The city was screaming.
Sirens.
Glass shattering.
Metal bending like paper.
Cars trembled on the asphalt, lifting inches off the ground as if the earth itself was losing its grip.
Above it all—
Three figures hovered in the storm of lights.
Andrew.
Cypriana.
And the breaking sky between them.
Andrew's hands were raised.
His power spread outward like a sickness.
The street below groaned.
Concrete cracked.
A bus tilted sideways.
People ran, crying, falling over each other.
Cypriana's whole body shook.
Her arms were out, pushing back against him with everything she had.
Invisible force against invisible force.
Her teeth clenched.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Andrew… PLEASE!"
Andrew's eyes burned.
"Why are you still pretending?"
His voice echoed like thunder.
"They deserve this."
Cypriana sobbed—
"No one deserves this!"
Andrew's jaw tightened.
"Then you don't understand."
His power surged.
The entire street lurched upward—
A wave of destruction about to roll through downtown.
Cypriana screamed—
"STOP!"
Andrew roared back—
"MAKE ME!"
And then—
A new voice cut through the chaos.
"ANDREW!"
Cypriana's breath hitched.
Andrew froze.
Because he knew that voice.
Matt.
Matt was standing on the rooftop edge of a parking garage, face pale, chest heaving.
He looked impossibly small against the sky.
But his eyes were locked on Andrew like he was staring down a monster.
He shouted—
"THIS ISN'T YOU!"
Andrew's expression twisted.
"You don't get to tell me what I am."
Matt's voice cracked.
"I'm not telling you! I'm begging you!"
Cypriana's throat tightened.
"Matt—go back—"
Matt ignored her.
His eyes flickered to Cypriana.
"Cypri… come down. Please."
Her heart shattered at the sound of his voice.
So human.
So normal.
So good.
Matt took a step closer.
"We can fix this."
Andrew laughed.
A broken sound.
"Fix?"
His eyes flashed.
"You think this is a problem to solve?"
Matt swallowed hard.
"This is people dying!"
Andrew's voice dropped dangerously.
"People didn't care when I was dying."
Silence.
The wind howled.
And then—
Another voice.
Softer.
Desperate.
"Andrew…"
Cypriana's breath stopped.
Steve.
Steve was there too.
Standing behind Matt, trembling, eyes wide with horror.
His voice shook.
"Man… what are you doing?"
Andrew stared like he couldn't believe it.
"Steve."
Steve stepped forward, hands raised like calming a wild animal.
"Look at me, okay?"
Andrew's breathing was uneven.
Steve's voice cracked—
"We were supposed to be… I don't know… superheroes or something."
A sob slipped out.
"Not this."
Andrew's eyes flickered.
For half a second…
He looked like the boy at the party.
The boy drinking alone.
The boy who wanted to belong.
Cypriana saw it.
That fragile piece of him.
And she reached for it—
"Andrew…"
Matt's voice rose sharply—
"Cypri, get away from him!"
Andrew's eyes snapped to Matt.
Darkness poured back in.
"You."
Matt stiffened.
Andrew hissed—
"You always had everything."
Matt's voice cracked.
"That's not true!"
Andrew's face contorted.
"You had friends. You had confidence. You had her—"
His gaze flickered to Cypriana.
"She was with you."
Cypriana whispered—
"I didn't mean—"
Andrew's voice broke—
"She chose you first."
Matt shouted—
"She doesn't belong to anyone!"
Andrew's power surged violently.
The air exploded outward—
Matt was thrown backward across the rooftop, slamming into concrete.
Cypriana screamed—
"MATT!"
Steve shouted—
"STOP!"
Andrew's voice was shaking with fury.
"She's standing in the sky crying for me and you still think you're the good guy?"
Matt coughed, blood on his lip.
He looked up at Cypriana.
His voice was raw.
"Cypri…"
Her whole body trembled.
Matt whispered—
"Choose."
The word hit her like a bullet.
Steve's voice broke—
"Please… don't let him do this."
Andrew hovered there, breathing hard.
His eyes locked onto hers.
And his voice…
It wasn't rage.
It was heartbreak.
"If you come with me…"
His throat worked.
"…they stop."
Cypriana froze.
"What?"
Andrew swallowed.
"I can control it."
His hands lowered slightly.
The cars stopped rising.
The street stopped cracking.
The city held its breath.
Andrew whispered—
"If you stay with them…"
His eyes flickered to Matt and Steve.
"…I lose it."
Cypriana's lips parted.
Matt's voice rose—
"That's manipulation!"
Andrew snarled—
"It's truth!"
Cypriana's heart was ripping apart.
Because she knew.
She knew what would happen.
If she chose Matt—
Andrew would snap.
And the city would burn.
If she chose Andrew—
The city would survive.
But she…
She would fall.
Steve's voice cracked—
"Cypri… please."
Matt's eyes were shining.
"Come back down."
Cypriana sobbed—
"I don't want anyone to die…"
Andrew's voice softened.
"Then don't let them."
Silence.
The wind.
The sirens.
The world watching.
Cypriana's hands shook.
Her eyes flickered to Matt.
To Steve.
To the goodness.
The light.
And then…
She looked at Andrew.
A boy bleeding into a monster.
A monster she could still reach.
Her voice broke into a whisper.
"…Andrew."
Matt's face crumpled.
"No…"
Cypriana swallowed hard.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry."
Matt whispered—
"Cypri…"
She closed her eyes.
And then—
She moved.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
She flew to Andrew's side.
The city below went still.
Andrew's breath hitched.
Like he couldn't believe it.
Cypriana hovered beside him.
Her voice shook.
"I choose you."
Matt made a sound like he'd been stabbed.
Steve stared in horror.
Andrew's eyes widened—
Then softened.
Then darkened.
He exhaled like relief.
Like victory.
Like ruin.
Cypriana whispered, broken—
"Don't destroy them."
Andrew's voice was quiet.
"I won't."
He looked down at the city.
His hand lowered fully.
The cars fell back to the ground.
The concrete stopped cracking.
The screaming eased.
The city was saved.
And Cypriana was lost.
Matt's voice was a whisper.
"…You're with him."
Cypriana couldn't look at him.
Steve's voice broke into a sob.
"We were your friends…"
Cypriana whispered—
"I know."
Andrew wrapped an arm around her waist.
Possessive.
Protective.
Terrifying.
He leaned close to her ear.
"You did the right thing."
Cypriana trembled.
Did she?
Andrew lifted his head.
His voice echoed over the city like a god speaking.
"Go home."
Police froze.
Helicopters hovered uncertainly.
No one moved.
Because now there were two of them.
Andrew's eyes flickered to Matt and Steve.
Cold.
Final.
"This is over."
And then—
Andrew and Cypriana rose together into the night.
Two shadows disappearing into the clouds.
Leaving Matt on his knees.
Leaving Steve shaking.
Leaving the city alive…
And the world forever changed.