Act 5 -
Date: 29 March 1992
Section
1: Thunder Cats and Silver Hawks
Part
4: The Meeting
Chapter
2: They Meet
Characters: Thunder Cats, Silver Hawks, Mon*Star’s Mob,
Plundarrian-Team
March 29.
|
U |
nfortunately
for the Plundarrians’ and Mumm‑ra’s plan, Copper-Kidd picked up on his
sensors where the Sky Tomb was hiding.
He tweeted urgently.
Stargazer
came quickly. “What is it, Kidd?”
Kidd
tweeted his reply.
“The
Plundarrians have hidden to ambush the Thunder Cats where?”
Kidd again
replied with tweets.
“And the
Thunder Cats’ Feliner is where?”
Kidd replied again.
“Who stayed
behind at Cat’s Lair and the
The reply
was rather long.
“This is
not good. I’ve got to tell
Steelheart.” He pressed a button. “Hawkhaven calling Steelheart; Hawkhaven
calling Steelheart. Dang-blasted-urgent
information!”
“I read
you, Stargazer,” said Steelheart. “I’m
coming back from patrolling around Brim*Star.
Fortunately, nothing is going on there at the moment. What is it?”
“Those
confounded Plundarrians and Mumm‑ra are lying in wait for the Thunder
Cats who are traveling in the Feliner. What do you want me to do?”
“Send Kidd,
Quicksilver, Will, and
“Will do,
Steelheart.” Stargazer released the
depressed button on the control panel and held down another. “Quicksilver, Steelwill, and Bluegrass,
report to the
* * *
Hangar.
Steelwill
laughed. “Isn’t that the truth.”
“Well,
let’s get up there and find out what’s going on,” Quicksilver said.
* * *
Quicksilver
and the others arrived in the
“Mumm‑ra
and the Plundarrians are lying in wait behind an asteroid for the Thunder Cats’
Feliner,” said Stargazer. “I called Steelheart. She wants you to ambush the Sky Tomb in the Mirage as quickly as possible.”
“A
pleasure. Come on, Hawks; let’s go. What are the coordinates of Sky Tomb,
Stargazer?”
Stargazer
looked at Kidd’s console. “They’re 100
mark 27 mark 99.”
“Thank you,
sir. We’re gone.” Returning to the hangar, the Silver Hawks
entered the Mirage and departed with
haste, bending around behind Hawkhaven.
* * *
Ambush-asteroid, third-Earth’s System.
Driving the
Mirage engines harder than was safe, they arrived at the asteroid behind
which Sky Tomb was hiding within minutes.
“There it is,” said
“That’s
true, but we have to stop them,” Quicksilver said.
“Gladly. Prepare to launch.”
Steelwill,
Quicksilver, and Copper-Kidd all flashed on their visors. “Ready.”
The three
Silver Hawks were launched from the Mirage. “Wing-it,” Quicksilver commanded. The three Silver Hawks extended their wings.
* * *
Within Sky
Tomb, S‑s‑slithe observed the Feliner’s progress on his
monitor. He laughed. “The Feliner
is flying toward our little asteroid!
Yes?”
“Right,”
said Aluro. “The cannons are all aimed
for the Feliner. The Vari Cannon is at full power. Ha, ha, ha!”
* * *
* * *
In the Sky
Tomb, the evil ones heard the music over the comm speakers and writhed in
anguish. “What in the name of all the
ancients is that?” demanded
Mumm‑ra.
Tug‑mug
howled. “Atonal music greatly offends my eardrums.”
“Where is that crazy noise coming from,
anyway?” asked Luna. “The pain!”
Vultureman
squawked, “Caw! It seems to be coming
from behind us. What a racket!”
* * *
Near the Mirage, Steelwill laughed. “Cowboy is tuning them out.”
“Open fire
on Sky Tomb,” said Quicksilver. “
Joining in,
* * *
“Caw!”
Vultureman screamed. “My ears can’t
stand that dissonant music for much longer!
Get us out of here!”
“I do think that we should make a
tactical retreat as of this time,” said S‑s‑slithe. “Yes?”
“Great
idea, S‑s‑slithe,” Luna said.
“Let’s move it.”
* * *
The Feliner was nearing the asteroid where
the Plundarrians had had their ambush planned.
They picked up the music coming over the hailing frequencies. “Goodness,” said Lion‑O. “I’ve never heard such a racket!”
“It seems
to be coming from behind that asteroid,” said Tygra.
“I’ll check
it out with the Sword.” Lion‑O
removed the Sword of Omens from the Claw Shield and put the hilt in front of
his eyes. “Sword of Omens, give me
sight-beyond-sight.” He saw Sky Tomb and
the Silver Hawks, who were attacking it.
“Well. Sky Tomb is behind that
asteroid, perhaps planning to ambush us.
There seem to be lasers blasting it.
From the Silver Hawks! They must
have found out about this before we did.
One of their laser blasters is emitting a laser beam in the form of a
musical staff with musical notes. Sky
Tomb seems to be trying to escape back to third‑Earth. Wilykit, is Wilykat still asleep back there?”
Wilykit
nearly had to yell to respond. “He’s
still out like a burnt-out bulb, Lion‑O.
Surprising, considering that music.”
“Yes. Sky Tomb seems to have escaped from the
Silver Hawks’ blasts. It’s heading back
for third‑Earth.” Lion‑O re‑sheathed
the Sword. Sky Tomb flew by the Feliner.
Cheetara
said, “It’s gone past us.”
Vultureman’s
voice sounded over the comm. “We’ll get
you cursèd Thunder Cats another day.
Right now, we need to get away from the Silver Hawks!”
“You want
to go after them, Lion‑O?” asked Panthro.
“No, not
now. Let’s keep going,” said Lion‑O.
* * *
In the Mirage,
“It’s
because of you, rawhide,” said
Quicksilver. “You blasted that turkey
they were riding so badly that they just ran away.”
“Piece of
cake, skip.”
“You just
tuned them out so badly that their ears will be ringing for a month,” Steelwill
said with a laugh.
“A year, Steelwill,” said
* * *
Brim*Star.
Over at
Brim*Star, Mon*Star was watching this little episode with Yes‑Man.
This was because Mon*Star had commanded Sky Shadow to secretly hitch a
ride on the Mirage and spy on the Silver Hawks. “So.
That cocky
“Size. Yes, boss.
Uh, how?”
“I’ll give
him a taste of my Light*Star,
Yes‑Man. Ready the Transformation
Chamber. We must be ready for the
Thunder Cats’ arrival.”
“Ooh, yes,
boss. Certainly, boss. Right away, boss. You’ve got it, boss. Ooh, yes.”
Yes‑Man turned on the transformation machinery. Brim*Star tilted so that the Moon*Star’s
radiation would shine into the Star*Crater.
The light from the Moon*Star shone onto the antennae, which carried the
radiation to a point above Mon*Star’s Transformation Chamber. The claws pointed down toward a point
directly above Mon*Star’s head. The
Moon*Star’s light shone onto Mon*Star as he began his transformation chant.
“Moon*Star
of Limbo, give me the might, the muscle, the menace of Mon*Star.” With Mon*Star, just as with Mumm‑ra, by
the last word, the transformation was complete.
Mon*Star used his elbow-jets to fly up to Sky Runner, his loyal, armored
space-squid that served as his vehicle.
* * *
Taking her
time on the return to Hawkhaven, Steelheart was flying from Brim*Star slowly,
nearing the Penal Planet. Ah, thought she to herself. All
these stars never looked lovelier. Wait
a minute. I’ve just had a sudden
thought: Mon*Star. I’ll bet he’s headed out of Brim*Star. I’ll never have a better chance to turn back
and intercept him before he causes any trouble. She turned her head around. There
he is now, right behind me.
Mon*Star
did not notice that he had been spotted.
“Heh, heh, heh! I’ll never have a
better chance to blast Steelheart while she’s off-guard. Wait a darned minute. She’s
turning around! Come on, Sky
Runner. Let’s get back to Brim*Star.”
“Let me speed you on your way, Planet Master.” Steelheart fired her shoulder-lasers at
Mon*Star.
“Blaaaah! Move faster, Sky Runner. Faster, you bloody idiot. Retreat!”
Sky Runner turned upside-down after the lasers hit his tail, and
Mon*Star fell out because of the Limbo solar system’s weird artificial
gravity. “Back to Brim*Staaa—”
Steelheart
chuckled to herself. “I sure ruined his plans. Now, I shall get back to Hawkhaven. Ah, here come Hotwing and Flashback, on their
patrol of the Penal Planet. Steelheart
to Hotwing and Flashback. Head back for
Hawkhaven. There’s no trouble around
here.”
Hotwing saw
her. “There she is.”
When the
three reached Dolare, Condor and Moonstriker had just completed patrol. “Well, what do you know?” said
Steelheart. “Appears that Condor and
Moonstriker have just completed patrol, too.
Steelheart to Condor and Moonstriker.
Have you found any suspicious activity down there or at Bedlama?”
“Not a bit,
Steelheart,” replied Moonstriker.
“Then let’s
head back to Hawkhaven.”
* * *
Hangar, Hawkhaven.
Quicksilver,
Steelwill, Copper-Kidd, and
“Thank you
for saving us from the Luna‑tacks, Silver Hawks,” said Lion‑O.
“No need
for thanks, sir,” Quicksilver said.
“Actually,
it is we who should thank you,” said
“Yes,” said
Steelwill. “If you had not warned us of
the Mob’s plan, we would have been in the fourth quarter with one minute left
and one point to the Mob’s thirty.”
“Well, we
did what we had to,” said Tygra.
“Yes,”
Panthro said. “When we found out that
the evil Hardware had created that weapon, we also discovered that it could
destroy all of you. We had to try to tell you, at the very
least.”
“Our
commander, Steelheart, has gone to make sure that there was no suspicious
activity around Mon*Star’s base, Brim*Star,” said Quicksilver. “She will probably be back in a few minutes. Our former commander, Stargazer, is
upstairs.”
“I see,” Lion‑O said. “Oh, and let me introduce us. My name is Lion‑O, Lord of the Thunder Cats. This is Tygra, this is Cheetara, this is
Panthro, and these are the Wilytwins, Wilykit and Wilykat.”
“I’m
Captain Bluegrass,”
“I’m
Lieutenant Steelwill,” said Steelwill.
“My sister, Steelheart, who is a second older than I am, has an outer
shell that looks, in color, just like mine.”
“Then it seems
we’ll have no trouble telling who is Commander of the Silver Hawks,” said Lion‑O.
* * *
Mumm‑ra’s Pyramid, third‑Earth.
Vultureman
once more voiced his remarks in the most disrespectful and negative manner he
could. “Caw! I told you that this stupid plan would not work,
Mumm‑ra. I told you, but no. You always know best.”
“Silence, Vultureman,”
screamed Luna. And yes, she did shout the following as loud as she
could. When she was furious with an
ally, she abused ears rather than bodies.
“At least Sky Tomb’s engines are not damaged like half a year ago when
those dratted Thunder Cats, Cheetara, Tygra, and the Thunder Kittens,
overloaded the starter motors and crashed Sky Tomb. At
least the Ancient Spirits of Evil allowed Mumm‑ra permanent ever-living
powers and let him free us Luna‑tacks and you Mutants from Exile Isle,
and he helped us Luna‑tacks re‑build Sky Tomb and its motors. In
fact, the motors run better now since Mumm‑ra repaired them! When
I’d heard that the Spirits of Evil had exiled Mumm‑ra from third‑Earth,
I was worried. Then, I heard the Spirits had allowed Mumm‑ra
to permanently continue living—forever.
Why do you not give the mummy
some respect? He did, after all, free us from Exile Isle.”
“Yes,”
agreed S‑s‑slithe, not quite so eager to blame Vultureman though as
to get Luna to shut up her high soprano voice.
It was most irritating at high volumes.
“So, Vultureman, shut up about it.”
Vultureman
cawed. “Okay. I’m sorry, Mumm‑ra.”
“Apology barely accepted,” said Mumm‑ra. “Next time, I promise that I won’t be so
forgiving. Now, let’s see what those
despicable Thunder Cats and Silver Hawks are up to with my cauldron.”
The
cauldron’s evil waters showed that the good guys had congregated in the Command
Center of Hawkhaven. “So, Lion‑O, you found out that the evil
Hardware had created that weapon by way of the Sword of Omens and your good
friend, Jaga,” Steelheart said.
“Correct,”
said Lion‑O. “We couldn’t allow
those evil creatures to destroy you. You
may have been goners if we hadn’t warned you.”
“Quite
right,” said Stargazer. “We definitely would be goners by now.”
“I suggest
that all of us combine to form a larger group,” said Steelheart. “If one part of the group would ever get in trouble,
the other part would help out.”
“Great
idea, Steelheart,” said Lion‑O.
“That way, Mumm‑ra, the Plundarrians, and the Mob would be out of
their evil business.”
The waters
of the cauldron cleared. “Out of
business, eh?” said Mumm‑ra incredulously. “Well!
We shall see about that. Here is my plan, my evil cohorts.”
“Not another confounded plan,” complained
Vultureman.
“Do not
interrupt him, Vultureman,” S‑s‑slithe said. “Yes?”
Mumm‑ra
glared at Vultureman. “As I was trying
to say before I was so rudely interrupted. Luna‑tacks, I suggest that you capture
that fat Snarf, that puny Snarfer, that immature Bengali, that stupid Pumyra,
and that blind Lynx‑O.”
“Excellent
idea, Mumm‑ra,” said Luna. “If we
have that blasted Snarf, Lion‑O will not dare attack us.”
“Precisely
the point, Luna. Mutants, I suggest that
you kidnap the wretched Ro‑Bear-Berbils.”
“Caw! I hate
this cursedly dumb idea, Band-Aid-Body,” Vultureman snapped.
This remark
incensed Mumm‑ra without delay.
“Band-Aid-Body? You’ll regret
that, Vultureman!”
“What? Did I select the wrong choice of words?”
“Uh-huh,”
said S‑s‑slithe. “Monkian,
Jackalman, the Luna‑tacks, and I should be leaving.”
“Yes,” Mumm‑ra
shouted. “S‑s‑slithe,
Monkian, Jackalman, Luna-tacks, and my dear Ma‑mutt, if you value your
hides, race out of here like bats out
of Satan’s home.” The eyes of the
Ancient Spirits of Evil lit up.
Lightning flashed into the Pyramid from the four obelisks. S‑s‑slithe, Monkian, Jackalman,
Ma‑mutt, and the Luna‑tacks left the Pyramid as quickly as
possible. Mumm‑ra was once again
transforming. Vultureman was paralyzed
with fear. “Ancient Spirits of Evil,
transform this decayed form to Mumm‑ra, the Ever-Living.” Once again, by the last word, Mumm‑ra
was completely transformed to a towering hulk.
“I’ll destroy you for this
insult, Vultureman!”
“But—caw!—I
didn’t mean to say that, Mumm‑ra. Honest.
No harm intended. Caw!”
“I’ll let
you go this time,
Vultureman. In the future, be careful of
what you say. It can get you into big trouble.”
“I’ll go
along with your idea, Mumm‑ra.”
“Yes. It would be very wise to do so. Unless, of course, you want to be blasted
into moon-beams.”
Vultureman
gulped. “Got it, Mumm‑ra. I’ll be on my way.” Vultureman tripped over his own feet in his
first few attempts to leave.
After
Vultureman left, Mumm‑ra laughed softly and menacingly to himself. “I love to tease these idiot Mutants. They will believe anything I tell them. The
only reason I do not destroy
them is that their service is good. Heh,
heh, heh!”
* * *
Cat’s Lair.
In Cat’s
Lair, Snarf heard an alarm sound. His
jaw dropped when he looked at the scanner.
“Oh, no. Snarf, snarf. Bengali, quick! Come in here.”
Bengali
entered. “What is it, Snarf?”
“Snarf,
snarf. Aluro and Tug‑mug are here.”
“Oh,
great. One cannot resist the hypnotizing
power of Aluro’s club without strong will-power.”
* * *
Followed by
Tug‑mug, Aluro approached Cat’s Lair.
“Hmm, hmm, hmm! Let us see how
those Thunder Kitties like a taste of my Psych Club.” Taking the handle of the club, he swung it so
that the orb would fly over the top of Cat’s Lair. His voice reverberated with an eerie,
mesmerizing quality. “Give up, you pitiful Thunder Cats. It is impossible to win, so you might as well
surrender to the Luna‑tacks. Come
out on your hands and knees.”
Tug‑mug
laughed. “Nice work, Aluro. They are
coming out on their hands and knees, literally. Hee, hee, hee!”
“Yes. Hmm, hmm, hmm! Thunder
Cats, move it to Sky Tomb. Now.”
Mesmerized,
Snarf and Bengali echoed like automatons, “Yes,
Aluro. We shall go to Sky Tomb as you
command.”
* * *
Sky Tomb, Dark Side, third‑Earth.
Over in
Dark Side, as Sky Tomb landed, Aluro and Tug‑mug boarded with their two
prisoners and brought them before Luna.
“Good work, Aluro,” said Luna.
“We now have two Thunder Cats:
Bengali and that stupid-looking Snarf.”
“Snarf,
snarf! Look who’s calling me stupid looking. Lion‑O will save us.”
“Not
likely, hairball. Mumm‑ra’s going
in the Mumm‑raft right now to Limbo, and catching Lion‑O is one of
the reasons he’s going.”
“No one can
stop the Sword of Omens, Luna,” said Bengali.
“You will learn that some day.”
“Enough! Take them to our
cozy little ‘guest quarters,’ Red‑eye.
That will keep them out of our hair.”
“Yes,
Luna,” Red‑eye said. “Come, you
two. Don’t try to run and hide; my
infrared-light-tracking eyes will fix into your heating systems.”
“You will never get away with this, you old witch,” Snarf shouted.
“I think
that I shall, Snarf. Ha, ha, ha!
By the way, thanks for the compliment, fuzz-face.”
“Snarf,
snarf. That wasn’t meant as a compliment.”
Bengali
struggled as Red‑eye attempted to lead him away. “You will never make me go, Luna‑tacks.”
“We shall
see about that, Bengali,” said
Aluro, pointing his Psych Club at Bengali.
A blue beam of light blasted out of the club and into Bengali’s
face. “I order you to go, Thunder Cat.
It is useless to fight my powers, kitty, so you might as well do as we
say and not risk getting hurt over this.
Our prison is sure a lot more comfortable than our baggage compartment.”
“No,” cried Bengali. “I shall not go. I must not give in.”
“You must cooperate, Bengali. After all, it is useless to struggle.”
“I—I—I shall co‑operate, Aluro. I shall peacefully go to the prison with Red‑eye.”
“Oh, no,”
Snarf cried. “What have you done to him,
Aluro?”
“Hmm, hmm,
hmm! I have mesmerized him, Snarf,”
Aluro replied. “I don’t want to have to
do it to you, too.” Snarf came up with a
quick plan—not much, but it might be enough.
“Snarf! Oh, well.
I could never resist your mesmerizing anyway, Aluro.” Snarf turned as if to follow Red‑eye
and Bengali but quickly swished his tail across Aluro’s legs and tripped him.
With a
shout of surprise, Aluro crashed face-first on the floor. Snarf had already run out of the room. “Ooof!
You want us to go after him, Luna?”
“No. Let him escape. That pathetic fur-ball may very well lead
Lynx‑O, Pumyra, and the wretched Snarfer back here. That fits into the decrepit mummy’s plan,
since we’ll have the best opportunity to catch them once and for all. Or,
we could follow the wretch.”
Chilla
laughed. “What a chilling idea,
Luna. Then, we will have those puny
wretches like putty in our hands.”
“Then, I
guess we shall need to wear gloves.” The
despicable Luna‑tacks laughed evilly.
* * *
About ten
minutes later, Snarf was near the
* * *
Within the
Tower, Pumyra detected an anomaly on the sensors. “Hey, Lynx‑O. Someone is headed here. He seems to be running quite swiftly.”
“Yes, I
know,” said Lynx‑O. “My ears are
picking up some rather strong vibrations.”
Snarfer
activated a monitor. “It’s Uncle
Snarf. I wonder what he is doing
here. Without Bengali!
Yep. This is sure strange. Let’s go out to meet him and see what’s going
on.”
Right
outside, Snarf had just made it to the door when he collapsed. Lynx‑O, Pumyra, and Snarfer had just
arrived at the door when they opened it and saw poor Snarf.
“Uncle! Are you okay?
Snarfer, snarfer!”
Snarf
opened his eyes. “Snarfer. Lynx‑O.
Pumyra. Thank Jaga I made it.”
“Why,
Snarf?” asked Pumyra.
“What’s
wrong?” asked Lynx‑O.
“The Luna‑tacks
have captured Bengali,” said Snarf, “and they probably let me escape so that I
could lure you into Sky Tomb and have you caught as well. Snarf, snarf!”
“Great
assumption, Uncle Snarf,” said Snarfer.
“I could not have guessed it myself.
Nope.”
“That
probably is why they allowed
you to escape, Snarf,” Lynx‑O said.
“What is the present location of Sky Tomb?”
“Mrow. Right now, it’s deep in that spooky Dark
Side.”
“Then we’ll
have to get through that
“No, we won’t.”
“Why not,
Uncle?” asked Snarfer.
“I stumbled
into a special route bypassing the
Pumyra
said, “Nice work, Snarf, but no matter how we go into Dark Side, those Luna‑tacks
will be expecting us.” Just then, Sky
Tomb landed at the
The Luna‑tacks
came out of Sky Tomb after it had landed.
“You will not have to worry about that special route, pitiful
creatures,” said Luna with a cold laugh.
“Luna‑tacks.”
“Yes, my
pretty,” said Chilla. “We thought that
we would save you the trip. Now, chill
out, Thunder Kitties.” Chilla blew her
frigid breath at Pumyra.
“Uh,
oh. I’m going to—” At the last word, Chilla’s breath froze
Pumyra.
Aluro
laughed. “That’s cold, Chilla. Now, it is
time for hypnosis.” Aluro aimed his
Psych Club at Lynx‑O. “Give up, old cat. There is no use in struggling. To do so is futile. You cannot win against the power of Aluro.”
Lynx‑O
struggled against Aluro’s powers. “I
must not give in. I must fight this
mesmerization power.”
“You must give in, Lynx‑O. After all, struggling is very useless.”
“I—I—I—I must give in. I shall obey you, Aluro.”
“Good.
I want you to follow Red‑eye to the prison. We do not need any trouble from you Thunder
Cats.”
“I hear you, and I shall obey.” Lynx‑O followed Red‑eye, who was
carrying the frozen Pumyra to Sky Tomb’s brig.
“Get the
Snarfs,” snapped Luna.
“Come on,
nephew. Let’s make tracks,” Snarf said.
“You’ve got
it, Uncle,” said Snarfer. Snarf and
Snarfer ran as if they had wild, rabid dogs chasing after them.
“They’re
getting away,” said Aluro.
Tug‑mug
picked up his Gravity Carbine and leapt out.
“Relax. I’ll lighten up those fat
Snarfs. Ha, ha, ha!” He aimed and fired his Carbine at Snarf. “Lighten up, Snarf.” His shot hit Snarf, who then went up in the
world.
“Snarf. I’ve always wanted to lose weight, but this is ridiculous.”
“Get the
brat, Tug‑mug,” screamed Luna.
“I don’t
know if I can run from the beam from Tug‑mug’s Gravity Carbine, but I
have to try for Uncle Snarf,” said Snarfer.
“Snarfer, snarfer!”
Tug‑mug
fired several shots at Snarfer and missed before Snarfer got out of range. “Oh, no.
That puny fuzz-ball is getting away.”
“Let him
go,” said Luna. “At least we have the wretched
little Snarf.”
“Hey. Watch whom you’re calling wretched, lady.”
“You have
no say to tell me to watch what I’m saying.
Besides, I am not a lady.”
“You won’t
hear any argument from me on that last bit.
Lion‑O will save us.”
“That is
the whole idea, Snarf. As long as we
have you, those Thunder Cats
would not dare lay a finger on us, especially not Lion‑O.”
“Oh, why
don’t you catch those Berbils and Warrior Maidens and take them and us to Limbo
so you can gloat about that to the Thunder Cats, too?”
“An
excellent idea, little son of a gun. The
Mutants are in the process of capturing the Berbils right now. I think, however, that they may need a little
help with the Warrior Maidens. Aluro,
prepare for take-off to Castle Plundarr at once.”
“Oh,
no What did I say?”
Tug‑mug
laughed. “You ought to watch what you
suggest, hairball. Ha, ha, ha! You may say things that you do not intend to
say.” Sky Tomb took off for Castle
Plundarr.
* * *
Castle Plundarr.
At Castle Plundarr,
the Mutants had already imprisoned the Berbils.
They were talking in the control room.
“Good work, Vultureman,” S‑s‑slithe said. “That contraption of yours really worked in
catching those ridiculous Berbils. Yes?”
“Caw! Thanks, S‑s‑slithe.” Vultureman looked out one of the windows. “Hey.
Here comes Sky Tomb.”
“Yes. They must be coming to help us to catch those
Warrior Maidens. Yes?” When Sky Tomb landed, the Mutants went
outside to greet the Luna‑tacks.
“Hello, Luna‑tacks. What
brings you to Castle Plundarr?”
“We have
come to aid you in catching those Warrior Maidens,” said Luna.
“That’s
what I was thinking. We accept your
offer in aiding us. Yes?”
“Then save
the hissing sounds and make yourselves uncomfortable in Sky Tomb,” Luna replied
as genially as her voice would allow.
The Mutants entered into Sky Tomb’s main entrance. “Tug‑mug, you pilot Sky Tomb to the
Warrior Maidens’ village, while I tell the Mutants about my brilliant plan.”
“Yes,
Luna,” Tug‑mug said. “Er, Luna, I
thought it was Snarf’s brilliant
plan.”
“Shut up
and get us flying before you’re flogged with an electric whip.”
“Oh. Ah, right, Luna.”
* * *
Hangar, Hawkhaven.
Over at
Hawkhaven, the Thunder Cats and Silver Hawks were looking over each other’s
vehicles in the hangar. “The Mob has
been rather quiet during the time we’ve been here,” Cheetara said. “You don’t suppose—” She cut off with a sharp gasp as a
premonition hit her mind like a boulder.
“What is
it, Cheetara?” asked Steelheart.
“I have a
sixth sense. The other Thunder Cats, the
Berbils, and the Warrior Maidens are in danger.
I can sense it.”
“As you
see, Cheetara has become our alarm on such vital matters,” said Tygra.
Lion‑O pulled out
the Sword of Omens. “I’ll try to get a
clearer view with the Eye of Thundera.”
He put the sword’s hilt to his eyes.
“Sword of Omens, give me sight-beyond-sight.” The Eye showed him the Luna‑tacks
catching Bengali, Snarf, Pumyra, and Lynx‑O. It then showed that the Mutants were catching
the Berbils. Finally, it showed him the
Mutants and Luna‑tacks catching the Warrior Maidens. “By Thundera!
The Mutants and Luna‑tacks have abducted Bengali, Snarf, Pumyra,
Lynx‑O, the Berbils, and the Warrior Maidens. They are coming here in Sky Tomb.”
“Well, it
looks like we have our work cut out for us,” Steelwill said.
Stargazer’s
voice sounded over the intercom. “Silver
Hawks and Thunder Cats, please come to the
“Well, I
rest my case about what I said earlier,” said
“Oh?” asked
Wilykit. “What might that be, Captain Bluegrass?”
“Stargazer
only has two sounds: urgent and dang blasted urgent.”
“Boy, is that the truth,” laughed
Steelheart. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Up in the
“Delightful,”
Steelheart said. “Will, Quicksilver,
Kidd, and
“Aye, aye,
ma’am,” all the Silver Hawks said.
“Thunder
Cats, you stay here and help the Silver Hawks,” said Lion‑O. “I shall go with Steelheart in the Feliner and help her if necessary.”
“Lion‑O,”
Wilykat asked, “may we come along, too?”
“We?” echoed Wilykit. “Did I
express any interest in seeing that rotten Mob face-to-face right now?”
“Okay. May I
come along?”
“Not this
time, Wilykat. I’ll signal if we need
any help,” said Lion‑O.
Wilykat was
clearly disappointed. “All right, Lion‑O.”
“Thunder
Cats, Ho,” the Cats cried.
Down in the
hangar,
* * *
Brim*Star.
At
Brim*Star, the alarm sounded. “What in
the whole darned Limbo Galaxy is that,
Yes‑Man?” demanded Mon*Star.
Yes‑Man
operated the viewscreen and showed Steelheart and the Feliner approaching. “It’s
Steelheart and Lion‑O, Planet Master.
Yes, yes, yes.”
“I do not
like the looks of this. Prepare for
transformation, Yes‑Man.”
“Transformation. Ooh, yes, boss. Certainly, boss. Whatever—”
“Shut up,
you whimpering worm, and prepare that Transformation Chamber. Now! Unless you want to see the inside of the Deep
Space Ejector.”
Yes‑Man
understood the meaning of this.
“Whimpering worm. Inside of the
Deep Space Ejector. Ooh, yes,
boss.” Yes‑Man activated the
controls of the Transformation Chamber.
The planet tilted so that the Star*Crater was directly beneath the
Moon*Star’s beams. The light from the
Moon*Star shone on the antennae, which carried the light to a point above
Mon*Star’s Transformation Chamber. The
claws pointed to a location right above Mon*Star’s head. The Moon*Star’s light shone onto Mon*Star,
who was now beginning to transform.
“Moon*Star
of Limbo, give me the might, the muscle, the menace of Mon*Star.” Mon*Star was, once again, completely
transformed by the last word. Using his
elbow jets, he returned to the floor.
“Let’s fix those two rude intruders, Yes‑Man. Send out the welcome wagon.”
“Rude
intruders. The welcome wagon. Ooh, yes, boss.” Giggling, Yes‑Man left to do as
Mon*Star had ordered.
Mon*Star
was surprised when a pyramid-shaped craft suddenly appeared in the middle of
the room. “What in the great moons of
Brim*Star is that?”
Fully
transformed, Mumm‑ra emerged from the craft. “Planet Master, it is I, Mumm‑ra, the
Ever-Living. I am here to aid you in
catching those infernal Silver Canaries.”
“Yes. I have heard plenty about you. I like
what I hear. According to the accounts,
you are delightfully evil and treacherous.”
Yes‑Man
came back into the room. “Ooh. Mumm‑ra, the Ever-Living, I presume?”
“Correct,”
Mon*Star said. “Mumm‑ra, this is
my right-hand worm. Yes‑Man, have
you sent out the welcome wagon for our two intruding, uninvited guests?”
“Ooh, yes,
boss. I just sent out the entire
Mob. Yes, yes, yes.”
Mon*Star
laughed. “Good work. Mumm‑ra, you will soon see what happens
to good guys who intrude into my domain without welcome.”
“I think
I’ll like it,” Mumm‑ra said.
“Oh, you shall.”
* * *
Steelheart and Lion‑O
arrived just inside the enormous crater.
The towering fortress came into view through the noxious red
clouds. “That’s Brim*Star Fortress,”
said Steelheart. “Mon*Star’s
headquarters. Uh, oh. It looks like Mon*Star has sent out his
welcome wagon, and I don’t think that they’re coming to present us with a tour
ticket.”
“You appear
to have the gift of using the right terms at the moment, my dear Steelheart,”
said Lion‑O. “I’ll agree that
these creatures do not look too friendly.”
“Boy, is that the understatement of the
millennium.”
* * *
Pokerface,
Zero, and Hardware approached in the Zoomer. Hardware laughed. “Let’s show that Thunder Cat how we like
trespassers and deal with them. Heh,
heh!”
Melodia was
chauffeuring Timestopper and Windhammer in the Limbo Limo. “Oh,
Hardware. You’re playing my song.”
“Yes,” said
Timestopper. “It’s going to be ‘time
out’ for you goody-goody dum-bums.”
Timestopper pressed the button in the middle of his belly. A clock in the middle of his chest counted
down from 3.00 seconds to 1.00 second.
Time on Steelheart and Lion‑O stopped, and the 1.00 second
remaining was converted to 1:00, which started a minute-long countdown to 0:00,
when Timestopper would have to start back time.
“Ha, ha, ha! Sit tight while we
take you down to the fortress and blast you out of Limbo.”
Buzz‑Saw,
Mumbo-Jumbo, and Mo‑Lec‑U‑Lar were in the Road Star. “Nice work, kid,” said Buzz-Saw. “Mon*Star will be pleased with you. Ha, ha, ha!”
“Let’s
quickly blast them away before Timestopper must turn time back on,” Mo‑Lec‑U‑Lar
said.
* * *
Seconds
later, back in Brim*Star Fortress, the Thunder Cat and the Silver Hawk had been
put in the Deep Space Ejector. “Nice
work, Timestopper,” Mon*Star said. “Now
we can blast these two stupid leaders out of the galaxy.”
“Hurry up,
Mon*Star,” Timestopper said. “The minute
is halfway up. When another thirty
seconds pass, I’ll have to restart time, or my clock will explode.”
“Keep your
clock on, Timestopper. Yes‑Man,
stand by to propel these two buffoons into deep space.”
Yes‑Man
had his hand on a lever that would send Lion‑O and Steelheart into deep
space. “Standing by, Mon*Star.” He tittered convulsively.
“This will
force them right through third‑Earth. They will go directly to the other side
within seconds. Fire away, Yes‑Man!”
“Ooh,
yes. Firing away, boss.” Yes‑Man pulled the lever and ejected
the two leaders into space. They soared
across space faster than the speed of light, soaring past Limbo’s Artificial
Sun when Timestopper’s minute was up and he re‑started time.
* * *
Between Limbo and third‑Earth.
The sudden
change of surroundings startled Steelheart.
“Hey. What in Limbo happened?”
“Help,
Steelheart,” cried Lion‑O. “I
can’t fly!”
“Don’t
worry. Grab onto my legs. I can fly, but I cannot stop our strong
forward momentum just yet.” Lion‑O
firmly grabbed onto Steelheart’s ankles.
“It seems that we’re heading for third‑Earth. Hang on.”
“Do not
worry. I’ll hang on as hard as I can.”
“We are
nearing, no, we are passing the
Light-Year Limit. It’s no longer in
effect in terms of jurisdiction, fortunately.
I can see Sky Tomb headed right for us.
I’ll try to slow us down with my reverse jets.” Her heels fired jets, and she and Lion‑O
slowed quickly. They noticed the Mirage to their right and Sky Tomb right
in front of them.
* * *
In the Mirage, Steelwill noticed the
fliers. “Hey! That’s Steelheart and Lion‑O!”
“You’re
right, Steelwill,” said
“As long as
they’re all right, who cares at the moment?” asked Quicksilver. “Let’s get out there and stop those lunatic
Luna‑tacks.”
Quicksilver
flashed on his visor. “Ready.”
Steelwill
activated his visor. “Ready.”
“Ready.”
announced Copper-Kidd after flashing on his visor.
“Wing‑it,
Silver Hawks,” Quicksilver said. The
Hawks obeyed.
“Give me a
powerfully crazy tune, Hot Licks,” said
* * *
Within Sky
Tomb, Bluegrass’s wicked tune sounded loud and clear over the comm
speakers. “It’s that terrible cucaracha-brained guitar-player again,”
Luna wailed. “We’ll stop that worthless
noise-maker this time. Turn on the transmission blocker,
Vultureman.”
“Caw! Got it, Luna.” Vultureman pulled a lever. The comm speakers fell silent.
“Good work,
Vultureman. That Silver Squawk will not
be able to tune us out again,
not with this transmission blocker Aluro installed.” She laughed shrilly.
“They are
sure to come aboard,” Aluro said. “Let’s
fix them when they do.”
* * *
In the Mirage, Bluegrass looked over his
readouts. “Dang, Quicksilver. The monitors say that the Luna‑tacks
have activated a transmission blocker.
Hot Licks can’t break through to their comm system. Oh, well.
I’ll just have to rock the boat.”
He changed the setting on his guitar so that it would fire its deadly
music laser. He switched to a classical
guitar tune and played it. A laser was
fired out of the head of the Laser Guitar at Sky Tomb and managed to stop it
cold in space. “Hurry, Hawks. I can’t hold this flying piece of tin off
forever.”
“We heard
him, Hawks,” said Steelheart. “Let’s get
in there and fix those blasted Plundarrians.”
“I’m with
you, Silver Hawks,” Lion‑O said. “As if I had any choice in the matter.”
The Silver
Hawks entered Sky Tomb through a window near the control room, Lion‑O on
Steelheart’s back.
“What in
Plundarr is happening now?” demanded Luna.
“What is that worthless hick up to?”
Steelheart
led the Hawks into the room. “That hick
is keeping you where you belong: outside
of Limbo.”
“You!”
screamed Luna with unrighteous indignation.
“How in the Moons of Plundarr did you humans get in here, you—you—”
“Save your
breath, Luna,” said Steelwill.
“Don’t
order me around, Silver
Hawk. I give the orders around here. Aluro, mesmerize them.”
“You are no
match for my Psych Club.” Aluro swung
his club’s handle so that the ball would float above the Silver Hawks’ and Lion‑O’s
heads.
“You are a match for him,” Lion‑O said. “Just resist Aluro’s powers as hard as you
can, and they will not overcome you.”
Aluro’s
ball activated, bathing them with mesmerizing light. “Listen,
Silver Hawks. You cannot resist my
powers. Give in now, and there will be
no unnecessary harm done. Just be
sensible. There is no use resisting;
give up.”
Quicksilver
and Copper-Kidd were entirely unprepared.
“We shall cooperate, Aluro. We shall obey.”
“No!” Lion‑O and the Steeltwins said. “Do not give in!”
“Do not listen to them,” said Aluro. “Do as
I say. You cannot win. Hmm, hmm, hmm!”
The Sword of Omens can save us, thought
Lion‑O, reaching for the Sword with great effort.
“I see that
you are weakening, Lion‑O. Give in to my powers, and there will be no
harm done.”
“No. I shall not give in.” Lion‑O reached again for the Sword of
Omens. Aluro was becoming slightly
desperate.
“No.
You must give in to my powers.
There is no sense in struggling.
It will do you no good.”
Steelheart
stepped out from under Aluro’s moon-beams.
“Oh yeah, Aluro? Here is what I think of your hypnosis power.” Steelheart fired a shoulder-laser at Aluro.
Aluro
turned to run, but the laser hit his back.
With a cry, he fell face-forward onto the floor. “Oh, blast you, Silver Hawk.”
“Get that
female Silver Buzzard, Amok,” Luna said.
“You are
the worst lunatic of the Luna‑tacks, Luna,” said Steelheart. “I was wondering what that white ape’s name
was.”
“Shut up,”
screamed Luna. “Grab her, you worthless good-for-nothing!”
“Amok grab.” Amok grabbed at Steelheart. However, she leapt up before he touched her.
Steelheart
landed and faced Luna and Amok. “You’ll
have to do better than that,
Luna,” said Steelheart. “Your bully of a
steed does not seem too safe for a shorty like you to be riding.”
“Shut up! Amok’s and my ancestors always were very
close back on the Fifth Moon of Plundarr.
In fact—”
“I’m not
interested in the ancestry at the moment, Luna.
I’d better fix you two.” Red‑eye
quietly sneaked up behind her and prepared to fire a knockout laser at her.
“Really? I think you’d better look behind you,” Luna
said, thinking that Steelheart would not believe her.
“Thank you,
Luna.” Steelheart turned around. “You must be Red‑eye.”
“That’s
I. Get ready for a knockout. Ha, ha, ha!”
“You’d better get ready for one,
infrared-seeing monster.” She fired a
shoulder-laser that knocked Red‑eye on his back.
“I hate it
when people do that to me. Ow!”
After
Aluro’s beam had decayed fully, Steelwill laughed. “She has certainly fixed you dumb-head Luna‑tacks.”
“Dumb-head
Luna‑tacks, huh?” Luna asked. “Get
him, Tug‑mug.”
Tug‑mug
aimed and fired his Gravity Carbine at Steelwill. “Lighten up, smart-mouth.”
Steelwill
did not evade the blast and was hit. He
began floating in midair. “What has
happened to my gravity?”
“Will!”
Steelheart exclaimed. “Are you okay,
brother?”
“Yes, I’m
okay, Steelheart.”
“My Gravity
Carbine was set on ‘zero gravity,’ ” said Tug‑mug. “Now, you’ll have no more gravity. Unless, of course, I set it on ‘normal
gravity’ and let you down. Being such a
kind soul, I’d only do that if
you were over the Grand Canyon. Hee, hee,
hee!” Just then, a blue music laser
blasted the Gravity Carbine out of Tug‑mug’s hands. “What the—”
Bluegrass
ran in with his Laser Guitar. “I came as
fast as I could, Steelheart. Did I miss
any—yuck! What ugly creatures do a
couple of these Luna‑tacks be.”
“Watch whom
you’re calling ugly, you country hick,” said Luna. “So you
are the awful guitar player who’s been knocking our engines out.”
Bluegrass took his hat off and
bowed. “Ha, ha! It was my pleasure, lady.”
“That was
not a compliment. And I am not, I repeat not, a lady, bozo.”
Bluegrass
replaced the hat on his head. “Hey! Now that
is crossin’ the fine line to obnoxious, Ms. Bossy.”
“Don’t call
me that. I ought to just kick your ugly
head off your neck.”
“I hate to
say this, Luna, but you can’t do that.
It’s on too tight, and you can’t break it because I’m too hard-headed.”
Steelheart
could not resist an opportunity such as this.
“Very hard-headed.”
“Please,
Commander. Don’t you start insultin’ me, please.”
“I’m only
fooling; and speaking of fools, harmonize these.”
“Sure
thin’, Steelheart.” He switched his
Laser Guitar to and played it on ‘scatter-laser’ mode, meaning that the laser
became very wide and spread out.
“Yee-haw! Eat laser, you dirty
dogs.”
Luna
shrieked as she covered her ears. “Curse
you, cowboy. I ought to kick your
shin.” The beam was holding back all the
Luna‑tacks.
* * *
In the room
next-door, the Mutants were listening.
“What do we do?” whined Jackalman.
“If they’ve stopped the Luna‑tacks, we don’t stand a chance.”
“Blast
them,” S‑s‑slithe said.
“Let’s lay low and make sure those bozos miss us. Yes?”
Jackalman
laughed. “For the millionth time, S‑s‑slithe,
you’ve got a good idea.”