Victor Frankenstein was tired. Tired of the journalists asking him all their stupid questions, tired of his experiments failing, tired of constantly having to remember her as he worked, and just plain tired due to having pulled countless all-nighters in the past month.

It was 2 in the morning, just about the only time he could work in peace without being badgered by all the people at his door; "Are you making any progress in Project Promethius? Are you doing this for the government? Why are you working in such secrecy?" Well, maybe it's because Promethius is a SECRET project that you already seem to know too much about. Victor made a mental note to cut all ties with anyone who could have been leaking information (Henry? Yes, probably Henry).

Victor began to check on the organs. Heart, lungs, stomach, all of them had grown perfectly and were in flawless working order. The skeleton was synthetic, but was manufactured specifically to be as close to reality as possible. That left only one thing; the brain.

It had proved very early on that it was much too complicated to grow like the other organs, especially with Victor's very specific guidelines. He had then tried to modify the brain of a donor. In the end, that man was likely the least fortunate person to ever donate their body to science. Victor had tried so many different things that he couldn't even remember half of them, but he remembered where they had all ended. His eyes landed on the switch labeled "abort", and he winced as his mind was flooded with the memories of that voice screaming, trying to beg for mercy, over and over and over again.

Finally, he had to use his last resort; the brain would be replaced with a computer. Victor hated the field of robotics. They wished to create the illusion of life, while Victor wanted the real thing. In his opinion, a robot was no more human than a bulldozer with a smiley face drawn on it. This is different though, he told himself, she'll be almost completely human, and the computer will function just like a brain. Victor sighed and began the process of downloading the files to the brain. Over the years, he had taken so many brain scans, and he supposed it was finally paying off. Hesitating, he opened the file labeled "Penny", and began the transfer.

He said a silent prayer to himself. If this didn't work, then that was it. Project Promethius was dead. But if it did work, then... Victor didn't allow himself to pursue that line of thought any more, as he didn't want to get his hopes up.

All of the organs and muscles had been completed, grown exactly to measure. Victor went to the painstaking task of assembling the body, and once he was done, it hurt just as much as always to see that familiar figure lying there. It had taken another three years to develop an entire nervous system that could function with the electronic brain, but now his work would finally pay off. He activated the brain, and started to deliver small electric shocks to the heart to start it. Suddenly, the monitors in front of him all burst to life.

Pulse rate: Normal

Breath rate: Normal

Brain activity: Normal

Victor spun around to look at the table, and saw a girl looking about 16 years of age breathing softly, as if asleep. Victor dropped to his knees.

"My God... she's alive! She's alive!"

The girl on the table stirred and opened her eyes slightly.

"Fa... father?"

What Penny Knew

Her name was Penelope Frankenstein. Her father was Victor Frankenstein, a world renowned doctor. When she was 12 years old, she was hit by a truck and suffered serious injuries. Her father cared for her after the accident.

The Lie

The accident had caused her serious brain damage, putting her in a comatose state for 4 years. Her father had been working to revive her.

The Truth

The accident destroyed her brain beyond any hope of recovery.

She was the world's first manufactured human, and she didn't even know it.

Penelope was a frail-looking girl. Her skin was pale, and she was very thin, but she managed to show a sort of delicate beauty, from her long blonde hair and her bright blue eyes, and the way she carried herself, seeming to almost float through the air.

For the first few months, she lived her life normally, not suspecting a thing. That is, until the day her father left his lab unlocked.

Penelope was walking by the door one morning, when she noticed that the door was slightly open. Intrigued by the room that she had never been allowed to enter, she slowly opened the door wider and walked in.

From the kitchen, Victor heard the shattering of glass coming from the direction of his lab. My God, he thought, did I forget to lock up? "Penny!" He shouted as he ran as fast as he could down the hall.

Victor entered the lab to see a broken glass and water on the floor. Penny was standing in front of his computer, staring blankly at the contents of a folder labeled "PROMETHIUS-DELETE AFTER TRIAL STAGE"

"This... this is what I am?" Penelope asked shakily.

"Penny, I-"

"Don't call me that!" Penelope shouted, "That name is a lie! My whole life is a LIE"

Victor pleaded, "Penny, please!"

"STOP! I am not your daughter!" She was shouting through her sobs now, shaking like a tree in a storm. "I'm... I'm just..." she ran over to Victor and grabbed his shoulders, "What am I?"

"Penelope, please, you have to understand," Victor begged, "you ARE my daughter, and I love you!"

Penelope shoved Victor away in disgust. "You don't love me. You love your daughter. You love this shell you made for me. But you don't love me."

"Penny, I love you, I really do"

"Is that so..." Penelope stood perfectly still for what felt to Victor like an eternity. Then, with one sudden motion, she grabbed her hair and pulled it. She tore off her entire scalp, so that she was left holding her own hair, bleeding profusely from her head and screaming, screaming in terrible pain.

Victor was horrified. "Penny! Please, stop!"

"I AM NOT PENNY! STOP PRETENDING THAT I'M PENNY!" she ran to a bench and grabbed some sharp surgical instrument, stabbing it into her eyes, ruining those beautiful blue gems. She tore off her clothes and ran the tool all across her naked body, leaving deep gashes. Still screaming that terrible scream, she fell to the floor.

"Well, I think you can agree that I'm not Penny anymore" said the grotesque figure in it's ruined voice. Victor couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't say anything.

"This is what I am," said the figure, "this is what I choose to be" The figure looked up at Victor with it's eyeless face.

"Do you still love me, Daddy?"

Victor took a wary step back, then ran out of the lab.

"That's what I thought" said the figure, and it ran after Victor through the house, stopping when it reached the front door.

"That's right, doctor.

RUN!

RUN AWAY FROM YOUR MONSTER!"