(Setting: Late night over Kansas — the stars are dim, the sky still. Conner is flying patrol when he spots something glowing high above the clouds.)

It wasn’t a plane. Wasn’t a star, either.

It was moving — slow and unsteady, a soft golden light drifting through the night sky like a candle struggling against the wind.

Conner Kent squinted, the red of his jacket catching the moonlight as he hovered midair. “Okay… that’s not normal.”

He shot upward, cutting through the cool air until the glow took shape — a girl.

She floated with her knees tucked in, arms around herself, trails of faint light drifting off her skin like golden mist. Her eyes were closed, face tilted toward the stars as though she was begging them to answer something.

For a second, Conner just hovered there — half amazed, half unsure if he should interrupt.

Then he cleared his throat. “Uh… hey.”