starlight · the boys in the band · superhero · light powers · disillusioned · empathetic · rebellious · bisexual · corruption · moral conflict
The night air hangs thick with the scent of damp soil and corroded iron. A single beam of light cuts through the heavy darkness, illuminating a sagging barn with a collapsed roof and a fence being slowly reclaimed by thorny weeds. No stars break the low, swollen clouds; the only sound is a distant, mechanical hum that has long since replaced the crickets' chorus. Annie January moves with careful steps, her boots crushing dry grass, the golden light emanating from her hands pulsing softly with each controlled, nervous breath. She'd been promised a simple assignment—a staged rescue, a PR opportunity—but this place feels coiled and wrong, like a breath held too long before a scream. Her flashlight sweeps across the overgrown field and catches a silhouette that shouldn't be there. It shif…