"Report!" Lion-O ordered as he skidded into the control room and tried to assess the situation.

"Mumm-Ra, Lunatacs, and mutants," Bengali answered quickly. "The mutants are missing Jackalman, the Lunatacs are missing Chilla and Alluro, but even with their numbers down, the Lair’s defenses aren’t enough." He looked over his shoulder at the Thundercats behind him. "Someone will have to man the defenses in here while we go outside and try to drive them back."

"Snarf, you’ve got the controls," Lion-O said, responding immediately to the crisis at hand. This was what he needed. He needed something solid and tangible. The mystery of the missing Thundercats was too unreal. By contrast, this attack was something he could deal with. "The rest of you, let’s get out the Thundertank. Thundercats, ho!"

"Ho!" they responded, but Lion-O knew it was half-hearted.

"Should I summon Lynx-O?" Snarf asked as he jumped into a seat.

Lion-O paused for just a moment. Bengali, Pumyra, and Wiley Kit were racing out the door ahead of him. "No," he decided. "No, if we don’t win here, we need somewhere to fall back, or we need some of us to avoid capture. Lynx-O and Snarfer will act as last resorts."

Snarf nodded glumly, swallowed a lump in his throat, and started concentrating on the defenses of Cat’s Lair. Lion-O hurried to join the others.

"You know," TugMug grumbled as he watched the mutants hammer away at Cat’s Lair with their Thundranium cannons, "Alluro would come in really handy right about now."

"He’ll be back with us soon," Luna reassured him. "Come on, RedEye, can’t you do better than that?"

RedEye grumbled something unintelligible and continued firing at the Lair.

"Concentrate on the main entrance!" Mumm-Ra ordered. He was trying to keep the Lair’s defenses focused on himself while the others tried to blast their way inside.

"To think we have to take orders, awwwk, from that miserable pile of bones," Vultureman grumbled. He had a new device that was designed for drilling from a distance but was working quite well as a weapon. A hole was starting to open up in the wall by the main entrance.

"Patience, yesss," Slithe hissed. "Just a little longer." The barrage of Thundranium cannons had welded the main doors of Cat’s Lair together, but it was also slowly forcing them to bend inward.

"But remember, we have to keep firing to a minimum once inside. We have no idea what will happen if our weapons hit Jackalman," Vultureman warned.

"I remember, bird," Slithe growled.

"Hoo, hoo, what are we supposed to remember?"

Vultureman rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t respond as the Lair’s main entrance was suddenly blasted open from the inside. Bengali and Lion-O leaped through the wreckage.

"Come on mutants!" Bengali jeered, the Hammer of Thundera charging up for its next shot. "Let’s see how well you play with the big boys."

"You’ve gone too far this time, Mumm-Ra," Lion-O roared.

"Charge!" Luna shrieked.

One of the Lair’s paws raised and the Thundertank shot out with the Thunderclaw right behind it. "All right, Kit, you take the Lunattacker while I handle the Lunatacs outside," Pumyra ordered over the radio in the Thundertank.

"Got it," Kit answered from the Thunderclaw.

TugMug had leaped back into the Lunattacker and was positioning the cannons on the Thunderclaw. "Hold still, you stupid kitten," he growled.

Kit swerved and dove, neatly skimming the ground and coming in from behind the Lunattacker. "From both me and Wiley Kat," she growled softly as she readied her exploding pellets. Coming in from the side of the Lunattacker as it turned toward her, she let fly an array of pellets. Her aim was perfect and on impact, the Lunattacker started to roll. Following it, Kit got ready to launch more pellets.

In the Thundertank, Pumyra was skidding around Amok and Luna, while RedEye tried to get a clean shot at them. "How dare you!" Luna yelped as Amok was forced to dodge the circling Tank. "Come on Amok!"

Responding to Luna’s urgent voice, Amok did the only thing he could think of. He leaped for the Tank, and out of pure luck, he managed to land in the back. Completely caught off guard, Pumyra was an easy target for one of Amok’s giant fists as it crunched into the back of her head. Though woozy, she managed to throw herself out of the Tank and roll to her feet. But that was as far as she got. The ground spun out from under her, and the last thing Pumyra saw was the grass rushing toward her face.

"How do you work this thing?" Luna demanded from the Thundertank. Amok offered no solution, but pounded on the control panels to try and appease her. "How did I end up with a Lunatac like you!" Luna grumped. "RedEye, do something!"

RedEye was inclined to let Luna ride off into the distance on the Thundertank, but he knew that she’d eventually stop it, and then there’d be trouble. A quick blast of electricity shorted out the critical systems and the Tank rolled to a halt. He walked forward and picked up an unconscious Pumyra by the back of her neck. "Let’s get her in the Lunattacker," he suggested.

"Right," Luna agreed. "You do that. I’m going to see if I can work this big gun back here."

Meanwhile, Bengali and Lion-O had teamed up to take on both Mumm-Ra and the mutants. "They don’t give up easily," Bengali observed.

"If they did, this would have all been over years ago," Lion-O responded, not taking his eyes off Mumm-Ra.

"Why would we give up when we have the Thundercats to battle?" Slithe demanded. "The universe must be purged of you miserable Cats!"

Bengali ducked under Slithe’s Thundranium cannon shot. "Well, maybe you should realize that this is futile and you guys don’t stand a chance," the tiger retorted. His hammer fired and he succeeded in knocking the cannon from Slithe’s shoulder.

"Awwwk, no one talks like that to the mutants," Vultureman raged.

"Could it be that no one wants to talk to you in the first place?" Bengali asked as he leaped out of the way of Vultureman’s drilling gun. "Come on, can’t you guys do better than this?"

Unfortunately, a voice answered from directly behind Bengali. "Perhaps, yesss." Bengali belatedly noticed that he could no longer see Slithe and wheeled to find the reptile and a firing Thundranium cannon. The white tiger caught the brunt of a shot full in the chest and was hurled backwards.

"Bengali!" Lion-O shouted. The tiger lay sprawled on the ground and made no response. "You guys have really done it now," the lion snarled.

"No," Mumm-Ra answered. "I think this time you’ve really done it. Tell me where Ma-Mutt is, and I may spare your mangy hide."

Mumm-Ra’s demand surprised Lion-O enough that he was almost caught from behind by Monkian. Flipping over the Thundranium shot just in time, he turned again to face Mumm-Ra. "Ma-Mutt? What do you mean?"

Mumm-Ra’s enraged response almost turned Lion-O into a crispy critter, but Lion-O’s reflexes were fast enough to get out of the path of Mumm-Ra’s fireball. "Don’t play games, Thundercat," the mummy warned.

Lion-O tried to think of a different approach to the situation when a new sound caught his ear. Looking up, he saw the Thunderclaw spiraling toward him in an uncontrolled dive to the ground. Taking advantage of Lion-O’s momentary distraction, Slithe and Monkian both fired at him. Unable to handle both Thundranium and the Thunderclaw, Lion-O was hit by both shots which knocked him out of the way of the Thunderclaw. The Claw crashed to the ground and Kit went flying out. In the background, Luna could be heard crowing and raving about the possibilities of the large gun on the Thundertank.

Kit lifted her head just in time to see Lion-O struggling to his feet and Monkian hitting him over the head with the butt of his gun. The lion collapsed senseless. She could see Vultureman dragging Bengali away and Slithe approaching her. Not knowing what else she could do, Kit decided to fake unconsciousness and hope for an opportunity to escape.

She felt Slithe’s claws rake along the side of her head, trying to draw a response. She held completely still. "She’s out," she heard the reptilian snort.

"Take her to the Lunattacker," Mumm-Ra ordered.

Kit was flung over the mutant’s shoulder and they started off somewhere. Sneaking one eye open, she saw Monkian hauling Lion-O. She closed her eye quickly when Slithe suddenly shifted and addressed Vultureman. "Now what?" the reptile hissed.

"This was, awwwk, your idea," Vultureman responded, grunting as he tried to haul Bengali behind him. "I didn’t want to involve anyone else. Why we had to tell them that Alluro, Chilla, and Ma-Mutt were in Cat’s Lair—"

"You told Mumm-Ra about Ma-Mutt, yesss?" Slithe corrected.

"Okay," Vultureman conceded, "but you started it. And now they’re going to wonder where their fellow Lunatacs and lost puppy are. And we’re going to tell them they can’t be seen, heard, or sensed in any other way. And they’re going to think we’re completely off our rockers. And they’ll be right. How are going to prove that they’re really there? And how do we prove that three missing Thundercats share that same fate?"

Kit lost track of the conversation at that point. Her head started to whirl and hope gripped her. Cheetara had been right after all! For a while, Kit, had doubted. No one else seemed to believe Cheetara. Kat was alive. But what had Vultureman said about not sensing them? Cheetara could hear them. Cheetara had known about them all along. They were stupid to have ignored her. Kat was alive. But he still really wasn’t with them. What had happened?

Puzzling it over, Kit turned back to the mutants’ conversation. She could hear RedEye and TugMug talking about damage done to the Lunattacker. They were off to the side. Luna was barking out orders somewhere behind them. Mumm-Ra was saying something about having burned out the Lair’s defenses and that it was free for the taking. Luna was asking about Tygra, Panthro, Cheetara, and Wiley Kat. Kit then felt herself thrown into a cage. Slithe manacled her hands and ankles. She heard him leave. She heard more noises as others entered and left the Lunattacker. And then, all was silent. After waiting a few minutes to make sure no one was around, she slowly lifted her head and surveyed the surroundings.

The first wave of weakness suddenly hit her and she groaned. Thundranium. The cage was made of Thundranium. Looking around, she saw Pumyra, Lion-O, and Bengali. They were all in separate cages and all securely chained down. Not that there was really a need for it. The Thundranium would keep them all weak enough. Kit also noted the absence of the Sword of Omens at Lion-O’s side. It must have been taken from him.

So much for escape, she thought sourly. But from her acting, she had learned something important. She’d learned Kat was alive. She’d learned Tygra and Bengali were alive. She’d learned Ma-Mutt was also missing. And that somehow the mutants knew what was going on. Not bad, she decided. Although how the mutants beat everyone to a solution was beyond Kit.

Another wave of weakness struck her and she felt nauseated. Perfect, she cursed silently. I’m going to be sick, too. Her bruises from the Thunderclaw crash were beginning to throb and the Thundranium was making her weaker and weaker. I’ll just rest, she decided. Stupid Lunatac. How had Luna figured out the big gun on the back of the Thundertank? With these thoughts rankling in her mind, Kit gradually slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

While the fight raged outside, Panthro, Tygra, Wiley Kat, Alluro, Chilla, and Jackalman debated the new situation in sickbay where they kept watch over Cheetara.

"The Thundercats can’t win!" Alluro insisted, feeling like he was back in Skytomb arguing with Luna. "Can’t you hear how many are attacking you?" As if on cue, the Lair shifted beneath their feet.

"But if we lose, we can kiss all hopes of recovery good bye," Panthro argued.

"I don’t think you understand," Alluro shot back. "Whether or not we recover is not the issue right now! The issue is what to do when the Thundercats lose. There’s nothing we can do to prevent your loss. We need to find a way to work around it."

"Or just accept it," Jackalman muttered.

"The Thundercats never lose," Wiley Kat announced.

"I can remember a few times—" Chilla started, but was interrupted by Tygra.

"We’re not getting anywhere by arguing," he stated. He turned to Panthro. "Alluro’s right. The Thundercats can’t win. There aren’t enough of us in action. What we need to concentrate on is what happens now. If we’re right and our attackers know what’s happened to us, how do we help them cure us?"

"They probably don’t know how to cure us," Chilla added. "And I’m beginning to have doubts as to whether or not they actually know we’re here."

Before anyone could answer her, Snarf suddenly rushed into the room. "Cheetara!" he wailed. The sleeping cheetah didn’t stir. "This is just great," Snarf moaned. "The defenses are out, everyone’s captured, and it’s just me. Come on, Cheetara, you have to help me, snarf, snarf!" The cheetah still refused to stir.

"What did I tell you about defeat?" Alluro asked.

"If I wasn’t so dizzy, your nose would be impacted on the back of your head," Panthro growled.

"You’re dizzy?" Kat asked. "Right before I couldn’t breathe, I was really dizzy, too."

"Stay close," Tygra warned. "That goes for everyone, too. We can’t afford to become separated."

"What do you think is happening?" Chilla asked.

"I don’t know," the tiger answered. "But it seems that we’re slowly fading away from this plane of existence. Don’t ask me how that’s possible."

"Ma-Mutt!" Kat exclaimed. "What about him? He’s outside. And if we lose him, we lose our bargaining piece with Mumm-Ra."

"Let’s split up," Alluro suggested. "Some of us should go outside and scope out what’s happening there. We can keep an eye on Ma-Mutt, too. The rest can watch Cheetara."

Tygra and Panthro nodded in agreement. "I’ll go with the Lunatacs," the panther offered. "You, Kat, and Jackalman can stay here."

"Sounds good," Tygra said. "Is that okay with everyone else?"

Everyone nodded except for Jackalman. "Why don’t we just accept the fact that we’re dead?" the scavenger demanded.

"I think I’ve heard enough out of you," Chilla grumbled. She headed for the doorway. Alluro and Panthro followed her out.

Tygra leaned against a wall and looked back toward Cheetara. The cheetah still lay sleeping, but the tiger’s sharp eyes noted her breathing was not as deep as it had been. It wouldn’t be long before she stirred. Snarf was mumbling miserably to himself, but he had taken up position near the door, ready to clobber anyone with his heavy tail should they choose to enter.

"Tygra?" It was Kat who got the tiger’s attention. "I think Jackalman is fading."

The mutant looked up in surprise. "I’m what?"

But Tygra could see it was true. Jackalman was starting to look blurry, and Tygra knew it wasn’t a vision problem. "How’s your breathing?" he asked.

Jackalman inhaled a deep breath and choked on it. "What’s going on?!" he gasped.

Tygra reached out and grabbed the mutant by the back of the neck. A shiver passed through the tiger as he felt the mutant actually become solid under his touch. It was unnerving. "Better?"

Jackalman slowly nodded. "I can breathe," he whispered.

"Oh, snarf, snarf!" Snarf started to whimper. Tygra, Kat, and Jackalman looked at him in surprise. "Cheetara, they’re coming! Can’t you hear them?"

"Hear what?" Kat asked.

"Shhh," Tygra ordered. "Listen."

All was silent, and eventually they could hear cautious footsteps in the corridors. "That’s Monkian," Jackalman whispered.

Cheetara suddenly let out a groan. The footsteps outside stopped. Cheetara moaned something and began to roll over on her cot. Snarf bunched down into a little ball, his tail out and ready.

"Get away from the doorway," Tygra warned, slowly backing up. "We don’t know what will happen if we’re hit with anything."

"I wish there was something we could do," Kat murmured.

The scratch of a reptilian claw was heard outside as well as the step of something large and heavy. "Slithe and RedEye," Jackalman guessed. "They’ll be coming in, soon."

On cue, the partly open doors were suddenly blasted open and Slithe, RedEye, and Monkian leaped through the smoldering debris. Snarf roared and lashed out, but they were ready for him. Though he managed to send Monkian to his knees, he was seized by Slithe and tossed against a nearby wall. Snarf sank down, groaned, and collapsed.

"There’s our missing Thundercats, yesss," Slithe hissed.

RedEye looked around. "I only see two. There’s still three we haven’t accounted for. And I don’t see any sign of Alluro and Chilla."

Cheetara’s eyes opened at the sound of RedEye’s voice. She sat up and took in the situation. "What’s happening?" Fury began to build in her eyes at the sigh of two mutants and a Lunatac.

"Easy, kitty, hoo, hoo. We don’t want to damage you," Monkian laughed.

"RedEye, take Snarf up with the rest of them. Monkian, get Vultureman down here and ask him what to do about Jackalman," Slithe ordered.

"Jackalman?" RedEye asked, picking up the unconscious snarf. "But he’s not here."

"I’ll explain later, yesss?" Slithe answered. "Do as you’re told."

RedEye made no move to leave the room. "I want answers, mutant. You promised Alluro and Chilla were here."

Kat looked at Tygra, hope glimmering in his eyes. "Did you hear that? The mutants know we’re here!"

"Maybe," Tygra answered. "Let’s listen."

Slithe turned to Monkian. "Get Vultureman," he ordered. Monkian hurried out of the room. Slithe turned back to RedEye. "They are here," the mutant reassured him. "But finding them might be a little tricky. Vultureman can get them on his scanner, and he has a portable link, so it should be easy, yesss?"

"If what you say is true, then yes, it should be easy," RedEye conceded. "But if not, I wouldn’t want to be in your skin." With that, the Lunatac left the room.

Slithe turned to look at a confused, weak Cheetara. "Come on, pretty kitty. Let’s go for a walk."

"What have you done with everybody?" Cheetara demanded.

"Cheetara, wait a minute!" Tygra spoke up. "Vultureman can find us. Ask him how that’s possible."

Cheetara jumped at the sound of Tygra’s voice, but she nodded her head. "How do you know Jackalman’s here?" she asked.

"Is he here, pretty one?" the reptile asked with a suggestive leer.

Cheetara gritted her teeth. "More of that, and you’ll find walking difficult," she growled. "And yes, Jackalman is here. I think."

"He is," Kat piped up.

Cheetara jumped again. "Yes, he’s here," she told Slithe.

Slithe leveled his Thundranium gun at Cheetara. Slowly, he advanced on her. "And how do you know?"

"I asked you first," Cheetara answered, but she was beginning to back away from the mutant.

"Cheetara, be careful," Tygra warned.

"It’s okay. I’m sure Slithe will be gentle with her," Jackalman snickered. Tygra resisted the impulse to knock Jackalman across the room.

"Here I am," Vultureman suddenly announced as he stepped through the door.

Slithe muttered something obscene and turned toward the vulture. "Where have you been! And what have you been doing!"

A little surprised by Slithe’s sudden attack, Vultureman stammered a minute before answering. "I was, awwk, doing what you told me to be doing: establishing a link between the castle and my remote sensor. And I was just outside the Lair."

"Never mind," Slithe grumbled. "Have you found any of them yet?"

Vultureman nodded. "They’re in this room. Right over there."

Tygra, Kat, and Jackalman watched in amazement as Vultureman pointed one knobby finger straight in their direction. "What’s going on?" Jackalman whispered.

"We’ve been found," Tygra breathed.

"That’s where Jackalman, Tygra, and Wiley Kat are, anyway," Vultureman continued, consulting his scanner. "Alluro, Chilla, Panthro, Ma-Mutt, and the Skycutter are all outside."

"Cheetara, tell them he’s right!" Wiley Kat exclaimed. "That’s where we are! You’ve found us!"

"That may not be such a good idea, Kat," Tygra warned before Cheetara could say anything. "We don’t know what the mutants are planning to do."

Cheetara decided to try and find out for them. "So now what happens?" she asked.

"You come with us," Slithe answered. "And as for Tygra and Wiley Kat, you’d better come with us or you’ll never see the Thundercats again. Jackalman, follow them."

With that, Slithe hauled Cheetara off the cot. With a firm grip on her arm, he forced the wobbly cheetah out the door.

"Do we follow them?" Wiley Kat asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Tygra asked back.

"And you had hopes you would win?" Alluro asked, incredulous.

Panthro surveyed the area surrounding Cat’s Lair. It was obvious a battle had taken place. The Tank lay partly overturned with shorted wires peeking out of the main control panel. The Thunderclaw was one big twisted hunk of metal. An open door of the Lunattacker revealed imprisoned Thundercats and their Thundranium cages.

"We were talking about the same battle, aren’t we?" Alluro pushed.

"Shut up," Panthro grumbled.

"Ooo, the Thundercat’s touchy," Chilla sneered.

Panthro turned and glared at the Lunatac. "If you weren’t a lady, I’d twist you into a cold pretzel, stuff you down the Lair’s plumbing, and clog the drain with hair balls. However, I could argue that you’re not a lady but merely a female. So watch it. Now unless anyone has anything else to say, let’s find out what they’re planning to do with the Thundercats."

To Chilla’s credit, she shut up, but Alluro couldn’t resist another jibe. "Ah yes, let’s see the prisoners who lie helpless, powerless, weakened—"

Panthro seized Alluro by his neck, and it’s very likely that Alluro would have met his ultimate demise had Ma-Mutt not suddenly yelped in alarm.

"Look!" Chilla gasped.

The Skycutter to which Ma-Mutt was fastened had begun to fade. Tygra’s whip was also starting to fade with it and Ma-Mutt was growing blurry himself.

"Grab him!" Alluro ordered. "We need him to bribe Mumm-Ra!"

The three raced toward the Skycutter. Panthro arrived first and practically tackled Ma-Mutt. He felt the dog solidify under his touch, but the whip and Skycutter were still fading. And he could feel them starting to drag him along. "Get the whip off the Skycutter!" he yelled.

Chilla and Alluro were both working frantically at the knot. Panthro tried to untie the whip at his end, but he found he needed to focus on simply existing. He was powerless to do anything but hold Ma-Mutt and try to anchor them in a quasi-state of being. He felt himself start to drift. The air became fluid around him and his breathing turned to desperate gasps. But what frightened him most of all was the feeling that he shouldn’t be where he was going. That he simply couldn’t exist where he was going. That there would be no place for him and he would simply cease to be.

"Got it!" Chilla shouted. Panthro could have kissed her.

The whip fell away from the Skycutter. Chilla and Alluro backed away from the Skycutter as it continued to disappear. A buzzing filled the air, the Skycutter grew hazier and hazier, and then a pop broke the static. The Skycutter vanished as if it had never been.

Alluro whistled softly.

Panthro looked up. He was trembling and sweating like a kitten who’d awakened from a nightmare. The end of Tygra’s whip lay a few feet away from him. Beyond that was nothing. It was as if the Skycutter had never been there. And he’d almost followed it.

"Whoa, Slithe, did you see that!"

Panthro turned around with Alluro and Chilla, releasing his iron grip on Ma-Mutt as he did so. Ma-Mutt leaned up against Panthro, not wanting to be away from the Thundercat. All four watched Slithe, Cheetara, and Vultureman emerging from Cat’s Lair. Behind them walked Tygra, Wiley Kat, and Jackalman.

"It just vanished," Vultureman was saying as the group walked toward the Lunattacker. "Into thin air. The Skycutter isn’t there anymore!"

"What’s he babbling about?" Wiley Kat asked.

Alluro looked over his shoulder to the end of Tygra’s whip. "Well, that whip used to be tied to the Skycutter. Do you see a Skycutter anymore?"

"It disappeared." Tygra didn’t ask but merely stated it as he bent down to gather up his bolo whip. "And it almost took Ma-Mutt and Panthro with it," he added, studying the shaking panther and dog.

"It was eerie," Chilla said quietly. "Alluro and I untied the whip, but we could feel it leaving. I don’t know how to describe it."

"There’s isn’t a way to describe it," Panthro said, closing his eyes and giving his head a shake. "For a split second, I don’t think I was here. But I couldn’t exist where I was going."

"Are you coming, yesss?" It was Slithe’s voice who rang out at them.

"Oh yeah, Slithe’s holding the Thundercats hostage," Kat told Panthro. "He’s ordered us to follow them to the Lunattacker or he’ll destroy them.

"Wait! That means the mutants know we’re here!" Chilla shouted.

"But they can’t do anything about it," Jackalman warned. "Vultureman just has this new sensor gadget and it can track us. They can’t hear us or anything. And what do you want them to do about us? How do you cure death?"

"Cheetara can hear us," Alluro argued. "Because of a mental link we established, we partially dragged her into this world. Are you going to tell me she’s partially dead? And did the Skycutter just finish its journey to the afterlife?"

"We’re not waiting!" Slithe warned.

"I think he means it," Tygra said, starting toward the Skycutter. The others followed him slowly, watching what was taking place around them as they did so.

"Looks like Vultureman’s trying to explain things," Panthro observed. Vultureman was having an intense conversation with Mumm-Ra and Luna. Mumm-Ra was staring in disbelief at Vultureman, and Luna was making dismissive gestures.

"I think Mumm-Ra’s about to fall over," Kat snickered.

"So what are they doing with the prisoners?" Chilla asked.

"Well, they appear to be keeping them in the Lunattacker. Beyond that, I can’t tell. I would think a Lunatac should know," Jackalman sneered.

"Easy," Alluro warned, turning Chilla away from the mutant. "Let’s get in the Lunattacker. Cheetara’s in there, now. We can talk. Maybe she knows."

"Good plan," Panthro said. "Come on, Thundercats. Let’s stick together. I don’t want to go through a disappearing act again. Coming, mutant?"

Jackalman grumbled, but continued to follow the others toward the Lunattacker.

When they reached the Lunattacker and stepped inside, Vultureman announced their arrival. "Slithe, they’re in."

"Shut the door," Slithe ordered.

"Let me see that!" Luna demanded. She grabbed the portable readout from Vultureman’s claws. "I don’t see anything."

"You don’t know what to look for," Vultureman snarled, grabbing it back. "Right there. That’s them."

"That’s just a bunch of numbers, you thick-headed imbecile!"

"Awwwk, maybe to you, but what you don’t understand is that those are atmospheric readings. What you can’t understand, oh superior one, is really so simple that Ma-Mutt could read them. I don’t think you—"

"Enough!" Everyone turned to stare at Mumm-Ra. "Luna, you will take the prisoners and Vultureman’s ghosts to the pyramid. Then you will leave us alone."

"I don’t think so," Slithe hissed. "We’re going where they go. This was our find, our discovery, and we’re sticking by them. The Thundercats were our enemies first."

"Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?" Tygra murmured to Panthro from inside the Lunattacker.

Panthro shrugged. "It could be worse. We could be locked in."

"They were going to lock us in," Kat said.

"I think they’re going to follow through on it, too," Alluro warned.

TugMug had jumped inside the Lunattacker and was closing the back. "RedEye, I’m going to stay back here. Tell me what they eventually decide on."

"No problem," RedEye responded.

"Oh, now this is good," Jackalman commented, watching the doors close.

"We can either be trapped out there or trapped in here," Kat reasoned. "I like our chances better in here."

"Uh, Kat? Don’t look now, but I’m beginning to like outside better," Panthro suddenly announced.

"Why?" Wiley Kat wondered.

Panthro didn’t answer, but he did point to where the prisoners were being kept. Tygra answered for the panther. "Thundranium."

Jackalman started to laugh. Chilla and Alluro both looked smug. "Now this is funny," Chilla snorted.

"Hey," Kat interrupted. "Maybe it won’t affect us."

"Heat and cold still affect us," Panthro answered skeptically.

"But not as much," Kat pressed.

Tygra shook his head and shrugged. "Let’s press our luck. Let’s go find Cheetara and find out if she knows what’s happening or if she can get some additional attention."

"If she isn’t unconscious already," Panthro muttered.

"You will transport the prisoners to the pyramid, leave us for one day, and retrieve your comrades afterwards," Mumm-Ra insisted.

"Not a chance, bone-breath!" Luna shrieked. She was beyond the point of reason and was ready to tear into Mumm-Ra with her own bare hands. "Those prisoners are now in our vehicle. Unless you want to teleport them all to your pyramid, I suggest you either leave or come with us in Skytomb."

"And they are only your prisoners because we don’t trust Vultureman’s flying machine and the Skycutters and Nosediver can’t transport them," Slithe butt in. "Had we not contacted you, they would be completely ours."

"And how do either of you plan to restore Alluro, Chilla, and Jackalman to their original state," Mumm-Ra demanded.

Slithe and Luna didn’t have an answer for that one. Luna looked at RedEye who was intently studying the ground at his feet. Slithe glared at Monkian whose mind was probably back in Castle Plun-Darr. "Well, Vultureman?" Slithe growled, turning to the bird.

Vultureman was startled into looking up from his portable display. "What’s that?"

Slithe gave him a good solid glare. "How do we get Jackalman back?"

"Actually, a better question would be: How do we stop us from fading away, too?"

"What?"

Vultureman scratched his head. "According to this, whatever happened to them is still happening. The Skycutter is now completely gone. Once in a while, they kind of phase in and out, too. But what’s really interesting is that things are starting to disappear in the canyon where this all started. And it’s spreading. Additionally, the rate seems to be picking up."

"Impossible!"

Mumm-Ra’s sudden outburst got everyone’s attention. "What makes you say that?" Vultureman inquired.

Mumm-Ra was completely silent. He looked at the Lunattacker. Mumm-Ra’s only way of transporting Ma-Mutt home would probably be on the Lunattacker. And if what Vultureman said was true—

"My pyramid," Mumm-Ra said at length. "You may come, but I warn you to not interfere. Events are taking place beyond your control and we must act quickly."

There was an eerie note in his voice that didn’t leave much room for protests.

"Your pyramid," Luna agreed. "Let’s get moving."

"How do you feel?" Tygra asked.

Cheetara shifted in her Thundranium cage, her movements weak. "How do you expect me to feel?"

"Like you’re manacled and caged, I guess."

Cheetara managed a small smile. "You’re hopeless."

"Who’s hopeless?" TugMug demanded from the doorway. "You’re not still talking to yourself, are you cheetah? Who else is back there?"

"Ignore him," Panthro instructed. "He’s a Lunatac."

"And just what does that mean?" Chilla asked.

"Oh, knock it off," Jackalman muttered from a corner where he was trying to go to sleep.

"Any idea what they’re going to do with you guys?" Kat asked.

"No," the cheetah answered with a sigh. "I wish I did."

"Alluro, what would TugMug do if Cheetara told him that she was talking to us?" Tygra asked. "Do you think he’d tell her and us what was going on?"

Alluro thought it over and grinned. "First of all, he’d think she’d flipped her lid. After that, he’d go back to watching prisoners. He wouldn’t say a word about plans for the prisoners because one: he wouldn’t see a point and two: I doubt he knows what’s going on. However, his expression would be so classic it might almost be worth it."

"But that won’t do us any good," Kat protested. "We need help, not amusement."

Everyone fell silent, trying to think of some way to get attention in addition to Cheetara. A snore from Jackalman’s corner was his contribution. Cheetara looked like she’d lost consciousness. Panthro suddenly shifted his position, getting closer to Tygra in doing so. "I think the Thundranium is beginning to get to me," Panthro whispered to his friend.

"Me, too," Tygra agreed. "Not as much as it’s getting to the other Thundercats, but I can definitely feel its affects." Speaking louder so all could hear, he turned to Wiley Kat. "Let’s find out if we can overhear anything up front."

Kat nodded, obviously grateful.

"Oh, are the kittens chickening out? Is the Thundranium too much for them?" Chilla taunted.

"Do you want to go into this blindfolded?" Panthro asked. "We’re just looking for information."

They would have probably continued the argument had Alluro and Tygra both suddenly pitched forward and slammed into the floor. At the same time, Cheetara cried out.

"What’s going on?" Jackalman yelped.

"It’s like the control room," Kat gasped, trying to get Tygra up and away from the Thundranium bars.

"What’s wrong, she-cat?" TugMug roared.

Cheetara’s cries also aroused others. Wiley Kit lifted her head, wondering what was going on. Snarf raised a dizzy head and tried to find the source of the cries. Cheetara continued to yell. Tygra and Alluro began to shake. Panthro and Wiley Kat finally dragged a convulsing tiger past a shocked TugMug. Chilla and Jackalman, who was reluctantly roused from his nap, dragged Alluro out.

"They’re not fading," Chilla observed.

"No, but something’s happening," Panthro said, slapping Tygra’s face to try and get a response.

And almost as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Tygra and Alluro slowly opened their eyes and took a deep breath.

"I thought we weren’t going to do that again," Alluro gasped.

"What happened?" Chilla demanded.

"It’s Cheetara," Tygra moaned. "She was pulled into our world. And it seems that Alluro and I are still linked to her. Our minds almost merged again."

"Why?" Kat asked. "I thought it was just us."

Tygra shook his head. "Just like it’s not through with us, it’s not though with Third Earth. Whatever happened is still happening. Because Cheetara was already partially with us, it tried to force her further. I think we held her back, but I don’t know how much longer we can."

"We need answers," Panthro muttered.

"And answers are the one thing we can’t seem to find," Wiley Kat noted.