Chapter 15
Cheetara extended her bo-staff and jammed it between two of the bars. Using all her strength, she pushed on the staff, in an attempt to force the bars apart. They moved ever so slightly but it was enough for the cheetah to keep trying. Again she pushed and they moved some more. She was about to try it for a third time when the main door in the room opened. Quickly the escape attempt was abandoned and the cheetah put her weapon away. Two familiar figures then walked into the room.
"Lion-O!" The name was barely loud enough for the lion to hear. He rushed over to the cell while Tygra punched in the code to open the cages on the desk that sat in the middle of the room. Lion-O waited for the door to open before pulling the cheetah to him.
"I got your message." He smiled.
"Thank Jaga." She said as she let him go. Freeing the others from their prisons, Tygra then came over to the two.
"Time to free Panthro and the Kittens." He said.
"Indeed. I'll try to keep the noise down." The lion winked, knowing full well that the room was soundproof.
"Thunder, thunder, thunder, ThunderCats HO!!!!!" The Cat Signal shot just high enough to fit under the ceiling. Panthro and the Kittens' eyes glowed as well as their symbols. Within seconds they were free.
"What the… how did we end up down here?" The panther asked.
"It's kind of involved but the bigger question is why the leaders of every village, this side of the planet are here." Lion-O shook his old friend's hand.
"Those filthy creatures said we were to be made an example of." Willa cut in.
"Well why don't we see what the Mutants and Mumm-Ra have to say when we show up in the control room." The Lord of the ThunderCats told them.
"What about us, Lion-O?" The other leaders wondered.
"Stay here. It'll be safer than in the middle of this. Willa you come with us." The lion said.
"My bow and arrows are locked away in the weapons room." The leader of the Warrior Maidens alerted the group.
"Then we'll hit there on the way up." Panthro smirked. "Besides I want to give those blasted Mutants a taste of something they'll not soon forget." Quickly the group headed out the door and up the main hallway.
Not too far away on level three, Pumyra, Ben-Gali, and Lynx-O were finding the halls very empty. The three could feel that something wasn't right.
"Where is the Thunder Guard?" The puma asked.
"I have no idea. They can't all fit in the control room." Ben-Gali said. The three rounded the corner and found the ramp to level two empty as well. However voices in the corridor ahead of it made them slow their pace. Hugging the walls, the three made it to the doorway where Ben-Gali poked the head of the Hammer of Thundera around the corner. The reflective surface told him all he needed to know. He quickly pulled the weapon back into the ramp and put it back in its holster.
"What is it?" Lynx-O asked.
"The entire Thunder Guard is in that hallway." The white tiger told them.
"So what do we do?" Pumyra wondered.
"I have no idea. Going out there right now would be like committing suicide." Ben-Gali said.
"Perhaps a distraction is in order then." Lynx-O told them.
"What kind of distraction?" The puma asked.
"We can use my light shield to temporarily blind them by reflecting the light from the main lamp overhead." He said.
"All right. But how do we stick it around the corner without anyone knowing?" Ben-Gali wondered.
"Leave that to me. I'll jump to a good vantage point and use it to buy you two enough time to get through." Pumyra told them. The white tiger was about to object but she wouldn't let him.
"I'll be fine, don't worry." The puma reassured him.
"Well then lets do it. Good luck Pumyra." Lynx-O said. With a nod and a smile, the female ThunderCat was gone.
To Be Continued…