What Would Life Be Like? -- Chapters 10, 11, and 12
Chapter 10 Panthro stood in the conference room with Lynx-O, Snarf, and Snarfer. WilyKat was told to keep an eye out for the others. They hadn’t wanted to vacate Third Earth but due to the situation, they didn’t have much of a choice. The Warrior Maidens had assumed positions inside the Tower of Omens and Cat’s Lair until Thunderians from New Thundera arrived. “The Book of Omens told me to use the Thunder-Granter. Somehow I can bring them back but I have to be careful for what I wish. I don’t know exactly what that meant.” Panthro said. “It is not what you ask for but how you ask for it.” Lynx-O had a concerned look on his face. “You have to be very specific. So perhaps you should wish that Lion-O and Cheetara return to us as they were before the incident.” “Could that trigger Mumm-Ra forcing the volcano to erupt again?” The panther wondered. “Ohh not that, snarfer, snarfer.” Snarfer voiced his opinion. “We have to get Lion-O and Cheetara back.” Snarf whined. Panthro took a deep breath. No matter how he worded his wish things could turn out badly but he had to try if he wanted to see his friends again. “All right. I’ve made my decision.” He said. The panther picked up the Thunder-Granter from the table and placed it to his eye. Mumm-Ra watched his cauldron as he waited to see what the ThunderCat would say. He had made the Thunder-Granter to do the opposite, so if Panthro wanted to bring Lion-O and Cheetara back to life, he wasn’t sure what it would do. Seeing as it couldn’t kill someone that was already dead, where did that put them? “Mighty Thunder-Granter,” Panthro started, “I wish for you to bring Lion-O and Cheetara back to life, bring them to us.” At first nothing happened and Mumm-Ra laughed. Perhaps the opposite of bringing them back was leaving them where they were. However, his evil maniacal laughter stopped when the sky suddenly turned a dark and thunder boomed. Lightening struck and then in the fields there were two familiar figures. The sky cleared and everything was as it was before. Mumm-Ra watched his cauldron bubble as a new picture formed. His laughter once again rang out as he saw what had transpired. It wasn’t what he was expecting but it would certainly do. Quickly, the ever-living source of evil transformed and took to the sky. “Did it work?” Snarfer asked. “Well I don’t see them.” Panthro said putting the Thunder-Granter back on the table. That’s when WilyKat came running into the room. “You guys had better come and take a look at this.” He said. Quickly the group got up from their seats and ran to the control room. “What am I looking at?” Panthro asked as he stared at the video screen. “The spot that the lightening struck.” Kat adjusted the angle of the sensor by punching up the correct code. “Sweet Jaga.” The words were barely out of Snarf’s mouth as Panthro, Lynx-O, and Snarfer, raced from the room. Quickly the three piled into the ThunderTank and headed out to the coordinates that WilyKat sent them for the control computer. “I guess you weren’t kidding when you said I had to be careful.” Panthro tried to break the silence that had overtaken the tank. Lynx-O just smiled and said, “Well that will teach you to not listen to your elders. Anyway I wasn’t expecting for them to land the furthest possible distance from the Lair.” The two chuckled. “I guess we weren’t expecting them to be in the condition they’re in either.” Panthro said as the two stopped their laughter. It was no laughing matter, especially when a blip in the shape of Mumm-Ra appeared on their radar. Chapter 11 The panther threw up the protective shield and kicked the ThunderTank’s boosters into maximum overdrive. The whine of the engine increased along with the speed. Snarfer bounced around in the back of the Tank, as he hadn’t warned about what was happening. The treads squealed and screamed as the ThunderTank approached one hundred and fifty miles an hour. Panthro knew that at one hundred and sixty the engine would give out, he silently prayed to Jaga that they would get to their destination before Mumm-Ra. The mummy had already caused enough trouble and if they couldn’t stop him this time, nothing would be holding the panther back from taking revenge. “Mumm-Ra will intercept them in two minutes. How much more can she take this?” Lynx-O shouted over the roar of the engine. “We’ll be there quicker.” Panthro pushed the accelerator until the tank hit one hundred and fifty-five. The engine obeyed the command despite what it was being asked. The panther picked up the microphone and shouted over it at Snarfer. “Prepare the laser cannon! We’ll be intercepting in under a minute!” Slamming the microphone back down into its receiver, Panthro pushed the accelerator a little more. The speedometer climbed to one hundred and fifty-eight. Mumm-Ra could hear a tremendous noise and knew that within seconds the ThunderCats would be upon him. Quickly he landed at the edge of the medium sized crater that the lightening had left. Inside laid two ThunderCats or rather ThunderCubs. Lion-O and Cheetara had come back all right but as babies not as full-grown ThunderCats. The ever-living source of evil couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Lion-O lying under his regular sized uniform. “Some mighty ThunderCat Lord you turned out to be. Well when I raise you as my own, I shall use you against those that you care about.” Mumm-Ra picked up the tiny lion cub and took one look at Cheetara. “Two ThunderCats would be better than one.” He smirked and picked up the cheetah cub. Cheetara instinctively smacked the mummy in the face as he held her with his other hand. “Hmm that is one trait I’ll be sure to rid you of.” Mumm-Ra made a face. “Put them down!” Panthro shouted as the ThunderTank came to a halt. “Make me!” The villain said childishly. He started to fly away and Panthro feared that they wouldn’t be able to get them back when a blast from the laser cannon whizzed by his head. Snarfer had taken direct aim at the mummy and the shot caught the villain between the shoulder blades. Mumm-Ra howled in pain and let go of Cheetara. Panthro raced to catch the cub before she fell to the ground. He dove and caught Cheetara, who immediately wailed. However she wasn’t wailing at being dropped but instead was reaching for the lion from which she’d been separated. Snarfer didn’t wait before sending another shot at Mumm-Ra. Panthro shouted for him to stop but it was too late. The shot was off and heading for the ever-living source of evil. Again the hit was true striking Mumm-Ra in the back. A cry escaped the mummy’s lips and he crashed into a grove of trees. Panthro handed Cheetara off to Lynx-O and raced over to the nearby clump of trees. When he got there, Mumm-Ra had transformed back into his bundled bunch of bandages. The panther’s patience was wearing out and he quickly, grabbed Lion-O from the mummy. The former Lord of the ThunderCats had a nasty cut on his forehead that Panthro knew needed attention immediately. It took all his strength to not kick the ever-living source of evil while he was down. Quickly, he ran back to the ThunderTank where the others were waiting. Snarfer would have to be ripped a new one but that would come later after the cubs were attended to. Chapter 12 Panthro stood in the sick bay as Snarf wrapped up Lion-O’s cut and then proceeded to dig around for something that could be used as diapers. “What the hell happened?” The panther mumbled to himself. “I have no idea.” Snarf said as he found something he hoped was suitable for the cubs. He grabbed the square cloths and expertly wrapped the babies up. “I’ve still got it.” He was pleased with himself. “How’s it going in here?” WilyKat wondered as he walked into the room. “Well Lion-O is all bandaged up and both have diapers. How long until the other make it here?” Panthro asked. “At least three hours. How’s my sister?” Kat wanted to know. “She’s still in some pain but I think she’s doing better. I can’t wait until we get some piece and we get that Extractor built.” Snarf said. Kat nodded and went over to Kit. “Let’s worry about that later. Right now we have two friends that need our help.” Panthro’s frustration was becoming apparent. “We all know that. There is no need to lose your temper.” Lynx-O appeared in the doorway. The older and wiser ThunderCat tried to calm him down. “There is a way to bring them to their correct ages and we will find it. However until the others arrive, I don’t see the point in losing our senses. Mumm-Ra will probably not try anything within the next few hours, as he doesn’t have the strength. Why don’t you and I head back to the control room?” The lynx had sufficiently diffused the situation as Panthro took a deep breath. He nodded and the two left WilyKat and Snarf alone in the sick bay. Snarfer sat at the controls monitoring the ThunderStrike’s coordinates when the two entered the room. “Approximately two hours and forty-five minutes until touch down.” He appraised the two. “I wish they could get here faster.” Lynx-O said while Panthro remained quiet. He was still fuming about the younger snarf’s shots earlier. Lynx-O could sense the tension in the room and knew that something was about to happen. Quickly, he opened his mouth. “Snarfer, why don’t you help me hook the Braille Board up and then you can go help your uncle.” “Okey dokey.” The young snarf smiled and quickly hooked the Braille Board up. Then he took his leave. When Lynx-O was sure that he was gone he turned to Panthro. “You know he doesn’t see a lot of combat, you should cut him some slack.” The comment caught the panther off guard and he didn’t respond right away. “This is the ThunderStrike. Come in New Thundera.” Ben-Gali’s voice came over the radio and his picture slowly began to appear on the large video screen. “This is New Thundera. Go ahead ThunderStrike.” Panthro said as he pressed the Comm button. “Have you been able to decipher anything from the Book of Omens that might help?” The white tiger asked. “No luck. Most of the text is in the old Thunderian and it seems to contradict itself. Has Tygra had any ideas?” Panthro wondered. “I’ll let him tell you.” Ben-Gali poked a few buttons and Tygra popped up on the screen. “So far the best I could come up with is trying the Cave of Time. However that would involve three more back and forth trips.” The orange tiger said. “That’s a lot of fuel consumption and with no one on Third Earth refining it, things could take a week or so to get back to normal.” Panthro shook his head. “Well it is an option but the architect in me knows that there has to be a better way.” Tygra told him. Panthro nodded and replied, “I’m going to look through the book again and see if I can figure it out.” “Good luck. ThunderStrike out.” Tygra signed off and Panthro left the control room and headed for the Treasure chamber. To Be Continued...