Chapter 3

A month and a half passed and soon Lion-O and Cheetara would be back on Third Earth. They hadn't heard anything from the satellites and the rest of the ThunderCats hadn't called them either. Lion-O was beginning to wonder if they were really the last of the Thunderians.

Back on Third Earth, there was another ThunderCat thinking the same thing. Tygra was disappointed that the satellites hadn't picked up anything. His mind continued to work out new ideas and new ways of keeping the Thunderian species alive.

The first thing that popped into his mind was the Geyser of Life. It had returned him to the proper age, so could he use the revitalizing waters to keep the ThunderCats young? Was there a way to make a serum out of it? But whom would he test it on? One wrong calculation and he could return the mighty ThunderCats to their infancy. Using the Cave of Time would be dangerous to age them properly. There was just no way to test it without the possibility of causing trouble. Plus he would need the others help to distract the winged water snakes. Tygra doubted that his friends would go for his idea. It was back to the drawing board.

The different clans had their special inherited strengths. The panther clan was strong. The cheetahs were fast. Pumas were excellent jumpers. The tiger clan was known for their incredible mental power. Lynxes were wise. The lion clan led the others and their bravery had been proven time and again. Cunning had always been a kitten thing. There had to be a way to combine them all.

Then Tygra had a brilliant idea. What if there was a way to collect all the ThunderCats abilities and use them to create the Ultimate ThunderCat? This Ultimate ThunderCat would have: Panthro's strength, Cheetara's speed, the cunning of the ThunderKittens, Ben-Gali's and his own mental powers, Pumyra's jumping abilities, and finally Lynx-O's wisdom. Of course, The Lord of the ThunderCats' bravery and leadership skills would also have to be included. Then Tygra realized that the best way to get all of these things would be DNA samples.

The ThunderCats had been chosen because of their special skills (except Lion-O, his was heredity). Those skills had set them apart; they became nobles and the sworn protectors of Thundera and its Code. Tygra figured that the Ultimate ThunderCat would give the rest time to proliferate the species because, if they were in fact the last of the Thunderians, when they died, the Code died with them.

The tiger decided the next step was to come up with some reason to visit the Tower of Omens and collect Pumyra, Ben-Gali, and Lynx-O's DNA. Once the samples had been gathered from all the ThunderCats, he would have to work in secret.

Back on New Thundera, Lion-O and Cheetara loaded up their personal belongings. They were expecting the Feliner any time now. The two hadn't been talking because Cheetara figured out that Lion-O had been slipping sedatives into her tea. The cheetah was willing to admit that it let her sleep but she didn't want to leave Lion-O alone. The Lord of the ThunderCats had apologized and she was just pretending to be upset with him. Cheetara realized that she could never stay angry at Lion-O.

Up in the atmosphere, Panthro and the ThunderKittens were bringing the Feliner into its descent towards New Thundera's atmosphere. They would take over for Lion-O and Cheetara for the next four months. At first, the panther didn't like the idea of being left with WilyKit and WilyKat. They were still always getting into trouble and having to put up with them for four months would probably drive him nuts. However, before they left Tygra promised to give them a surprise when they came back if they behaved themselves.

Lion-O turned to Cheetara. This would probably be one of the few times he would get to be alone with her. If he was going to say something it had better be now. He knew that the cheetah was mad at him and she might not want to listen but he would have to give it a try.

"Cheetara, I want to apologize again. I just wanted to help you. Uh… um…" Again his tongue became useless and he couldn't get the words out. Cheetara gave him a strange look. The lion couldn't make up his mind what she was trying to get across. His fellow ThunderCat opened her mouth to say something but Lion-O didn't let her. Impulse took over and he pulled her close. Cheetara didn't try to get away from him and the Lord of the ThunderCats took a chance.

Ten minutes later, Panthro and the ThunderKittens were landing the Feliner at New Thundera's Cat's Lair. Lion-O and Cheetara greeted them as they disembarked from the spaceship. There was no hint of what had happened only a few minutes ago. Quickly, things were loaded and unloaded from the Feliner and goodbyes were exchanged.

Panthro watched as the Feliner launched itself toward the planet's atmosphere. Something had been odd but he didn't point it out because WilyKit and Kat would continually ask him questions. Shrugging his big muscular shoulders, the panther went inside.

On Third Earth, Ben-Gali was sitting on his bed. The white tiger was incredibly nervous and fidgety. He didn't think that it would be so hard but obviously his mind had other ideas. Pumyra was alone in the Tower of Omens' control room. Now would be the opportune time, if the white tiger could get his legs to move. The PA system interrupted his indecision.

"Ben-Gali, please report to the control room on the double." It was Pumyra. Quickly, he left his room and made his way downstairs.

"There you are. We were beginning to wonder what happened to you." The puma smiled.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Its time for everyone to have their physicals." Tygra told the bunch.

"Really? Snarfer, snarfer." Snarf's nephew asked. The orange tiger nodded.

"Who's first?" Lynx-O said he would go first and the others agreed so that he could get back to his night off.

In the Feliner, Lion-O and Cheetara sat in absolute silence as the ship broke from New Thundera's grasp. Neither one knew where to start. The kiss had definitely been something the cheetah wasn't expecting.

"I…" the first word came out from Lion-O. He hesitated, fully expecting Cheetara to say or do something. However, the cheetah did neither. She instead continued to look at the Lord of the ThunderCats. When they had kissed she was reluctant at first but then something inside her screamed. The tension and pressure had been building; it was the kiss that finally set it off.

Lion-O turned away from her. He felt embarrassed and didn't know what he was going to do for the rest of the long trip. Then he felt Cheetara's hand on his shoulder. Turning to her, the lion fully expected something bad to happen but instead the cheetah kissed his cheek. He smiled and asked,

"So I guess that means you're not going to kick my butt?" Cheetara laughed and replied,

"No, I'm not going to kick your butt."

"Then I guess that I have to apologize for being so forward. I…" Lion-O started but she cut him off.

"Let me tell you something. If you hadn't done it, I probably would've." The cheetah beamed. Lion-O had a look of surprise on his face.

"Really?"

Cheetara continued to smile and nodded. Now that the silent oppression had been broken, the two relaxed. Both glad for what had happened.

Tygra was finishing up Snarfer's physical. The little guy had been quite nervous and didn't want to sit still. Finally, the tiger had gotten Pumyra to help him.

"All done." Tygra said about twenty minutes later.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Pumyra asked the young snarf.

"No, I guess not. Can I go now?" Snarfer wondered. Tygra nodded and he left the infirmary.

"Why couldn't I do the physicals?" Pumyra asked when Snarfer was out of earshot.

"You always do them, so I figured I'd cut you a break." The tiger lied. Pumyra nodded and thanked him.

"Well, I must return to my post. Have a safe trip back to Cat's Lair." The puma said.

"I will. Thanks." Tygra said. He then went down the garage and took the ThunderTank home.

Slipping back into Cat's Lair, the tiger went right to his workroom. He put the skin samples he'd collected into the refrigerator next to Panthro and the ThunderKittens'. Tonight had been a complete success.

The sun began to sink over the distant mountains and the Feliner radioed ahead to Cat's Lair to let them know they were coming. Snarf and Tygra lifted the Cat's Paw, so Lion-O could land the ship.

At the Tower of Omens, Pumyra received a message saying that Lion-O and Cheetara had made it back safely. She thanked Cat's Lair and said good night. Now completely alone in the control room, she sat at the sensors.

Her mind wandered as boredom quickly took over. Ben-Gali had been acting strangely lately and today was no exception. As if he had read her mind, the white tiger entered the room.

"Pumyra, I have something to ask you."

"Ok. What's on your mind?" The puma asked. Ben-Gali took her hand and got down on one knee. Pumyra stared at him.

"We've been together for a long time. Always watching out for each other and taking care of one another. I just want to know if you would do me the honor of making our friendship a little more permanent?" He asked her. The puma's eyes went wide. She had not seen this coming.

Ben-Gali waited for an answer. He had had something a little nicer written down earlier but he'd forgotten it. The tiger just hoped that she would answer.

"Pumyra?" Ben-Gali asked. This snapped her from the shock.

"I don't know what to say. You… I…" the puma stuttered. Ben-Gali's head sank as if accepting defeat. He stood up slowly and headed for the door. The tiger's only wish was for the floor to swallow him up.

"Wait!" Pumyra shouted. She grabbed his arm. There were no words exchanged between the two as she spun him around and kissed him. There was no reluctance between them and they kissed some more.

"So I guess that means yes." Ben-Gali said. Pumyra put her forehead on his and smiled.

"Yes, most definitely yes." The tiger picked her up and swung her around.

"You have no idea how happy you've made me." He couldn't stop smiling. The two stayed together the rest of the night and planned to share the news with everyone in the morning.

At Cat's Lair, Lion-O lay awake in bed. He couldn't get over what had happened today. Sleeping was out of the question. So he decided to walk around Cat's Lair.

The Lord of the ThunderCats walked down to the control room. Tygra was sitting at the sensors, reading something.

"Whatcha reading?" Lion-O asked.

"Oh I didn't expect you to be up. What's going on?" The tiger asked avoiding the question.

"I couldn't sleep." Was all the lion offered. "What are you reading?"

"I reread the science journals we brought from Thundera so that I can refresh my memory." Tygra admitted but he didn't tell his leader that it was the one about DNA extraction.

"Mind if I sit with you awhile or would you rather read?" Lion-O asked. The tiger really wanted to read but instead told Lion-O to stay.

The two ThunderCats chatted for a while and then Lion-O decided to try to get some sleep. Tygra said good night and returned to his journals. The Lord of the ThunderCats made his way down to his room.

Upon entering the room, he found Cheetara huddled in the corner. Quickly, he went over to her.

"Did you have that nightmare again?" He asked softly. She nodded and whispered,

"Something was different this time." Lion-O looked at her. The cheetah refused to say anymore and he pulled her close. Wrapping his muscular arms around her, the two sat in silence for the rest of the night.

To Be Continued…