Episode 1: "The Doom Gaze of Ta-She"
Part 3
Pumyra genuflected as a display of obedience and dedication to her withered, decaying master.
"What have you to report, my beloved?" Mumm-Ra asked, stroking her hair gently as if she were his favorite house pet.
Why not? She is, for now.
Pumyra raised her head, her lips forming a slight smile. "Addicus and Kaynar have left in search for more warriors as you ordered." She stood, continuing. "Slithe and his lizards are also making themselves useful by constructing Vultaire's new laboratory. Though I'm concerned the rats may-"
"If the rats are foolish enough to defend Mount Plun-Darr in pursuit of my sword-" He held up the sword of Plun-Darr and forced it into the cold steel floor. "Then I will smite them as I did the Avista Raven guard!" He spat, keeping a firm grip on the handle.
Pumyra nodded "Understood, Lord Mumm-Ra."
Mumm-Ra looked to Pumuyra with a pleased smile. "After you neglected to finish him mercilessly in the Pit, I was concerned that you may harbor some loyalty for your cat king, but you do a fine job keeping my generals in line while I rejuvenate."
Pumyra struggled to respond in a manner truthfully that would also not also offend him. "I knew following him would eventually lead us to the Tech stone. I wanted Lion-O to see the fate he left for his people before he dies." She added bitterly.
An indifferent noise escaped Mumm-Ra's throat. He stepped towards the casting pool, holding out a withered hand above the churning water. He and his pet shared a glimpse of the Thundertank braving an impossibly powerful windstorm. "Tell me, beloved, would you care to eliminate the female Thundercat, Cheetara?"
Pumyra held up her hand, exposing her claws. "I've thought about taking a swipe at her pretty, smug face." She admitted, scowling. "But I would much rather take another swipe at Lion-O."
"Patience, you will have your vengeance." He assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Bring her to the highest peak of the Anguish mountain range alive. I will give you further orders after I open the Time Warp Prison."
Pumyra kissed his hand. "Yes lord Mumm-Ra. She won't interfere."
In a split second, Mumm-Ra's loose grip on her shoulder became a vice around her throat. Despite his ancient and decayed appearance, Mumm-Ra held Pumyra above the casting pool, savoring her gasps for air a moment before dropping her.
Pumyra fell through the enchanted liquid into the open sky. She screamed in terror before her body collided with a jagged cliff ledge in a cloud of dust and blood splatter. The impact shook the mountain, causing a momentary rockslide. Rumbling drowned out her groans of agony.
A few minutes that felt like an eternity passed. Through Mumm-Ra's graces and the will of the Ancient Spirits of Evil, Pumyra's body began to regenerate.
Unable to die, yet able to feel every torturous sensation, her mangled carcass slowly reshaped itself in a chorus of pops, cracks and wet squishing of organs. She often asked herself if such pain is worth near invulnerability.
Of Course it is.
She had died a lonely, slow and painful death once. What had she left to fear but failure?
She took a breath, choking on blood. Her skeleton had completely mended. She could move now. Laughing quietly to herself, she reached for some leverage and clawed herself upright.
Mumm-Ra watched his pet from his tomb, apathetic towards her suffering. He had more important matters on his mind. "A tuft of maiden's hair, a dying lady's last breath, a drop of virgin blood and a heroine to fill the void." He listed the necessary ingredients. "You gave me your last dying breath when you sold your soul to me, my beloved." He sneered the term of endearment. "Cheetara will provide the hair and a replacement for Ta-She. As for virgin blood…" Mumm-Ra looked into the casting pool once again. There it showed Wiley Kat and Kit at the foot of the massive stone stairway to the elephant village. He took particular notice of Wiley Kit. "That is always easy to find." He laughed while transforming himself into a raven and flying off into the stormy desert sky.
Meanwhile, an impossibly violent windstorm blows across a rough, barren wasteland. Despite its horsepower, the Thundertank struggles to push through the roaring winds…
Cheetara shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "It feels like we're crawling." She observed aloud.
"Why exactly are we trying to cross the Vortex again?" Tygra asked.
"No one would ever expect we're stupid enough to try." Lion-O replied, chuckling.
"And this is the quickest way back." Panthro added. "Relax, kittens. We're past the worst of it."
The tank jerked backwards with a loud metallic squeal. Dozens of warning alarms triggered within the vehicle. The inside was deafening and flashing red. Panthro blinked, shocked. He grasped the controls tighter "Felt that one!"
"The storm is sucking us backwards!" Tygra warned.
"It's not the storm, it's the Vortex!" Panthro corrected him, forcing the Thundertank around 360 degrees. He let the force of the wind pull the tank towards the center of the storm. "I escaped the Pit crossing the Vortex once! I can do it again, but we're only going to get one shot!"
Lion-O looked to the general, confused. "The Vortex is a thing?!"
"It knows we're here! It's taking deeper breaths! That's how it eats! It just sucks in whatever gets too close!" Panthro explained.
Lion-O reached for his sword. "Tygra and I will take the pods and-"
"Stay put!" Panthro insisted. "Up ahead, lock our weapons on the crater!"
"Missiles Locked." Tygra confirmed.
"Hungry?!" Panthro fired a round of missiles. They scattered around the large crater, exploding on impact. A large cloud of dust erupted in the air. The windstorm stopped instantly. Out of the crater a gigantic grub-like monster with multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth lashed out towards the sky. It coiled in the air a moment; screeching in agony and choking on the dust before burrowing back into the ground.
Panthro seized the opportunity to turn the tank around and speed off to safety beyond the wasteland before the Vortex submerged and positioned itself to feed again.
Lion-O, Tygra and Cheetara cheered Panthro on. "Told you I'd make it." He gloated, forcing a smile to mask his relief.
"Good shot, Panthro." Lion-O commended him. "How much farther now?"
"The entrance to Spidera's nesting grounds is at the other end of this mountain range." Panthro pointed out on the map. Something on the controls caught his good eye. He glanced over at another monitor. "Blast it to Hell!"
"What's wrong?" Cheetara asked.
"It took more out of my baby to cross the Vortex than I expected. Thundrillium is running low."
"I thought Cheetara took enough Thundrillium to fuel the tank for years." Lion-O recalled.
"That was before the Berbil upgrades, the Necro- Mechs raid and before we restored the Feliner." Panthro reminded him.
Lion-O nodded then paused to think a moment. "Take us as far as you can. We'll come up with a plan to get more when we have to."
meanwhile
Mumm-Ra's raven form soared over the Elephant village, watching Thunderkittens release the natives back into their home. The Elephants rejoiced, shared a feast and merriment with the children. The two parties exchanged gratitude towards each other. It was enough to make him wretch, but Mumm-Ra kept his eye open for the right moment.
"See you soon!" WileyKit wished her pachyderm friends well. She and WileyKat waved them goodbye from atop Aburn's shoulders.
Aburn carried them towards the edge of the village. "May you two have a safe journey back to your homelands."
WileyKit hugged him around the neck. "Thanks. I'm going to miss you the most."
"I'm going to miss you too, WileyKat."
WileyKat snickered. WileyKit reached behind Aburn's head and yanked on his tail to punish him for his insensitivity.
"Now!" Mumm-Ra knew he must strike. He transformed once again into a mosquito and buzzed down towards WileyKit.
"Hurry back to your friends." Aburn instructed, placing the Thunderkittens gently on the ground. "And be careful not to let yourselves be trapped inside that bag along the way." He warned; cheerful expression from moments ago sobering upon uttering that warning."
The Thunderkittens flashed him confused looks as they hopped on their hoverboards
"What do you mean?" Kit asked, peeking inside the forever bag a moment. While her head was in the bag, Mumm-Ra landed on her shoulder. With the slightest pressure bit down onto Kit's skin and drew blood. She felt the slight itch of a bug on her shoulder and shooed Mumm-Ra away. Successful, Mumm-Ra buzzed off.
"There is a lot hidden away in the bag. Some of it may be hidden for good intentions." Aburn explained.
"Like what?" Kit pried. "What did you see inside?"
Aburn cocked his head, confused. "Inside what?"
Growing impatient WileyKat shoved his sister along. "We promise to be careful! See ya!" With that the two of them raced off on their hoverboards.
WileyKit flashed Aburn a worried look over her shoulder as he and the rest of the Elephant village disappeared in the distance. "That was weird. What was he talking about?"
"You take the Elephants too seriously. No one else was sacred of the bag." Kat dismissed his sister, speeding ahead. "Well, everyone we brought to Avista is home. We made good time."
"Yeah." WileyKit shifted forward to catch up. "Do you think the Lion-O and the others will be in Thundera by the time we get there?"
WileyKat shrugged. "Don't know. We'll see…"
Mumm-Ra's raven form flew high over their unsuspecting heads, leaving them to their own misadventures for now.
Below a hideous formation jettisoned out of the earth's surface in the shape of a double headed stone dragon petrified in mid roar. Mumm-Ra coasted until he spotted the highest point on the Anguish Mountain Range. He dived for a shadowy area on the highest "skull".
Mumm-Ra abandoned his raven form for that of his mummy one. Within the jowls of one of the dragons he mixed Pumyra's dying breath with WilyKit's virgin blood, chanting a mantra in a dead tongue. The ritual had begun. He had only to acquire two more ingredients.
Halfway up the "tail" of the Anguish mountain range, Panthro came across a fallen rock area. Due to the addition on the Thundertank it was too wide for the now narrowed path. Rather than risk another landslide by forcing the tank through the ThunderCats continued on foot in search for an alternate path.
Cheetara looked to the sky. Storm clouds gathered, but there was another presence in the atmosphere. Something under her skin she couldn't identify began to bother her. "I'm going up to the top for a better look around." She announced.
"Make sure no one is following us." Lion-O added, feeling uneasy himself.
"Be careful." Tygra warned.
Cheetara winked at him over her shoulder. "As a cat." She assured him before racing off.
Tygra's eyes followed the golden trail she left until she was too far up the mountain range for him to see. Above twenty feet or so from where they stood he noticed a path he hadn't before. "I think I see another way. Follow me…"
If anything the path over the mountain grew narrower. Cheetara quickened her pace. The sky continued to darken to a sick, hazy color. Thunder roared in the distance. She looked straight forward. A large splash of dark red along the cliffs caught her attention. She skidded to a halt and inspected the scene. Blood stained the rocks, still wet in the largest area. The splatter seemed arranged in a familiar body shape. Despite the severity of the injury, the victim managed to limp away.
Cheetara covered her mouth, cringing a bit as if feeling the impact for herself. "Someone fell. They're badly hurt…" She thought, looking around for any trace of a body. Following the trail, she walked around the bend.
The last thing she heard conscious was the quick swoosh of a tranquilizer dart being fired from behind. Pumyra watched as Cheetara's body dropped limp to the ground with a heavy thud.
Pumyra smiled at her trusty gauntlet bow. Wasting no time, she threw Cheetara over her shoulders with a grunt and hauled her to Mumm-Ra.
"Here…" Pumyra slung Cheetara at Mumm-Ra's feet like a bag of bricks. "She is…" Pumyra offered, panting. "She's heavier than she looks."
"Mumm-Ra smiled." Good, my beloved." He tossed her a knife. "Cut off a tuft of her mane then leave her to me." He turned, continuing to chant.
Pumyra stood over Cheetara with the knife in hand. She grabbed a fistful of her hair and swiped the blade through.
Mumm-Ra added Cheetara's hair. The spell was complete.
The path soon led Lion-O, Panthro and Tygra to the opening of a dark cave. Tygra shoved Lion-O forward. "You insist on checking it out first 'cause you're our king? How noble of you." He teased his younger brother.
Lion-O shoved him back a step. "Knock it off, I'm going!" He walked towards the cave entrance, ready to be the first to explore it but heard the warning growl of the eye of Thundera before his foot touched the shadow. "Uh oh."
Tygra rolled his eyes. "Quit stalling."
"It's not me!" Lion-O insisted before holding the sword's hilt to his face. "Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight…"
Lion-O concentrated. He saw Cheetara fall to the ground for a brief second then the image was overpowered by blackness. A single pair of ocean-colored eyes penetrated through the dark. Their gaze locked onto Lion-O.
A chill ran down his spine. He lowered the sword. "Cheetara is in danger we have to-" He realized Tygra and Panthro were ignoring him, walking towards the cave entrance.
"Tygra, did you hear me? Cheetara's in-" He reached for Tygra, but he disappeared into the cave. Panthro, as if in a trance, shoved past Lion-O and did the same. "Hey!" Lion-O followed them inside, quickly realizing he couldn't feel the rocky ground beneath his feet anymore. He looked over his shoulder and could no longer see anything else but shadow. He looked ahead and saw the same pair of eyes that stared at him through the sword's hilt.
"Welcome to the Time Warp Prison!" He heard Mumm-Ra's disembodied voice echo off of nothingness.
Growling, Lion-O drew his sword, determined to find Mumm-Ra. "What have you done to my friends?" He asked, his own voice also echoing.
Mumm-Ra cackled. It seemed to fade the farther Lion-O walked ahead. The lion grew frustrated. "Tygra! Panthro! Where are you?!"
He looked around, but couldn't hear nor see any sign of his fellow Thundercats. Moments later something emerged from the abyss; a large elegant boat. It sailed towards the young lord, giving him a clearer view of the deck. A royal purple sail propelled the vessel on wind that Lion-O couldn't feel. Its many Oars rowed through abyss.
Lion-O tilted his head farther back. The ship was overhead one moment, and then as if in a dream, Lion-O found himself onboard between Tygra and Panthro. A dozen crocodile guards wielding hooked sickles surrounded them in a blink of an eye. They stared ahead, eyes glossy and half open. Before he could ask either of them why they were just standing there a sensual woman's voice chimed in.
"Ooh, you're the cutest one yet."
Lion-O looked towards the origin of the voice. Sitting a few feet across from him was a stunningly beautiful young female cat with long, shiny black hair, creamy fur and perfect curves. She possessed the same deep blue-green eyes he saw through the sword of omens.
Lion-O opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't force his lips to move. He couldn't force any part of his body to move. The woman, she was bewitching him somehow. He tried to look away, but her eyes had gravity that sucked him in. She flashed the Thundercats, Lion-O in particularly a big lecherous grin. "I am Ta-She." She introduced herself. "You are all mine now."