Chapter II:
Family of Strangers, part 1
The huge spaceship drifted silently through the void of space. Let the mind's eye pan across it, taking in the sleek silver hull, the large ugly hole punched in one fuel tank, and the large red and black ThunderCat symbol painted on the side. Let the mind's eye move up to the cockpit. Five Thunderans sporting the ThunderCat symbol on various parts of their persons are in a heated exchange with an older man who had 'pilot' written all over him. In space, there is no sound. This is probably a good thing, considering the fact that the more gentle readers of this fanfic would have their vocabularies vastly expanded.
"So you're telling me we're stuck?! Set adrift in deepest space with no fuel?!" A large man of the leopard clan was bellowing at the captain."We're not 'stuck'," The captain, an older man of the ocelot clan, corrected him. "We have some fuel, just not enough to make it to New Thundera. We need to think of a plan." The leopard man started in on him again, but a snow-white hand placed on his shoulder silenced him.
"Easy, Pardus," a gentle voice whispered. Pardus half turned. The woman standing behind was of the incredibly rare snow leopard clan. She only came up to his shoulder. Her body color was light gray, decorated with the black spots of the leopard clan. Her color lightened to white on her face and hands. Her hair cascaded in sensuous waves down her back. She was incredibly beautiful.
"If the captain thinks we can make it to New Thundera with a plan, then we should stop yelling at each other and think of one," The leopardess pointed out gently, her voice never rising above a whisper. Pardus relaxed slightly, taking her delicate hand in his.
"You're probably right, Sarken," he admitted. "It's a good thing we have you around to keep a cool head."
"Gods know no one else is going to," A voice muttered darkly. Pardus shot a dark look to a tall, slim man of the caracal clan.
"Did you say something, Pyaber?" Pardus growled. Pyaber gave him a blank, innocent look.
"Who, me?" With a sigh, Sarken placed one hand on Pardus's chin and turned his face back towards hers.
"A plan?" She reminded him gently.
"Yes, of course," Pardus smiled at his fellow ThunderCats, Sarken, Pyaber, a powerfully built puma man named Cabcoh, and a quiet lynx woman called Lusan. "After all, as ThunderCats, we need to know when to stop and think, and even when to ask for help." The others nodded their assent, sharing an affectionate smile with their teammates; their family.
"Why don't you ask the other ThunderCat, whassername, Laini? She seems pretty smart," The captain offered. The cabin temperature seemed to drop about ten degrees. The ThunderCats had positive ideas about helping others and admitting when they needed help, but they also had very strong ideas about cocky little snots who were way too smart for their own good.
"We'll think of something on our own," Lusan growled.
"Okay, let's try this again, Siberia. This time, try not to break the machine, all right?" Pumyra instructed, standing in the Lair's courtyard. The golden tigress she was addressing tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder and approached a large hulking machine.
"It's not my fault this thing is so fragile. You told me to hit it as hard as I could," Siberia protested. Pumyra rubbed her forehead in the manner of the heavily put-upon everywhere.
"'Fragile'," she muttered under her breath. "Look, this machine measures the force of a strike. Panthro built it last year to settle a bet between him and Bengali. Panthro punches a 207. Lion-O punches a 205, and Bengali can get up to 198. Last time you tried, you knocked the machine back ten feet and broke just about every part in the line of the strike. Panthro fixed it and re-enforced the pieces you broke before, so let's see if we can't get a reading this time."
"Okay," Siberia muttered doubtfully, stepping up to the punching pad. The tigress pulled her left arm back slightly and punched. The meter clicked up to 503. She turned back to Pumyra with a bright smile.
"There! You got a reading and I didn't break it. Are we done now?" Pumyra bit back a few choice words. Why in the hell had she been elected to run tests on this weretiger?
"Okay, for one thing, you're right handed. And another, you barely pulled your arm back. Give it a real try." Siberia scowled, lashed her tail, and slammed her right fist into the punching pad with all her might. The machine flipped over backwards, skidding a good twelve feet back before coming to a stop against a brick wall. The battered meter had clicked up to 946.
"Good enough," Pumyra sighed, noting the reading on the clipboard she carried.
"What is going on out here?!" Panthro demanded, rushing down the stairs with Tygra right behind him.
"The punching machine lost another fight with Siberia," Pumyra announced dryly.
"Tygra!" Siberia squealed delightedly, throwing herself into his arms. The ThunderCat architect caught her, chuckling at his enthusiastic reception. They engaged in a deep, passionate kiss.
"By the gods, I doubled the size and elasticity of the recoil spring and it's still been snapped in two!" Panthro cried, inspecting his mangled invention. "What do they make weretigers out of?"
"I don't think she's listening," Pumyra commented. Siberia and Tygra were still busy kissing. WilyKit came tripping down the steps. She paused to make a face at the tiger couple, then came running up to Pumyra and Panthro.
"Lynx-O says there's a distress signal coming in from another refugee ship. He wants you guys to come up to the control room as soon as you've got a minute," Kit announced.
"We'll be right there, Kit," Panthro said. The female Thunderkitten grinned and raced back inside. The two ThunderCats started up the steps, pausing to give Tygra a nudge. He gave a vague wave that managed to convey he would be along in a minute. Chuckling, his teammates started down the hall towards the control room.
"You know, I'm happy Tygra's found himself a mate, but those two need to come up for air sometime," Panthro announced.
"Ooo, you used the 'm' word," Pumyra observed. "Are they talking about making it official?"
"Tygra went and spoke to the Tiger Clan Council a few days ago. That sounds pretty serious to me."
"Why would he need to talk to the Tiger Clan Council before he gets married?" Pumyra asked, looking puzzled.
"Oh, that's right, you probably wouldn't know about this. Well, members of the nobility have to clear their choice of mates with the Council of their clan before they can tie the knot. Something about keeping the bloodlines pure or some nonsense."
"You have to get permission? That sucks!" Pumyra declared.
"Well, they don't want the clans to mix. They want to make sure the nobility doesn't start breeding hybrids."
"But . . . the kittens are hybrids," Pumyra pointed out.
"Yeah, well, it doesn't always work," Panthro muttered in a low voice. "Sometimes cubs get born whether you want them to or not." For a moment, his expression looked just a little bit . . .. wistful?
"What was that look for?" Pumyra asked. Panthro quickly looked away.
"Nothing," he muttered.
"Why Panthro! Has your biological clock gone off?" Pumyra teased. The panther warrior looked quite serious.
"I suppose there comes a time in every man's life when he asks himself: Who's going to shave his head when I die?" Pumyra snuck a look at Panthro's bald dome, mentally noted another fact about cultural differences and let him continue. "I know I've created all sorts of machines, but they're just machines. They won't remember. I would just like someone to carry on the Imara tribe when I'm gone."
"Well, there are others in your tribe," Pumyra pointed out. "The tribe will go on, even if you don't have an heir." Panthro gave her a pained look.
"Last year, the panther clan conducted a census of all the tribes to see who was back and who was still lost. There's only one member of the Imara tribe left; me."
"Well, don't give up yet; there are still ships out there coming back," Pumyra said, trying to cheer him up. Panthro forced a smile.
"You're right. Maybe this next ship will have another Imara tribe member on it." Looking back on this conversation, Panthro would remember it as a 'be careful what you wish for' situation.
If Sarken were the swearing sort, she would have been swearing at Pardus, Pyaber, Cabcoh, and Lusan as she made her way down to Laini's laboratory. Of all the stupid, prideful things to do! Pardus had actually given up and sent a distress signal to New Thundera rather than ask Laini. How stupid! Laini had become a ThunderCat solely because of her brains. Sarken knocked on the door to the laboratory. After a moment, it slid open on its own. The snow leopardess stuck her head through.
"Hello?" she called softly
"Back here," a female voice responded. Sarken followed the sound of the voice until she came upon her teammate. Laini of the panther clan didn't exactly stand out in a crowd. In fact, being as short as she was, she was usually practically invisible in a crowd. She was only about five feet tall, well formed without being shapely, and pretty without being beautiful. Her thick black hair was brushed straight back away from her face. It weaved its way back until the waves tightened into tight curls that hung about halfway down her shoulder blades. A small ornament consisting of a pink glass ball with gold bars on either side of it and smaller white glass balls on the outside of the bars was secured in her hairline in the middle of her forehead. Someone familiar with panther tribes would recognize this as proof of her membership in the Waridi tribe. Her uniform came halfway up her neck and clung to her like a second skin all the way to her toes. The leotard had long sleeves, black with a green stripe down the middle. The middle front and back were green and the sides were black. A wide green belt encircled her midsection, sporting the ThunderCat emblem in the front. A pair of bulky black boots encased her feet. A stainless steel band encircled her left forearm halfway to her elbow. On her right wrist was what appeared to be a very large watch with a steel band. A pair of steel-rimmed spectacles were perched on the end of her nose. For a genius with an immeasurable IQ, she sure didn't look like much. Currently, Laini was perched on a large red cushion that appeared to be floating in mid air. Closer inspection revealed four output ports and the soft hum of hover-engines. Before her, her computer was supported by similar means.
"Laini?" Sarken called.
"What can I do for you?" Laini asked without looking around.
"Ah, well, that meteor shower we went through yesterday? It punctured one of our fuel tanks and we don't have enough to get to New Thundera now."
"I wondered when someone was going to ask me about that," Laini announced, turning around and hopping off of her cushion. "I've already given it some thought and the fastest I can get us to New Thundera is three hours."
"Three hours?!" Sarken echoed in disbelief. "Even with all our fuel, the trip was going to take us a week!"
"That's because I didn't design this ship," Laini announced casually. "I'll save the day after I get back; first I have to go pick up Bahati from school." Sarken nodded weakly. Three hours? But first she had to pick up her little boy. That was perfectly understandable. "Bahati's doing so well," Laini announced proudly. "They've already skipped him ahead three grades. He's the only ten year old in the seventh grade. I guess he comes by it honest! If he could just control that temper of his, I'd be completely happy. Tell the others I'll be up to the cockpit in an hour or so." With that, she left the laboratory. Sarken sighed. Common sense told her it couldn't be done, but when Laini gave a timetable, she stuck by it to the minute. If the genius ThunderCat said they would be home in three hours, then they would be home in three hours.
The others made a show of protesting when Sarken told them about Laini's claim, but they were all secretly glad someone had managed to swallow their pride and ask the panther for help. Laini was smug and cocky and worst of all, she was always right. As a colony, they never would have made off of the planet they had been sheltering on if it hadn't been for the multitude of inventions Laini had created seemingly out of thin air. They all owed her their lives in one way or another. Laini didn't give any indication of realizing this fact or even caring. She was just infinitely proud of herself any time she came up with something new. As a result, everyone hated her guts. Oh, they smiled when she came around, played nice to her face and complimented her son, but everyone resented her to the core. No one loves a genius. In fact, the only thing they could feel superior about was her son, Bahati. Sure the kid was bright, well behaved, and possessed a warrior's instinct, but the manner of his conception was nothing short of pathetic.
"All right, I'm here. You can all stop worrying," Laini announced as she entered the cockpit. Bahati followed closely behind her. He was a handsome lad of average size for a ten-year-old boy of the panther clan. His thick black hair, a gift from his mother, was cropped short but still managed to spring up in a mess of curls. He was dressed simply in a green tunic belted at the waist with a black sash and black trousers. He looked like every other cub on board except for one thing: his eyes. There was a sharpness in his eyes that belied his scant ten years in this world. Bahati possessed his mother's intelligence, that was easy to see.
"Now, this little fuel problem of yours," Laini began.
"'Little fuel problem'? We don't have enough to get back to New Thundera! I'd hardly call that a 'little problem'!" Pardus protested. Laini sighed and shook her head.
"Fuel isn't a problem. We have plenty of fuel; we just need to get it into the tanks and ignite it," the panther announced.
"What are you babbling about?" Pyaber demanded. "What fuel?!"
"Oxygen," Bahati announced. "It's very flammable. You want to use the oxygen on board, don't you, Mom?" The broad grin of an incredibly proud parent split Laini's face.
"That's right, sweetie! Oh, you're just so smart!" She leaned in to give him a quick hug.
"Mo-oo-om!" Only a ten year old can say 'mom' with three syllables.
"The oxygen?" Lusan echoed. "What are we supposed to breathe?"
"We'll put everyone in stasis pods," Laini said simply. "We can wear pressure suits and stay awake to pilot the ship."
"Can I stay awake too, Mom?" Bahati asked.
"No, you may not. You'll get in a stasis pod with everybody else."
"Awww, Mom!"
"Stasis pods and oxygen?" Pardus sighed. As hard as he tried, he couldn't think of a single reason why the plan wouldn't work. "All right. We'll give it a try."
On the back steps of the Lair on New Thundera, Tygra and Siberia pulled back from their passionate kiss and held each other for a few minutes.
"Do you think they'll try to send me away?" Siberia asked quietly. Tygra squeezed her a little tighter.
"I'm not going to let you go, Siberia," Tygra growled with passion. "Lion-O doesn't want to punish you for the deaths you caused. That's why he ordered these tests on you. If we can stall things long enough, we'll think of a way to keep you here." Siberia was silent for a second then burrowed her head against his shoulder.
"You really think things will work out?" She whispered.
"Of course," Tygra breathed, caressing her hair. "If the Tiger Clan Council approves our marriage, that will be one more reason to keep us together."
"Just because we're married doesn't mean they won't separate us." Siberia pointed out.
"We'll think of something else then. Don't worry, love," The ThunderCat architect gave his soon-to-be mate a kiss on the forehead and led her inside the Lair.
Cabcoh scanned the control panel before him.
"That's it; the last stasis pod has just been activated. They're all sealed in," the puma announced.
"The hole over the left fuel tank has been sealed. It's ready to go," Lusan called over her shoulder. Sitting in the captain's chair, Pardus nodded to himself.
"All right. Everyone change to pressure suits," he commanded. The assembled ThunderCats reached for the bands on their right wrists. There was a chorus of quiet chirps and the groups clothing began to move of its own accord. Sleeves lengthened and segued seamlessly into gloves. Necklines closed up to seal into tight turtlenecks. When not an inch of bare skin showed below the neck, everyone seemed to swell nearly an inch as the fabric thickened and grew tough and hard to withstand the vacuum of space. Thick rings of metal erupted around everyone's shoulders and grew into pressure helmets. One after another, small hisses signaled that the suits had pressurized. The group adjusted their attire casually, as if everyone owned one set of clothes that could change from a pressure suit to everyday uniforms to beach attire. The SmartSuits were just one of Laini's inventions that had made life in space a hell of a lot easier. Thumbing a button on the outside of the neck seal, Pardus switched on his suitcom. "Everybody good to go?"
"Good to go!" Cabcoh returned.
"Good to go!" Lusan agreed.
"Good to go!" Pyaber cried.
"Good to go," Sarken said softly.
"Good to go," Laini muttered distractedly. "All set to blow the airlock."
"Let's do it," Pardus growled. Laini punched the airlock controls. System alarms began to wail as a stiff wind tugged at the assembled ThunderCats, sucking all of the air out of the ship and into the fuel tank. Laini punched a different button and the alarms stopped as the airlock sealed. An eerie stillness settled over the cockpit.
"We're going to get underway with our remaining fuel before we ignite the oxygen," Laini announced, her voice tinny and distant through the suitcoms.
"Make it happen, Laini," Pardus commanded. Laini nodded to herself and engaged the engines. The seated ThunderCats were pressed back into their seats as if by a giant hand. Laini poured on all the speed the remaining fuel would allow. Pyaber forced his head forward against the mounting Gs to look at their projected course.
"Wait," he managed to croak, "We're heading in the wrong direction. We aren't headed towards Thundera!"
"Of course not," Laini groaned, "We're headed there." With supreme effort, she managed to point to a position on the holo-map.
"T-t-that's a st-t-t-tar!" Lusan wailed as the ship began to shake.
"Exaa-a-a-a-a-ctly," Laini groaned through chattering teeth. "Now sh-sh-shut up, I n-n-n-need to concent-t-t-trate!" Ignoring the rattled cries of protest, the little panther steered the quaking ship ever closer to the star.
"A-a-a-a-any c-c-c-loser and we won't be a-a-able to break f-f-free of the st-t-t-tar's gravit-t-t-tational pull!" Cabcoh bellowed. Laini ignored him, struggling to keep her eyes on the shaking control panel. According to her calculations, if they entered the star's gravity well at an angle of 37.25 degrees and ignited the oxygen 15.3 seconds later, the combination of thrust and pull should slingshot them out of the gravity well and throw them towards New Thundera. There was no time to explain this now, of course. She only had 3.2 seconds left until ignition. Two seconds, one second, NOW! Laini punched the ignition button. Deep down in the ravished fuel tanks, a remote device no bigger than a cigarette lighter popped open and gave off a tiny spark. Enormous jets of fire stabbed out of the ship's engines, throwing the vessel forward even as it curved around the star. At the far end of the curve, the star finally gave up its grip on the little ship, sending it careening through space as a sliver streak.
"Lion-O! We've got problems!" Cheetara cried, beckoning for the young lord from the door of the control room.
"Cheetara! What is it?!" Inside the control room, the rest of the ThunderCats had gathered. They were staring resolutely at the large screen in front of the room. "What's going on?!"
"The distress signal from the ship that we detected earlier; it's headed this way!" Cheetara cried, pointing. One quarter of the screen was taken up with a star map, a red line through it tracing the course of the afflicted ship. Lion-O took in the screen, the course, and his teammates' expressions.
"Isn't that good?" He asked uncertainly. Panthro turned around and pointed to the red line still stabbing towards New Thundera.
"That's not a projected course, that's the ship. In real time." He announced. Lion-O took in the red streak.
"But that's impossible. No colony ship can travel that fast."
"It is a colony ship and it is going that fast. We've tried to hail them, but this is all we got." Panthro punched a button on the control panel. A shot of a recording came up beside the star map.
"Hailing N-zzzzzzzzzzrrrrrrkkkkkkkk Colony ship-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzrrrrrrkkkkzzzz- ThunderCat Pardu-zzzzzzzzzzrrrkkkksssshhhh-damaged-zzzzzkkkshshshshkkkkkzzzz- crash land-kkkshshssshshhhhkkkzzzz-project-kkkshkk- Caverns of Col -kkkkzzzzzzzsssshhhhhkkk" The recording's video jumped and fell into static along with the audio. The few seconds of decent picture revealed a man of the leopard clan in a pressure suit.
"The ship will be entering the atmosphere in 15 minutes!" Tygra cried.
"We had better get out to the Caverns of Cold. Right now," Lion-O said quietly.
"We've started planet fall!" Lusan screamed into her suitcom. "Ten seconds until atmospheric re-entry! Five minutes until impact!" Pardus labored to stay conscious; Thunderans weren't built to take this many Gs for such a prolonged period. Pyaber slumped unconscious in his seat. Sarken was moving slightly but didn't appear to be coherent. Lusan and Cabcoh struggled to help Laini orientate the ship for re-entry.
"Entering the atmosphere!" Cabcoh cried. The turbulence of the atmosphere hit the ship like a physical blow. Warning lights began to go off in the cockpit. With effort, Pardus managed to separate the warning lights from the lights flashing on and off behind his eyes.
"The ship's breaking up!" He cried, terror making his voice rise.
"We're going to have to sacrifice some hull integrity to make it through the atmosphere!" Laini called. "But on the bright side, that should slow us down enough that the ship won't explode on impact!"
"On the bright side?!" Pardus echoed in disbelief. Before he could say more, the cockpit shook as the ship descended into another level of the atmosphere. The scream of tortured metal reached the ThunderCat's ears as the outer hull gave way. The phrase 'We're all gonna die!' lined up on his vocal chords, but he fought to keep from panicking in front of the others.
'If I live through this, the first thing I'm going to do is strangle Laini,' Pardus thought to himself.
The falling ship cut a fiery streak across the sky. Lion-O, Panthro, Cheetara, and Tygra watched nervously as the disintegrating ship roared towards them. Lion-O and Panthro rode the ThunderClaw and HoverCat, respectively and Cheetara and Tygra circled slowly in the Whisker.
"How many people are aboard this ship?" Lion-O asked, directing his question into the ThunderClaw's communicator.
"According to the original distress call, around nine hundred," Tygra answered. Lion-O cursed under his breath. The thought of losing nine hundred people to a crashed ship weighed heavily on all their minds. The ship roared overhead, heading for the next ridge.
"By the gods," Cheetara whispered. "They're not going to make it."
"By the gods!" Pyaber screamed. "We're not going to make it!"
"We're too low!" Lusan agreed. "We need to drop some weight!"
"Exactly how are we supposed to do that?!" Sarken screamed. Laini stared at the mountains looming close on the forward screen for a moment, then tore off the safety belt holding her in her seat.
"Cabcoh! Sarken! To me! We're going outside to drop some weight!" The little panthress yelled, struggling back to an airlock. Cabcoh immediately followed her, but Sarken looked questioningly at Pardus.
"You'd—you'd better go help them!" He sputtered. Normally he would have protested Laini ordering around her teammates, but he was fresh out of ideas. Sarken left her seat and stumbled after her teammates. She reached them just as Cabcoh succeeded in manhandling the mangled airlock open. The three Thunderians were immediately sucked out into the sky.
Lion-O and the others watched in horror as three bodies tumbled out of the ship.
"Oh gods! Panthro!" The young king bellowed.
"I'm on it!" Panthro yelled, gunning the HoverCat's engine and diving towards the falling Thunderians. Half-way there, he saw the ThunderCat emblem emblazoned across their pressure suits. The Panther Clan warrior already had the engines wide open, but he willed the vehicle to go faster. Then something odd happened. The smallest falling figure reached across and gripped its right wrist. The pressure suit seemed to erupt like it was made of liquid, then reshaped itself around the figure's slight frame. The figure—definitely a woman, Panthro could now see—was now clad in some type of green and black mecha-style armor. The woman twisted in the fall, revealing a metal pack on her back. Two hatches popped open on the sides and a pair of mylar wings the same general shape as a dragonfly's unfurled in the wind. The pack itself suddenly charged up and propelled the woman back up into the air like a jet. The other two figures had changed into hard suits as well and jetted up to join their compatriot.
"What in the nine hells?" Panthro muttered as the trio zipped back towards the falling ship. Then his communicator crackled to life.
"Sarken, get up to the front and cut off the nose cone, we don't need it anymore. Cabcoh, get up and cut off the starboard fuel tank, I'll cut off the port one. There should be enough fuel left in the lines to push the ship over that ridge." A confident feminine voice appeared to be overlapping his channel.
"But Laini, how am I supposed to cut off the nose cone?!" A second voice, also female, cut in.
"Lock onto the ship with your grapplers, then crank up the voltage on your laser and chop the damn thing off!" The first voice clarified. Panthro finally managed to get the HoverCat high enough to see what was going on. The ThunderCat charged with cutting off the nose cone wasn't visible, but the other two were. The dragonfly and her compatriot, a powerfully built male, extended their forearms. Little hatches shot up just behind the wrist and laser beams shot out of the apertures. The two began cutting away the fuel tanks. A movement on his left caught Panthro's eye. The Whisker was struggling to try to catch up with the ship.
"They're going too fast! We can't help them!" Cheetara cried.
"I think they're doing everything that can be done," Panthro said uncertainly, looking over at the Whisker.
"Panthro, look out!" Lion-O yelled. The ThunderCat engineer looked back just into time to avoid being hit with a cast off fuel tank. He gritted his teeth and forced the HoverCat into a tight barrel roll to avoid being knocked out of the sky. No sooner had he leveled out than the other tank gave with a scream of tortured metal.
"Laini!" A male voice cried over the overlapping channel. The nose cone dropped away in the landscape, but the other tank had gone early, taking the dragonfly with it. The small woman inside, presumably Laini, was slammed against the tank's hull with enough force to dent the metal. As the tank began to tumble away, the dragonfly followed it, her limp body and free fall alerting the others to her distress. Once freed of the extra weight, the ship managed to scrape over the ridge before slaloming in to a crash landing in the next valley. The two remaining figures eyed the falling ThunderCat, then powered up their jet packs and went to the crash site. Lion-O's jaw dropped in shock. Their teammate was obviously injured, but they didn't seem to even care! Those—those bastards! The young king pulled the ThunderClaw around and dove after the dragonfly. Panthro had already moved to catch her as she began to fall, but the injured ThunderCat was a good thousand feet below him and neither Lion-O nor Panthro was catching up fast enough.
"Oh damn," Panthro growled. "Come on, dragonfly, don't die on us now!" 'Dragonfly' continued to drop like a stone, ignorant of the Panther Clan warrior's plea. Five thousand feet, four thousand feet, three thousand . . . gods, they wouldn't be able to catch her!
"Panthro, pull up!" Lion-O ordered. "You'll crash, too!"
"No! I won't let her die!" Panthro roared. At fifteen hundred feet, Laini's altimeter triggered an alarm on her SmartSuit and it automatically deployed an emergency parachute. Panthro had to swerve wide to avoid slamming into her as she went from terminal velocity to a gentle ten miles an hour. The ThunderCat engineer dropped another few dozen feet, then positioned himself under the unconscious parachutist and set the HoverCat to 'hover'. After a minute or so, Panthro caught her in his arms. Lion-O let out a deep breath of relief when he saw they were both safe.
"Are you all right?" The young lord asked, maneuvering the ThunderClaw alongside the HoverCat and its passengers.
"Except for my heart rate," Panthro answered. He inspected the hard suit covering the woman sprawled across his lap. "Now if I can just figure out how to crack this thing . . ."
"I'm going with the others to the crash site," Lion-O announced. "Catch up to us when you can, Panthro."
"I'll do that, Lion-O," Panthro answered, then turned his attention back to the woman in his lap. The parachute was starting to wind itself back into the metal pack on her back. Panthro carefully felt under the jawline of the helmet. There had to be a catch, or a strap or something. Towards the chin, something pricked his finger sharply. Panthro cursed and sucked at the digit. Something began to happen in the suit.
"Blood analysis confirmed. Species: Thunderan." A digitized voice announced. It seemed to be coming from the ThunderCat insignia. "Hard suit . . . opening." The whole suit suddenly split along the front like an over-ripe fruit, making Panthro jump. The metal seemed to retract in on itself until it was collected in large shoulder-guards, a ring of armor around the pelvis, greaves, guards on the forearms, and the helmet. After another moment, the helmet retracted into the neckline, revealing the features of a female of the Panther Clan. Her nose and mouth were bloody, but other than that, she looked as if she were sleeping. Panthro reached for her face with his free hand, but a holograph suddenly popped up over her chest. It was a vague holograph of a woman's body. Circles began to pop up over the face and head.
"Facial contusions detected. Damage to the enamel of the upper right bicuspid detected. External bleeding to facial contusions detected. Blunt impact to the brain resulting in unconciousness detected. Final analysis: injuries minor. No immediate medical attention needed." The digitial voice proclaimed. The holograph disappeared back into the ThunderCat insignia and a hatch on the belt popped open. A pair of spectacles were nestled safely inside. Panthro studied the woman in the mechanical armor. When nothing else seemed to happen, he patted her cheek lightly.
"I guess you must be Laini," Panthro surmised. "Let's get you back to the others, what do you say?" He cranked up the engine on the HoverCat and zoomed off to join Lion-O and the others.
By the time Panthro had landed the craft alongside the ThunderClaw and Whisker, the other strangers were all assembled. Lion-O was speaking with them, trying to get some answers.
"I am Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats. How did you come to crash your ship?" Pardus's eyes widened at the mention of Lion-O's title.
"My Lord!" He cried, dropping quickly into a bow. "It was our understanding that the Royal Flagship was destroyed."
"No, all of the ThunderCat Council are alive and well," Lion-O gestured to the other ThunderCats behind him. "These are the ThunderCats Cheetara and Tygra. Is anyone in your party injured?"
"Well, Sarken and Cabcoh tell me we lost Laini somewhere over that last ridge." Pardus looked over the young lord's shoulder to where Panthro was landing with Laini sprawled across his lap. "Oh no, there she is." Lion-O followed his gaze. Tygra ran up to the two panthers to see if he could help the little female.
"How is she, Panthro?" Lion-O called.
"I think she's okay," the engineer said uncertainly, handing Laini off to Tygra. The little female groaned and stirred as she was transferred from one warrior to another.
"Did you say Panthro?" Pardus asked with sudden intensity.
"Yes, my name is Panthro," the cat in question answered, approaching the group. "Why? Do I know you?" Pardus didn't answer, but leaned in and studied Panthro's face closely. After a few moments, a horrible, knowing grin twisted across the leopard's face. He turned and called out to the others.
"Over here, everyone! Lord Lion-O and the ThunderCats Cheetara, Tygra and PANTHRO have come to rescue us!" The newcomers all perked up at Panthro's name. Pyaber, Cabcoh and Lusan approached the group gathered around the Thundertank. They both studied Panthro's features carefully.
"Oh shit," Lusan muttered finally, biting back a grin. Cabcoh didn't comment, but he was fighting back a smile as well. Sarken staggered up to join them.
"What's so funny?" she asked, catching her teammates' expressions.
"This is ThunderCat Panthro," Pardus told her, pointing to the man in question. Sarken leaned forward and stared at Panthro for a while, then dropped her gaze and put a hand over her mouth. Even with half of her face covered, she looked amused, but feeling a bit guilty about it. Panthro had had enough.
"What is so gods-damned funny?!" He roared.
"Did you say ThunderCat Panthro?" A hesitant voice asked. Laini had come around and was joining the group on shaky legs. Tygra was beside her, ready to steady her if she slipped or had a relapse.
"Yes!!!" Panthro bellowed. "I am ThunderCat Panthro! Now why are you all laughing?!?!?!" Laini pulled her glasses out of her belt pouch, slipped them on and stared at him. After a moment, something like recognition passed over her face. She put her hand over mouth. She didn't look like she wanted to laugh. She looked like she wanted to cry, to throw up, to drop off the face of the earth, but not like she wanted to laugh.
"Oh gods," she whispered.
"Go ahead, Laini," Pardus egged, grinning. "Tell him what's so funny."
"Yeah, Laini," Lusan agreed. "I think you should tell him." Cabcoh appeared ready to speak, but he was interrupted.
"Everyone shut up right now," Lion-O snapped. "I don't know what's going on, but it can wait. Where are all the people that were supposed to be on board this ship?!"
"They're still aboard, Lord Lion-O," Pardus answered. "We put them all in stasis pods before the crash."
"Fine. Let's get you six inside the 'tank," Lion-O turned to Tygra and Cheetara, his expression a few shades softer. "Tygra feed the ship's coordinates to the rescue teams. Tell them to come prepared to transport stasis pods. Cheetara," Lion-O glanced over at Laini, who had taken a few steps away from the group. "Could you make sure she's all right?"
"Right, Lion-O," Tygra answered.
"I'm on it," Cheetara announced. Panthro stood between the rest of the group and Laini, looking torn between asking her what the hell was going on as gently as possible or beating it out of the other newcomers. Cheetara slipped by him to Laini's side.
"Are you all right?" The speedster asked the smaller woman.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Laini whispered. With a groan, she buried her face in her hands. "How could this have happened? He was supposed to be dead."
"Panthro? Panthro was supposed to be dead?" Cheetara asked. Laini was silent for a moment, her head still in her hands. Then she heaved a sigh.
"I've just got to deal with it. I'm used to dealing with it. I can handle this, too," she announced, wiping her face of all emotion.
"Um, what are you talking about?" Cheetara wanted to know. Laini turned to get into the Thundertank with the others.
"Sister, is it ever a long story," the panther announced.
The ride back to the Lair was a tense, silent one. Laini sat in the back, across from Panthro. Occasionally she would look at him and rub her forehead. Panthro took the time to study the little panther woman. Did he know her? He hadn't ever seen her before, he was fairly certain on that point. Of course, she wasn't exactly unforgettable. Aside from being unusually short and slight, nothing really stood out about her at all. She had a triangular face and intense yellow eyes. There was a certain tension around her eyes, as if she spent a lot of time either frowning or distressed. Her skin was a dusky gray, lightening to a slate blue around her mouth and eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Panthro caught sight of Pardus grinning at Laini's discomfort. The ThunderCat engineer glared daggers at the leopard, who realized he was being watched and quickly hid his amusement. What was so fucking funny about this woman's pain? Panthro felt like punching him in the mouth. Of course, about now, he felt like punching anyone in the mouth. Laini was looking at him again.
"I . . . should apologize for this confusion, lord Panthro," she said quietly. "But I have a long story to tell and I think we should all be comfortable for it." She looked . . . beaten; like she had taken one too many punches from life. There was no inflection in her voice. She sounded dead.
"Well . . . I suppose if you think that's best," Panthro said uncertainly. His first instinct was to rage and scream and threaten everyone around him with a thrashing they'd never forget if they didn't tell him what was going on right this second, but Laini's broken reaction was disarming his temper.
"If you ask me--," Pardus began, humor thick in his voice. Panthro whirled on him.
"When I want your fucking opinion, I'll beat it out of you!" He roared, voice deafening in the enclosed area.
"Damn it, Panthro, calm down!" Lion-O bellowed, matching his elder's volume. "Save until we get back to the Lair! If you start swinging in this small a space we're all going to end up in the medical bay!" The angry panther bit back a sharp retort. His young lord had a point. Still fuming, Panthro dropped back into his seat, arms crossed tightly across his chest.
"My apologies, lord Pa--," Pardus began again.
"Don't push me, Sparky," Panthro snarled. Then his eyes fell on Laini. The small woman was pulled back tightly into her seat, eyes wide. She looked half frightened and half offended by his outburst. He felt an unexpected stab of guilt for scaring her. That Pardus was just pissing him off, though. Panthro growled to himself in frustration, crossing his arms across his chest and staring straight ahead. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Laini scooting away from him a few inches. He barely suppressed another growl.
"Look! They've got some new people with them!" WilyKit cried, leaning out of one of the Lair's many windows. Her brother shouldered his way into the window frame to look out. Below the twins, the Thundertank pulled into the Lair's courtyard, disgorging its passengers in the dim light of evening. WilyKat squinted down at the group.
"Hey, they're all wearing ThunderCat insignia," he observed.
"New ThunderCats!" The twins squealed in unison.
"Somebody who's never even heard of our pranks," Kat mused.
"Fresh meat!" Kit giggled. "Come on; let's go meet them!" The kittens thundered out of their room and down the stairs, giddy with the thought of new ThunderCats. They had just pounded into the informal meeting room the ThunderCats had taken to using for meeting newly arrived colony leaders when Panthro's voice reached them.
"This had better be good, godsdamn it, or I'm breaking someone's godsdamn head open!" The panther's voice echoed down the hallway. WilyKat's eyes went wide.
"Whoa, Panthro's pissed."
"And Cheetara's not even telling him to watch his language because we might hear," Kit observed, going a bit pale. The twins exchanged a glance. If Panthro was angry enough that even Cheetara was staying out of his way, they didn't want to even be in the same building as him. Not even a fresh supply of hapless victims for their tricks was that appealing.
"Maybe we should—," Kit began.
"Yeah!" Kat agreed. Before they could head for a place of safety, the door banged open. With a squeak, Kit and Kat dove behind a couch. The mixed group of ThunderCats filed silently into the room.
"Everybody sit down," Panthro growled, his voice lethal. The assembled warriors did as they were told. Even Lion-O, Cheetara and Tygra looked as if they would rather be in another room. Panthro stormed over and flopped down on the couch the kittens were hiding behind with enough force to cause it to rock backwards.
"There; we're all comfortable, now if someone doesn't start talking in the next ten seconds . . ." he let the threat drift off. Laini, sitting across the room from Panthro, took a deep breath.
"Well," she began in a voice so quiet it was hard for the kittens to hear her. "Our ship carries the genetic banks for the Panther and Leopard clans." At Lion-O's puzzled look, she explained further: "All of the clans have genetic banks for their bloodlines, both noble and common. They carry semen samples from most men and ovum from the women."
"Yeah, I remember giving to the bank when I was eighteen. So?" Panthro prompted. Laini swallowed with effort and wiped her palms on her leggings.
"I'm aware of your donation, Lord Panthro," she announced. "Acutely aware," Laini repeated, giving him a meaningful look.
"Oh?" Panthro said weakly, a horrible feeling roiling in the pit of his stomach. Laini stared back at her lap, leaving damp streaks on her leggings from her sweating palms.
"We-we thought the Royal Flagship had been destroyed," she continued, eyes still downcast. "The ThunderCats were the finest our planet had to offer and you were all gone. We had your . . . genetic material, so I propagated your bloodline for you." The little panther woman executed a pre-emptive cringe and looked Panthro in the face. He stared back at her uncertainly. His gazed flicked to her stomach, then back to her face.
"Oh." There was a moment of pregnant silence. "Oh," he repeated. A fine sheen of sweat broke out on Panthro's head. He looked back at Laini's stomach. "So—so when are you going to have the cub?" he asked nervously. Laini blinked.
"I had the cub ten years ago," she announced. Panthro sank back into the couch cushions. Stunned would be too mild a word for his expression. "You have a son," Laini announced. The kittens thought they heard a sort of brief moan from the ThunderCat engineer, but it was probably too soft for anyone else to hear. Laini eyed Panthro uncertainly then threw a questioning glance to the other ThunderCats. The newcomers were desperately trying to hide their amusement and the other three originals looked only slightly less stunned than Panthro himself.
"His name is Bahati," Laini offered. "He's very smart; they've already skipped him ahead three grades. He looks so much like you." The two kittens slowly straightened up behind the couch.
"Wow, Panthro, you're a dad!" WilyKat cried in amazement. WilyKit eyed Panthro uneasily. The gruff warrior didn't seem all that thrilled about the sudden change in his paternal status.
"Wow, a ten year old son? That's our age!" Kat continued, utterly oblivious to the tension in the room. "We could be your kids, Panthro!" A muscle in Panthro's eyelid twitched.
"Kit, Kat, would you two mind leaving the room?" He asked in a voice that was way too calm.
"Sure, Panthro," Kit said quickly, dragging her brother out the door behind her. The room was completely silent for a long moment.
"Actually, would the rest of you mind leaving for a minute too?" The panther asked in a voice considerably less calm than he had used with the kittens. The assembled ThunderCats began to sidle gingerly around the engineer, trying not to make eye contact. Laini started to rise.
"You stay," Panthro growled. Laini swallowed and eased back down into her seat.
"Lion-O, are you sure you should leave that little panther lady alone with Panthro?" Kit asked nervously as the other ThunderCats poured out into the hallway. "He was really mad."
"Kit, I know Panthro was angry, but he won't hurt her," Lion-O assured her.
"Well, maybe someone should stay outside the door. Just in case," Cheetara said quietly.
"Cheetara! You don't honestly think Panthro would attack a woman half his size?" Tygra protested in shock.
"It's not that! I know Panthro wouldn't hurt a woman. Not on purpose, anyway. I-I just get a feeling someone is going to get hurt," Cheetara said. Her warning was interrupted by a burst of hysterical laughter. A few yards down the hall the ThunderCat newcomers, sans Pyaber, were leaning against the walls, screaming with laughter.
"Did you see the look on her face when she saw Panthro?! I thought she was going to throw up!" Lusan gasped in obvious delight.
"Oh he was livid! I hope he tears her a new one!" Pardus giggled. Back down by the door, Lion-O's eyes narrowed dangerously and he clenched his fists until the knuckles were white.
"Someone is about to get hurt all right," the young Lord growled. Without another word, he began stalking towards his countrymen. Seeing their liege lord coming towards them, the newcomers promptly bit back their laughter.
"So . . . you think this whole situation is pretty entertaining, huh?" Lion-O asked. The group looked a tiny bit sheepish.
"Well, my Lord, we have nothing against Lord Panthro, but--," Pardus began.
"Who gave you the title of ThunderCat?" Lion-O interrupted.
"Uh, well, when we emerged as warriors for our colony, the people began to call us ThunderCats, so we—,"
"I see." There was an uncomfortable silence, which Pardus foolishly tried to fill in.
"As-as I was saying, my Lord, we have nothing against Lord Panthro, but if you knew Laini like we do, you'd appreciate--,"
"What I would appreciate is the four of you taking off the ThunderCat insignia and never putting it on again," Lion-O snapped. The four newcomers' jaws dropped.
"B-but--," Pardus stammered.
"Ever heard of the Code of Thundera? 'Truth, Justice, Honor and Loyalty.' The 'Loyalty' part means that you don't laugh at your teammate's pain. If you want to apply to train as ThunderCats, I have no problem with that, but judging from your behavior you've got a long way to go." With that, the Lord of the ThunderCats turned and strode back towards his own teammates.
Panthro stared at Laini. Laini stared back at Panthro. The ThunderCat engineer's knee was starting to twitch. The little female's eyes fell on the appendage. Panthro followed her gaze, stopped bouncing his knee, then got up and started to pace. After a few minutes of silent pacing, Laini tried to sneak a peek at the watch on her SmartSuit control. Panthro whirled.
"Why?!" he demanded. Laini blinked at him.
"Could you amplify that question just a tiny bit?" she inquired. Panthro prepared to yell the entire question and realized he had a whole lot of 'whys'.
"We-- . . . wh-- . . . why would you want to have a cub if you aren't even married?!" He roared. Laini's hangdog expression disappeared, replaced by one of cool anger.
"That's my business," she growled. Someone who was upset and on the edge of tears Panthro didn't know how to handle, but anger was well within his repertoire.
"Why did you raid a sperm bank to get pregnant? What's the matter, couldn't you get a real man?!" Laini's eyes widened then narrowed dangerously.
"Listen, jerk," she snarled, popping off of her chair and getting in Panthro's face. Or at least, attempting to get in Panthro's face. She probably would have been more intimidating if she came up past his collarbone. "I was trying to do your bloodline a favor! Judging by your charming personality, I'd say this is the only way you could father a cub!"
"For your information, I've had lots of women!"
"How many did you have to pay afterwards?" Laini asked coolly. Panthro clenched his fists.
"I don't have to take this crap from some little tart who thought she'd take a shortcut into the nobility of the Panther clan!" He roared shaking his finger in her face. The finger was a mistake. Laini's eyes, yellow as poison, focused on the digit.
"You wave that godsdamn finger in my face one more time and, by the gods, I'll bite the fucker off," she stated in a flat tone. Instead, Panthro leaned down and shoved his nose an inch from hers.
"Don't give me orders, little girl," he growled. Laini glared daggers at him.
"I'm enough of an adult to have borne your cub," she reminded him. Panthro turned away from her before he did something he would have regretted. Laini folded her arms across her chest, a look of triumph on her face. "Of course, I only chose your bloodline because you were a ThunderCat. If I'd known you were just an asshole--," Laini's comment was cut short by Panthro unleashing a horrid snarl and hurling a chair across the room. Laini let out a small scream as the missile whistled by her head, hit the wall and shattered.
"NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME--!!!" Panthro roared, starting towards her. Back literally to the wall, Laini let out a squeak of fear and flung her left arm out towards Panthro. The man in question thought he saw something fly towards him and that was the last thing he knew for a long time.
Lion-O flung open the door to the meeting room.
"We heard a commotion! What's going . . . on?" Panthro lay in a crumpled heap in the middle of the floor, Laini leaning over him. The shattered remains of a chair lay against the wall.
"What happened?!" Tygra demanded, pushing his way past Lion-O to the fallen panther's side.
"We started arguing and he threw a chair at me, so I tasered his ass," Laini announced.
"You did what to him?" Cheetara asked, coming in behind Lion-O.
"I tasered him." The little panther woman held up her left arm. A small hatch just below her wrist opened in the steel band she wore. Two sharp steel points that looked for all the world like a pair of fangs emerged. They were mounted on tiny swinging arms that could project the tiny missiles outward with a snap of her wrist. The steel points trailed electrical wires that led back into the steel band. "These two points hit the target, which completes the electrical circuit and hits the target with a sharp jolt of electricity. It does no permanent damage, but it feels like getting struck by lightening." The ThunderCats all stared at the newcomer for a moment. Lion-O groaned and put his face in his hands.
"I told you someone was going to get hurt," Cheetara said.
"Miss Laini, how long is he going to be out?" the young Lord asked.
"About twenty minutes or so."
"It would probably be a good idea if you were nowhere near him when he wakes up. Why did you have to knock him out? Was he really trying to hit you?" He asked. The distress was evident in Laini's eyes.
"He threw the chair right past my head and then he lunged at me. Look at the size of him; one punch would probably give me a concussion! I had to do something!" She cried. Lion-O groaned again and put his hands over his eyes. To a total stranger, one of Panthro's hissy fits could be pretty terrifying, especially to a tiny woman who was the direct cause of his anger. She probably had every right to interpret his actions as an attack.
"Cheetara, why don't you show Miss Laini to one of the guest rooms for the night and we'll try to get everything straightened out in the morning?" Lion-O asked.
"In the morning? But, my Lord, what about the rest of the colony?" Laini asked.
"The rescue crews are still gathering stasis pods. They should all be taken care of by tomorrow afternoon. Don't worry; I'm sure your son is fine. Please, just try to get some rest," Lion-O said, escorting the two females to the door. Cheetara put her hand on Laini's shoulder and led her down the hall. When they were gone, Lion-O heaved a sigh and joined Tygra by Panthro's side.
"Come on; we'd better get him to the medical bay." The tiger announced.
Panthro jerked awake. There was a weird charge running through his body, like someone had stuck his finger in a light socket while he was asleep.
"Whuh-what the hell . . .?" he managed to groan.
"So you're awake now?" Tygra's voice managed to punch through the jittery fog that encased his limbs.
"Tygra? What the hell—I feel like I got struck by lightning . . ." A rueful chuckle reached his ears. Tygra placed a hand on Panthro's shoulder. The panther clan warrior jumped at the contact. It felt like every nerve on his skin was jumping and bouncing out of sheer high spirits. The place where Tygra was touching him was a bizarre contrast of steady, familiar touch.
"Well, you weren't exactly struck by lightning," Tygra announced. "You did soak up a bit of an electrical current, though." Panthro risked opening his eyes. His vision remained unaffected, which was a bit of a relief. He was lying on a cot in the medical bay. The lights were shining brightly, but full dark had fallen outside the windows. Panthro sat up cautiously, inspecting his arms. With the visual reassurance that his skin wasn't jiggling like a bowlful of jumping beans the sensation quieted to a thrum.
"What the hell happened to me?"
"Well, you frightened Laini pretty badly with your temper tantrum. She thought you were going to attack her, so she beat you to the punch."
"What did she do to me?"
"She made use of a rather ingenious device she called a 'taser'. Evidently, it delivered enough of an electrical shock to put you under for about half an hour, but it doesn't do any permanent damage." Listening to this explanation with half an ear, Panthro inspected two tiny puncture wounds on his chest.
"Why that little--," he began.
"Put a sock in it, Panthro," Lion-O ordered from the doorway. Panthro started to protest again, but fell silent when he saw the look on the young Lord's face. Lion-O looked tired, weary almost, but there was a hardness in his eyes that disturbed his two friends. "I've had quite enough of your temper for one night. Miss Laini is in a very tight spot in this whole situation, but she has enough integrity to come forward and be totally open and honest and you respond by throwing a chair at her." Panthro looked abashed. "Honestly, Panthro, she's not much bigger than a ten-year-old cub herself. Were you trying to scare her to death?"
"I—we got into a yelling contest. She may seem tiny and helpless, but she can be a real bitch when she wants to!" Panthro protested. If anything, the look in Lion-O's eyes got colder; it wasn't anger, it was more like disappointment with a little bit of hurt betrayal thrown in. Disappointment Panthro could understand, but the hurt betrayal had him baffled.
"It's late; I'm going to bed now. I suggest you two get some rest as well; I've got a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very long day." Lion-O stepped back out into the hallway, rubbing his temples. The two elder ThunderCats watched him go.
"Do you ever worry about Lion-O?" Tygra asked, an expression of mild anxiety on his face. Panthro rubbed at his bare skin, trying to will it to calm down.
"I've got enough of my own worries right now, thanks."
After seeing Panthro off to bed, Tygra made his way back to his own chambers, still looking concerned. He was truly worried about Lion-O. The young Lion king took his duties as Lord of the ThunderCats very seriously. Tygra had suspected Lion-O considered himself responsible for even the behavior of the ThunderCats beneath him and that suspicion had been proved right tonight. First Lion-O had practically torn the heads off of the newcomers claiming to be ThunderCats as they laughed at the pain and suffering of others. Tygra had never seen his liege lord so angry outside of combat. Then Panthro had to frighten little Laini into attacking him. The disappointment and betrayal on Lion-O's face had really struck a nerve with Tygra. Both Tygra and Panthro had practically been father figures to Lion-O. His own father, Claudus, had been too busy with the Mutant Wars to really be a father to his own son. Tygra knew that as a cub, Lion-O had looked up to Panthro the most. He had wanted to be a strong, proud warrior like the engineer. To find out that Panthro's ferocious temper had driven him to terrorize a woman half his size must have been a wrench. In the back of his mind, Tygra had to wonder if Panthro would have hit Laini if she hadn't nailed him first. A headache starting behind his eyes, the architect slipped into his own quarters. All he wanted in the entire world was to fall into bed and forget everything existed for a good eight hours. At his bedroom door the angel sleeping in his bed stopped him cold. Siberia had left the bedside light on for him, which cast a soft yellow light across her features. She was curled up on her side in an almost child-like position, one hand by her mouth, her index finger resting on the tip of her nose, the other hand holding the blanket against her chest. The blanket cascaded over the side of the bed at a crazy angle, baring Siberia's back and the very tip of her tail. Tygra's heart swelled. He was sure everyone thought he was certifiably insane when he had declared his love of this were-tigress, but he couldn't help himself. She was just so happy to be around him. Her face lit up when he walked into a room. All she wanted was to be loved. And all he wanted was to love her. At least once a day he would have a moment like this one, where all he could do was stare at this golden goddess, hardly daring to believe she was his. Tygra shook himself free from his trance and began to disrobe. He climbed into bed behind Siberia carefully, lifting her tail out of harm's way so he could spoon up behind her. As an afterthought, he leaned backwards to turn off the lamp. Siberia yawned widely and stretched, rolling over and throwing her arm around him, hooking one leg over his and pillowing her head on his chest. Thoroughly satisfied with her new position, the tigress dropped off to sleep again. Sometimes these little gestures filled Tygra's heart so full of love he thought it would burst.
'I wonder if any two people on this planet are as deeply in love as we are right now,' Tygra mused to himself. Siberia shifted in her sleep, cuddling ever closer to him. 'Gods, I sure hope so.'
Panthro thrashed around on his own bed like a fish out of water. The humming charge still ran through his muscles. There was no way he could fall asleep like this. With a growl, Panthro kicked off the covers and dressed in haste. He didn't know where he wanted to be right now, but it definitely wasn't here. As an afterthought, he grabbed a long cloak and threw it over his shoulders. He needed to walk, to think, to wander. Panthro headed out of the palace, totally ignoring the guards that snapped to attention as he passed. He headed down into the streets of Capitol City, taking no mind of where he was headed. These were strange days indeed. First Tygra lost his head over some were-tigress with a color mutation, then this little Laini bitch showed up with her ill-gotten offspring, then Lion-O had about bitten his head off over the fight he had with her. Panthro had the feeling his world was spiraling out of control. Shaking his head fitfully, he managed to clear his head of the evening's activities. After a moment of peace, an odd thought cropped up. Panthro wondered what his son was like. Laini had said the boy's name was Bahati. That was a good name; in the old panther tongue it meant 'good fortune'. After this night, Panthro would need all the good fortune he could get if he ever wanted to see the child. Laini had said that Bahati looked a great deal like him. Panthro wondered if the boy liked the same sorts of things he did. Was the boy constantly taking apart the household appliances to see how they worked? Panthro chuckled to himself. His own mother had nearly skinned him several times for his tendency to do that. Of course, at ten years old, Bahati would be a bit old for such antics. Well, considering some of the things the Thunderkittens got up to, maybe not. Did the boy have the makings of a warrior? Did he ever start fights? More importantly, did he win them? The street Panthro was walking on teed into the canal. The warrior walked until he was right on the edge, looking straight down into the water. He stared down at his reflection, mind blank. After a minute or so, he felt a pang. Damn it, he wanted to be a father! He had the complete kit for a family thrown into his lap and what did he do? Accuse Laini of using Bahati to jockey for a position in the nobility of the Panther Clan. Insult her ability to get a man. Call her a little girl. Throw a fucking chair at her head.
"Fuck!" Panthro bellowed, "I'm such an asshole!" The few late-night walkers eyed him oddly and gave him an even wider berth. Growling at his own stupidity, Panthro whirled and took the path to his left. He had never been in this part of the city before. The sidewalk ran right alongside the canal, only about eight inches above water level. The level of the sidewalk was actually about ten feet lower than street level, creating a recessed river walk that was quite nice. Small local shops lined the walk. These shops were the bottom level of two and three story buildings built wall-to-wall. It was a very peaceful little place. Most of the shops were closed at this time of night, but a few bars and coffee shops still had their doors open. Panthro was tempted to find a bar and have a few beers, but he wanted to think some more.
"What I could really use," he muttered to himself. "Is a crystal ball." Around the next bend of the river, a sign hanging off a shop caught his eye. 'Witch' the sign proclaimed in large, ornate letters. In smaller print beneath that was the words: 'Fortunes told, hexes lifted, charms available. Absolutely no curses. Spell casting by appointment only.'
"You've got to be kidding me," Panthro muttered. Still, he was totally at a loss. What could it hurt, really? He opened the door and poked his head through. A shapely young lioness was sitting behind a cloth-draped table, upon which rested a large crystal ball. She was young, but obviously mature, anywhere between Lion-O's age and Tygra's, with vibrant red hair that cascaded down her shoulders and back in tumultuous curls. She was wearing a low-cut black cropped blouse, the sleeves of which came down past her wrists. Holes had been cut on the insides of the sleeves for her thumbs. She wore a pair of hip-hugger denim trousers and a durable pair of black leather boots with steel toes. Around her neck was a metal necklace with a metal claw hanging from it. Her facial markings were a tad odd for a lioness; most females of the Lion Clan had a lighter skin tone around their eyes, nose and mouth. This female had pale white coloring around her eyes only. The rest of her skin was a dusky tan, except for white on her forearms and hands. All in all, she didn't look very metaphysical. She had a newspaper spread out in front of her and was doing the crossword puzzle.
"Ah, excuse me?" Panthro asked. She looked up at him. Her amber eyes were half-closed, as if she had just tumbled out of bed. She was one hot little lioness. "Are you still open?" Panthro asked. She gave him a lazy, crooked grin.
"I sure am," she announced. "Come on in, have a seat." The ThunderCat engineer did as he was told, fidgeting nervously. "So, what can I do for you, Lord Panthro?" The lioness asked. Panthro started visibly.
"How do you know my name?!" He demanded. The lioness picked up her newspaper and held it out in front of her. Right next to the crossword puzzle was an article on new technology that had been brought back from alien worlds. Panthro was pictured next to the Thundertank. The caption clearly stated his name.
"Oh." Well now he really felt like an ass.
"So, what can I help you with this evening?" The lioness repeated.
"You mean you don't know that already?" Panthro griped. One eyebrow arched over one amber eye. "Look sorry, I just had a really bad day. I don't even know what I'm doing here."
"You know what I think?" The woman asked softly.
"What?" Panthro growled.
"I think you could use a beer," she announced. Panthro chuckled defeatedly.
"Wow, you are psychic," he observed. The witch laughed deep in her throat and went to the back of the room. "I hope Dearmad Red is good, because that's all I've got." She pulled aside the curtain across the back wall, revealing a perfectly ordinary kitchen.
"Sabertooth beer? That's hard to get in this area," Panthro announced, obviously impressed.
"Only the best for me!" She called, disappearing into the recesses of the kitchen spaces. Panthro drummed his fingers on the table. She may have not been a fabulous psychic, but a decent beer and sympathetic ear were all Panthro really required. His eyes fell on the witch's discarded newspaper. For the first time he noticed she had been doing the crossword puzzle in pen. After a few moments, she was back with a beer in a frosted mug.
"Ah, thank you, Miss . . . ?" She treated him to another lopsided grin.
"Call me Red. Most people do."
"Well, thanks for the beer, Red," Panthro said, lifting his glass to her. It was great beer. If the Sabertooth Clan knew how to do one thing right, it was brew beer.
"So, tell me about this awful day you had," Red prompted. Taking another long draught, Panthro filled her in on the last twenty-four hours of his life. "Wow, that sucks," she announced. "Well, let's see what's in the cards for you." She started to take away the crystal ball.
"Where are you going with that?" Panthro asked. Red hoisted the glass sphere in one hand.
"This? It's a fishing float. To be perfectly honest, I really don't like using a crystal ball. Cards are my specialty." Panthro looked puzzled. So far Red's fortune-telling abilities didn't impress him. Red stashed the 'crystal ball' under the table and brought out a pack of Tarot cards. She gave them a few shuffles with all the expertise of a practiced con artist and placed them in front of Panthro.
"Shuffle the cards while you think of your son," she instructed. Panthro did so. "All righty then." With quick fingers, the lioness laid the elaborately painted cards out in a precise pattern. "Hmmm. He's a very bright lad. Takes after his mother in that respect. The boy has a warrior's spirit. Does he favor you physically?" Red asked.
"I've never met the kid before," Panthro said, shrugging.
"I believe he resembles you a great deal. Physically and . . . . hmm, temper-wise as well. Do you know the boy's name? Does it have something to do with luck?" Panthro started.
"Yes. His name is Bahati. It means good fortune in the old panther tongue." Red nodded with satisfaction. Panthro leaned forward. Maybe there was more to this fortune-telling mumbo jumbo than he thought.
"He carries a lot of weight on his shoulders for such a young child. He's used to being the man of the house." Red leaned forward, studying a few of the cards intently. "I get the feeling that his mother is not very well liked," Red announced.
"There's a shock," Panthro sneered.
"He . . . protects his mother. He gets in a lot of fights over her. He's her . . . ," Red trailed off, frowning at the cards spread out before her. "Her reason for getting up in the morning. Her inspiration. Her shining star." Red chewed one fingernail, frowning. She quickly swept the spread back into the deck and thrust them at Panthro. "Shuffle them again," she ordered. "Only this time, concentrate on the boy's mother." Panthro took up the cards and began to mix them up.
"I'm not really all that interested in Laini," he announced. "We got a bit of a personality conflict. I've only known her for two hours and the pint-sized little snot has already shocked me into unconsciousness—Oh, sorry!" This last was said as Panthro fumbled a shuffle and scattered cards across the table and floor. The ThunderCat engineer reached forward to sweep them up. Red's grew wide as she took in the Tarot cards scattered across the table.
"Stop!" she roared. Panthro froze. The lioness witch's eyes were as large as saucers as she studied the scattered cards. "Sekhmet's mane . . ." Red whispered. "This has never happened before," she said quietly, getting up and digging around in a cabinet hidden underneath the table.
"What? What is it?" Panthro asked. Red emerged from under the table with an instant camera.
"The cards; they're in a spread," she announced, snapping a few photos. "And if you have a care about your son's happiness and well-being, you'll take an interest in his mother as well."
"Why? Because my son can't be happy unless his parents are desperately in love?" Panthro sneered.
"No, because someone is trying to kill his mother," Red said flatly.
"What?!"
"It's all right here: the Queen of Wands crossed by the Nine of Swords, with the Wheel of Fortune, Death, the Devil, and the Hierophant." At Panthro's blank look, the lioness sat down and composed herself. "Okay, I should explain step by step: the Queen of Wands represents your son's mother—."
"Cut the crap," Panthro growled. Red blinked.
"What?"
"You honestly expect me to believe that I drop some cards on the table and this means someone's trying to kill Laini?"
"But it's right here--." Panthro stood up quickly, throwing down the remaining cards.
"I can't believe I even came in here in the first place! I'm leaving!" Even though he was absolutely certain the door hadn't locked behind him when he came in, Panthro couldn't get the handle to turn.
"What the hell?!"
"Sorry you came in here or not, you still have to pay me," Red growled. She held out one delicate ivory hand. "That will be twenty Thunder dollars."
"The sign on the door said a reading was fifteen," Panthro protested.
"I'm charging you for the beer. And for being an asshole." The captive ThunderCat snarled and thrust the money into her hand.
"You want to unlock the door now?" He inquired.
"It is unlocked," Red announced, casually counting her pay. Panthro glowered at her, then at the door, and tried the handle. It turned quite easily. Panthro tried shutting the door, then opening it again, just in case there was an automatic catch. Again, it opened quite easily. The panther warrior stared out across the darkened river then back at the lioness behind him.
"There's more to being a witch than telling fortunes," she said smugly. "And don't slam the door, my kids are trying to sleep upstairs." Panthro barely resisted the urge to slam the door twice as hard, but it wasn't the cubs' fault their mother was an insufferable charlatan. Red let out a sigh after he had left and went back over to the table, still strewn with its glimpse of the future.
"All's well that ends well, I guess," she murmured to herself. "Still, I don't envy this Laini woman."
The next day was brilliant, bright and sunny, the morning sunshine gleaming off of the lids of the nine hundred or so stasis capsules lined up on the desert floor on the outskirt of Capitol City. Lion-O whistled at the sight as he climbed out of the Thundertank.
"Now that's impressive," the young Lord announced. Panthro, climbing out beside him, just grunted. He had a very poor night of sleep, and was in an even fouler mood than the situation would have called for.
"Isn't it amazing how one can find can find beauty is such an odd sight? And don't the clouds look particularly fluffy today?" Tygra exclaimed, vaulting out of the 'tank. Wearing a grin so broad it practically wrapped around his head, the tiger stretched luxuriously. "What a wonderful day to be alive!" Lion-O chuckled to himself.
"Siberia in the mood for love last night?" He inquired.
"This morning, actually," Tygra clarified. Lion-O chuckled again and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, you crazy kids," he joked. The site was already swarming with medical personnel, stasis technicians, and relocation workers. White tents had been set up nearby for the medical and relocation personnel. Several bright green buses sat ready to start transporting the new arrivals to temporary shelters in and around the city. Through all of the hustle and bustle, Lion-O caught sight of a small figure in black and green moving among the stasis pods and peering in the windows.
"Miss Laini's here already." He murmured to himself. Panthro had wandered over for a technical report from the stasis technicians. Lion-O started towards the little panther woman. Before he was half way there, the other newcomers joined her.
"Morning, Laini," Pardus growled. Laini looked up from the window of the stasis pod she was leaned over.
"Oh, good morning guys." Her eyes flickered over her teammates, all dressed in civilian attire. "Why aren't you guys in uniform?"
"Because, Laini, we have been stripped of the title of ThunderCats. Apparently we aren't good enough to defend our countrymen," Lusan growled bitterly.
"Really?" Laini asked. Her eyes fell on the ThunderCat emblem on her belt. "Nobody told me," she said quietly.
"Well, you'd better take it off; his Lordship is headed this way right now," Pardus announced. Laini looked over her shoulder. Lord Lion-O was headed right towards them, Tygra in tow.
"Good morning, everyone," Lion-O said pleasantly.
"Good morning, your Lordship," the newcomers growled reluctantly.
"Lord Lion-O, I'm so sorry! No one told me you didn't want us wearing the ThunderCat emblem. I'll take it off right now," Laini blurted, reaching for her belt. Lion-O put his hand out quickly.
"Oh no, Laini, it's all right. You can stay a ThunderCat," he assured her. In unison, the other five newcomers' jaws dropped.
"What?!" Pardus roared. "You demoted us for laughing at her, but she gets to stay a ThunderCat?!" Lion-O glared at the leopard.
"From what I've seen so far, Miss Laini has displayed nothing but integrity and honesty. I think she'd make a great addition to the team." Fire burned in Pardus's eyes.
"As you wish, my Lord," he sneered, giving a small, mocking bow. Without another word he whirled and strode off towards the reception tents. The others began to follow him.
"Wait!" Laini cried. The group paused and glared at her expectantly. "Um, can you guys help me look for Bahati?" she asked. They stared at her for a moment longer then continued their march back to the tents. Laini sighed, her shoulders sagging. The beaten, defeated look on her face was back again.
"Bastards," Lion-O growled at the retreating group. Tygra laid a hand on Laini's shoulder.
"Hey, don't be upset. We'll help you look for your son, right Lion-O?" the architect said soothingly.
"Of course we'll help. Just let us know what he looks like--," the young Lord was cut off by Panthro bellowing his name from across the field. Turning, he saw the panther beckoning to him. "Well, it looks like Panthro needs something. I will come back and help though." Lion-O took his leave of them.
"Well, don't worry; I'll still help. What does your son look like?" Tygra announced. Laini perked up slightly.
"Bahati's about so tall," she held one hand near her chin. "He has short, curly hair and he's wearing a green tunic."
"Great; I'll search this way and you search that way and if I find him, I'll yell for you, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, Lord Tygra." Tygra grinned and winked at her.
"Hey, you're wearing the ThunderCat emblem, too. Just call me Tygra." Laini grinned back.
"Thank you... Tygra."
The problem Lion-O had to straighten out was nothing much; just an order to open up a few more spaces in several of the shelters for the newcomers. Lion-O put one arm around Panthro's shoulders and led him away from the techies.
"Laini is looking for her son now," he stated carefully.
"She is?" Panthro asked, a worried look crossing his face.
"Yes. Are you going to meet the boy?" Lion-O asked, voice carefully neutral. Panthro was silent for a moment.
"Yeah," He said. "Of course I am. He's my son. I just wish I had some more time to prepare." Lion-O nodded.
"That's perfectly understandable. I'm sure you two will get along fine. It's just. . ,"
"What?"
"Have you spoken to Laini since last night?"
"No," Panthro growled. "Why?" Lion-O sighed.
"I know you two got off on the wrong foot, but she's really sweet, Panthro. Maybe you could give her another chance?" Panthro started to snarl an answer in the negative, then remembered his realization of the night before. If he did want to be a father to his son, he had to at least be civil to the boy's mother.
"Yeah. Maybe you're right. I just—what's Tygra's problem?"
Tygra waved frantically across the field of stasis pods, trying to attract someone's attention. He finally caught Panthro's eye a moment before Laini looked up, saw him and came running. Satisfied, Tygra ceased his wild gesticulation and looked back down at the pod at his feet. He might as well have been looking back in time. The panther cub inside looked so much like Panthro it was eerie. The only real difference was that Panthro didn't have curly hair when he was a cub. Laini came to halt beside Tygra and looked in at the cub.
"That's him!" she cried. "That's my Bahati!" Laini knelt in front of the pod and started the opening sequence.
"Maybe we should wait for the others before you do that," Tygra cautioned. Laini staunchly ignored him.
"Laini!" Laini gave him a dark look.
"My baby has been stuck in stasis for over 24 hours! I'm getting him out!" Panthro and Lion-O, trailed by a few technicians, reached them.
"What's going on here?" Panthro stopped short when he saw the cub. "Is this him?" He asked, a strange tone to his voice. "Is this my son?"
"This is him. This is my Bahati," Laini announced, clearly proud. A second later, the tiny panther woman growled in frustration. "How long does this stupid thing take to open?!" She demanded. The seal broke open with a hiss. The lid rose of its own accord and the much fussed over cub stirred. Laini didn't even wait for him to open his eyes. She leaned into the pod and patted his cheek gently. "Bahati? Bahati, love, are you okay?" The child opened his eyes. His eyes were a vivid yellow, just like his mother's.
"Mom?" he said weakly. "Did we make it?" Laini grinned, helping her son into a sitting position.
"We sure did, sweetie! We're on New Thundera! Oh, sweetie, I was so worried about you!" Laini hugged the boy tight, kissing his cheek.
"Mo-oo-om!" Bahati cried in dismay. Lion-O grinned at this affectionate exchange. Then he snuck a peek at Panthro. The ThunderCat engineer was staring at his offspring with a strange, intense expression on his face. Lion-O had a hard time even categorizing the emotions warring on Panthro's face. Bahati slid out of the stasis pod, looking around with interest.
"Maybe you should sit down for a little longer, Bahati," Laini said, concern etched on every line of her face.
"I'm fine, Mom," he said with the ease of one well used to an overprotective mother. The boy looked around with awe.
"Wow," he breathed, obviously impressed. "Hey, more ThunderCats! Wow!" Bahati stopped and took in the adults around him. "Why is everyone staring at me?" He demanded, scowling and crossing his arms across his chest. The boy's stance was so . . . so . . . so Panthro, Lion-O had to fight back laughter. Tygra was likewise biting his lip.
"You're the first person to wake up, Bahati. We just want to make sure you're all right," Laini said smoothly. "In fact, these technicians probably want to get you checked out medically, right?" One of the med techs nodded.
"That's right, ma'am. If you'd just come with us, young man." The medical technicians led Bahati away, followed closely by Laini. Panthro turned to Lion-O.
"I'm—I'm going with them," he said quietly, the strange, intense look still on his face. He followed about twenty feet behind the smaller group. When the rest were gone, Lion-O and Tygra exchanged a look. They both burst into snorts of muffled laughter.
"By the gods!" Tygra choked. "When that boy crossed his arms and stood like Panthro, I didn't think I could hold it!"
"Me either," Lion-O chuckled. He sighed and sobered up, looking after the departing group. "Still, poor Panthro."
Bahati knew something was up. He wasn't at all surprised that his mother had found his pod first and awakened him before the rest. He was surprised that a team of new ThunderCats had been gathered around, staring intently at him. And he noticed that a large male panther was following him and his mom with a very strange look on his face. Now the warrior stood outside the medical tent, staring at Bahati as the boy got checked out. Bahati stared back at him. Why was the man looking at him so strangely? He looked distressed. Laini saw Bahati staring and followed his gaze to the man outside.
"I'll be right back, sweetie," she said, going out and speaking with the stranger. The two talked in low tones, intense looks on both their faces. They stopped once and both looked back at Bahati. The cub growled to himself in frustration. What was going on?! The doctor laying a cold stethoscope against Bahati's bare back shocked him out of his reverie.
"If you could just take a deep breath, young master," the doctor instructed. Bahati did as he was told.
"Doctor? Who's that man talking to my mother?" he asked. The doctor, an older man of the Tiger clan, looked up briefly.
"That's Lord Panthro, one of the original ThunderCats," he announced. Bahati was silent for a moment.
"Are you certain that's who it is?" the boy asked in a quiet voice.
"Quite certain. Why is it important?"
"Because Panthro was my father's name," Bahati said in a very soft voice. "And he was one of the original ThunderCats." The boy grabbed his discarded shirt and headed for the ThunderCat pair. As he drew close to them, he could hear Panthro saying:
"—yes, I want to meet him, but I'm just not sure how to do this." The warrior stopped short as he caught sight of Bahati. Laini turned around.
"Bahati, is the doctor done with you already?" She asked. Bahati completely ignored her. Instead, he stared up at Panthro, a similar look of nervous distress on both of their faces.
"You're Panthro of the original ThunderCats, right?" The boy asked. Laini visibly jumped, putting a hand over her mouth. Panthro swallowed with effort.
"Yes," he croaked, mouth suddenly dry. "That's my name." Bahati looked down at his feet for a moment.
"Are you my father?" he asked, voice cracking. Panthro stared down into those intense yellow eyes. He cast a quick look at Laini, who looked pretty distressed herself.
"It would appear that I am," Panthro said. Bahati looked down at his feet again.
"Oh, sweetie," Laini sighed, hugging Bahati tight. "I know this is a lot to handle, but this doesn't change anything! You're still the number one man in my life. You know you mean the world to me, baby. You're my shining star."
You're my shining star. Panthro remembered the words of the lion witch the night before with a start. Holy shit, maybe there was more to fortune-telling mumbo-jumbo than he thought.
"This doesn't change a thing, okay?" Laini continued. Bahati pulled back from her embrace.
"Mom, my father is alive. This changes everything." Laini's face crumpled. Panthro felt the need to say something.
"I'm not quite sure what to say," he announced. "Bahati, I know this is kind of shock; believe me, it's a shock for both of us, but I'd like to get to know you better. I'm a bit late in the game, but I'd like to be a father to you."
"Really?" Bahati asked.
"Yeah, really." The father and son smiled at each other shyly.
"Awwww, that's so sweet." A familiar voice announced. Panthro looked over his shoulder, blushing furiously. Lion-O and Tygra grinned at him widely. "Who knew you were such a big softie, Panthro?" Tygra continued. Panthro blushed harder.
"Can it, Stripes," he growled affectionately.
From the other side of the tent circle, Pardus shook his head.
"Un-fucking-believable," he announced. "She robs the genetic bank of the Panther Clan and ends up with some nobleman's bastard, completely destroys the colony ship and tasers the father of her child at their first meeting, and yet she ends up with the ThunderCat title and her son is set for life because of his daddy."
"If Laini fell in the dark, she'd come up with coal," Cabcoh agreed.
"Laini has been very lucky," Sarken said in cold, flat tones. "We should be happy for her." Should, but she wasn't, that much was obvious.
"She'll get what's coming to her," Pardus growled. "Count on it."
