Chapter 109: The Prelude

'Hey, voice recorder… I've been feeling really down. I don't know how long I've slept, but I had another dream. A red-eyed monster chasing me through The House, just like the last time. But something else happened. He stepped into the light and became a man, a red-skinned man. It was like a fairy tale, except I don't know if I was meeting a hero or a villain.

We talked a little. I was afraid at first, but he seemed okay, so I told him about my problems, about how I was sick and how all my sisters hate me now. I cried. I couldn't help it… It's stupid of me. But the Red Man was really sweet. He told me that it's 'natural' that a person like me will be loved more than 'my peers' and how some people will get jealous, 'especially of a talented and kind person like me'. That's what he said. He was warm and nice when he hugged me… How was I afraid of him before?

I kind of missed him when I woke up. But maybe I'll see him again. I wish Dad was awake when I woke up, because I felt sad again when I left the room and saw the rest of The House. I went to the washroom to drink some water and all I saw was that time when Bubbles and I used to bathe together, so happily and without having to worry about anything. I went back down to the living room to sit, and all I saw was Blossom and I playing together at my birthday party. She taught me how to play with the hula hoop, and throw darts, and hit a pinata without so much force that I would hurt everyone with the candies, and now, it's as if I'm her enemy now.

Blossom… I know you can't hear me now, but I just wish you'd understand… (cries) You were always kind to me, you were always teaching me things. I just wanted to help you too… (cries) and I just didn't want you to die.

Bubbles… You've always been so sweet to me and- and- (cries) When you stopped and became afraid of me… It's as if the world had… lost its color and only you can bring it back. I just wish you'd understand why I had to stun Blossom… Maybe tomorrow, if we talk, things will get better again?

Buttercup… I know how it's like for you to be upset all the time because I feel the same way too. Can't we be upset together? Rather than being alone? Maybe we can cheer each other up that way.

I hope tomorrow is a better day. I just want everyone to be safe, and alive, and happy…' - Bunny Utonium, 03/09/89, 0425. Sound Record File 17.


The City of Townsville. Suburbs. The House.

09 MAR (Thursday) 1989. 0749.

Blossom was miserable the moment she woke up. She knew that her vengeful actions the previous night would likely have consequences, and she was right. Dad had once again thrown her in together with Selicia and Buttercup for her morning bath, and while she was being led away roughly by Selicia as if she was a prisoner, she saw a glimpse of the look Dad had given her.

It had made her anxious throughout her bath, and it couldn't even be topped by Selicia rubbing her skin roughly with a sponge, treating her like a washboard, and pulling her hair both by accident and design. When she went down the stairs - and she actually had to take the stairs while Bubbles, Buttercup, and Bunny flew down - she saw that her special treatment did not end with her 'no powers' rule. While everyone else got to pick between tuna, cheese, and egg sandwiches on a central plate, Selicia had slapped Blossom's hand away when she dared to attempt the same thing.

Instead, when Dad came over to the dining table, he plopped down a bowl of unflavored oatmeal in front of her.

"Bon appétit!" Selicia said to Blossom sarcastically as the enhanced little girl made a face while she scooped up a spoonful of the stuff before putting it back again. She eyed Dad helplessly, who ignored her and just concentrated on his newspapers. She then glared at Bunny, whose eyes flitted back to her tuna sandwich just before they made eye contact, something which made her all the madder.

"Do I have to smack your hand again, Blossom?" Selicia warned her. "Or are you going to be a good little girl and start eating that bowl of goodness your Dad worked so hard to make?"

"I know you mean well, but there's no need to threaten her with physical punishments, dear," Professor Utonium said without looking up from his newspaper and egg-and-cabbage sandwich as if Blossom did not exist. "It'll only make her more violent than she already is."

Blossom was devastated upon hearing that. Trapped. It wasn't fair! She wasn't violent! She'd only hit Bunny because she had done something terrible! But there was no recourse for her once Dad had decided her fate. Looking down at her pitiful bowl of slushy oatmeal, she dipped her spoon into white mass and put it into her mouth. It was almost tasteless. Eating paper would have made for a more interesting experience.

But it wasn't over yet. When Blossom was done, she made for the door as fast as she could, only to be called back by Dad. Reluctantly, she padded back to him, looking a little more mousy than usual. By then, the whole family was already up.

"Bunny, why don't you stand in front of Blossom?" Dad suggested gently to the youngest of the quartet. Bunny did so reluctantly too, afraid that something else would happen and make Blossom resent her further. She looked down at Blossom, only to regret it when she made eye contact briefly. She looked away, then to the ground, then to her hands.

"Blossom, you know what to do," Dad suggested again.

"But… What do you mean?" Blossom squeaked. Bubbles and Buttercup were watching from next to the dining table. Only Mom was away, grabbing the Girls' respective winter jackets.

"What do you think? You're going to apologize to Bunny for what you did last night. Now," Dad said. Blossom didn't like it. In her mind, she had done nothing wrong. She was disgusted by what Bunny did - it was beyond even her darkest moment, beyond even what Buttercup was capable of. Those men were torn to shreds! And that was on top of what she had done to her! How could she ever sleep next to someone like that?

"Now, Blossom," Dad ordered again when Blossom fell silent. "We're not leaving until you do."

There was a pregnant silence after that as Blossom stared at the floor resentfully. Tears prickled her eyes as she couldn't stop thinking about how unfair it was.

"Blossom, I'm serious. Do I have to start counting? You need to start treating your younger sister better," Dad scolded, breaking the silence.

"Fine, I'm sorry! Can I go now!?" Blossom yelled all of a sudden, making Bubbles, Buttercup, and Bunny jump.

"Selicia, honey, why don't you take Bubbles, Buttercup, and Bunny out to the car," Professor Utonium said, deceptively calm, but his eyes - those eyes told a different story. Selicia gave the Girls (other than Blossom) their jackets before shepherding them towards the door and out. Selicia made to hang Blossom's jacket on the wall but dropped it on the floor when she missed the hook deliberately. Blossom could only watch helplessly. The front door slammed shut and silence ruled again after that, ominously so.

When they were well and truly alone, with no Girls peeking through the windows, the professor grabbed Blossom by the arms roughly and sat her down on the dining table. Blossom whined wildly from the treatment and forced herself free from the professor's grasp.

"What is wrong with you, Blossom!?" the professor scolded the enhanced little girl. "Why have you been misbehaving so much lately!?"

Blossom folded her arms, glaring spitefully at her Dad from the corner of her eyes as she turned away from him.

"You were wrong to kick her out of your room and you know it," the professor said. "You don't have the right to do that."

"I don't care," Blossom said defiantly. "And why do you care? You don't love me anymore."

The professor was just about to say something when he heard it. He shut his mouth after that, clenching his jaws. His hand had gone up. He didn't expect this. Since when did the situation with Blossom evolve to become… this?

The professor bent down to get closer to Blossom's eye level. Blossom did not turn her head.

"Blossom, look at me," the professor beckoned for the sulking Girl to regard him, but she wouldn't do it. Putting his hand on her chin, he turned her head, but the hateful look on her face was heartbreaking that he almost regretted it. "That's not true at all."

"You've stopped doing everything with me. You won't even talk to me anymore," Blossom confessed. "Everything's about Bunny now."

Oh, that. Jealousy. But the worst thing to the professor wasn't that. It was the fact that he had inadvertently encouraged Blossom to resent Bunny.

"I-" the professor wanted to deny it but thought better of it. "Look, I know I haven't been spending much time with you, or Bubbles and Buttercup, but it's for a good reason-"

"I don't care," Blossom interrupted.

"Bunny's younger! She needs more attention than the rest of you. She's younger, and yet she's involved in more dangerous matters!" the professor explained. "Do you remember how it was like when you were two weeks old? I spent all my waking moment and energy with the three of you." The professor laughed as he thought back to those times. Those were sweet memories, like scenes taken not from Earth, but from some mythological heaven. "I even got sick from all that work - since there's the three of you."

Blossom's face had melted upon mention of the past. Things were so much better back then, back when they didn't have to worry about fighting crime, at least when their first mission came up. But that was then, and Blossom wanted everything now.

"I don't care!" Blossom sulked. "She's only one person and there's the four of us."

"Why do you have to be so difficult, Blossom!?" the professor said, exasperated. "Fine. If you don't want to sleep in the same bed with Bunny, that's all good. You're getting a new room starting today."

"Dad!" Blossom exclaimed when she heard it.

"Oh, you'll love it! You won't have to share your bed with anyone! Or your new room for that matter! Your very white, and very bland, little room!" the professor continued to paint Blossom a very vivid picture.

"But I like my room!" Blossom yelled, only to be ignored.

"You'll get to be alone with no Bunny to bother you at all!" Dad went on, feigning excitement. "Just you and the four walls, with maybe a few toys for company!"

"Dad, stop!" Blossom pleaded with him. She could tell that he wasn't being very sincere. The way he was acting scared her, perhaps even more so than the consequences of her actions.

"Toys make good friends, don't you think?" the professor continued with his faux-excitement act. "They'll do whatever you want, whenever you want it!"

"Stop!" Blossom begged, horrified to tears. "I don't want to be alone! I don't want-" she had started crying so hard that she could no longer maintain the rationality for talking. It was only at that point that the professor stopped. He folded his arms and leaned against the table as he waited it out so that Blossom could cry her fill and perhaps regain a semblance of rationality.

"Blossom!" he called out to her after a while. The muted honking of the car horn outside was signaling that time was short. "Hey, Blossom!"

Still bawling, Blossom looked up at Dad.

"Do you understand what I'm saying now?" he asked. Blossom stared at him, dazed. The professor thought that she was still in no condition for a lesson in philosophy. "It wasn't pleasant for Bunny when you kicked her out of her room. It's her room too, by the way, not just yours. Do you understand how that feels now?"

Blossom nodded. The professor tore a kitchen towel off the dinner table, bent down next to Blossom, and started wiping her tears away with care as she continued to sniffle. When her eyes were fairly dry, he wiped the snot coming out of her nose and got her to blow into it. Deep down though, Blossom wasn't convinced. She wasn't just mad at Bunny for stunning her with her infrared beam, but she was afraid as well. She had injured her once, and in her mind, she could injure her again.


The City of Townsville. Pokey Oaks North. Pokey Oaks Kindergarten Complex.

09 MAR (Thursday) 1989. 1235.

Bunny continued to stare at her worksheet, her eyes distant despite being a mere couple of feet away from her paper. There were just a few simple questions on the sheet of paper, accompanied by cartoons, but she couldn't concentrate at all.

She had tried everything to turn back time, but nothing worked. Throughout the day, whenever she approached Bubbles, what was supposed to be her sweetest sister would cringe away from her. When she tried talking to her, she would stay silent and invent all sorts of excuses for doing so, and even in the few times she uttered something, she would merely nod and reply with a noncommittal 'sure' or 'okay'.

As a result, she had to eat alone (with her classmates, who weren't privy to her familial struggles), and play apart from her sisters during recess.

Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! When the phone rang, Bunny did not race to pick it up. Instead, she continued to stare into the white space of her worksheet. Miss Keane could only look on worriedly. She had wanted to talk to the newest addition to her class, but her indecision had cost her the opportunity.

Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! Neither did Blossom answer the call, afraid of even crossing paths with Bunny, not for fear of being assaulted, but for fear of running into the need to talk to her.

Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! Eventually, Bunny began to budge when Mac made for the phone, curious about what he would hear from it. She sprinted for it and managed to pick it up before Mac was even halfway across the room.

"Hello?" Bunny said, her voice sounding something like a funeral dirge.

"What took you so long?" it was General Blackwater, and thankfully, he wasn't as forceful with his criticism of her as he was before. Bunny couldn't handle another bad news, no matter how small or insignificant it was. "Now, we have a high-profile mission for you today. It's very important, so listen up! I want you at 5 Kirkwall Street, room three at the Outskirts by one-fifteen today."

Bunny did not reply.

"You got that?" the general prompted her.

"Yes," she said absentmindedly.

"One last thing. I want you in disguise. General Blackwater out," and the phone went dead, with a constant beep replacing his voice.

Putting down the phone wordlessly, Bunny went over to Miss Keane.

"May I leave the class? I have to go fight crime," she muttered, looking as if someone had died.

"Sure, go right ahead," Miss Keane said, but when Bunny turned around, she called out to her: "Wait, Bunny."

Bunny turned around again, her eyes turned to the floor.

"Bunny, if something is bothering you…" Miss Keane said.

"I don't want to talk about it," Bunny replied before Miss Keane could finish.

"Well, if you feel like doing that, you can come to me," Miss Keane said. Without another word though, Bunny turned around and walked away, leaving the classroom like a ghost. Most of her classmates didn't even see her leave, and Blossom and Bubbles were relieved to see Bunny leave. For some reason, Buttercup was grinning maniacally as Bunny's back was turned. Blossom and Bubbles had caught that expression, which only confused them. Buttercup rarely smiled these days.

Outside the classroom, Bunny hovered her way into the USDO armory built into the kindergarten, and locked the door. Before she could do anything, however, she saw that someone had forced open her wardrobe and messed up the contents inside. It couldn't be Bubbles, could it? It was either Blossom or Buttercup since they were usually the ones with the initiative.

Groaning miserably, Bunny began changing half-heartedly. Taking off her armor and weapons and uniform, she browsed through her wardrobe. Most of the costumes and clothes inside were damaged, leaving only a few sets available. She eventually selected a pair of blue jeans and a pink blouse that reminded her of Blossom. Taming her hair with a net, she chose a black bob cut wig that reminded her of Buttercup. She looked herself in the mirror and found some rare comfort in her appearance. It felt good, being someone else. There was just one more thing to add. Opening a drawer in her wardrobe, she picked a lens container that wasn't smashed in by one of her sisters. She changed her pupil colors before the mirror, and saw that it was blue, like Bubbles'.

Everything was reminding her of her sisters.

'Don't cry, Bunny,' she told herself. 'Don't cry or you'll waste too much time.' She still had to put on some minor make-up. But before she could do that, she felt a sharp pain in her chest and began coughing uncontrollably. She groaned in pain as she bent down, leaning against the wall on one arm. The pain was merciless as it didn't leave immediately and when it eventually did, it had spread down her torso, into her kidneys before disappearing. It had been paralyzing, and Bunny could only hope that it didn't happen again during an operation.


The City of Townsville. Outskirts. 5 Kirkwall Street.

09 MAR (Thursday) 1989. 1319.

Bunny was late, but she cared less about it. She couldn't bring herself to care about anything anymore. Since she was in disguise, she had to eschew the use of her bike and come down to the assigned address via the crammed Townsville subway.

Coming up from the underground, she walked down the street towards the location, which turned out to be an old but well-maintained motel, which was to be expected from the outskirts of the city, which was less dense than the center, and more accessible to travelers passing through. As usual, people stared at her as she was walking past them, but this time, it was because children were rarely left alone in Townsville due to the crime, including the kidnappings and child slavery and trafficking rings.

Walking into the office, she walked past the receptionist, only to be stopped and questioned once again. Even in her depressed state though, she knew better what to do from her experience last time.

"My dad's staying here," she claimed, and when she was questioned as to why she was walking around alone, she explained that she was just buying some candy and that it was strange that people were so cautious in Townsville, implying that she was from elsewhere, somewhere safer. If only it was true! After being warned about the dangers of the city, she was allowed through.

When she finally reached room three, she knocked on the door, which opened with a chain still attached. Rook, this time with a handlebar mustache and a pair of round-framed spectacles, poked his head out to look. He unlatched the door to let her in.

He wasn't alone. General Blackwater was there, and so was Corporal Nana. They were in disguise, but Bunny could identify them straight away.

"Little rabbit! It's so good to see you again!" Nana squealed in delight, picking her up right off the floor and hugging her. Bunny was largely unresponsive, however, and so she stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Whatever it is, it can wait. We have a critical operation to execute and we can't wait a minute longer," General Blackwater said impatiently.

"Sorry, Bunny. Be strong, 'kay?" Nana said, before letting Bunny down and sitting by the room's vanity, leaning against it.

"Any idea what you'll be doing today?" General Blackwater asked as Bunny sunk her butt into the foot of the bed. Bunny did not respond. She was just sitting there, looking down at the carpeted floor. Exasperated, the general grab her by the arms and shook her. "I need you to focus, Bunny! This is important! It's important for Townsville, it's important for me, and it's certainly very important to you!"

"Why?" Bunny asked, something she had never done before when it came to a mission. It didn't go unnoticed that the enhanced Girl was more apathetic than ever before. Something was wrong, but the general did not have the luxury of time.

"Because it concerns your 'sisters' directly!" the general said. "Are you interested now?"

Her sisters. They had been acting as anything but. However, she couldn't forget the past, nor could she give up on a brighter future with them, with the enemies gone, and just her sisters and her left alone to perhaps rekindle their sisterhood and earn their happy ending.

"Yes," Bunny looked the general straight in the eyes, furrowing her eyebrows. She wanted her sisters back, and all she needed was time and opportunity. If it meant going against Blossom's principles and killing more enemies to save them again, then so be it.

"As you know, Rook here had tasked you with a stealth mission at Precinct 13. That was a cakewalk, I heard. Now, it's the real deal," General Blackwater explained. "I take it that you should know your way around a stealth mission by now because you'll be dealing with Police Chief Paul Feig today."

Bunny's eyes lit up upon the bare mention of the police betrayer's name.

"Do I get to kill him?" she asked.

"Not yet," the general said. "Our spies and reconnaissance teams reported that he is not in his office at this time. You will instead be collecting evidence of his activities. We will need them as both justification and material for planning our offensives."

"But what about-"

"You'll get to do it soon, Bunny. As soon as we got what we need, you'll get to kill him ASAP," the general promised. "He's very important to the diseased organs of the Townsville Police Department. Taking him out will severely inconvenience our enemies. It will save your family because they will take them out if they succeed. But for now, do this one favor for me."

"Gladly…" Bunny agreed.