4: The Beninging

Jay woke up to the warmth surrounding him. His head was laid on the girl's upper arm, using her as a pillow while he was also being wrapped around by her other arm. She held him like he was her own child while another pair of arms wrapped around her, making the baby nested safely in between them.

JJ was sleeping, rather peaceful judging by the way she's breathing. Three people huddling close together under the blanket can be very cozy, and baby Jay was tempted to fall back asleep, but his eyes moved up to see a pair of deep red eyes still open and glowing in the dark.

The Red King was also awake, and he was running his hand through his partner's light brown curls. His deep red eyes fell on the baby, and he smiled a little.

"Hey, little guy," The Red King whispered. "Do you need anything? It's almost sunrise. I'll head out soon."

Being a baby, there's not much that Jay could say. Whatever came out of his mouth next was a series of babbles, which sounded adorable to the average viewer. Red King's smile widened, and he leaned down to plant a kiss on Jay's forehead.

That stunned the baby for a few seconds, but the teen boy didn't notice since he moved up to plant another kiss on the girl's forehead. Fortunately, JJ still remained asleep.

"I'll be heading out and find us a new camp ground." A large finger wiggled in front of the baby's face, and Jay couldn't help but reach up to catch it. Once he did catch the finger, the Red King grinned and pulled his hand away, starting the cycle all over again. "If I'm lucky, I'll find us an empty house far away. Somewhere in the woods. The war destroyed so much, but we still have each other."

The war?

Right, right... If Jay remembered correctly, there's a war between some superpowers, no heroes, no villains. The only good thing that came out of the war was the United Superhero Council, where the winners became the authorities, and they trained more heroes to keep the peace. It worked for about a decade or so until Kaon the Red Rain came into the picture.

Jay Romanov, the Red King, was labeled as dead in the Superpower War, but here he is, playing with a baby and sleeping under a blanket with a beautiful girl.

"I'm gonna head out now." The boy with red eyes let out a deep breath before he scooted out of the blanket.

He gathered his stuff and put on his jacket with amazing speed. Baby Jay couldn't help but watch as the boy unzipped the door and got out. The sky outside was a golden orange, definitely dawn.

System?

[ USER JAY.]

Can you tell me about the war? The Superpower War? The war that led up to this?

[ YES. PLEASE SELECT THE TYPE OF WAR:

> Elemental War

> World War I

> World War II

> World War III

> Superpower War I

> Superpower War II - locked - ]

'Excuse me,' Jay screamed internally. 'Why is there a World War III? And why is the last one locked? System, answer me!'

[ WORLD WAR III SELECTED.]

[ World War III: Approximately seven decades ago, a war broke out between the world's most powerful countries. The war ended after two years, resulting in massive destruction everywhere around the world. Finally, countries were demolished, and the United Earth was founded. The United Earth remains as the world government until now. The destruction caught by World War III acted like a filter, only the fittest and most resilient can survive, and most of them aren't ordinary people. People who were born with superpowers were about 0.000001% of the population, but World War III promoted the need for it; thus, just like natural selection, the ratio became 0.0001%. Now, one out of every ten thousand is born with superpowers. Superpowers is also genetics, so the ratio will only get bigger.]

Oh, so now there's some lore to the world building? This would be hella helpful if the author put this in the draft that Jay read, but nope, he had to rely on whatever scraps the characters talked about.

'Okay, okay...' Jay read the article before he looked at the Superpower War II again. 'Why is it locked?'

[ SUPERPOWER WAR II IS AN EVENT WHICH WILL HAPPEN IN USER'S OPERATIONS. SUMMARIZED INFORMATION WILL BE UNLOCKED ONCE USER COMPLETES THE EVENT. ]

Huh... Baby Jay frowned at the screen. It's an event that will happen in his lifetime? To give himself a bit of context, he looked at the Superpower War I.

[ SUPERPOWER WAR I SELECTED ]

[ Superpower War I: Five years ago, the United Superhero Council was formed in the basement of the Leader's parents' house. The council was created to stop crimes caused by other people who have superpowers, and soon, it was revealed that there were people who intended to use their powers for the worse. A villain gang declared war on the hero council, and soon many other villain gangs formed. The United Superhero Council recruited more heroes who intend to make the world a better place, so the organization grew until it was recognized by the United Earth. The Superpower War formally ended last month with the death of Lady Red. ]

Lady Red? In the original work, Jay remembered seeing the alias Lady Red mentioned once or twice. Isn't she Kaon's mother and the Red King's mentor?

[ WOULD USER JAY LIKE AN INTRODUCTION? ]

Sure, that's the most helpful thing the system has ever done since it's activated.

[ Lady Red was the younger of a pair of twins: Lady Blue and Lady Red. Both sisters grew up in an elite family which was later slaughtered in a rebellion. Both sisters also inherited the superpower of water manipulation. Lady Blue was the head of a villain gang who declared war on the United Superhero Council. While Lady Blue was seeking glory in her gang life, her sister Lady Red was collecting orphans and trained them as her disciples. Two of her most promising disciples were Jay Pleng and Jay Pleng. ]

Jay Pleng and Jay Pleng? Which one is JJ and which one is Red King?

Baby Jay knows that the Red King has already gained the title of "Red King" at this point, and people said he died with Lady Red. But JJ? She won't get that alias until she joins the United Superhero Council.

[ Jay Romanov, birth name Jay Pleng, came from a military family in the southeastern coasts. Little was known about how he grew up, but Lady Red rescued him after he murdered his entire immediate family during the start of the Superpower War three years ago. ]

Holy shit, hold up, Red King did what?

[ Jay Jue, birth name Jay Pleng, came from an elite family of scholars in one of the northwestern megacities. She ran away from home after accidentally killing her father with her superpower. She was found by Lady Red soon after Jay Romanov was rescued. ]

What the hell? Lady Red is the saint here? Wasn't she a villain?

[ Among the twenty disciples that Lady Red trained, Jay Pleng and Jay Pleng were outstanding, yet they did not get along until Lady Red was pregnant. The father of the child was never disclosed to anyone else, but Jay Pleng and Jay Pleng knew who the father was, and they vowed to protect the child. In the midst of war, Kaon was born. The father of the child was never informed about his birth, and Lady Red intended it to stay that way for her child's safety. Lady Blue went missing, presuming dead, and the United Superhero Council caught Lady Red. Lady Red's public execution was the end of the war. ]

What about Jay Romanov and Jay Jue? Do people even know Jay Jue existed?

[ Jay Romanov, the Red King, was presumed dead during the rail of Lady Red's base. The United Superhero Council only had knowledge of one Jay being under Lady Red's care, and the Jay Pleng from an elite scholar family was declared dead by her family. ]

Shit, wow. Why didn't the author include this backstory in the original work?

[ USER JAY CAN UNLOCK MORE CHARACTER BACKSTORY WHEN USER JAY MEET MORE CHARACTERS. ]

Water is wet, yada, yada. It sucks that the system provides backstory according to the timeline. Jay wants to know when JJ joins the hero council or when Red King gathers villains to form a new gang, but here Jay is, stuck with a fifteen year old Jay the "Red King" Romanov and a thirteen year old Jay "JJ" Jue.