"I need to figure out a way to deal with them."
Sprinting into the cover of the sports fields, The Blur changed direction erratically to confuse pursuers. He spotted Mei and Tanya ushering students to safety ahead. "Cocoa Fox, cover the evacuation!" he shouted on approach. "Jade, with me, we need to lure them away!"
"Huh, who are you and how do you know my hero name?" Mei was startled by The Blur's presence. She was unaware that it was Devon beneath that electrifying custom.
"No time to explain, just come along." Responded The Blur authoritatively.
The two heroines reacted swiftly, Mei began forming barriers around the escape route while Tanya stood guard. Nodding his thanks, The Blur raced onwards leading the villains further from the endangered students. A risk, but dividing the villains' focus maximized everyone's survival odds.
As expected, the Toxic duo took the bait, rage focused back on their scornful quarry. "We'll melt you slowly for those tricks, worm!" Tess screeched. Their enhanced physiology easily kept pace with the weary Blur through the maze of obstacles.
Suddenly, Mei yanked them both skyward atop a cartwheeling Psy-Ramen pillar all the while evading volleys of acid and darts from below.
The Blur quickly explained his plan between heavy breaths. Mei gave a determined nod then started raising spiked Ramen Caltrops around the circular platform that shredded incoming neon hornets and forced the sisters to dodge more carefully. Their defences wouldn't stall the villains forever though.
A whispered threat drifted on the wind as Lord Skull manifested himself, levitating before the elevated heroes with arms crossed contemptuously. "Did you fools think cowering atop noodles would stop my wrath?" He gestured while summoning a halo of void energy ready to corrupt flesh.
The Blur just laughed mockingly through his exhaustion. "This was a distraction, moron!" He pointed behind Lord Skull.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the crime lord was blasted sideways by a concentrated beam of blue energy. "Surprise, ugly!" shouted Cobalt, perched atop the academic building wielding his powered Dread Spire lance taken from the black market auction. "Nobody invades my school on my watch."
The Blur cheered his ally's dramatic timing. Earlier when the villains invaded the school, Cain was already lurking nearby the schools perimeter, he sent The Blur a text, not knowing he was already on the scene disguised as Devon. Together, they now held a real chance of repelling these surprise invaders through teamwork. And the heroes' fury was only just beginning to be unleashed.
Cobalt leapt down from his rooftop vantage, landing beside The Blur atop Mei's elevated Ramen platform. His Sapphire Dust was already pouring forth from his glowing tattooed arms. This was the prize that Lord Skull sought.
"Sorry I'm late to crash the party fellas. Had to suit up and tweak my new toy properly to light these dastards up," Cobalt hefted his electrifying Dread Spire lance eagerly.
Below them, the Toxic sisters and their Loki-7 mutants eyed the new challenger warily while Lord Skull recovered his bearings with a wrathful glare. "Insolent children! I'll dissolve that armour off your bones," he threatened while summoning more jagged obsidian projectiles.
"Noodle Shields, now!" Mei reacted instantly, hardening rows of spiralling pasta around the platform into a resilient barrier that blocked the dark salvo. "We need to coordinate and disable their team systematically," she directed.
The Blur agreed. "Cobalt and I will handle Skull and buy time. Jade, use bindings and ambush tactics on the blue muscles freaks over there. Cocao Fox and the rest of you young heroes delay those poison harlots before they wage biochemical warfare." It wasn't a perfect strategy given their exhausted states, but the optimal play using their abilities together.
Cobalt, Mei, Tanya and the other student heroes agreed resolutely before they split up to enact their coordinated counter-offensive. The villains were taken aback by their unexpectedly staunch defiance.
"Come get a taste, big boy!" Cobalt challenged Lord Skull boastfully, firing searing energy volleys that the crime lord deflected with his shifting smoke appendages. The barrage kept constant pressure on.
Seizing the opening, The Blur unleashed targeted Dread Bolts at the Skull while dashing around him at frightening speed. He was being careful not to drain too much of his electricity since it would take an entire five minutes to fully recharge.
The coordinated counterattack began swiftly against the invading villains who had laid such devastating ambush upon Seacrest High. Even with their school reduced to a warzone around them, the young student heroes rallied together, determined to repel these deadly threats targeting them and their classmates.
Leading the resistance were Cobalt, Blur, Cocoa Fox, Jade Noodle and other empowered students who had been mentored in controlling their emerging Coco abilities. Facing them was the combined ruthless might of the Toxic Trio, their hulking Loki-7 mutant thugs and the shadowy ringmaster behind it all - Lord Skull himself. The odds stood overwhelmingly against the novice defenders, yet they refused to surrender or flee before such vicious oppressors. With courage and tactical cooperation, they would fight with everything they had.
The Blur and Cobalt confronted Lord Skull directly. The exchange remained deadlocked, buying precious time.
On ground level, Cocoa Fox harried Toxic Tess alongside Elementron and Honey Gold, avoiding the burning neon mists while seeking openings to counterattack. Phantom Rose, Hotwire and Serpent King also joined the fray. The young heroes had to be cleverer than their lethal foes.
"Trip her up, I have an idea!" Cocoa Fox directed after the evasive dance continued fruitlessly.
Trusting their crafty ally, Elementron and Honey Gold acted in sync - the stone warrior hurled chunks of debris that tangled Tess's feet mid-dodge while golden silk cocoons spat from Honey Gold's gloves ensnared her arms. Off-balance, the toxic villainess toppled backwards with a cry of shock.
"Now Cocoa Fox!" Honey Gold yelled. A raging fireball was already soaring from the fox warrior's cumulated tail furs, which engulfed Tess fully before she could react.
"Kyah!" Her pained howls told that first blood had been drawn.
"We got her!" The rookie heroes shared fierce grins, their guerrilla tactics were overcoming the advantages of strength and experience.
Elsewhere, Jade Noodle had adopted her own unconventional strategies for battling the dozen hulking Loki mutants rampaging across campus. Forming elastic Ramen Ensnarements from glowing noodle strands, she sent them slithering stealthily beneath the earth's surface towards her chosen targets.
"Got you now!" With a gesture, Jade yanked a surprised mutant downwards, leaving only his enraged head visible above ground. Before others could react, more tendrils erupted in coordinated ambush - coiling around limbs and torsos to restrict movement completely. Soon, six mutants were fully incapacitated by Jade's cunning traps. She had swiftly trimmed the numbers disadvantage.
From across the battlefield, Cocoa Fox shouted praise to her friend between phasing slashes through another recovering Tess, "Great job restraining them, Jade! We'll clean up the stragglers no problem." Seeing the student heroes prevailing lifted the spirits of everyone banking on them against these vile raiders.
Inside the administration office, Principal Harrison watched the astonishing sight through the window with Vice Principal Rabbit. "Those gifted youths are really pushing back the villains! We must do everything to support them." They prepared emergency countermeasures and evacuation protocols, resolute not to fail their courageous students again. The tide was slowly turning.