The city didn't sleep.
Even after the drones fell.
Even after the command truck was torn apart like paper.
News helicopters stayed far away now.
Police blocked entire streets.
People hid behind curtains.
Phones recorded from windows.
Andrew hovered above it all.
Cypriana beside him.
Two shadows against a trembling skyline.
The sirens below didn't move closer anymore.
They stayed back.
Afraid.
Andrew watched the officers regrouping at the far end of the block.
His jaw was tight.
"They're calling reinforcements."
Cypriana swallowed.
"They already tried to kill us."
Andrew nodded.
"Yes."
Her heart still pounded from ripping the engine free.
From crushing it.
From watching officers scatter in panic.
She felt—
Alive.
And she hated that she did.
Andrew tilted his head slightly.
"They still think they can contain this."
A loudspeaker crackled from the distance.
A police captain's voice boomed:
"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING. STAND DOWN."
Andrew laughed softly.
"Final."
Cypriana's stomach twisted.
Another vehicle rolled into view.
Not a police car.
Armored.
Heavy.
Military.
A sniper climbed onto the roof of the vehicle.
Cypriana froze.
Andrew saw him too.
The red laser dot appeared on Andrew's chest.
Then shifted—
To her.
Her breath stopped.
Andrew's expression changed instantly.
Cold.
Deadly.
The sniper's voice crackled through a headset.
"Target acquired."
Cypriana whispered—
"Andrew…"
He didn't respond.
The shot fired.
A single crack splitting the night.
Andrew caught the bullet midair.
It hung between his fingers.
He stared at it.
Then slowly turned his gaze toward the sniper.
The sniper froze.
Andrew's voice was calm.
"You aimed at her."
Cypriana felt something shift in him.
Something final.
She whispered—
"Andrew, don't—"
Andrew flicked his wrist.
The bullet shot back faster than sound.
The sniper's body jerked violently.
Then fell.
Off the armored vehicle.
Dead before he hit the ground.
Silence.
Absolute.
The world stopped.
Cypriana's breath left her body.
"Andrew…"
Her voice cracked like glass.
Below, officers screamed.
Someone shouted—
"MAN DOWN!"
Chaos exploded.
Andrew hovered motionless.
Watching.
Not proud.
Not panicked.
Certain.
Cypriana stared at the sniper's body.
Unmoving.
A red stain spreading across concrete.
Her stomach twisted violently.
"You killed him."
Andrew's voice was flat.
"He tried to kill you."
Her heart pounded in her ears.
"He was following orders."
Andrew snapped—
"So was my dad."
The words hit like a bomb.
She froze.
Andrew's eyes burned.
"Orders don't make you innocent."
The police began firing wildly now.
Bullets tearing into the sky.
Andrew lifted his hands.
The gunfire froze again.
Hundreds of bullets suspended midair.
But this time—
He didn't just send them back at the vehicles.
He redirected them.
Sideways.
Toward the ground in front of the officers.
Concrete exploded.
Officers dove for cover.
Andrew's voice thundered over them.
"STAND. DOWN."
The firing stopped.
Not because they chose to.
Because they were terrified.
Cypriana hovered beside him.
Shaking.
Her voice was barely there.
"Andrew…"
He turned to her.
His eyes searching her face.
"You see now."
She whispered—
"I saw him fall."
Andrew stepped closer.
"They will keep trying."
Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
"And we'll keep killing them?"
Andrew didn't hesitate.
"If they try."
The certainty made her dizzy.
Andrew reached for her hand.
She let him.
He squeezed it tightly.
"I won't let them hurt you."
Her throat tightened.
"They were scared."
Andrew's jaw clenched.
"They should be."
Below, paramedics rushed to the sniper's body.
The cameras caught everything.
Every second.
The bullet frozen.
The flick.
The fall.
Andrew leaned close to her ear.
"They crossed the line first."
Cypriana's eyes flickered down to the body again.
A man.
A person.
Dead.
Because of them.
Because of her.
Her chest felt hollow.
But under that—
Something darker stirred.
He aimed at her.
He would have killed her.
Andrew chose her over him.
Her breathing slowed.
Andrew watched her carefully.
Waiting.
She whispered—
"…They won't stop."
Andrew nodded once.
"Then neither will we."
The sirens retreated.
The armored vehicle reversed.
Officers dragged the body away.
And for the first time—
The city didn't just fear them.
It feared him.
And her.
Andrew looked at her.
"You stayed."
She swallowed.
"Yes."
He studied her eyes.
Looking for regret.
Looking for doubt.
She didn't look away.
And that was the moment.
The real moment.
When she crossed the line.
Not when she flew to him.
Not when she crushed the scanner.
But now.
When she didn't leave.
Andrew leaned closer.
"They'll call us monsters."
Cypriana's voice was steady now.
"Let them."
Andrew's lips curved faintly.
Not a smile.
Recognition.
He wrapped his arm around her waist.
Possessive.
Protective.
And together—
They rose higher into the night sky.
Leaving behind a body.
And a city that would never forget what it saw.
Across town—
Matt stared at the live footage in horror.
His voice was barely audible.
"He killed him."
Steve swallowed hard.
"She didn't stop him."
Matt's jaw tightened.
"No."
Silence filled the room.