It started with a car alarm.
Downtown.
9:42 p.m.
A man stumbled out of a liquor store, plastic bag in his hand, cigarette hanging from his lips.
He froze.
Because the streetlight above him flickered.
Then bent.
Metal groaning softly.
The man squinted upward.
"What the—"
The streetlight snapped clean off its pole.
Floated.
Hovered.
The man dropped his bag.
Beer bottles shattered across the sidewalk.
People stopped walking.
Phones came out instantly.
A woman whispered—
"Is this some kind of stunt?"
Then the streetlight rose higher.
And higher.
And then—
They saw him.
A figure above the buildings.
A boy.
Hovering.
Weightless.
Unreal.
The city held its breath.
Someone screamed—
"Oh my god, he's flying!"
Andrew Detmer looked down at them like they were ants.
The wind whipped his hoodie violently.
His face was calm.
Too calm.
Like emotion had burned out of him completely.
Below, a crowd gathered.
More phones.
More voices.
More fear.
A man shouted—
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"
Andrew's eyes flickered.
He lifted his hand slightly.
The man's body jerked upward—
Off the ground.
A foot.
Two feet.
The man screamed, flailing.
The crowd erupted instantly.
"PUT HIM DOWN!"
"CALL 911!"
"What is that?!"
Andrew's voice echoed down, soft but carrying.
"Quiet."
The air vibrated.
Every car on the street trembled.
Windows rattled.
The crowd went silent out of instinct.
Fear is obedient.
Andrew hovered lower.
His gaze swept over them.
His voice was almost conversational.
"You hurt people."
A woman sobbed.
"We don't even know you!"
Andrew tilted his head.
"You don't have to know me."
His eyes darkened.
"You just have to know what it feels like."
He flicked his wrist—
The man slammed back onto the pavement, coughing violently.
Andrew didn't look at him again.
He looked at the city.
At the lights.
At the world.
And something inside him whispered:
This is mine now.
Across town, Cypriana's phone buzzed nonstop.
Matt's name flashed.
MATT CALLING.
Cypriana answered instantly.
"Matt?"
His voice was panicked.
"Turn on the news. Now."
Her stomach dropped.
"What—"
"Just do it!"
Cypriana's hands trembled as she grabbed the remote.
The TV flickered on.
A breaking news banner screamed across the screen.
BREAKING: REPORTS OF A LEVITATING SUSPECT DOWNTOWN.
The camera footage was shaky.
Crowds screaming.
Car alarms blaring.
And then—
A silhouette above the street.
Flying.
Cypriana's breath collapsed.
"No…"
Matt's voice cracked through the phone.
"It's him."
Cypriana whispered—
"I know."
On screen, Andrew lifted his hand.
A police car suddenly rose off the ground.
The officers inside screamed.
The crowd scattered in chaos.
Cypriana covered her mouth.
"Oh my god…"
Matt's voice was shaking.
"He's going to kill someone."
Cypriana's throat tightened.
Matt whispered—
"We have to stop him."
Sirens filled downtown like a chorus.
Police flooded the streets.
Guns drawn.
Helicopters circled above.
Spotlights cut through the night.
Andrew hovered in the beam like a moth that couldn't burn.
A loudspeaker boomed—
"THIS IS THE POLICE. GET ON THE GROUND!"
Andrew laughed softly.
A broken sound.
"I'm not on the ground anymore."
A helicopter swooped closer.
The spotlight blinded him.
The wind roared.
Andrew's eyes narrowed.
His hand lifted—
The helicopter jerked violently sideways.
The pilot screamed over the radio.
"WE'RE LOSING CONTROL!"
The city watched live.
Millions of people watched.
Phones.
TV.
Internet.
A boy flying above downtown.
Like God.
Like the devil.
Andrew's voice echoed into the night.
"Stop pointing lights at me."
The helicopter shook harder.
The crowd below screamed.
A reporter sobbed—
"This is unreal—this is—"
Andrew's hand clenched.
The helicopter spun wildly—
And then—
A second force slammed into it.
Invisible.
Powerful.
The helicopter steadied suddenly.
Andrew froze midair.
His eyes snapped sideways.
Because he felt it.
Someone else.
Someone like him.
Andrew's voice was quiet.
"…Cypriana."
Cypriana hovered above the rooftops.
Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
Her hair whipped around her face.
She was shaking.
But she was flying.
Finally.
Matt's voice echoed in her ear through the phone speaker she'd left on—
"Cypri, please be careful—"
Cypriana whispered—
"I can't let him do this."
Andrew stared at her across the sky.
Two stars facing each other.
His voice carried softly.
"You came."
Cypriana's eyes filled with tears.
"Andrew…stop."
Andrew's expression flickered.
"You can't stop what's already started."
Cypriana's voice broke.
"You're scaring people."
Andrew's jaw tightened.
"They should be scared."
Cypriana shook her head desperately.
"This isn't justice!"
Andrew's eyes sharpened.
"It's truth."
Cypriana hovered closer.
Her voice cracked.
"It's pain."
Andrew's face hardened.
"Pain is all I have."
Cypriana whispered—
"You have me."
Andrew froze.
For a second…
The boy underneath surfaced.
His eyes softened.
"Then come."
Cypriana's throat tightened.
The same offer.
The same abyss.
She whispered—
"I can't."
Andrew's eyes darkened instantly.
"Then you're against me."
Police shouted from below.
Spotlights swung wildly.
The world watched.
Two teenagers floating above downtown like myths.
Cypriana's hands trembled.
"Please…Andrew."
Andrew's voice dropped.
"I gave them a warning."
Cypriana's breath caught.
"What?"
Andrew looked down at the city.
His voice was almost peaceful.
"Now I'm going to show them."
Cypriana screamed—
"NO!"
Andrew lifted both hands.
Every car on the street trembled.
Metal groaning.
Concrete cracking.
The city itself beginning to rise.
Cypriana's power surged desperately—
She slammed into his force like a wall.
The air exploded.
A shockwave blasted windows outward.
Crowds screamed.
Andrew's eyes burned.
Cypriana sobbed—
"Stop!"
Andrew's voice was raw.
"MAKE ME!"
And then—
The sky broke open.