[Third Person Pov]
Date: March 15
Time: 2: 34 Pm
Location: Antarctica
Danny and Superman hovered side by side above the barren stretches of Antarctica, their figures outlined against a sky. Even without snowfall, the world beneath them was smothered in an endless blanket of ice, a frozen desert that glistened faintly under the pale sunlight. The wind was thin and sharp, nipping at Danny's cheeks as he shifted awkwardly in place, arms folded as if trying to hold the cold at bay.
"Look," Danny began, guilt chewing at him the longer he stared at the empty horizon. "I know I'm the one who asked for help with my training, but… is it really okay for you to be out here with me? Don't you have a day job to get to?" He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the weight of having pulled a literal world-class hero away from his responsibilities. "I just don't want you getting in trouble or something because of me."
Superman let out a warm, easy laugh and waved a dismissive hand as if brushing the concern away. "Danny, relax. I'm not skipping work. I've got plenty of paid days off saved, and honestly? I don't mind using one to help you. You're trying to get better, and that's something worth investing in." He gave Danny a reassuring smile. "Besides, you said you wanted to learn aerial combat, right?"
Danny nodded quickly. "Yeah. Batman's been giving me advice whenever he has a free moment, but… I'm mostly just winging it." He grimaced at his own pun, then shrugged helplessly. "You're basically the gold standard of flying, though. You've got years of experience fighting up in the sky. So I figured if I'm going to learn properly, I should learn from someone who actually knows what they're doing."
Superman nodded in understanding, his expression shifting into something more serious. "Alright. If I were to start with the basics, the very first thing I'd tell you is that aerial combat comes down to three major factors." He raised a finger for each one. "One: your surroundings. The sky may look empty, but it's just as dangerous as any battleground. Two: your momentum and speed. They're both your greatest tools and your biggest threats if you don't control them. And three: your strength. What you can do in the air changes drastically depending on how much force you use, and you have to learn to measure that at all times."
Superman floated a few feet higher, letting the wind ripple his cape as he shifted into mentor-mode, his tone calm but unmistakably authoritative.
"When you're in the air, Danny, everything changes," he continued. "On the ground you can brace yourself, you can plant your feet, you can use the environment to your advantage. But up here? The sky doesn't give you anything for free. You have to make your own leverage."
Danny listened intently, posture straightening.
Superman held up a finger. "First: Your surroundings. The higher you are, the more open the battlefield. That sounds like freedom, but it also means you're exposed from every angle. An opponent can come from above, below, behind—directions you're not used to defending. Constantly scan. Not frantically—just… be aware. Make it instinctual."
He extended his arm out, rotating slowly to demonstrate.
"Don't just look—feel. Air pressure shifts, wind changes, sound distortion. Up here those things matter. Get used to reading the environment like you read a room."
He lifted a second finger.
"Second is momentum and speed. In aerial combat, momentum is your footing. You turn too sharply without compensating? You'll slingshot yourself into your opponent or send yourself spinning. You build too much speed? Your body might not be able to slow down in time to avoid a hit—or a mountain."
Danny grimaced. "Yeah… I learned that the hard way once."
Superman chuckled. "We all have. But you can use that momentum to your advantage. Dive to build power, ascend to stall an attack, curve your flight path to force your enemy into a predictable line. Control the space by controlling the motion."
A third finger rose.
"Third: Your strength. People think flying fights are about throwing punches in the sky, but most of the time? It's about how much you put behind those punches. Air doesn't absorb recoil. If you swing without checking your force, your own blow can send you tumbling backward. Or worse—send your opponent flying into something they can't survive."
He gave Danny a knowing look.
"Up here, restraint isn't optional. It's a requirement."
He crossed his arms.
"Combine all three—awareness, momentum, and strength—and you start to understand aerial combat. And once you understand it, you're not just flying anymore. You're maneuvering. You're strategizing. You're fighting."
Danny took a breath and nodded. "Got it. So… awareness, movement, strength control. Feel the field, control the momentum, watch the power."
Superman grinned. "Exactly. And now that you've heard the lecture…"
He floated backward, posture shifting into a loose but ready stance.
"…let's see what you can do."
The air crackled faintly between them as Danny raised his hands, a nervous but excited grin spreading across his face.
"Alright, Man of Steel," he said, rolling his shoulders. "Try not to break me too badly. I might be able to heal and take a punch or two but I still feel pain"
Superman smirked. "No promises."
The moment Danny settled into his stance, Superman vanished.
A shockwave cracked the air where he had been a heartbeat earlier.
Danny's eyes widened—'Too fast—!'
Superman reappeared above him, fist cocked back.
"First lesson—never lose track of me!"
Danny jerked sideways, phasing just in time as Superman's fist cut through empty space, the pressure alone blasting a whirl of snow outward like a miniature storm.
Danny flickered back into visibility behind him and launched a kick, but Superman tilted his body a few inches—smooth, effortless. Danny's heel met nothing but wind.
Superman countered.
A palm strike.
Simple. Clean.
Fast enough that it blurred.
Danny crossed his arms and blocked, but the force still hurled him backward, sending him tumbling through the sky like a ricocheting bullet. He stabilized himself with a burst of ghostly energy, eyes sharp, heart pounding.
"Dammit—okay, fine—fast it is!"
Danny shot forward, a streak of black and white. Superman dropped and met him head-on, the two clashing midair with a thunderclap that rippled across the frozen plains below.
Danny spun, flipped over Superman's shoulder, and fired a blast of ecto-energy down at him. Superman dipped out of the way with a subtle tilt of his wingspan, gliding through the air like he owned the sky.
"Good! You're reading my trajectory—keep that up!"
Danny didn't answer—he was already moving.
He curved upward, looped behind Superman, and tried to cut him off with a high-speed tackle. Superman twisted midair, grabbed Danny by the forearm, and redirected his momentum like it was second nature, sending him spiraling upward.
'Use the momentum—use the momentum—' Danny forced himself to remember the lecture mid-spin. He stopped fighting the motion, let it carry him, and redirected it into a downward dive, accelerating so hard the air shrieked around him.
Superman's eyes lit with approval as he sensed the shift.
Danny slammed into him with the force of a meteor.
The impact detonated in a burst of wind and snow that shook the frozen plateau below, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the ice. Superman grinned as he skidded back through the air.
"Much better! Now you're thinking like a flyer!"
Danny didn't get a chance to celebrate—Superman was already on him again, a blue-and-red blur roaring forward like a launched spear.
Danny braced.
Superman struck.
The world exploded into motion again.
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