The Android Overclocks — and Superboy Unleashes the Quake
The android froze.
For half a second.
Then every light on its body flared red.
"⚠️ CRITICAL ADAPTATION FAILURE ⚠️"
"ENGAGING EMERGENCY OVERCLOCK PROTOCOL."
Its frame expanded, plates shifting, grinding as internal systems pushed past safety limits. Power readings spiked so fast Blue Beetle's HUD flooded with warnings.
"Guys—" Jaime said, voice tight. "That thing's pushing way past design limits!"
Ivo stared at the readouts, sweat forming on his brow.
"No… no, that's not right. You're supposed to adapt, not panic!"
The android raised both arms.
"POWER ACQUISITION FAILURE — COMPENSATION REQUIRED."
It slammed its fists together.
The shockwave tore through the lab, collapsing walls, throwing the team off their feet.
Nightwing rolled to a knee.
"It's going berserk! It can't copy him so it's brute-forcing everything else!"
The android lunged straight at Superboy.
IMPACT
Superboy barely crossed his arms in time.
The blow sent him crashing through three reinforced walls and into open desert beyond the base.
He skidded across stone, carving a trench before stopping.
Dust settled.
Miss Martian screamed his name.
"CONNER!"
Ivo leaned forward, eyes burning.
"Yes! Crush him! If you can't copy the power—destroy the source!"
The android rocketed after him, boosters screaming.
It struck again.
And again.
Each hit carried the combined strength of the League.
Superboy gritted his teeth, boots digging into the ground.
Damian said… don't use it unless you mean it.
The android cocked its arm back, energy coalescing.
"TARGET RESISTANCE EXCEEDS THRESHOLD. TERMINATION REQUIRED."
The punch came down like a meteor.
THE QUAKE AWAKENS
Superboy caught the fist.
The ground cracked.
Not shattered—cracked, like reality itself had split beneath his feet.
Everyone felt it.
A low, deep vibration—not sound, not force, but something fundamental.
"What… is that?" Artemis whispered.
Superboy's eyes widened.
He felt it now.
Not rage.
Not fear.
A pulse—like the world itself was something he could push.
His grip tightened.
The air warped.
Then—
BOOM.
A spherical shockwave erupted outward.
The android was hurled back, slamming into the desert miles away, bouncing like a meteor.
The Young Justice team stared in stunned silence.
Nightwing's voice was barely a whisper.
"That wasn't… strength."
The ground beneath them rippled like water.
Miss Martian felt it in her bones.
"That was… a vibration."
Superboy looked down at his hands, breathing hard.
"So this is it…"
IV O REALIZES THE TRUTH
Back in the lab, alarms screamed.
Ivo staggered backward, eyes glued to the screens.
"No… that's not a copied power… that's not Kryptonian…"
He slammed keys frantically.
"WHAT KIND OF POWER IS THAT?!" he shouted into the comm.
The android rose from the crater, armor cracked, systems screaming.
"STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 41%."
"UNKNOWN ENERGY DAMAGE DETECTED."
Ivo's breath caught.
That's when it hit him.
His laughter died.
The Light hadn't warned him.
Not because they didn't know.
Because they were watching.
His hands trembled.
"…Those bastards," he whispered.
"They didn't tell me because they wanted to see if my android could copy it."
His eyes widened in horror.
"This… this isn't a power you replicate."
The android charged again—overclocking even further.
THE WORLD SHAKES
Superboy planted his feet.
He remembered Damian's words.
It's not about force.
It's about intent.
He pulled back his fist.
The air cracked like glass.
"GET BACK!" Nightwing shouted.
Superboy punched.
Not the android—
The space in front of it.
The vibration detonated.
A massive quake-wave tore through the battlefield, folding the desert like paper.
The android's copied abilities failed simultaneously.
Speed stuttered.
Strength destabilized.
Energy systems collapsed.
Its body twisted violently.
"ADAPTATION—FAILED—"
The android imploded, crushed by its own stolen power.
Silence followed.
Dust drifted through the air.
AFTERMATH
The Young Justice team stared at Superboy.
Not with fear.
With awe.
"That…" Beast Boy swallowed.
"That was like an earthquake… in the air."
Miss Martian floated closer, eyes wide.
"Conner… you just did something even Superman can't do."
Superboy looked at his hands again.
Then at the shattered battlefield.
Ivo collapsed to his knees, laughing weakly.
"A power that can't be copied…" he muttered.
"A power that breaks the rules…"
His laughter turned bitter.
"So that's it," he whispered.
"The Light wasn't testing my android."
"They were testing him."
Superboy clenched his fists.
Somewhere—far away—
Damian felt it.
And knew.
The world had just learned
what happens when a power that refuses to be owned
finally chooses to roar.