hell...?" Peering through dissipating dust, Cobalt gawked at the scene of utter chaos inside. The Blur floated rigidly in the room's centre wreathed in pulsating arcs of electrical current. Jagged dreadlock energy lashed wildly in all directions, ripping through everything within reach. He was trapped in the grip of an uncontrollable power surge.

"Hang in there, I'll cut you loose!" Cobalt called out. But approaching was treacherous through the maelstrom of live wires. The storm's epicentre appeared anchored to the Blur's violently convulsing form. Cobalt realized his friend's Coco biology was mutating in response to the foreign toxins sabotaging it.

Guarding himself within protective armour, Cobalt pushed through the web of deadly live currents. But he couldn't get within ten feet of the Blur before being forced back by the extreme electrical build-up.

"You have to try dampening your power, it’s becoming unstable!" Cobalt urged over the loud crackling. He doubted his partner retained any control in this state. The room was coming apart at the seams from the untamed energy surge. They were rapidly running out of options.

In desperation, Cobalt hurled his alloy lance directly at The Blur's torso. He hoped the cleansing shock could somehow snap him free of the rampaging power frenzy. A risky gambit, but Cobalt saw no other path.

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The energized spear rocketed forth, but suddenly froze in midair inches from impact! Both Cobalt and his chaotic ally were instantly immobilized like statues. An uncanny temporal distortion had engulfed the entire crumbling hideout without warning.

Try as he might, Cobalt couldn't budge a muscle or even blink. The seconds dragged out agonizingly. Just when he felt ready to black out from the strain, a gasp resounded as the flow of time abruptly snapped back to normal speed.

The lance Cobalt had launched dropped to the floor with a clang. At the same instant, all the erratic energy tendrils emerging from the Blur fizzled out. He collapsed limply to hands and knees while coughing as his smoking dreadlocks lost its charge.

Rushing to his side, Cobalt helped The Blur into a sitting position. "That was insanely intense! Are you finally back in control?"

Still catching his breath, The Blur managed a weak thumbs up. "Yeah... new power... manifested strongly. My body is stabilizing again though." He clutched his chest where the heartfelt jolts had struck before everything froze.

"Dude, you caused everything to freeze in time!" Cobalt exclaimed in awe. "I never knew speedsters like you could trigger those weird time dilation effects. Is yuh Coco Power actually only speed base?"

The Blur just chuckled tiredly. "Trust me...I'm still processing what just happened too." Flexing his limbs, he added, "But I think the worst side effects of that Dart freak's toxins finally passed."

Cobalt sagged against a cracked wall, overwhelmed by relief. "Then the mutated madness you just went through actually cleansed the systems?" He shook his head in amazement. Just another miraculous twist on their chaotic night.

Helping the weary Blur over to an intact couch to finally rest, Cobalt then described his frantic search for herbal remedies. Devon thanked him sincerely for not giving up hope.

"So what triggered the frightening lightshow back there?" Cobalt asked. "Looked like you were jacked straight into the city's power grid about to blow the whole block up."

The Blur ran a hand over his worn face contemplatively. "I think when the toxins hit my core biology, it caused a rare reaction amplifying my dreadlock currents. Like an electrical defence mechanism by my Coco cells. But the sudden energy overflow was too much to control."

Cobalt sat studying his mysterious ally closely. There seemed infinite depth to The Blur's expanding gifts just waiting to be explored. Cobalt needed to tap deeper into his own potential as well if he hoped to ever catch up.

Across town at the concealed facility, the Toxic Trio fumed over the utter havoc the two mystery assailants had unleashed. Lord Skull would be apoplectic once he learned what transpired here tonight.

"We have to track those meddlers down before they regroup!" Tess slammed a still-sizzling neon fist on a processing vat. The hunt had become personal after so much costly damage inflicted.

Her calculating sister was already analysing their foes' residues and powers for tracking purposes. "Agreed sis, retaliation must be swift and merciless. I'll have our agents scouring the whole region by dawn."

Poison Dart blew irritation from her lips. "I knew we should have exterminated that arrogant brat when ensnared." She twirled two loaded darts pensively. "An unwise miscalculation on my part. But one easily amended next encounter."

Indeed, the night's costly fiascos only amplified their determination to destroy the troublesome pair as painfully as possible for crossing the Toxic crew. The villains swiftly departed in a swarm of surveillance drones to cast the net wide. Neither hero would elude bitter justice for long.

Back at the discreet hideout, Cobalt helped The Blur outside for fresh air to clear out lingering ozone smells from the indoor scorched devastation. Leaning against the outer wall allowing his taxed muscles some slack, The Blur turned pensive.

"You know, there's something I still don't get in all this," The Blur spoke up. Cobalt glanced over curiously. "With your skills and tech, you could have been an official hero. Why did you allow yourself to be swayed by those criminals?"

Cobalt looked thoughtful at the question. "Honestly? I was too damn arrogant and selfish before. Just wanted glory for me." He turned reflective. "But watching you risk it all to pull me from the fire tonight, it finally clicked that looking out for others gives life real purpose."

The Blur smiled warmly. "It took me a while to learn that too. At first I thought these powers made me better, set apart." He shook his head ruefully. "But real wisdom is guiding the lost onto higher roads through service and compassion."

Cobalt replied, "Exactly. And together we're unstoppable against any Punkster." He mimed some combat moves with an eager grin. "So what do you say we recharge and pick up the hunt for those Toxic freaks at dawn?"

"Now you're speaking my language," The Blur laughed...