Dispatch, this is Superboy. I'm 10-97 on scene, building is compromised, multiple explosive events reported. I'm in recon mode. Link me with Command.
[ 3 minutes earlier, Superboy had been belly-down on the asphalt, laughing through an army crawl race against Frank the firefighter. A crowd of kids circled them, shouting, cheering for the both of them. The whole point of the meet-and-greet was to prove neither heroes nor the firefighters in gear were something to be scared of when they showed up to help.
The PA crackled. The call came in sharp and fast. Explosions. Building collapse with victims inside. Kon heard it before the dispatcher finished, the shockwaves hit his ears like slamming doors, two seconds apart. He was up before his brain caught up, boots skidding on concrete. One look at the crew. One nod. The kids' laughter died in confusion as firefighters sprinted for turnouts and the engine roared to life.
Kon didn't wait. He was airborne before the truck even started up. As soon as he arrived he started reporting on the rescue channels. ]
Arrival on scene. Superboy to all units: building is unstable, repeat, unstable. Moving to exterior perimeter sweep.
[ He hovered at the fourth floor line, eyes tracking cracks racing up the façade. Smoke vented from three separate breach points. A chunk of the east wall was already missing, exposing rebar like broken ribs. ]
Superboy to Fire Command. Patch me into your tac channel. Over.
A burst of static, then a voice: Command to Superboy. You're up on Alpha 7. Go ahead.
Copy. Currently scanning for life signs. I have visual on multiple heat signatures. Do we have confirmed detonation of all explosive devices? Negative or affirmative?
Pause. Then: Command to Superboy. Negative. Origin unknown. Secondary devices possible. Do not engage interior until SCOPES is complete. Over.
[ Kon clenched his jaw. SCOPES. Size-up, Conditions, Occupancy, Probable rescue zones, Emergency resources, Structure stability. He knew the drill. He had to memorize it as part of LexCorp training. He was supposed to be able to work with any rescue team. Part of that was learning all the codes, procedures, and etiquette. But he also knew people were bleeding in there. Just as the fire team did. ]
Copy, Command. Holding exterior. Feeding you intel now.
[ He circled the building once, twice, three times, slow, methodical, hot zone by hot zone. ]
West wall, third floor, crack running full vertical. Do not commit weight there. Fourth floor, south corner, I count five, repeat five, human signatures. Two appear mobile. Three are not. Second floor, north stairwell, void space. I see two adults. One moving other not so much. First floor lobby multiple victims, unknown count. Debris covering most of the floor plate. But structure appears safe enough.
Command copies. Stand by for SCOPES clearance.
[ Kon waited though waiting made his skin crawl. He was ready he was so ready to run in there. It didn't take too long. ]
Superboy, Command. You are cleared to rescue. Maintain vocal contact. Use tag-and-evac protocol. Over.
[ He didn't use the doors. He pulled a section of blown-out window frame wider and slipped through, boots hovering an inch off the floor to distribute no weight. Dust choked the air. Somewhere below him, a support beam groaned like a dying animal. ]
Rescue call out! Make yourself known!
[ He didn't need them to answer. His ears already had them mapped by heartbeat. But the call wasn't for him, it was for the victims. A voice in the dark to not scare the shit out of them when he inevitably snuck up on them. ]
Rescue call out! Sound off if you can hear me!
[ First victim was a woman pinned under a collapsed filing cabinet. Kon lifted it one-handed, pulled her free, checked her airway and pulse in four seconds flat. Green tag. Conscious, breathing, no major injury. He lifted her gently, flew her to the medical triage zone outside, handed her off without landing, and turned back.
He went in again. And again. Each time: assess, tag, extract. No wasted motion. No hesitation. The fire crew hit the building from the east side with hose lines and irons, and Kon fed them real-time updates between trips. Working with rescue was helpful. They'd search and pull who they could and Kon pulled whoever they weren't sure they'd be able to get to safely. ]
Third floor victim count downgraded to four. One self-extracted. East stairwell is clear. West stairwell is compromised. Do not use, repeat, do not use.
[ That's where Kon was heading. Unlike humans, he didn't need to stand on unstable debris or worry about shit falling. Then he reached Matt. The man was buried deep in the back corner of the first floor, surrounded by collapsed walls that had created a tight pocket of void space that had once been a security office. Kon had to tunnel through a gap barely wider than his shoulders, moving sideways, feeling the building breathe around him. One wrong shift and the whole pocket would close.
He found Matt pinned supine under a steel beam. Not just any beam, one that had fallen at an angle, and now supported a second crumbling beam above it. A deadfall trap waiting for gravity to finish the job.
Kon dropped to a crouch beside him. Assessing him. ]
Alright. Hey man, listen to me. I'm Superboy. I'm with Fire Rescue. I'm going to get you out of here. But I need you to stay absolutely still. Do not try to move. Do not try to help. You let me do the work. Understand?