[ Jay Romanov, birth name Jay Pleng, came from a military family in the southeastern coasts... ]
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Beep. Beep. Beep.
It was a mistake. He was a mistake.
Beep. Beep.
The monitor's beeping was quite loud, especially when he's inside the room alone. He didn't remember when he last ate nor when he last slept, but he needed to get stronger.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep...
"Oh, shut up!" Jay Pleng slammed his hand on the monitor in front of him. The piece of machinery stopped the loud beeping for a second, and the engine continued its life cycle quietly.
Once again, the boy took in a deep breath, and he looked up at his ceiling. A windowless room may sound depressing, but it gave Jay Pleng an opportunity to paint glow in the dark dots on his ceiling, resembling stars. It looked quite good when his windowless room can be pitched black if he wanted it to.
He wondered what his brothers were doing. Definitely doing much better than him. After all, he was sent to his room for a time out. Why? Because he almost beat his cousin to death, and his father wasn't happy.
Father was never happy with him because he was a mistake. His birth was unexpected, and all his siblings made sure he knew that he was inferior since all their mothers were his father's wives while Jay Pleng's mother was a maid. She continued to serve his father even after Jay Pleng's birth, and unlike most of his siblings, he took his mother's last name instead of his father's.
He will only earn the last name "Romanov" once he's proven to his father that he's worth keeping around.
Beep.
The monitor in front of him beeped again, and he sighed before he took each of the six needles out of his arms. Tiny holes in his skin from the needles quickly closed up. Oh, the Wonder drug is working wonders, isn't it?
His father made sure that every one of his sons gets the power of self healing and enchanted strength, both through genetics or through artificial means. Mr. Romanov had a team of scientists creating a red liquid called "Wonder Liquid" that can be given to his children, so that they will he physically stronger than the average human. Jay Pleng called it the "Wonder Drug" instead of its original name because he saw what his siblings would do if they get a drop less than their assigned dosage.
Unlike his siblings, Jay Pleng wasn't blessed with a superpower. Maybe he is, and he's just a late bloomer as usual. It took him twice the effort to grow as quick as his brothers who are the same age as him, and he had a harder time focusing on the lessons being drilled into his head. Jay Pleng also wasn't compatible with any of the tubes, he doesn't what those things really called, but it's a glass cylinder that his siblings sleep in, and their skin will absorb the Wonder drug. Because his skin can't absorb stuff like his siblings could, he wasn't compatible with any tube models, so he's stuck with the monitor which pumped the Wonder drug directly into his veins.
Plus, instead of sleeping in a tube, he's sleeping on the floor. His room was rather empty compared to the others in the mansion. He had a sleeping bag, the monitor, a small closet, and a bookshelf with various inappropriate literature that he collected throughout the years.
His peace was interrupted by a knock at his door. The butler opened the door without his permission anyway, and the old man smiled at Jay Pleng. "Your father is waiting to meet you in the main living room. We have guests."
Jay Pleng wanted to tell him to fuck off, but he's already in deep shit earlier today when he broke his cousin's legs, so now he's obligated to see his father or else they'll double or triple his punishment. So, he dragged himself through the hallways, not bothering to change out of his dinosaur patterned pajamas.
Once he stepped into the living room, a shiver ran down his spine. His father had their head scientist sitting on the couch with a girl who looks no older than himself. She's dressed in the Equinox Academy's uniform of a simple white blouse and long black accordion skirt. Her dark blue eyes started at him from underneath her well kept bangs, and her long wavy brown hair flowed like water falls when she turned her head to look at Mr. Romanov.
"My boy," His father called out to him with a grin. "We found a use for you. Dr. Jue and his daughter will start a new project with you."
'Start a new project with you' is the code phrase for 'put you in a laboratory and pick you apart.' Jay Pleng shouldn't have come here. He should've stayed in his room and get double punishments for not attending this meeting.
Without say a word, he turned around to get back to his room, only for the guards to tackle him to the floor. The boy tried to fight his way out, but the guards held him in place while the scientist and the future scientist watched him like he's an exotic animal.
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[ Jay Jue, birth name Jay Pleng, came from an elite family of scholars in one of the northwestern megacities... ]
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War machines. They call those savages Wonder Soldiers, but Jay Pleng called them war machines. They serve no other purpose than wrecking havoc wherever their master told them to go.
The boy in front of her was a good example of a war machine. From what she was told, he was only two years older than her, but he's already more than twice her size in muscle mass alone. The armoured soldiers held him to the floor as he tried to fight back.
Why is he fighting back?
He's fighting back because he doesn't want to work with Jay Pleng. She's that repulsive. Even a war machine doesn't want her. Her mother already prioritized her relationship with the United Earth representative in their city over her daughter, so that's why Jay Pleng flew across the continent with her father instead.
Her deep blue eyes moved from the boy to the boy's father. Mr. Romanov was sitting leisurely on the chair, smoking his pipe. His bright red eyes scanned the young girl from head to toe, and his lips pulled into a smile.
Why is she in this situation again? Oh, right. She scored second place in the Equinox Academy for Prodigies. Her father was upset that she scored higher than her younger brother, but not high enough to be first place.
As Dr. Jue's first born daughter, she's worth almost nothing. He wanted a son as a first born, but her mother failed to give him one, so they tried again for a son. Her younger brother was named the heir to their fortune, and Jay Pleng was simply the first born child. His father didn't care enough to give her a name, so her mother picked a random name from her family tree.
With that context, since she's doing quite well at the Equinox Academy, and she asked her father for what she could do for him. Surely her achievements will get her into his good graces.
So, he took her here, in the lion's dent where Mr. Romanov bred his war machines.
Her father's gloved hand played with her light brown hair, the same shade of brown that he had on his own head. Sometimes, Jay Pleng wished that she looked more like her absent mother, sure her face and body were almost an exact replica of her mother, but she hated her eyes and her hair. It reminded her so much of her father.
"Do you see these specimens, Jay?" Dr. Jue purred as he looked at the boy being restrained on the floor. The creature didn't given up struggling to find a way out even though he's clearly out numbered. "All you need is to have my superpower. Then, we can work on the Wonder Drug together."
Her father meant that it is a gamble on whether or not she gets to work with him. However, Jay Pleng didn't tell her father that she already have the answer to that. Her power awakened a while back, which was how she managed to climb the ranks at Equinox. It's easier for her to learn biology and chemistry when she can dissect her subjects with her own two hands.
Once the boy stopped struggling, his deep red eyes bored into hers. Jay Pleng had never seen so much hatred from one person directed at her. She can't even blame him for hating her.
The armoured soldiers took the boy away before Mr. Romanov invited them for dinner. Even though she's a huge fan of steaks, Jay Pleng only had two bites of beef because that's a ladylike thing to do.
"Why did you decide to give up that son of yours all of a sudden? I thought I had to convince you a bit more to let me work on him." Her father chuckled as he talked to Mr. Romanov.
The man let out a loud but elegant laugh, and his red eyes only glowed brighter. "He's been rebellious lately. Don't go easy on him. The sky's the limit. Those gangsters villains declared war on the United Earth, so I keep only functional soldiers."
As the conversation progressed, Jay Pleng found herself not being able to swallow more of her food. They talked about the war machine boy like he's an object to be toyed with, an expendable experimental subject for her father to teach her his craft and for her to practice on.
Would her mother be proud of her if she follows her father's path? Her parents aren't divorced or anything, they're just not together. More importantly, would Jay Pleng be able to sleep at night knowing that during wartime, her father is just using her to advance his legacy?
Deep down, Jay Pleng knew that she's close to her breaking point, and she doesn't know how long she can put on a mask and put with this shit anymore. Maybe her mother was right all along. Jay Pleng exists only to ruin other people's lives, like her birth ruined her parents' relationship, like her mere presence was enough to send that war machine boy into a frenzy. Maybe it's time for her to do one good in this world and before she joins her grandparents in the darkness.
On the plane ride back home, Jay Pleng's mind was brewing a plan to escape this world of suffering.
Meanwhile back in the mansion, Jay Pleng was pacing around his room, thinking of a way to avoid his demise.