Chapter 61: Bunny Good

Training Segment: Orientation

Date: 26 FEB (Sunday) 1989

Time: 0558

Subject: B-50 'Bunny Utonium'

Role: Black Ops Organic Weapons Platform (Bioweapon)

Status: In Training

The door closed behind Bunny when she was led into the room. She was kind of pushed into it, in fact, by a somewhat reluctant Selicia when she wouldn't go in on her own. The room was quickly vacated by the few soldiers in it, and one of them was Corporal Nana Weston, the young woman soldier who had played with her on the general's visit, exchanging a look of familiarity with her before leaving. Bunny smiled at the nice young woman, but her smile was as short-lived as Nana's presence.

Bunny stared at the end of the room, where the huge man was. Banging on his keyboard as if it had offended him severely, General Blackwater was typing up something when she came in. She had time to observe the man before he noticed her. He was a gray-haired old man; General Blackwater was the first old man she had ever seen, and she didn't know why he was different from the others. Like her, he was bulky for someone his size - and he was already a colossus.

"Miss Bunny Utonium," the general greeted her in a severe, monotonous voice without looking at her. "Sit down in that chair in front of me."

Bunny stood rooted where she was. She hated this, and she wanted - so much - to throw herself back into the loving arms of her Dad.

"Do not make me repeat myself again," the general growled at her like a bear. Seeing no other choice, Bunny padded cautiously towards the chair while her eyes were still having a staring contest with the carpeted floor. Her feet, clad in the thick leather of her boots, felt clumsy only because she was unused to it. "I'll take it that you know what a chair is."

Bunny slipped into the chair in front of the general, perching on the edge as if getting ready to bolt. The general looked up at her all of a sudden, and she jumped when he did.

"You will speak when you're spoken to, Bunny," the general instructed the enhanced girl. "It's called being polite, or courteous, something your father should have taught you."

"Bunny know what a chair is…" she said half-heartedly. There was silence after that. The general did not appear to appreciate it, not like how Dad would. Every little thing seemed to remind Bunny of what was missing. The general was like the antithesis of her Dad, the God in her eyes who would praise her for even the smallest of achievements. She felt like the odd one out here, in this entire building she found herself in when her elder sisters were not around. She was little and afraid and she knew it.

At first, Bunny was looking at the general expectantly (but not in a good way), wondering what he had in store for her, but when he just continued to bang on his keyboard, her eyes drifted down again.

"Do you know why you're here, Bunny?" the general asked her all of a sudden, still banging on his keyboard at the same time. It sounded ready to just split in two.

"To help Bunny's sisters?" she said. What she said was met with silence for a moment.

"Yes, that's right," the general said and seemed to acknowledge her faster. "Do you know why you need to help them?"

"Bunny…" the enhanced girl wondered about the reasoning behind her statement, only to realize that something was missing. Her Dad and Mom had been repeating to her what she would be doing in the future, and yet… "Bunny don't know why…"

Reasons. Bunny knew that reasons existed. Her Dad had told her everything about reasons the moment she understood enough words to be able to make sense of it. She knew, for example, that learning how to speak was important because it allowed her to communicate with others, sometimes to get them to act in a certain way, or give her something to talk about for fun.

General Blackwater had stopped typing on his computer all of a sudden. If the keyboard could feel, it would likely be relieved. The change seemed significant to Bunny, but she couldn't understand why.

"I know everything about your sisters, Bunny," the general said, his eyes still pinned to her. Even with her limited understanding of the world, Bunny understood the general's newest fact to be of interest. She had never thought that General Blackwater and her elder sisters knew each other. "I've worked with them. Let me tell you the reason why you need to help them, why you're here."

"There are people out there hurting them, do you understand?" the general revealed. Bunny studied the general, now less afraid of him. She shook her head though - she couldn't quite understand what he meant. Although she knew what the word 'hurt' meant, she'd never known that people could hurt each other.

"Bunny don't understand…" she said.

"Is that right? Then let me educate you," the general replied harshly all of a sudden. He'd said it in such a way that made Bunny feel that she had done something wrong. Standing up, rising far above Bunny, he slipped off a glove and unsheathed a combat knife on his belt. Bunny jumped at his reaction.

"No! B-bunny scared!" the enhanced girl said as the general stood over her, with his combat knife held firmly in a gloved hand. He looked as if he was about to stab her, or do any number of nasty things to her.

The general went around his desk, coming closer to her. Bunny squeezed herself deep into her seat, too panicked to get out of her chair. He pressed the sharp edge of his combat knife against his left hand and slid it across his palm. Bunny could see red on the blade after that. Blood. She had never seen it before. The general didn't even wince when he cut himself, and when he was done, he showed her his bloody, cut palm.

"This is what they're doing to your sisters," he said. "Do you understand better now?"

Bunny nodded with her eyes wide with biologically-programmed fear, unable to tear them away from the bloodied blade in the general's right hand. Her eyes were misting even though she was not the one hurt.

"They're the enemy, and they're trying their best to destroy your sisters, to kill them. Do you know what that means?" the general went on lecturing Bunny. Reluctantly, Bunny shook her head. She didn't want to - all she got for her trouble was a harsh lesson in what 'hurt' truly meant, not to mention the shock of her life.

"When your sisters are killed, you'll never see them again. They will be taken away, forever - that is the enemy's objective." the general explained further. He studied Bunny for a reaction, and would have smiled in triumph had the matter been less morbid. The horrified look on Bunny's face was what he wanted so that she knew what was at stake. "Do you understand?"

"Bunny understands," she said, even as she was still trying to fight off the shock in her. But as it was wearing off, it was replaced with misery instead. "Bunny doesn't want sisters to go…"

"And that is why you're here," the general said while he made a round around his desk, returning to his seat. He turned around briefly to reach for a first-aid kit, opening it and taking out gauze and antiseptic to clean his self-inflicted wound. The gauze was soaked through within seconds. "In a way, we both want the same thing. I would hate to see your sisters go too. They are not good soldiers, but they are my soldiers all the same. You will train with me and my men, and you will protect your sisters from harm. Do you understand?"

"Bunny understands…" she said. General Blackwater took a good, long look at her. It was as if his face was made of stone. He hadn't changed expressions at all and it was making Bunny self-conscious.

"Your sisters. They're weak and flawed. Small. They're spoiled rotten. They're too dumb and trusting," the general continued. Bunny didn't like how the general is talking about her sisters, but she didn't dare to speak out against it. Her face, though, was completely transparent, and for the first time ever, she scowled at someone. "Good. Very good, Bunny."

"Bunny… good?" she said, taken by surprise. It was the first time General Blackwater had praised her, and because it had been hard to get him to say anything positive, it felt good.

"It's better for you to be angry than scared," the general said, with a smile. "Anger can be very useful, but then again, there's a use for everything…"

"You should know that I'm one of the good guys. I would never hurt your sisters – Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup," the general went on. Just the mention of her sisters' names had piqued her interest. "I'm fighting to preserve their lives. And I need your help to do that because they're on the brink."

"Bunny help!" she repeated herself earnestly. Her family was all she knew – and if she could help them in any way, she would go all in, just like how she comforted her Dad when he upset.

"I'm sure you will. I'm just trying to be honest here, Bunny. The reason why they need your help is that they can never be better than you. They can never be as strong, or fast, or more intelligent than you. They can never be as good as you are."

"Bunny good…" she muttered timidly but smiled, won over by the general. With Bunny's resolve and motivation secured, the general then went on a lengthy explanation of what was to come, and what he had in mind for Bunny's training would put her far above her sisters, way beyond their league…

Training Segment: Standard Equipment

Date: 26 FEB (Sunday) 1989

Time: 0625

Subject: B-50 'Bunny Utonium'

Role: Black Ops Organic Weapons Platform (Bioweapon)

Status: In Training

Ever since her talk with General Blackwater, Bunny had relaxed a little more around him, though not too much. Despite opening up a little to her, the general remained stern towards her, and as they made their way to the firing range, he would give her the look whenever he suspected that she would begin to misbehave. Of course, this was pre-emptive on the general's part, and Bunny hadn't done anything wrong.

On the way towards the firing range, Bunny saw a squad of men jogging past her, fully equipped for war and armed to the teeth. Some of them were looking at her, some making eye contact before turning away; her glowing purple eyes had caught their attention, but her being in the general's company more so. They had always known him to harbor a hatred towards enhanced individuals ever since the early days when the USDO was just the Organization, small and ill-equipped, unknown despite the great strides it had made towards improving the US military.

They entered the armory after that, and they were greeted by the armory sergeant, who escorted them to a special weapons lock-up area, which contained some of the more exotic of equipment. General Blackwater had already arranged for Bunny's equipment to be laid neatly on a table in the center.

There was a full suit of armor that came in one piece, color-coded to suit Bunny's purple eyes and dress. It was like nothing modern, no, it was downright futuristic, likely cutting-edge stuff. A heavily modified MP5 sat beside it, as well as a pistol. Loads of magazines and grenades and smaller things took up a whole quarter of the huge table.

The general went up to the armor and knocked on the chest piece with his knuckles. Bunny looked on like a birthday girl or someone who was unwrapping presents on Christmas; instinctively, she knew that it was all for her. It was the color that tipped her off.

"Multi-layered composite poly-weave Kevlar, titanium joints and frame, 360 degrees protection - this here is the latest tech ordered on express just for you. This thing will stop even assault rifle bullets," the general introduced Bunny's new toy to her. "And it's all for you. Think of it as a thank-you gift in advance for protecting your sisters. How about we put it on now? Are you up to it?"

"Bunny good!" the enhanced girl simply said, seeing this as no different from that time when Dad bought her some new dresses to replace Mom's stuff, which was oversized on her.

"I'll take that as an affirmative," the general said before pulling the all-encompassing suit of armor off the table with some difficulty. The thing was heavy. A normal 8-year-old child would be completely immobilized by it. The suit of armor was actually the unpowered version of the power armor being produced by Project Klendathu, stripped of unnecessary electronic and electrical components. It could almost stand on its own, as demonstrated by the general when he stood it up and began opening the various parts up for Bunny to slip into; splitting open the chest, pulling the limbs open from the sides…

By herself, Bunny was pretty well-built for a girl who had never been to the gym. With the suit on, she was a pint-sized tank, lacking only a helmet - which the general had - again pre-emptively - decided that she didn't need in anticipation of the fact that she would likely develop some manner of enhanced ability similar to Blossom's infrared beam.

"Try walking around this room," the general ordered not too severely. With his hands on Bunny's armored shoulders like a father teaching a child how to walk, he pushed her gently off, and as if walking for the first time, Bunny started waddling forward, rounding a corner awkwardly. It wasn't exactly heavy for her. In fact, she could hardly feel a thing. She was just unused to it. However, that quickly changed when she rounded another corner, then another. By the time she returned to the general after making a full circle around the room, she was practically skipping towards him, enjoying the feel of her new outfit, as if it was a pair of ballet tights and tutu. She stopped when she realized she was getting carried away, only to find that the general was smiling as he was crossing his arms.

Upon being detected, the general dropped his smile and beckoned for Bunny to stand next to him while he pulled the modified MP5 close to them. "Have you seen your sisters' guns? You do know what a gun is, right?"

"Bunny know," she said as she was still pulling on her protective suit, adjusting it to be more comfortable.

"Yours is better, and it will fit a girl of your natural abilities," the general praised Bunny stealthily. Picking up the MP5, he stared through the scope to check if it was working, before clearing the firearm of any misplaced rounds. It was dry when he triggered it; empty. "Your main firearm has a scope, suppressor, flashlight and laser sight. Your magazines will be extended and doubled for ease of reloading. Your sidearm will have some of the same things. I will teach you how to use each of them personally."

After that, General Blackwater would introduce Bunny to her pistol, which was just as customized as her main weapon. It had a suppressor as well, which, when used with subsonic rounds, would be almost entirely silent save for the sound of its mechanical components working. The pistol's magazine poked out of the receiver; it was extended. She had grenades of all sorts; flashbangs, smoke grenades, and even fragmentary grenades, something which General Blackwater had refused to give Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup for fear of misuse.

She was also provided with a combat knife, a set of garret wires, all sorts of utility tools ranging from ropes to flashlights to night vision goggles, most of which the general would never consider giving to the original trio.

Training Segment: Firearms Training

Date: 26 FEB (Sunday) 1989

Time: 0716

Subject: B-50 'Bunny Utonium'

Role: Black Ops Organic Weapons Platform (Bioweapon)

Status: In Training

General Blackwater was bending low as he was instructing Bunny on the operation of her suppressed Sig Sauer pistol. They were both wearing ear protection and ballistic goggles while they were live at the firing range. Bunny was predictably doing everything wrong at first, having no concept of firearms; she wasn't even aiming down the sights, her elbows were locked and the gun wasn't entirely upright. That, and she was holding her pistol all wrong, with the fingers of her left hand gripping the slide. With her kind of strength, it could jam the pistol.

Standing behind Bunny closely, the general began painstakingly correcting her. His hands enclosed around Bunny's wrists and pulled them closer to her so that her arms were bent and relaxed. He had reasoned that an enhanced individual didn't need to brace for a gun's recoil, as evidenced by Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup's usage of firearms. He then adjusted the way she was holding the pistol, and as he was explaining the theory in fine detail, his hands went over to hers so that he could adjust them for her.

"Now look at the sights," the general explained to Bunny, his voice lowered to an unexpectedly gentle tone, his face just behind Bunny's, his mouth close to her ear. "Keep the beads on the paper bad guy in front of you. See the castle in front of you? The towers should all be the same height."

"Fire when ready."

And Bunny did just that, after a few second's hesitance. The bullet zipped right through the heart of the paper target. The general had earlier conducted a quick lesson on gun operation and safety. She knew to anticipate the recoil, and her grip and arm muscles were so strong that the recoil didn't matter at all.

"Perfect. You're just like me, Bunny," the general commended the enhanced girl. "You have whatever it takes to be a good soldier. Believe me, I know."

"Bunny good!" she would be jumping with joy had she not been in the firing range. She could recall every rule of the range at heart, and she didn't want to disappoint the general. In fact, she had forgotten that she was afraid of him. Mom was right all along - he was nice once she got to know him.

Selicia had been watching from the back. She couldn't help but feel… jealousy, and yet she couldn't believe she was jealous of the general of all people. Watching from her angle, General Blackwater and Bunny looked like father and daughter - and she was supposed to be the one to teach her how to handle firearms, as mother and daughter. Although she knew that she was still in charge of Bunny's subsequent target practice, the general had effectively taken away the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to teach Bunny how to shoot the first time. It was something that could happen only once, and she couldn't understand why the general would want to instruct Bunny personally when he was supposed to delegate like the general he was.

Bunny would then move on to fire quick bursts of pistol rounds, failing to connect all the shots at first, before succeeding in making one close grouping after the next. She was a fast learner as she didn't need to struggle to remember things, and General Blackwater was an effective teacher - it was part of the reason why he was a great leader. Selicia hated it, but there was nothing she could do.

They would then move on to Bunny's heavily modified MP5. It went a lot quicker than with the pistol as she was getting the hang of it. It was tight grouping after tight grouping, at all ranges. But it didn't end there. Bunny would be trained in the use of many diverse firearms of all sizes, from derringers to heavy machineguns that looked like they belonged in the trenches of World War 1. She would learn to field-strip them and put them together again, and how to maintain them. At this point, at least, Selicia had less to complain about, as General Blackwater had to retire to his office because of exhaustion. A bear with good genetics and futuristic medical treatment though he might be, he was still an old man in his sixties.

"I hope the general wasn't too hard on you, Bunny," Selicia said to her while she was supervising Bunny as she was taking apart a GPMG, an M240, giggling and smiling as though she was playing a game and the machinegun was a puzzle to be solved.

"Bunny like General Blackwater. He's nice to Bunny," the enhanced girl said as she removed the barrel of her machinegun. Selicia would be lying if she were to say she wasn't surprised. She didn't think that it was possible for them to get this close, and in one day too.