Chapter 79: Shadow War (Part 1)

The City of Townsville. Suburbs. The House.

02 MAR (Thursday) 1989. 2155.

Bunny did not want to go, but she had to. When her superiors started calling, it was her duty to go. She would have been more than glad to go had it not been for the way life would remind her that happiness was fleeting, even if the pain was equally so.

After the family's nightly dinner and bath, Bunny heard shouting coming from the master bedroom. Dad and Mom were arguing, and she could hear it easily because of her enhanced hearing. Unknown to her, she had a kindred spirit when it came to sensitive hearing, but Buttercup couldn't care less about the family.

They seemed like they were at each other's throats, but Bunny knew she couldn't get involved in the adults' matters. That was the impression she'd gotten back in her black ops training. Dad was yelling at Mom about how she had failed in her duties as the Girls' instructor, and Mom was accusing him of hypocrisy. Dad would yell at Mom about how he thought she was giving preferential treatment to Buttercup and Bunny, while Mom screamed back at him for neglecting Buttercup and failing to protect the family as the man of the family.

It was all too much for the week-old enhanced girl. It'd gotten messy, spiraled out of control too quickly, too deeply for her to listen to. And yet she couldn't help it. All while Bunny had been trying really hard to play with Blossom and Bubbles. They were recreating Townsville just like they used to, and Bunny was actually trying to get them to play her version of a tabletop wargame.

She couldn't even host it right as she was constantly distracted, and the game was ended early when Blossom and Bubbles thought she was too tired to play. The Girls ended up going their separate ways in the room, with Blossom reading and Bubbles playing with her hospital set dolls. Bunny, meanwhile, hid behind a huge dollhouse, staring blankly at the miniature occupants of a manufactured American Dream while Dad and Mom continued their total war of words.

It was as if Bunny was so upset that she'd become a black hole - time flew by as she curled up behind the dollhouse, unknowingly abandoned by her sisters who were busy occupying themselves, thinking that she was just having fun with their toys.

Buttercup, in the meantime, continued her journey through the cards Dad used to teach them words and their associated meanings. She had finally, and inadvertently, come upon the science section. 'Scientists learn about the world', said one. 'Experiments are done for learning', said another. 'Guinea pigs help them learn', another card flashed, show a scientist giving a guinea pig a thermometer and injection. 'The Guinea pigs and lab rats are friends', another continued telling the science story.

That was when it hit her. And when it did, it'd taken her breath away, like a punch in the gut, or a shot in the lungs. How did it elude her all this time?

Dad came in after that. Only Blossom and Bubbles noticed him. Whatever modicum of attachment Buttercup had with Dad was completely extinguished the moment she realized the truth. Bunny, on the other hand, didn't dare speak to Dad. She couldn't help but feel responsible somehow for the fight between him and Mom, and guilty for eavesdropping on their argument.

It didn't take long for Dad to notice that half his Girls were missing.

"Bunny, Buttercup! It's bedtime!" he called out to the 'missing' Girls, but they were really just sitting further away from the other two. Buttercup reluctantly floated over to the bed, motivated only by physical needs. Bunny followed after a long pause. Despite looking taxed, it seemed that Dad was thinking about himself last. He forced a smile, hoping that it looked like he had a fun surprise for them. "How about a special story tonight? We'll continue Icarus and Daedalus' story and then we'll find out-"

Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! The clown phone interrupted Dad just when he was successful at distracting Bunny from her misery. Icarus and Daedalus' story had a special place in her heart, especially since it was told by her Dad.

Blossom sped over to the phone, slightly annoyed that their bedtime was interrupted by a call - it would mean a late night for them. While Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup could take sleep deprivation far better than kids their physical age, the feeling of staying awake longer than usual was still unpleasant, just like how harmless bullets could still cause them pain even if they would only bounce off them.

"Hello? It's Blossom," the leader of the quartet spoke into the phone. "Is that you, Mullens?"

"No," the voice in the phone said coldly. It wasn't a voice that Blossom recognized. "I'm looking for B-50. Bunny. Bunny Utonium."

The voice had just stopped there and waited. And when Blossom did not respond, the man on the phone repeated his request impassively: "B-50 'Bunny'. Now."

It was the first time it had happened. Blossom got off the phone staring at Bunny while the rest of the room was looking at her, wondering what manner of emergency had gotten her to appear so flabbergasted.

"Who is it, honey?" Dad asked.

"Someone's looking for Bunny," Blossom's voice was almost a whisper. She had mixed feelings about this; Relief that she and her fellow elder sisters wouldn't be fighting till midnight, but genuine apprehension that Bunny was going to go. She couldn't help it, but she was glad Bunny was going as it meant that she'd have Dad all to herself, but at the same time, she was horrified, again, at herself for being so selfish. Why couldn't she control her own feelings?

Bunny had been sitting in bed, and the moment she heard that the phone was for her, she'd stiffened up. It was time. But with everything that had happened, the timing didn't feel right.

Yet duty calls.

Rushing to Blossom, Bunny took it, her misery forgotten.

"Hello? Private Bunny Utonium reporting, sir," she said into the phone stoically.

"B-50. This is Rook of USDO Intelligence. Report to Providence Avenue near the warehousing district ASAP," and that was it. The person on the other end hung up the moment the message was delivered. Bunny did the same. The time had come, but it didn't come at a great time. She'd wanted to spend more time with Dad, not just for herself, but for him as well.

"Well, what was that about?" Dad asked when he noticed that Bunny had frozen up. His voice had spurred her into action.

"I have to go," Bunny announced, determined. It was a sacrifice she would have to make. Her family was at stake and she needed to keep them safe. If she wasn't going, her sisters would likely be. "I'm going to fight crime."

Bunny rushed into the closet immediately, closing the door behind her. Professor Utonium and the Girls could hear the clattering of clothes hangers and boxes shifting. She was out within seconds.

"That's-" the professor wanted to say more, but Bunny's quickness was something awe-inspiring, something which muted him. She'd burst out of the walk-in closet in her uniform before walking into her armor and putting it on speedily. She was in and secured within a second. "Bunny-"

Bunny would then return to the closet, this time without closing the door, to put her weapons and equipment on; her modded MP5, P226, knife, various grenades, a bag of claymore explosives, night-vision goggles. Some wires and rope - to everyone else who were watching, it seemed as if there was no end to the stuff she was bringing along. But still, Bunny made short work of them. She was on the way to the window again within seconds. It hadn't even been a minute ago when she was in her pajamas.

"Bunny, wait!" her Dad shouted. She turned around. He ran up to her to hug her, as if afraid that she'd just be whisked away, never to return. With her speed, it was actually about half true. Bunny hugged him back tightly that the professor was actually aching from the hardness of her next-generation personal armor. "Stay safe, okay? I wish I could be there for you."

"Me too," Bunny whispered into his ear. The professor pulled back, looking at her, confused as to what she meant.

"I'll be fine, Dad," she then said, this time in normal volume.

"Good luck!" Blossom wished Bunny.

"Be careful!" Bubbles added.

"Don't let the bullets bite!" Buttercup made a half-hearted attempt at blending in.

"You see, Bunny? Your family loves you. Come home soon," the professor said, then kissed Bunny in the cheek. She kissed him back the same way, and then she was gone.


The City of Townsville. Suburbs. The House.

02 MAR (Thursday) 1989. 2205.

Bunny had taken her bike, and soon she was roaring down the highway towards the rendezvous point Rook had set up for her. It was a surprisingly stealthy way to go about doing something. With her speed, she was able to pass as a short woman at a glance, and with her weapons and equipment, Townsvillians would just assume she was a USDO agent. The only secret was that she was an enhanced child involved in black operations.

She was stopped only once by the police for her excessive speed, but her black pass solved that problem.

It didn't take long at all for her to reach the rendezvous point, which was a distance away from the warehousing district. There was a black four-wheel-drive SUV. A man, who was halfway through his cigarette, was leaning against it. She'd seen him before. A suave guy with gelled hair, he looked every bit like an intelligence agent. Or a mid-tier office worker. Or a businessman. Or a hundred other things. Upon seeing her, he opened a door and gestured for her to get in.

General Blackwater was in there. Her heart jumped when she saw him, not out of fear, but gladness.

"Hello, Bunny," the general greeted her like some long lost father. "How's it been, going back to your family?"

"Good. Bad. Both, I guess," Bunny replied. After a quick catch-up, which was all they could afford, they had to get right down to business.

"Gangsters, cultists, and terrorists. Those are the three main groups of criminals who've been hurting your sisters the moment they were tasked with law enforcement. They're all here tonight, looking to do worse," the Head of Intelligence, Rook, said dramatically. The bare mention of her sisters being hurt in any way had gotten Bunny's attention quite easily. Got her pumped and ready to do some damage. "They're planning something. Thing is, we don't know what. Our undercover agents have been trying to unearth what it is. They're getting close, but for now, all they've gotten us is this secret meeting between the three main groups of criminals - the Lombardi, the Cult of His Promise, and the Foundation. It's good enough, and that's where you come in. General?"

"Your job here is simple, Bunny. There's going to be representatives of each faction in the warehouse Vaugh Steel Co. off Wilmark Road. Our sources counted over thirty in attendance. Kill them all, but leave a few alive for interrogation," General Blackwater described in brief. "Do this, and not only will you save your sisters the trouble, but stop these criminals from hurting them. How do you feel about this?"

"I'm not going to let them hurt my family," Bunny declared.

"Good," the general said, pleased. They would then go over the specifics of the mission - criminal profiles, the lay of the land as depicted in a map, the strategy that Bunny would use. The enhanced girl was coming up with most of her strategies on her own, mentored by the men involved in the operation.


The City of Townsville. Warehouse District. Wilmark Road. Vaugh Steel Co.

02 MAR (Thursday) 1989. 2219.

Bunny had been scouting the warehouse in question. The place was locked down pretty tightly. The cargo bays were completely sealed off. Most of the doors leading into the warehouse were chained shut, and only a couple were left completely open, but with each guarded by several men. That was not to say that each sealed entrance was left unguarded, however. Gunmen would keep watch over the doors from windows high above, ensuring that any attempt to breach them wouldn't go unnoticed.

It was perfect. While the hated criminals were doing the sensible thing by digging in and defending their position, their strategy could easily be turned against them.

Bunny would insert herself into the zone through a shipping container yard spread out before one of the entrances. She had to slow down to avoid kicking up too much snow and getting seen, but in the eyes of a normal human being - not that anyone had seen her - she would be running beyond the sprinting speed of even an athlete. Dodging from container to container, she made her way towards one of the entrances, sticking to the shadows, her bright, glowing and purple eyes hidden away behind night-vision goggles.

She could see her targets perfectly. Three men, probably Lombardi soldatos based on their immaculate suits and fedora hats and jackets, were huddled around an oil drum repurposed as a furnace, ablaze with their campfire. It was otherwise dark around them - perfect cover for the gang members should they need it, Bunny thought, based on her training. Too bad that it was good for her too.

She was able to get within yards of them and still remain in cover. The shipping containers she was hiding amongst had brought her that far. It was perfect. She drew her knife - even suppressed firearms with subsonic rounds would be too loud in the middle of nowhere and at night.

And then she struck. Ran up to the first man she targeted and ran him through with her combat knife, tossed him aside before jumping on a second and slicing through his throat. It was only when a second body hit the floor that the last man standing realized what was going on, and the shock of seeing a girl in some futuristic, dark purple armor had rendered him mute as he gasped and fumbled for his shotgun. He couldn't even bring it to bear when Bunny jumped past him and sliced his throat cleanly in two.

Without stopping and waiting around, Bunny began dragging the bodies into the shadows, out of sight, out of mind, piling them into a corner at one location rather than three - less chance of discovery that way. With the guards no longer a problem, Bunny got up to the entrance they were protecting and shut it. She looked around the double doors. There were no chains, no padlocks, no real way to secure the door. She thought about using the ropes she had, but they would be too easy to cut through. She would have to improvise. One of the men had a hunting rifle. Picking it up, she broke off the wooden parts and twisted the barrel around the handles of the double doors as if they were rubber, and made sure they were tight. The only way to open the doors then would be to either take them off their hinges or blow them up. Either way, she'd know to slaughter anyone who dared to.

Sprinting silently around the warehouse, clearing two sides in a matter of seconds while careful not to give off any energy emissions, Bunny leaned against the wall at a corner. Taking a peek around the corner, she spotted five men, though she couldn't be sure if the two hooded figures among them were male. Cultists among what looked like a ragtag bunch of misfits. Terrorists. She knew the looks from her briefing.

The second group was more challenging. Their greater numbers notwithstanding, Bunny knew about the cultists - they tend to carry weapons dangerous to enhanced beings like her, though they usually come in the form of bladed weapons. The terrorists, on the other hand, used Duranium in their firearms with varying degrees of safety and success. There were cars and vans parked among tall and wide trucks all around them which would suffice as cover.

Hopping from car to car, van to van, Bunny searched for the best angle to launch her strike, and when she finally found it, she pulled her suppressed pistol out. She had deliberately sought out a hiding spot that was further away so that the sound of her subsonic rounds discharge wouldn't reach the interior of the warehouse. Sitting behind her car, she weighed the risks; there was still a chance that someone inside could hear her. If he was close enough to the entrance, he just might - Bunny hadn't seen anyone at the entrance itself, but it didn't mean that he wasn't there. If only she had Blossom's x-ray vision!

There was no other way to go about this.

After taking a deep breath, Bunny popped out of her cover and unloaded several shots at her targets. Three went down while she sprinted towards the remaining two. Before they could so much as shout or radio in the attack, however, Bunny had already jumped and put her knife through the throat of one and pistol-whipped the other, who fell backward from the force, clutching his jaw.

The last man was a cultist, dressed almost like a civilian. The tattoos gave him away. His lower jaw was broken, and so shouting became a near-impossibility to him. The cultist pulled some kind of a machete out, and as Bunny jumped on him to put her knife through his eye socket, she felt the long blade slicing past her cheek.

It was over within seconds. But Bunny felt something wet dribbling down her face, and it wasn't sweat. It was different somehow, a little more viscous. She wiped it away instinctively, only for some of it to splash on the snowy floor, painting it red. Blood. She looked at her glove. Blood, and it was hers. The pain didn't come until she saw it.

She gasped, teared up.

"This is Rook to B-50. I've been listening through the audio feed. Report," a voice came through her earpiece. Bunny ran up to the warehouse and hid before its wall.

"I'm hurt," Bunny cried. It'd come as a shock. She hadn't been hurt since... General Blackwater's lesson on interrogation resistance.

"How bad is it?" came General Blackwater's voice, which comforted her. He sounded as if he was butting in urgently, no doubt rushing to her aid.

"T-there's a cut on my cheek," Bunny said, her voice shivering. She was still cupping her cheek with a hand. The bleeding had since stopped, but it was still burning there.

"Bunny, it's not that bad," General Blackwater said over the radio. But Bunny had barely heard it. Memories were coming back. The general cutting her arm up. The waterboarding. She couldn't help but hyperventilate.

"Bunny, stop. Listen to me-" the general said when he heard her panting over the radio, struggling to even function.

"I can't!" she cried.

"Listen to me," he said. He had a hunch as to why Bunny was reacting so severely to such a minor wound, besides the fact that she was little over a week old. "I'm sorry I had to hurt you back then."

"You're sorry?" she said, calming down a little. 'Sorry' was the last word she expected to hear from the general's lips. It meant something, and it had to be big that he would say it.

"I didn't want to. But you are strong, and I wanted you to be stronger," the general comforted her, though it wouldn't really qualify as comforting to a regular person. To Bunny, it was something else. "You're better than this, Bunny, I've always known. What I did to you back then was bad. This? This is nothing. Get up, Bunny. Make your father proud."

'Dad…' Bunny thought. She had to be stronger for him. She remembered her responsibilities. She had to keep her family safe. If she were to fail now, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup would be next in line to fight crime, and the last time they went out, they came back looking horrible. She couldn't help but imagine that they would be worse off the next time. Perhaps coming back with a few more new orifices each, or even with missing appendages or limbs.

"Yes, General Blackwater," Bunny said more firmly. Wiping away tears and sweat and blood, she went on with the mission, closing and barring the second exit from the warehouse. For good measure, she smashed the tail-light of a car, hotwired it and drove it right up next to the double-doors to block it.

Getting out of the car, she sprinted towards another corner of the warehouse, close to where the power room was. She had memorized the map while she was in the unmarked USDO SUV with the general, so navigation wasn't even a concern. The window was high up, near ceiling-height, but Bunny was able to jump and shove her hands through the glass with ease, grabbing hold of the edge. Pulling herself up, she vaulted it and landed on the floor inside silently. There was a hum. A transformer was working tirelessly within and beside it was a power box…