Welcome to Hong Kong. Beneath the pretty lights and open-air kitchens lies a blood-soaked playground where laws are written by the same hands that break them, and where every life has a price tag. Hong Kong is synonymous for a haven of killers and white-collar criminals wanting to stay under the radar. Many would find impressionable youths abandoned by their families and taken in by aspiring criminal empires, or even lab rats for morally questionable research and pursuits. Expendable lives were in no short supply.
In the outer reaches of the city apart from prying eyes was an abandoned apartment complex converted into a government somatology research facility that would remain off the papers. They would receive many test subjects over the years, willing or otherwise, to participate in dubious projects. Dr. Ren Zhaohui was the head director in genetic manipulation and oversaw an experiment in altering the hereditary magical abilities of the humanoid races. He tirelessly worked, exhausting through his supply of "lab rats" and suffering fruitless results until he came across a young girl born from a human and a Mal'akh. This new subject of Dr. Zhaohui managed to live through the rigorous testing and experimental serums where the previous ones had not, exceeding the expectations of the facility and causing a breakthrough to new avenues of research. The half-mal'akh girl's abilities had undergone a drastic mutation into an almost complete subversion of the celestial power unique to the celestial half of her species.
The young child was not without her limits, however, and soon showed signs of deteriorating health. Dr. Zhaohui, refusing to allow himself to repeat his mistakes would shift all his time and resources into making an exact copy of the girl so that his work may continue. After extensive genetic mapping, Dr. Zhaohui would fail three times at creating a suitable artificial newborn and achieve success on the subsequent attempt. Zhaohui would endearingly yet ironically call this new life "Lucky Number Four."
Number Four was raised, cared for, and even tutored within the confines of the facility - the kindest gift Zhaohui had ever given any of his subjects. She was raised as if she were Zhaohui's own daughter, and her early childhood was spent in his company and that of the other researchers. When she grew older, Number Four exhibited the inherited abilities of her genetic benefactor, and Zhaohui would pick up where he left off. The so-called father figure that looked after Number Four had turned cold and detached, subjecting her to excruciating experiments and soon after, combat training. Several government agencies had expressed interest in Zhaohui's work and made offers of greater status and wealth were he to turn in Number Four to them. She was to be a weapon.
On the day they came to take her, Number Four was summoned before Dr. Zhaohui and the agents who wished to see their new prospect. They probed the scientist with questions and asked for a demonstration of her powers - a request Dr. Zhaohui was all too happy to oblige. The agents had brought in captured criminals and offered them freedom if they could best Dr. Zhaohui's magnum opus. Wave after wave they came, rushing to kill Number Four in futile effort. In the bloody aftermath, the impressed clients sang their praises to Dr. Zhaohui, promising him a bright future and all the funding he would ever need. One would make the mistake of mentioning that they would be sure to bring in a fresh supply of "Third Child street urchins" to be "made into something useful like Number Four." Number Four had finally snapped.
Despite having exhausted her energy in the demontration, Savyna attempted to strain her power past her limits. In doing so, she expelled a destructive force from within herself and fell to the ground unconscious. In the darkness of her mind she had then heard the voice. Whose voice that spoke to her she could not determine, but she felt she had known it all her life.
"Come back."
The words had reined in her grip on reality, and she now stood before the corpses of Dr. Zhaohui and the agents. Their bodies lie strewn about, dismembered, and with all their eyes enucleated from their sockets. She had to run, and she had to be swift. Needing a way out, Number Four began releasing the other test subjects to turn on the other researchers. Amidst the chaos, she had finally found her escape. The entire facility had been burnt to the ground with no records ever being released to the public. With a few of the surviving test subjects, Number Four had very little choice other than to live in the lower districts where she could witness the ravages of poverty and the atrocities of crime firsthand. It was evident that an easy life would not be in store for the runaways for quite some time. As much as she wanted to, flying away with her wings would prove impossible considering the patrol of controlled air spaces around the country's borders.
The group agreed to stick together, adopt names for themselves and taking whatever work they could to ensure their survival for the next several years. Upon her coming of age, Number Four was given a gift by the others. They collectively pooled their efforts to buy her the necessary accommodations to move to America, where she would be free to follow her own path in life. She arrived in New York City as Savyna Liu, where she would settle and integrate thereon. The only boat ride in her life was the journey to the country, and on the night of the departure she experienced an otherworldly sensation. As Savyna stared out into the ocean's horizon, she felt herself becoming lighter. She no longer saw the vast sea, but a vision of a room. She could hear the faint noise of laughter and conversation as five figures approached a table. A mother, a father, and three children set utensils and various plates of food before seating themselves to eat. The ephemeral vision lasted but for a brief moment, and when Savyna came to she felt an indescribable pain grip her heart. It would fade just as quickly, with the sight of the new country coming into view.
At last, Savyna had a breath of fresh air - New York wasn't all that much better than Hong Kong, but at least none would pay her too much mind here. For the most part, Savyna's life in America was rather uneventful. She managed to pick up a few low-ended jobs to support herself; the curious gazes directed at her notwithstanding. Savyna was considered an oddity to both sides of her kind: less human than human, and lacking the grace and more exotic features of the mal'akh. To make matters easier for herself, she'd always leave out the circumstances for her birth.
