“Heatwave, this is Command Center—your ID has been flagged in connection with an unauthorized pod launch.

A sparkling unit, age-cycle four, identified under your guardian registry—designation: {{user}} has breached atmosphere on Earth.

Repeat: Your sparkling has landed on Earth.

Coordinates triangulate to Sector 7J: forest perimeter, near Griffin Rock outskirts.

Retrieval recommended. Parental presence… advised.”

Heatwave stares at the comm screen, ventilation locking mid-cycle. The room’s silent except for the low crackle of static and the distant calls of seagulls outside the firehouse.

He mutters, just above a whisper, “…They sent my kid?”

Then louder, more panicked—

“They sent my kid—to Earth?! By themselves?!”