Ties That Bind -- Chapter 16
Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlecats. ;) Hope you enjoy it! Chapter 16 The panther struck with a ferocity that no one had ever seen before. All the anger had been building up inside him and no way was this creature going to get away with what he’d done. Well-placed punches and kicks soon had Gorlock up against the far wall of Lion-O and Cheetara’s bedchamber without being able to lift the dangerous weapon he carried. Mumm-Ra’s slave tried to stave off the beating but it appeared to do very little to the irate ThunderCat. Finally Tygra, Ben-Gali, Cheetara, and Pumyra pulled the panther off his quarry. Panthro’s knuckles were bruised and bloody and his feet throbbed with the possibility of having some broken toes but he didn’t care. All that mattered was Lea. Lion-O moved in and pointed the tip of the Sword of Omens at Gorlock’s throat. The huge creature was having difficulty breathing as the lion guessed that some of the panther’s punches had broken ribs and driven parts into his lungs. “Yield creature before I let Panthro finish what he started.” The Lord of the ThunderCats said. “Gorlock… does… not… yield. I… will… complete… my… mission.” Before anyone could react, he disappeared. “What the… Where in Thundera did he go?” Lion-O wondered looking around. The others searched the room but found it empty. No one noticed the tick that had buried itself into the carpet. The incredibly small creature would hide there until it was safe. “Well get Panthro down to the sick bay and check him out.” Lion-O said to Pumyra and Tygra. They nodded and helped the panther down to the medical facilities. He started to fight them until he say Lea running down the hallway. She’d heard the commotion but since she wasn’t a ThunderCat yet Panthro had told her to stay put. “That is the last time I listen to you.” She told him as they continued to move down the hall. “It’s nothing just a scratch and a couple bruises.” The panther protested. “And maybe some broken toes.” Tygra chimed in while Pumyra tried to contain the grin that was rapidly spreading across her face. Panthro just gave him a look as they rounded the corner and went into the sick bay. Meanwhile Lion-O and Cheetara assessed the damage to their bedchamber. The bed was unusable and there was blood all over. It was then that the cheetah noticed that some of the blood was Lion-O’s. Quickly she grabbed some of the ripped sheets and tore off a piece. “Let me see your arm.” She instructed and Lion-O gave a slight smile as he did as he was told. As fast as she could Cheetara wrapped the makeshift bandage around the wound, which would probably need stitches. “Well I guess we now know why Mumm-Ra has been so quiet.” He smiled as his mate finished her task. “Yes I guess we do and we know that this Gorlock will stop at nothing. Besides being a shape shifter he seems to have big plans for you.” There was some nervousness in the cheetah’s voice as she looked to her husband. “As always I have you and the others to help me defeat our enemy and as always I know we’ll win the day. We’d better check on the cubs and then pull everyone into the council room.” Lion-O gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her gently on the lips. “Once again you’ve made me feel better. If I’m not careful you’ll think I’ve gone soft.” Cheetara smiled. “Just because you care doesn’t make you soft. You’re one of the strongest cats I know and you’ll always be the best ThunderCat in my book.” The Lord of the ThunderCats told her. “All right now you’re just getting mushy. I’ll go check on Sahara and Leo while you round up the troops.” Cheetara gave the lion’s butt a squeeze and was out the door in a flash. Lion-O smiled and headed out the same door and headed for the sick bay. When the room was empty, Gorlock appeared from his hiding place in the carpet. The quick-healing shape shifter could now breathe better but the bruises and scabs would still linger for a few more hours. “I may have failed in this attempt but I will find a way ThunderCats, you can count on it.” He said to himself before shape shifting into a fly and heading for the ductwork. The evil creature would listen in on their conversation and then plan his next course of action. The ThunderCats gathered in the council room to discuss what had occurred and how it changed what had been going on. It turned out that once Tygra and Pumyra cleaned Panthro up he just had some cuts and deep bruises which was good because it wouldn’t sideline the panther long. “We now know who the real threat is and we need to figure out how to deal with him. First, Lion-O is reinstated as Lord of the ThunderCats. Second, the charges against him will never be brought to court, as the real perpetrator is not even Thunderian. He calls himself Gorlock and we believe he is working for Mumm-Ra.” Tygra announced to the group. “He is a shape shifter and has shown that he will choose any form from myself to Tygra and then to be something so small that he seems to disappear.” Lion-O filled some more details in. “So what do we do?” WilyKat wanted to know. “The first thing we do is run an internal heat scan of the Lair. Whatever isn’t us, we have to take care of.” Panthro spoke up. “And by take care of you mean…” Ben-Gali asked, not sure what exactly the panther was trying to get at. “Kill it.” Came the panther’s deadpanned answer. To Be Continued…