The docks were a storm of ruin and dust. The air shimmered with heat from friction and pulverised stone. Superboy moved first, his boots driving cracks into the ground as he lunged across the shattered concrete. Blockbuster met him head-on. The collision sounded like a building collapsing, the shockwave shoving waves through the surrounding debris. Both figures were hurled backwards, heels tearing gouges through the pavement before they found balance again.
Superboy exploded forward a second time. His right hand shot out in a tight overhand that caught Blockbuster's jaw with a deep, wet crack. The larger figure's head snapped sideways, but he didn't fall. He twisted with the blow and answered with a cross of his own that slammed into Superboy's ribs, the impact lifting him from the ground and sending him spinning into a stack of shipping containers. The metal folded around him with a shriek, collapsing inward as he tore free, dust rolling off his shoulders.
Blockbuster was already on him again. The brute's steps shattered concrete, each movement sending fragments skittering across the ground. Superboy ducked low and threw a hook into Blockbuster's side. The sound was dull, heavy, like a hammer hitting a drum. The blow staggered the giant half a step. Superboy followed with a quick left-right combination, each strike landing hard enough to make the air tremble. Blockbuster swung through them, his arm catching Superboy's forearm mid-punch and wrenching him off-balance.
They traded like boxers who had forgotten defence existed. A right from Blockbuster, a counter from Superboy, then another exchange that sent shockwaves up their arms. Each impact blew a cone of dust outward. The ground between them cracked wider with every step. Superboy ducked under a haymaker, came up with an uppercut that snapped Blockbuster's head back, then caught a knee to the gut that drove the air from his lungs and threw him backwards again.
He landed hard, feet carving trenches as he slid. The dock under him was a mess of broken rebar and exposed earth. Blockbuster charged through it, the pavement exploding underfoot as he moved. Superboy pushed off one heel and met him in the middle again. Their fists collided mid-swing. The force rippled through the air in visible waves, scattering the loose dust cloud that had hung over the street.
They both went flying, rag-dolling through separate rows of warehouses. One wall collapsed outward as Blockbuster crashed through it shoulder-first, debris raining down. Superboy punched through the sheet metal of another building and tore through a support beam before hitting the floor inside. Dust cascaded from the ceiling, coating the room in grey.
Outside, Blockbuster rose first, shoulders heaving. His skin glistened with sweat and grime under the dull lights. The sound of creaking metal echoed as he ripped a length of steel piping from the ruined wall beside him. He turned, the makeshift weapon hissing through the air as he hurled it. The pipe shot across the yard like a javelin, spinning end over end. Superboy burst through the wall just as it reached him, twisting aside. The pipe missed his torso but sliced along his shoulder, cutting through the fabric of his suit and embedding itself deep into a distant cargo container.
Superboy didn't pause. He sprinted forward, knees bending, and launched himself upward in a single motion. The ground beneath him split, leaving a shallow crater where his feet had been. He crashed down onto Blockbuster like a meteor, shoulder driving into the brute's chest. The impact blew them both backwards through a row of vehicles, each car folding and twisting under their combined mass.
They hit the ground rolling. Superboy came up first this time. He swung a straight right that caved in the side of Blockbuster's face and followed it immediately with a left hook that cracked against the other side of the brute's skull. Blockbuster's head jerked, but his arms were already moving, grabbing Superboy by the torso and hurling him overhead.
Superboy slammed into the pavement spine-first, bounced once, and rolled to his knees just as Blockbuster lunged again. Their fists met once more, not blocking, just connecting, knuckles splitting open, blood spraying into the air with the dust. Another shockwave tore through the docks, setting off a chain reaction of collapsing walls and shattering windows.
Blockbuster caught Superboy in the next swing, his fist hammering into the younger fighter's chest. Superboy was thrown backwards into a crane support. The steel beam buckled around his back, the whole structure groaning as cables snapped and a massive hook swung free above them. Superboy pushed off the dented metal and charged again, ignoring the blood streaking his lip.
He drove a flurry of blows into Blockbuster's abdomen, left, right, left, overhand to the shoulder, a straight to the jaw. Blockbuster barely reacted before countering with a brutal downward strike that caught Superboy across the head and sent him crashing to one knee. The dock surface cracked beneath him.
Superboy's response came in the form of a desperate, explosive uppercut. The punch lifted Blockbuster off his feet. The brute crashed down on his back, the impact creating a small crater and sending a ring of dust outward. Superboy leapt after him, driving a fist downward into the crater's centre, but Blockbuster rolled clear at the last second. The blow landed in empty ground, pulverising the pavement into a depression several feet deep.
Both rose again almost instantly, chests heaving, debris raining around them. The docks were unrecognisable now, cranes twisted, warehouses half-collapsed, the earth scarred with overlapping craters and trenches.
They met again in the middle, fists already flying.
Superboy's next strike cracked against Blockbuster's collarbone. The larger man staggered half a step but didn't yield. He caught Superboy's returning hand, twisted, and used the momentum to slam him bodily into the ground. The concrete fractured under the impact, a spray of dust and pebbles rippling outward. Blockbuster drove a knee down, but Superboy rolled aside, the blow punching a deep crater where his chest had been.
Superboy's counter was immediate. He surged up from his roll and buried his shoulder into Blockbuster's midsection, driving the brute backwards. They slammed through a half-standing wall, bricks bursting outward like gravel under an explosion. Blockbuster's back hit a metal support beam, bending it inward before he caught Superboy's wrist and dragged him around in a full circle. The smaller fighter left the ground entirely before being hurled through the air like a shot put, smashing through the side of a container stack.
The sound of groaning steel followed. The upper container tilted, then collapsed sideways, burying Superboy under several tons of twisted metal. Dust rose in a billowing column.
Blockbuster stalked forward through the wreckage, the dock creaking beneath his weight. He reached the pile just as it shifted. A blur of white tore through the heap, and Superboy burst upward, his fist driving into Blockbuster's chin with a crack that echoed across the water. The brute's head snapped back, and for a moment he actually stumbled, boots gouging trenches in the broken asphalt.
Superboy pressed the advantage. He slammed a right into Blockbuster's ribs, followed by a hook to the stomach, another to the chest, then a straight to the throat that made the larger man snarl through clenched teeth. He didn't stop. His arms became a blur, fists thundering in a relentless series, left, right, right, left, uppercut, overhand, cross. Each blow landed with the sound of meat hitting metal.
Blockbuster's response came as a sudden, savage backhand. The strike caught Superboy mid-swing and sent him spiralling across the ground. He bounced twice, his back carving a trench through the dirt before smashing into the side of a concrete barrier. It shattered on impact, fragments raining over him as he rolled to his feet again.
Blockbuster roared soundlessly, throat tearing with the effort. He grabbed the nearest object, a small car overturned in the chaos, and flung it with both hands. The vehicle spun through the air end over end. Superboy caught it mid-flight, the metal frame buckling in his grip, and hurled it back. The collision between bcarody and Blockbuster halfway across the yard detonated in a bloom of sparks and debris.
They were already closing again, using the shockwave of the blast as cover. Superboy's jump carried him forward, his knees bending with the force of takeoff, the pavement cratering under him. He collided with Blockbuster mid-run, their shoulders slamming together like two battering rams. Both went tumbling across the yard, rolling through rubble before coming up swinging.
Superboy feinted low, ducked under Blockbuster's fist, and caught him in the stomach with a straight shot that made the brute bend forward. He followed with a hammering overhand that landed on the back of Blockbuster's neck, then a second and third before Blockbuster lashed out with both hands, seizing Superboy by the torso.
The motion was simple and brutal. Blockbuster lifted him bodily off the ground and drove him straight down into the pavement. The impact blew a crater several feet deep. Superboy hit hard enough to send fissures radiating outward like a shattered web. Blockbuster didn't release him; he hauled him up again and repeated the motion, slamming him into the ground a second time. Then a third. The docks shook under each impact.
When Superboy wrenched free, his shoulder twisted under the force, but he still swung back with an uppercut that connected squarely with Blockbuster's jaw. The larger man's head snapped back, and a line of blood streaked across his chin, but he answered with a haymaker that crashed into Superboy's ribs and hurled him through a concrete divider.
Superboy's body struck the divider and kept going, tearing through rebar and rolling to a stop among splintered wood and rusted chains. He was motionless for a moment, chest rising and falling, then he pushed himself upright again, dust and blood running down his arms.
Blockbuster charged through the wreckage, his footfalls breaking the ground with every step. The two met again, each one leading with their strongest hand. Fist met fist. The collision sent a visible shockwave racing across the ground, lifting dust and scattering debris in a wide ring.
Superboy staggered backward two steps, boots grinding against broken pavement. Blockbuster barely moved; the blow only rocked him slightly. He stepped in, swinging again. Superboy parried once, then twice, before Blockbuster's third strike drove him back into a toppled crane support. The metal folded inward with a drawn-out groan as Superboy hit it.
He pushed off immediately, slamming a punch into Blockbuster's sternum. The blow carried enough force to make the brute skid backwards several feet, heels tearing through concrete, but he recovered fast. They collided again, exchanging a series of brutal, unrefined strikes, overhands, crosses, hooks, straight punches thrown with no guard or technique, just raw fury and instinct.
Superboy ducked one swing, came up under Blockbuster's arm, and landed three quick blows to the ribs before a counter right caught him full in the face.
The air above the docks was still for a heartbeat. The fight below had left everything trembling, dust floating in the half-light like fog. From far above, a small white shape moved through the haze of smoke and distant firelight, silent as a shadow cutting across the ruined harbour.
Glory Girl slowed as she reached the edge of the wreckage. Her cape fluttered against the dying wind, boots hanging above the fractured street. Below her, the docks looked gutted, warehouses ripped apart, cranes toppled, the pavement cracked into uneven plates. Through the grey she saw movement: two figures hammering at each other in the open yard, their impacts blooming with bursts of dust and flying debris. She hovered there, eyes narrowing. The noise of their blows reached her a second later, the muffled percussion of heavy collisions carrying through the evening air.
She descended a few meters, staying unnoticed. The smaller one, dark hair, blue eyes, white suit streaked with grime—moved faster, weaving between blows. The other was massive, a distorted bulk of flesh that tore grooves into the ground whenever it stepped. The pair clashed again, shockwaves rolling outward, scattering the loose ash into new clouds.
Glory Girl's mouth curved into a grin. "Perfect," she murmured, unheard.
She tilted forward. The moment her body angled downward, the air began to press against her, a low thrum building around her shoulders. She pushed harder. The resistance broke with a crack that split the silence. The sudden burst of displaced air roared outward, shaking broken windows and rippling the puddles left from burst pipes.
The impact of her arrival came a half-second later.
She hit Blockbuster in full flight, her right fist connecting with the side of his jaw. The blow landed clean, the kind of strike that sent a shock through bone and muscle before the mind could even register pain. The brute's head snapped around. His entire body lifted off the ground, twisting in midair as the force drove him backwards through a line of ruined street lamps and into the side of a warehouse. The wall buckled under the hit, a bloom of dust and fragments spilling across the road.
Glory Girl hovered where she'd struck, golden hair whipping in the turbulent air she'd left behind. The echo of her landing still rolled through the docks, a deep bass rumble fading into the distance. She adjusted her stance mid-air, shoulders back, chin high. Below her, the debris settled around the crater where the giant had stood.
For a moment, there was no sound but the hiss of dust falling through the air.
She smiled. "And that's how it's done," she said under her breath, satisfied, her voice swallowed by the wind.
The silence stretched for several seconds before the sound of falling rubble shifted behind her. A deep crack split one of the half-collapsed buildings at the edge of the docks. Dust poured down in sheets, followed by a heavy thud from within. Glory Girl turned toward it just as a figure pushed through the broken wall.
Superboy stepped out from the cratered facade, pieces of concrete sliding off his shoulders as he moved. His white suit was streaked grey with dirt, the red emblem on his chest dulled by grit. He shook off the last of the debris, posture low and steady, eyes tracking the direction Blockbuster had been launched.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Glory Girl hovered above the ground, her outline caught in the dim light spilling from shattered streetlamps. The corners of her mouth lifted, her confidence settling easily into a smile. She drifted closer, tilting her head slightly as if trying to take measure of him.
"Nice suit you got there," she said, loud enough to be heard even over the faint groan of the docks. "I'm Glory Girl."
Superboy didn't respond. His gaze didn't shift from the distance, where the dust still rose in the direction Blockbuster had gone. He flexed one hand once, the knuckles cracking faintly, then took a single step forward through the rubble.
Glory Girl frowned, lowering herself a few feet, cape brushing against the drifting dust. "Okay… you're the quiet type, I guess."
Still nothing.
Superboy's boots pressed into the cracked pavement. He crouched slightly, shoulders tightening, eyes fixed on the far street. The ground beneath him began to tremble, small stones bouncing from the vibrations building in his stance. Glory Girl's eyes widened as she realised what he was about to do.
The takeoff came with a sound like a thunderclap. Superboy launched into the air, the street splitting beneath him, a ring of dust expanding outward in a shockwave. The debris scattered from the pressure wave, slamming into nearby walls and overturned cars. He shot skyward in an instant, leaving only a fading streak of displaced air and the echo of breaking stone.
Glory Girl blinked, hair blown across her face. She stared at the spot he'd been standing, the cracked ground still smoking faintly from the friction. Her mouth fell open slightly, the silence lingering.
Then she huffed, folding her arms. "Rude," she muttered.
For a moment, she stayed suspended, scanning the sky where he'd vanished. The faint sound of another distant crash reached her ears, metal on concrete, something enormous colliding far away. She sighed, setting her jaw, and the irritation melted into determination.
"Fine. You're not leaving me out of this."
She dropped a few meters, bent her knees slightly in the air, and then surged upward. The forcefield around her pressed against the atmosphere like a piston firing. A sharp boom cracked through the air as she accelerated, the sudden pressure change blasting the dust beneath her into swirling rings that rolled outward across the docks. The debris lifted, papers and loose gravel spinning in the wake she left behind.
In seconds, she was gone—just a blur slicing into the night sky, chasing after the streak of destruction that marked Superboy's path.
The docks fell silent again, a wasteland of broken steel and fractured stone beneath the fading echo of their flight.