It was Bane's first time fighting someone high in the air, too.
When he saw Jonathan straighten his arm and charge at him at speed with his fist raised, he instinctively tried to dodge, only to discover that weightlessness left him unable to move out of the way.
Jonathan's fist slammed squarely into Bane's chest from below, blasting the hulking man back into the clouds just as he was about to hit the ground.
"Surrender, or you'll die when you fall!"
Jonathan's shout came from beneath the clouds.
At this point, Superboy still had no idea that Bane's physical durability was approaching his own. Not only had he pulled his punch, he was even worrying about his opponent.
Naturally, Bane would not pass up such a perfect opportunity for a sneak attack. Feigning terror, he agreed.
"I surrender! God, please get me down!"
Suspecting nothing, Jonathan sped toward Bane.
But the instant he broke through the clouds, his opponent's heavy fist swung straight at his face.
With a sharp crack, Bane's fist twisted and shattered the moment it struck Jonathan. Flesh burst apart, and fragments of bone scattered like shrapnel from a grenade.
Jonathan did not fare well either. The unguarded punch left him dizzy and seeing stars, and he plummeted from the sky with a cry of pain.
Fortunately, they had already flown beyond the city. Superboy hit the riverbank in the outskirts like a meteor. The immense tremor churned the cold waters of the Gotham River into raging waves, and several steel cables on the distant Three-Gate Bridge snapped as it swayed.
Jonathan lay curled up at the bottom of the crater, his body smoking. An impact like this was not enough to injure him, but being hurt and feeling awful were two different things.
In the near