With a resigned sigh, Cheetara let her head drop onto the smooth table surface. The rays of the late afternoon sun were just creeping in through the tall, narrow windows of the newly designed conference room, lighting it with a golden glow as they skimmed under low-lying clouds. Cheetara closed her eyes and groaned. It had been a very long day, and she was not looking forward to this surprise Thundercat meeting. Such a meeting could only mean trouble, and she’d had enough trouble for one day. Between Sybar’s superiority complex, Panya’s constant insults, Tahee’s waffling, and Lion-O’s lack of diplomacy skills, Cheetara had been hard-pressed to reassure the other clan leaders that the government was still working. She’d been hard-pressed to reassure herself. I’ll take a quick jog after the meeting, she decided. Running had always been a method of releasing tension, and it seemed to be her only escape in this crazy Thunderan world they’d created. Lifting her head and shaking her hair back, the cheetah turned to look out the windows and watch the sun sink toward the horizon. The clouds were brushed with pink and orange and the conference room was now turning red in the light. Something about the color struck Cheetara as odd. She focused her attention on the Thundercat insignia that proudly hung above the door and faced the western windows. In the beams of the setting sun, the symbol glowed a deep crimson. "Like blood," she murmured. And as she stared at the insignia, her sixth sense flared to life.

Cheetara surged to her feet and cried out, desperately trying to grasp the unexpected vision but almost as quickly as it came, it disappeared. Forcing herself to trace the warnings of her psychic sense, she dove deep within and attempted to call up the vision again.

"Cheetara?"

Cheetara gasped and grabbed a convenient chair as she felt her knees wobble. The cheetah looked up and spotted Servalla and Leonari watching her curiously. "Cheetara?" Servalla asked again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Cheetara nodded. Her concentration had been broken and there was no hope of finding whatever had triggered her sixth sense now. She would have to hope that whatever was wrong could be easily solved. "Yeah, I’m fine."

"Fine? You’re about to fall over," Leonari snorted. "Take a seat before I have to catch you."

Servalla elbowed the lioness sharply. "Why don’t you go see if Lion-O needs help rounding up any more Thundercats?"

Leonari raised a dark eyebrow and tossed her long, red hair over one muscular shoulder. "You think you can get rid of me just like that?" She paused and a sly smile crept over her finely sculptured face. "Well, you’re right, healer. You win this round. Back in a bit." With that, she left the conference room at a brisk walk.

"Amazing how often that works," Servalla said softly with a grin. Sobering slightly, the serval turned back to Cheetara. "Now what happened a minute ago?"

"Can’t fool you, can I?" Cheetara murmured, easing herself down into a chair.

"Don’t even try. I’ve been a healer too long. You had a psychic impression, didn’t you?"

Cheetara nodded wearily. "You’re right. I did."

Servalla took a seat next to the cheetah. "If I remember correctly, we worked together to get those impressions under control. But this vision seems to have drained you. Want to talk about it?"

Cheetara ran a hand through her golden mane and studied the serval for a moment. Servalla was an interesting combination of warrior and healer, an oddity among Thunderians. Her expandable bow hung casually from her belt and a quiver of energy arrows was strapped to the back of her black leotard and looked as if it belonged there. At first glance, the serval looked like a trained warrior, hard to the core with a head full of battle strategy. But on further inspection, the deep caring and compassion were revealed. She was one of Thundera’s best healers and because of Servalla’s tutelage, Pumyra had become a fully trained healer and was now training Tygra. But for all her credentials, Servalla didn’t understand the psychic world to a great extent. She understood its affect on the body and had been instrumental in helping Cheetara gain further control over her sixth sense, but she didn’t understand what the sixth sense conveyed. "I’m not sure I can explain it," Cheetara finally answered.

"Try."

The cheetah shrugged. "Okay, but I can’t promise that it will make any sense." She paused to collect her thoughts and then continued. "I was watching the sun. See how it’s just below the clouds over there? And the colors. I was noticing the colors. Red, in particular. I—I turned to the insignia up above the door. And it was—it was too red."

Servalla glanced over her shoulder at the symbol in question. "Too red?"

Cheetara nodded. "The sun was at a perfect angle to make the red glow. It looked like blood. And that’s when my sixth sense acted up."

"You had no warning?"

"None," Cheetara responded. "And it wasn’t a normal vision. It was too fleeting. I couldn’t get it the first time. I was going after it when you and Leonari came in. But it was so vivid…" Cheetara trailed off, trying to recall all she could of her psychic impression. "It was danger. There was present danger, but there was also future danger."

"A vision of the future?" Servalla’s eyebrows went up. "Are you certain?"

"No. No, I’m not." Cheetara rubbed her temples in frustration.

Servalla sat back and studied the cheetah. "You know, I was just—Lynx-O! Perfect timing."

Cheetara looked up as Lynx-O and Snarfer wandered into in to the conference room. "Lynx-O, I’m glad to see you."

The lynx felt his way to a seat across the table from Cheetara. "And to what do I owe this gratitude?"

"Cheetara just had a psychic impression," Servalla explained. "We were wondering if you could help us sort it out."

"You mean like a vision from your sixth sense?" Snarfer piped up. "What did it say, snarfer? What was it like? Does it mean trouble? Is that what this sudden conference is about? Does it have something to do with those rotten mutants?"

"I believe that is what we are endeavoring to find out," Lynx-O scolded gently. "Am I right?"

"Right," Cheetara confirmed. "I’m not sure what to make of this vision."

"If you describe it to me, I will try and help in any way I can," Lynx-O told her. "But my own psychic powers are quite limited. And I believe we should wait a little while. I hear others coming."

Snarfer, Servalla, and Cheetara listened, but couldn’t hear anything for a moment. And then a loud guffaw echoed down the corridors beyond the conference room. "Sounds like the troops are gathering," Servalla observed with a smile.

"If those four ever get into a combat situation together, they’ll be too busy joking around to fight," Cheetara laughed.

It wasn’t long before a white tiger came flying through the door and skidded across the large center table, stopping in front of Servalla and Cheetara. "Good evening, ladies," Bengali said, deepening his voice.

"Not even close," a deep voice laughed from the doorway. Mantyro poked his head in and focused his green eyes on the white tiger. "Try it like this." The red tiger cleared his throat and then swaggered casually over behind Servalla and Cheetara. "You are as beautiful as the sunset, lovely ladies," he crooned.

Cheetara gave the tiger a playful push. "Are you guys going out on the town tonight?"

"If you are, you need some serious help," Snarfer commented.

"Only those two need help," Cougrois drawled as he and Snoedaro entered the room.

"Cougrois and I are sexy enough that we don’t need fancy gimmicks to win the hearts of all around us," the snow leopard added.

Snarfer, Cheetara, and Servalla burst out laughing. "I am thankful I can’t see any of your exploits, though I am forced to listen to them," Lynx-O grumbled.

"Oh, I don’t know," Servalla said coyly. "I thought Bengali’s table slide was rather cute."

"Cute?" Mantyro demanded. The red tiger shook his striped head in disbelief. "If that was cute, then I’m a mutant."

"Always thought there was something wrong with you," Cougrois said as he took a seat next to Lynx-O and Snarfer.

"What’s wrong with who?" Wiley Kat’s face appeared over Snoedaro’s shoulder.

"What’s wrong with whom," Lynx-O corrected.

Kat scowled and mumbled something about the older generation. Cheetara shook her head in amusement. It was still a little shocking to find herself looking up at Kat. His sudden growth spurt had taken them all by surprise. Wiley Kit’s own growth spurt had taken her up to Cheetara’s height but it had been over the course of the past few years. Kat seemed to take off over night and his lanky form now threatened to overtake Lion-O’s height. As Kat took a seat next to the now-seated Snoedaro, Cheetara noticed something in his hands. "So what new invention have you got today, Kat?"

Wiley Kat looked up and grinned. He loved to show off his electronic handy work. Kit’s tendencies had always been toward the athletic side, but Kat had finally found his roots in designing, programming, and engineering. "It’s for the sensor array that Panthro’s working on," he proudly answered. "See, I figure if I can cross wire these circuits here and then duplicate the procedure with—"

"Don’t start him on that or he’ll never stop!" Panthro stepped into the control room and glared at the Thunderkitten. No, the Thundercat, the panther reminded himself. Panthro was having difficult adjusting to the rapidly maturing Wiley Kat and Wiley Kit.

"Aw, give him a break," Snarf said as he wandered in. "He’s just proud of what he does. And with good reason. He’s quite skillful."

Lion-O and Leonari walked in together then, holding hands but trying to be discreet about it. As one, the other Thundercats sighed and rolled their eyes in what was now becoming a running gag. "Okay," Lion-O said roughly. "That’s enough. Kat and Panthro? Set up a link with Third Earth and connect it down here. Tygra and Pumyra should be in this council, too."

"Where’s Kit and Lepora?" Wiley Kat asked as he moved to the communications console.

"They were out on the Thunderclaws searching the fjords for mineral deposits," Snarf answered. "They’ll be here in a few minutes."

"What’s this meeting about?" Bengali wondered.

"Let’s wait for Tygra and Pumyra," the lion replied. "I’d rather make one announcement to all the Thundercats."

"Well, you already announced your upcoming wedding, so it can’t be that," Mantyro reasoned.

"And you can’t be calling off your wedding, snarfer, because Leonari hasn’t impaled you with those daggers of hers," Snarfer added.

"I realize this has been a pleasant day for many of you, but what I have to say really isn’t a laughing matter," Lion-O said quietly.

The other Thundercats, with the exception of Snarf and Panthro, exchanged bewildered glances. Lion-O wasn’t usually this sober, even with bad news. Cheetara thought back to her sixth sense. Everything felt normal now, but what if her earlier impression had been a warning that went along with Lion-O’s news?

"We’re here! Let the party begin!" Lepora and Wiley Kit crashed through the conference room doors and almost knocked Lion-O over.

"Sorry," Lepora hastily apologized. She and Kit looked around the room and noticed the confused and somber looks.

"Don’t worry about it," Lion-O said. "Take a seat and we’ll start in a minute. Kat? Panthro? How much longer?"

Panthro looked up motioned the lion over with an unreadable look that immediately unnerved the other Thundercats. Feeling shivers coursing down his spine the Lord of the Thundercats approached. "Lion-O, we’re not getting an answer," the panther hissed, trying to keep his voice down.

Lion-O stared at the panther. "We talked with Tygra not more than an hour ago. What do you mean we’re not getting an answer?"

"Just that. No one’s answering."

"Could they be away from a communications panel and just not hear it?"

"Not a chance," Kat whispered. "There’s something wrong with this. It’s like we’re not even getting through to the planet itself. And I just tried to hook up with the computers in the Tower of Omens and access scanners. I couldn’t. It might be equipment failure, but Tygra and Pumyra are usually really good about keeping communications in working order. But the only other alternative is that the equipment isn’t there anymore. It’s dismantled or destroyed."

Lion-O froze and looked to Panthro. The panther nodded. "The kid knows what he’s talking about. Whatever’s happened, communication equipment is not functioning at either the Tower of Omens or at Cat’s Lair. And we don’t have the equipment to test the tower on Hook Mountain."

"Like Control Headquarters," Lion-O murmured.

"Exactly," Panthro agreed quietly.

"Keep trying," Lion-O instructed. "I can fill the others in on the situation with Control in the meantime."

"What situation with Control?" The question originated from Lynx-O who was across the room. Lion-O gritted his teeth. He’d momentarily forgotten the lynx’s extraordinary hearing, but it was too late now. Lynx-O knew everything they’d just said.

Taking a deep breath, Lion-O turned and faced the Thundercats. "About an hour ago, we got a message from Tygra. He and Pumyra received a priority one distress call from Control Headquarters."

"Control Headquarters?!" Cheetara demanded. "Headquarters has never had to use the priority one distress call."

"What was the emergency?" Snoedaro asked.

"We don’t know," Lion-O answered. "The message was only transmitted once and was too garbled by static to be decipherable. But there’s more. Another distress call is being broadcast from a communications probe with Mandora’s voice on it. This one is from Orbital Outpost 375A."

"Isn’t that near the Leo cluster?" Snarfer asked.

Lion-O nodded. "That call is also garbled, but it’s because of damage to the probe. I propose we send out a team to retrieve the probe and see if we can extract the message from its data banks."

"Lion-O?" Leonari’s voice was low and troubled. "Why can’t we just establish contact with Headquarters or 375A and ask them what the problem is?"

The lion shook his head. "Here we come to something very interesting. According to scans run by Tygra, neither Headquarters nor 375A exist anymore. They’ve been destroyed"

There was a collective gasp and then everyone started speaking at once. Lion-O let them talk and turned back to communications. "Any luck?"

"Forget it," Kat said in frustration. "We’re not getting through. We’re not getting any contact, we’re not linking up, we’re not receiving acknowledgment, we’re not getting any feedback, and we’re not being intercepted. If they have communication equipment, it’s not working."

"And in light of that last transmission from that Jordash guy, I don’t like this," Panthro added. "I don’t like this at all."

"What Jordash guy?" Kat asked.

"I guess I’ll have to announce it without Pumyra and Tygra," Lion-O murmured. He turned back to the Thundercats who were beginning to quiet down. "I’m not quite done with the announcements yet."

"You mean there’s more?" Lepora asked.

Lion-O nodded. "Pumyra and Tygra can’t contact any other members of Control either, leaving me to believe that Control has been wiped out. After I cut contact with Tygra, Panthro and I received yet another transmission. This one came from a human general calling himself Jordash."

"Does he have anything to do with Control?" Mantyro inquired.

"Don’t have enough information to make a connection," Panthro answered for Lion-O. "Hopefully, in this council, we can work out some theories and determine that."

"Right," Lion-O agreed. "Anyway, General Jordash gave us an ultimatum."

"He what?!"

"That’s right, Kit. He gave us an ultimatum. We could surrender to his empire, be relocated and separated while our children are retrained by their state, or we could go to war. I elected to choose the second. Although peace would be nice if we could work it out."

"Wait a minute," Cougrois broke in. "You’re saying we’re suddenly at war with a human empire? Where are they from? What do they want and why are they doing this?"

"Again, not enough information. This was only an hour ago," Lion-O answered.

"Lion-O? Perhaps you should tell the other Thundercats what Panthro and Wiley Kat have failed to do over at the communications console."

The lion cringed at Lynx-O’s advice, but the lynx was right. It had to be done. "You might be wondering why I didn’t wait for contact to be established with Tygra and Pumyra. Apparently, we can’t contact them. It’s as though their communication equipment has been destroyed."

"Destroyed? I don’t like this, snarf. First Control, then a declaration of war, and now we can’t contact Third Earth."

"I believe those three events are too much of a coincidence to be unrelated," Leonari observed. "This empire we are now at war with might have destroyed Control to eliminate a possible threat. And Third Earth, in terms of major warfare, is quite vulnerable. They could have been victims of this empire."

"Aren’t we jumping the gun a little?" Bengali asked. "They might all be separate incidents."

"They might," Leonari agreed, "but it seems unlikely."

"I’m with Leonari," Servalla spoke up. "And even if they’re not connected, prudence demands that we treat them like they could be. We need to find out what the communications probe is broadcasting and we need to find out what’s happening on Third Earth."

"One team of Thundercats could do both," Cheetara suggested. "The Leo cluster and Third Earth aren’t that far away from each other."

"I’ve reached the same conclusion," Lion-O stated. "Panthro, Cougrois, and Wiley Kat will take a Feliner. At maximum speed, you should be able to reach Third Earth in about eight hours. Wiley Kit and Lepora, you two will escort them in two Thunder Daggers."

"May I make a suggestion?" Leonari asked.

"Of course," Lion-O answered, his eyes softening a bit as they focused on the beautiful lioness.

"Pride will also be vulnerable to attack. It might be a bit early, but I think evacuating the colony would be a wise precaution."

"Evacuation sounds a little reactionary," Mantyro cautioned. "Certain clans have interests in specific areas of colonization on Pride. I know for a fact that Sybar wants those Thundrillium deposits up in the poles."

"I agree with Leonari," Panthro said. "Mantyro has a point, but lack of communication with Third Earth has me worried."

"The clan leaders will object," Cheetara warned.

"The clan leaders don’t have a say in this," Lion-O growled. "This is now a military operation. And I also believe Leonari is right. The colony is too vulnerable. We’ll move the colonists back here. They can share the southern steppes. The cheetahs aren’t using all of it, are they?"

Cheetara shook her head. "No, that should be fine. But tell Tahee before you do anything."

"There’s a council meeting scheduled for late this evening," Snarf announced. "Lion-O can tell him then."

"Good," Lion-O approved. "Leonari, Servalla, and Bengali? The three of you are in charge of organizing the evacuation of Pride."

"We’ll leave right away," Servalla promised. Leonari and Bengali nodded.

"And we’ll start a search for Pumyra and Tygra right now," Panthro announced, getting to his feet.

"Okay, Thundercats. Remember to be on your guard. We don’t know what to expect and it can’t hurt to be cautious." Lion-O looked at the gathered Thundercats around him and not for the first time marveled at the team. Never before had there been such a group of Thundercats. And it was his privilege to lead them. "Thundercats…"

"HO!"

About a mile away from Cat’s Lair, Pumyra landed her Thunderclaw in heavy jungle. From a distance, she’d been able to make out the smoke coming from the area of the Lair. Though she knew Tygra could be in trouble, it was best to exercise caution. Rushing into a bad situation would get her nowhere.

The puma made her way quickly and quietly through the jungle until she reached the clearing in front of the Lair. It only took about ten minutes, but they were a long ten minutes of uncertainty. However, upon finding the clearing, Pumyra almost wished that she was still uncertain.

The Lair was a complete wreck. She could only assume the same thing had happened to the Tower of Omens and the thought gave her chills. Who could have done this and why? The Lair’s imposing head was gone, and judging from the amount of debris scattered throughout the clearing, most of the equipment in the head was also gone. The paws that covered the garage and the hanger were merely two piles of rubble. There would be no way of salvaging the ships that had been within. The rest of the Lair had been reduced to a smoldering mass of wire, stone, and metal. There was no salvaging anything. And Pumyra knew that if someone had been inside when the Lair collapsed, there would be little hope of rescue. "Tygra," she breathed. Had he escaped?

Pumyra turned her attention to the collection of ships in the meadow. About twenty small, black fighters surrounded one large ship that looked like a transport of some kind. But she didn’t see anyone around to pilot the ships. Odd. Pumyra crept a little closer, careful to stay within the shadows of the trees. Something about this wasn’t right. Her searching eyes scoured the clearing, but she found no sign of life. Or wait. What was that? Pumyra slipped a little closer and looked carefully at the transport ship. There it was again. Movement. And more than just that, it looked like…

Pumyra gasped. That was Tygra! He was alive! But what was he doing? Pumyra squinted and ventured to the edge of the jungle. "By Jaga," she whispered. Tygra was securely chained from head to toe and appeared to be unconscious. Looking around, Pumyra whipped her belt off and transformed it into a sling. Patting the reassuring bag of explosive marbles at her side, Pumyra once again tried to find other signs of life. But her search returned nothing. She could still only see Tygra.

Probably a trap, she decided. And Tygra was the bait. But what could she do about it? She couldn’t leave Tygra there, but she couldn’t take on a force she couldn’t see. Debating the issue for a few more minutes, Pumyra finally decided to slip in as quietly as she could and try to free Tygra. If it was a trap, at least she was walking into it with her eyes open.

Making a low dash across the clearing, Pumyra slid up against the sleek side of one of the small fighters. Glancing around, she could still see nothing. With a frustrated sigh, the puma made another quick run to another fighter. Three sprints later, Pumyra was 20 feet away from Tygra. Pausing to catch her breath, Pumyra tried to find the soldiers she knew were waiting for her. But once again, her efforts were futile. Looking over at Tygra, she gritted her teeth and shook her head. She’d come this far. She might as well go the rest of the way and take the bait. After one last piercing glance around her, the puma raced to Tygra’s side.

"Tygra?" Pumyra hissed. She looked for the lock that held his chains together as she tried to rouse him. "Tygra? Come on, wake up. We don’t have much time." She was about to say something else when a sudden wave of weakness overcame her. Thundranium! His chains were made of Thundranium! Pumyra glanced at the tiger’s taut face and noted the heavy manacle around his neck. It looked too tight. She reached to try and adjust it and discovered something else. There was blood seeping out from beneath the manacle and the surrounding tissue was beginning to swell. In growing alarm, Pumyra laid a hand on Tygra’s forehead and had her fears confirmed as she felt a soaring fever and sweaty skin. Somehow, Tygra had gotten Thundranium into his body and he was now suffering from a Thundranium infection. If she didn’t get him out of these chains soon…

"Stand up slowly, kitty," someone ordered behind her.

Pumyra cursed herself for becoming too involved with her patient. Rising to her feet and turning around carefully, she found herself facing about fifteen armed soldiers. One guard stepped forward and seemed to assume command. "It would appear that our trap worked. Now, cat, you have some choices. You can come willingly or we can subdue you like we did to your tiger friend."

"Pumyra?"

The weak voice from behind her caught the puma’s attention and she sank slowly into a kneeling position. Without taking her eyes off the soldiers, Pumyra reached back and placed her hand on Tygra’s shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze. "I’m here, Tygra."

The tiger groaned pitifully and tried to shift in his bonds. "Waiting for you. Have to go. Go before they find you. Trap."

Pumyra glanced around the half-circle of guards and despite the situation had to hide a wry smile. "I know, Tygra. Rest now." She addressed her next words to the soldiers. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Your questions will be answered later, pussy cat." The guard made a motion with one hand and two other soldiers stepped forward slowly toward the puma. "Right now, you’re coming with us."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we’ll have to damage you. And possibly damage your tiger friend, too."

"I don’t think so," Pumyra snarled. The soldiers were prepared for resistance, but they weren’t prepared for Pumyra’s quickness. Before they realized what was happening, they were surrounded in a thick cloud of white smoke. Not wasting time, Pumyra seized Tygra’s shoulders and started to haul him away. But with all his chains, he was too heavy for Pumyra to handle and the Thundranium was starting to weaken her as well. Pumyra reached for a pellet loaded with a corrosive acid. She could only hope it would eat through the chains before the smoke dissipated.

"Pumyra?" Tygra was barely conscious and obviously didn’t know what was going on. "Have to go. Trap. Waiting for you."

"Don’t try and talk," the puma murmured. "I need you to hold still. This will only take a minute." She positioned the marble over Tygra’s neck manacle and prepared to crack it open.

But she was never given that chance. From behind her a stream of orange gas shot forward. Before she could identify the fumes, she accidentally inhaled some and discovered the hard way that the gas was Thundranium. Dropping the corrosive pellet on the ground, Pumyra grabbed at her burning throat and began to cough violently as the scorching gas inflamed her lungs. She could hear the movements of soldiers behind her, but she couldn’t muffle her convulsive hacks and heaves. She felt someone grab her wrist and fling her to the ground. Other soldiers seized her arms and twisted them painfully behind her back. Somewhere in the commotion, she could hear Tygra starting to cough, but his coughs were weak and small. Pumyra struggled against her captors, knowing that if Tygra couldn’t expel the Thundranium gas his lungs might be permanently damaged. But before she could help Tygra, she had to help herself. And she couldn’t help herself with armed guards around her, Thundranium stealing her strength, and a convulsive cough paralyzing her body.

Somehow through all this, her mind was keeping track of what was happening around her. Tight manacles were slapped onto her wrists and ankles. Someone was yelling something about a mask. She felt a breeze rustle through her hair and the Thundranium gas was blown away. She heard Tygra’s breath suddenly explode from his chest and she strained to get closer to him. But the soldiers were merciless and held her firmly. Then something was pushed onto her face and pressurized air filled her lungs. In surprise, Pumyra tried to jerk away from the contraption, but it was removed quickly and she exhaled violently. Heaving for breath and inwardly groaning over her tortured lungs, Pumyra realized she was no longer coughing. Opening eyes she couldn’t remember closing, the puma looked around and tried to assess the situation. Her arms were now chained behind her back with Thundranium manacles. Her feet were chained together with Thundranium manacles. Soldiers were doing something to Tygra, but she couldn’t tell what. Orders were being shouted and then someone picked Pumyra up and flung her over a strong shoulder. The puma would have resisted, but the Thundranium was taking its toll. And there was also Tygra to worry about. If she struggled, they might harm him.

Dangling over a guard’s shoulder, Pumyra saw two guards pick Tygra up and follow the puma’s guard. The neck manacle was off and the heavy chain had also been removed. But Pumyra had eyes only for Tygra’s neck. It was a bloody mess. The manacle must have been barbed. The puma narrowed her eyes in anger. These soldiers were barbarians!

She was now being carried into the transport ship. After turning and weaving through dimly lit corridors, a thick door slid open and Pumyra was thrown roughly into a small room. Before she could recover, Tygra was thrown on top of her. The door closed and the two Thundercats were plunged into darkness.

"Nothing?" Mantyro asked quietly.

Lion-O shook his head. "Nothing." He lowered the Sword of Omens and eyed it critically. Sight Beyond Sight had shown him nothing. There was no sign of Pumyra or Tygra. It was as if the two Thundercats didn’t exist. Lion-O shivered. He didn’t like the implications.

Behind the two Thundercats, a door slid open and Lion-O turned as Cheetara walked in. From the expression on her face, he could guess what she had to say, but he waited for the cheetah to make her announcement.

"They’re here, Lion-O," Cheetara said softly.

Lion-O sighed, inwardly dreading this meeting with the clan leaders. Across the control room from him, Mantyro offered a sympathetic look. Lion-O turned to the cheetah waiting expectantly in the doorway and scowled. "All of them?"

With a slight smile, Cheetara nodded. "All of them. They’re waiting for you."

"Right," the lion murmured. "Anyone else coming to the meeting besides me?"

"Lynx-O’s already there," Cheetara answered. "And I’m coming. Beyond that…" Cheetara gazed questioningly around the control room. "Anybody in here want to fulfill some civic responsibilities tonight?"

"Sorry, I’m on watch," Mantyro announced.

"And I’m keeping him company," Snarfer added from beneath a control panel in a corner. He’d been so inconspicuous down there that Mantyro and Lion-O had forgotten about his existence.

"Snarfer, try not to remove anything vital this time," Lion-O pleaded. About a week before, the snarf had been experimenting with the Lair’s energy grid and had accidentally removed one too many circuits. Without warning, the Lair lost all power and it had taken Panthro, Bengali, Kat, and Snoedaro almost 24 hours to get it up and running again.

"I’m just messing with the short-range sensors," Snarfer replied.

"Keep it confined to that," Lion-O warned. "Okay, Cheetara. Let’s get this over with."

Cheetara nodded and followed Lion-O out of the control room. She could understand his reluctance to meet with the clan leaders, but she wished he would do a better job of masking it. The leaders were adept enough to recognize that Lion-O was uncomfortable in their presence and many of them used it to their advantage.

The door to the conference room slid open before them and the hum of hushed conversation gradually died away as Lion-O stepped in. Cheetara watched him as he clenched his fists momentarily and took a deep breath. At least half of them saw that, she thought with growing frustration. She had to take that lion aside and talk to him. If only Tygra was here…

"I demand to know why you have summoned us, cub," Panya snarled.

Leave it to Panya to start the meeting out on a good note. Unlike other leaders who had reservations about Lion-O’s leadership, the panther was not reluctant to state her feelings. Lion-O’s jaw tightened as he grasped for a firm handle on his emotions. "If you will be patient, Panya, I will tell you why you have been summoned."

Cheetara took a seat next to Lynx-O along the wall. "I sense this council is going to be an interesting one," the lynx murmured.

"I wonder how they’ll handle the news of war," Cheetara whispered back.

"Calm yourself, Panya," Tahee was saying. The cheetah’s voice was smooth as honey and twice as thick. "I’m sure Lord Lion-O has a very good reason for calling this emergency council meeting."

"Thank you, Tahee," Lion-O acknowledged. "This afternoon, the Thundercats received an open transmission from three battle cruisers that dropped out of hyper space within Thunderan territorial space. A General Jordash addressed me and gave me an ultimatum. We could surrender to the Kentro Empire or we could fight."

For once among the clan leaders, there was silence. Eventually, Sybar spoke. "Who was with you when you received this transmission?"

"Panthro was. And Snarf came in for the last of it. It is recorded if you wish to view it."

Sybar shook his head slightly. "No, just curious. What was your answer?"

Lion-O raised his eyebrows slightly. "I refused to surrender."

"So we’re now at war?"

"That’s what I was about to say."

Sybar closed his eyes briefly and leaned back in his chair. "I see. I take it you did not attempt negotiations?"

Lion-O could sense where this was going, but he couldn’t see a way out of it. He caught Cheetara shaking her head quickly at him, but he couldn’t just back out of this confrontation. "I wasn’t given much of a chance. Jordash cut the communications link and I—"

"No matter, Lion-O. It was a wise decision. You do not have you father’s skill in that area, and I commend you on your choice."

Lion-O felt his anger threaten to grow beyond his control and forced himself to remain calm. "Thank you," the lion said coolly. "If we’re done discussing this, I have some more information for you." Lion-O had hoped that the news of war would force the clan leaders to forget about their own ambitions and agendas, but apparently he was wrong. Again.

"What other news is there?" Caratino, leader of the caracals, asked.

"Before General Jordash contacted us, I was speaking with Thundercat Tygra. He and Thundercat Pumyra received two priority one distress calls from Control, one from Control Headquarters itself, but were unable to respond to the calls. The source of both calls have now been destroyed."

"Control Headquarters is destroyed?" For once, Panya didn’t make a reference to Lion-O’s youth or his upbringing. Amazing!

"That’s what the scans run from Cat’s Lair on Third Earth revealed," Lion-O responded. "We are wondering if the appearance of General Jordash and the destruction of Control are somehow related."

"Your father was skillful at constructing logical relations," Sybar commented. "Perhaps we should enlist the aid of one trained by Claudus. Tygra might be useful in this case."

Blast that tiger. Blast him to the darkest abyss. Lion-O narrowed his eyes and counted to ten. "I have sent out a Thundercat party to land on Third Earth to collect Tygra and Pumyra." Okay, so that wasn’t quite the truth. But Lion-O didn’t want to reveal news about the possibility that this new empire had already attacked Thunderians. He wanted to be certain before saying anything like that. He saw Lynx-O nod in approval and smiled to himself. Maybe he was catching on to this diplomacy thing after all. And since he’d correctly handled that, maybe he could successfully drop another bomb on the clan leaders. "I have also dispatched a Thundercat party to begin the evacuation of Pride. Pride is far too vulnerable a colony and we intend to move the colonists back to Thundera."

Lion-O watched in dismay as Cheetara slapped her hand over her face and groaned. Apparently that wasn’t the best way to handle such an announcement. The conference room was now filled with yelling clan leaders demanding to know why Lion-O had authorized the evacuation of their colonists and did he know what that would cost them and why hadn’t he asked for their approval and where was he going to put these colonists and were they still going to claim Pride and what were they going to do if the mutants took the planet and how they were going to defend it and didn’t Lion-O trust the commoners to defend their homes and so on and so forth.

Eventually, Sybar managed to raise his voice above all others and take the floor. The tiger was livid and the force of his anger almost caused Lion-O to take an involuntary step backwards. "I demand that Tygra be brought to Thundera and take his proper place as an advisor," Sybar hissed. "Your ancestors and your father Claudus were wise enough to not only keep a tiger as second-in-command but to also use his wisdom and intelligence. I suggest you begin to follow their example. I move this council adjourn and reconvene tomorrow evening after Lord Lion-O has come to his senses."

Before Lion-O could respond, Sybar rose and swept out of the room. The other clan leaders seemed to be in a state of shock, but Panya recovered quickly. With a seething glare at the young lord, she followed Sybar’s lead and stormed out of the room.

Cheetara watched all this in astonishment. That was completely unprecedented and she wasn’t sure what Lion-O should do about it. "Lynx-O?"

The lynx lowered his head. "Whatever he does, he can’t dismiss the council now," Lynx-O whispered. "He’ll appear to be bowing to Sybar’s demands."

Lion-O cleared his throat and surveyed the remaining clan leaders, trying to get a feel for their emotions. "Tahee, it has come to my attention that the cheetahs are not utilizing all the southern steppes. Would it be possible to organize a refugee camp for Pride in some of the unused territory?"

The leader of the cheetah clans studied Lion-O for a moment and then began to nod slowly. "That can be arranged, Lord Lion-O," he answered. "We will need to the know how many refugees there will be, so when you gather that information, please pass it on."

Lion-O wondered why Tahee was being so accommodating, but there was no way to tell right then. The lion gave him a tense smile of gratitude and glanced over at Cheetara and Lynx-O for help in determining the next step.

Lion-O, please don’t do that! Cheetara thought anxiously. Do you think the clan leaders don’t see that? She shrugged her shoulders in answer to the lion’s questioning gaze. She had no idea what to do next.

Biting his lip, Lion-O decided to call an end to the meeting. Maybe Sybar was right and they should pick this discussion up another time. "If there’s nothing else to discuss—"

"Actually, there is." It was Tahee who spoke up. His keen eyes were fixed on the nervous Thundercat lord. "I want to know the reasoning behind the evacuation of Pride."

Now here was something Lion-O could handle. Relaxing slightly, the lion began to answer the cheetah’s question. "Judging from the size and power of the ships that contacted us and from the recent destruction of Control, we estimate that we are up against a powerful force. Pride has experienced trouble defending itself from mutant attacks. We decided that given the present uncertainties, it would be best to take no chances and evacuate the colony."

"It is a military decision, then?"

Lion-O nodded. "And a military venture. We’re prepared to send enough transports to Pride as soon as they are suitably organized for departure."

"Thank you, Lord Lion-O. That is what I wanted to know. I will see a place is prepared for the refugees. Oh, and one other thing."

"Yes?"

Tahee’s eyes glittered and he glanced around the conference room before responding. "With the absence of Sybar and Panya, would you tell us the real reason for the Thundercat mission to Third Earth?"

"The real reason?" Lion-O’s voice faltered.

"Lion-O, I have watched you closely this past year," Tahee answered. "I will speak bluntly. You do not have the diplomatic leadership that your father had. You do not have the negotiating tactics that Jaga had. But you do have something that neither of them possessed to such an extent that you possess it, and that is strategy. You have an uncanny ability to anticipate an opponent’s moves in battle and respond judiciously. You’re using this ability to explain the evacuation of Pride, but you have not related all the facts. Something happened on Third Earth and that is part of the rational for Pride’s evacuation. I want to know what happened."

Lion-O stared at the cheetah in astonishment. "I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tahee. If there were something happening on Third Earth—"

"You would wish to keep it a secret until you knew for certain what was happening. Which means you don’t know, but you fear that something is happening. My guess is that you have lost communication with Thundercats Tygra and Pumyra, but that is only my guess. I want to know for certain and I think it might help your position if the other clan leaders here also knew."

Lion-O looked at Tahee, looked at the other clan leaders, debated the matter briefly in his mind, and finally decided on a course of action. "Your guess is a shrewd one, Tahee. We have lost communication with Tygra and Pumyra. More than that, we’ve also lost the ability to even link up with communication equipment on Third Earth, meaning the equipment is damaged or destroyed. And since we were in contact with them only a short while ago, we fear the worst. If they were attacked by the Kentro Empire, war is official and it will only be a matter of time before Pride is attacked."

Tahee nodded. "I suspected as much. Lion-O, I think it would be wise to consider the ramifications if Tygra and Pumyra are found to be dead. Don’t think me callous," Tahee added quickly, seeing the look on Lion-O’s face. "Their deaths would be mourned by all Thunderians. But we in the upper echelons of society cannot afford to be clouded by emotions of grief and pain, particularly when one of the deceased is distantly related to Sybar. The clan leader is ambitious and if Tygra is dead, he may invoke kinship rights and force you to accept responsibility for an under-defended Third Earth. If he has enough political support, he could oust your position as head of this clan council and even remove you as a governmental figurehead."

"Why are you telling me this?" Lion-O asked.

Tahee shrugged. "A discussion for another day. Is there anything else you wished to tell us?"

"N-No," Lion-O answered. "That’s all."

"Then we are dismissed?"

Lion-O nodded. "Yes. Dismissed."

There was a moment’s pause and then the clan leaders rose and began to file out of the room. Before long, Cheetara, Lynx-O, and Lion-O were left alone. Lion-O looked expectantly at Cheetara.

Cheetara shook her head. "Don’t ask me, Lion-O. I don’t know what just happened. But Tahee is right. I hadn’t considered the possibility, but if—if Tygra and Pumyra are gone, Sybar has a perfect opportunity to push for more power."

"And he will use such an opportunity," Lynx-O added. "Lion-O, was it wise to broach Pride’s evacuation with the clan leaders?"

"I don’t know, Lynx-O," Lion-O sighed. "You tell me. You heard what Tahee said. He’s never openly criticized my abilities before tonight. And how many other clan leaders are thinking the same thing? Am I really cut out for a war? What will happen when the time comes to negotiate truce or victory? Or possibly defeat?"

"Leave the future in the future," Cheetara advised. "It becomes the present soon enough. Right now, I think we could all use a good night’s sleep. Panthro and the others should reach Third Earth early this morning. No matter what the news, I have a feeling we should be well-rested to hear it."

"A feeling from your sixth sense?" Lion-O asked.

"Perhaps…" Cheetara trailed off and she found herself looking at the Thundercat insignia above the doorway. Once again, it seemed too red. Unfounded fears? Her imagination? Or a premonition of the future? While she was pondering this, her vision suddenly swam and she clutched at her head, feeling her sixth sense flare to life. She felt Lynx-O and Lion-O both grab her and she heard their voices, but she couldn’t comprehend what they were saying. Her mind was too aghast at what her psychic sense was conjuring. Before her, the Thundercat symbol swam in a sea of blood, the black cat’s head slowly overtaken by a creeping tide of crimson and night falling over all.