The tortured landscape lay shrouded in silence, and yet noise pounded off the cliffs and gullies. There was a mist hiding the craggy ground, but there was no moisture in the air and even the depths of the ravine could be discerned from on high. Lightning danced from cloud to cloud in a sky that was clear and devoid of darkness. Grassy plains waved and danced in the wind, but nothing grew and the air was still as stone. Lush ferns flourished in a desert devoid of life. Swift waters raced through riverbeds long since gone. The ground lay still as death while it heaved with tremors. Vast plains ruled the land even as towering mountains crowded out all else. It was a world of chaos, one in which only the mad could live, and one that would destroy the insane. One in which nothing could survive.

But something did survive.

From both above and below, he watched. Flying over his domain at the same time he strolled through the land that wasn’t there, he watched. Eons and seconds had gone by since his reign, and still he watched. In this land of change, things remained constant. They always had, just as they always would not. And so he continued to watch.

Until now.

On this day that was night, something was different. Something altered the chaos. Something broke through the barriers that weren’t there to pierce his heart that didn’t exist. Listening to the silence and the screams of tortured souls, wading through the mist that was and wasn’t there, he concentrated.

And he recognized the summons. The summons came, just as he knew it would and believed it would not. It came from voices he’d not heard in millennia, but recognized immediately, for he’d heard them only a short time before. And in this world where everything was and was not, he spoke. And at his voice, time stood still.

"Why?"

It was a whisper that resounded off the cliffs and plains and all that was and was not trembled at the sound of his voice. He cringed to hear the chaos broken, but the question had to be asked. "Why? Why have I remained here for so long only to be called upon now?"

The voices would not answer him but repeated the earlier summons. Come, they called. Come, and all will be made known.

For a moment and an eternity, he considered ignoring their request. What was the old world to him? He’d been there and he’d been banished. It was a world of order; one in which he had no place. But even as these thoughts crossed his twisted mind, he felt a hint of rising power. Power. The voices were granting him a touch of power as an appetizer of greater power yet to come. Power. His greatest weakness and the source of his strength. The thing he hungered for and feasted upon. Power. A thin smile eased its way onto a face as young and old as time itself, though time was nothing to him. Bowing his head slightly, he acquiesced.

"I come. Show me my victims."

Winds howled around the pyramid, blasting the ageless surface with grains of sand. Deep inside, huddled within his sarcophagus, Mumm-Ra woke.

Something was wrong.

He couldn’t tell what was wrong, but he’d learned long ago to trust his instincts. Reaching out to the evil that surrounded and protected his dwelling, he looked for the source of his disturbance.

But he found nothing.

Puzzled, Mumm-Ra slowly pushed the lid of his sarcophagus open. Something was wrong, but as far as he could sense, everything was as it should be. Ma-Mutt lay sleeping quietly in a corner. The four statues representing the Ancient Spirits of Evil stood quiet and undisturbed. Heavy darkness shrouded his cauldron, which was still and black. Reaching out again into the atmosphere of evil, Mumm-Ra looked for something that would validate his fears.

And again he found nothing.

With a growing sense of unease, Mumm-Ra made his way to the cauldron and activated it. Murmuring words of enchantment, he commanded the waters to show him the exterior of the pyramid. The cauldron bubbled, churned, and then reluctantly cleared, as though protesting its use at such an unseemly hour. Mumm-Ra gave it no heed and anxiously watched as images began to form. Shimmering in the water, the outer world took shape. The mummy studied it intently, but with the exception of an unusually fierce sandstorm, everything was as it should be. The cauldron even searched for signs of the arcane. It came up with nothing. The only thing amiss in the pyramid and its surroundings seemed to be Mumm-Ra himself. Trying to shrug off his feelings that all was not right, Mumm-Ra trudged wearily back to his sarcophagus. But the nagging doubts persisted. There was still something very wrong.

Reaching out one last time to his aura of evil, Mumm-Ra thoroughly searched the entire pyramid and as far away in the Desert of Sinking Sands as he could reach. And still he found nothing. Firmly shoving down his instincts that cried out that all was not well, Mumm-Ra relaxed back into the sarcophagus. If something was wrong, it could wait until morning. He was tired and needed rest. And with rest, he would be better prepared to deal with whatever threat he found at dawn. With this line of rationalization running through his mind, Mumm-Ra slowly drifted back into restless sleep.

Murmuring to himself in Castle Plun-Darr, Monkian turned over in his sleep. His dreams had been peaceful, but something was now wrong with them. He didn’t know how or why, but he could sense a subtle change. And as suddenly as the feeling came, it was gone. Still asleep, Monkian turned back to his dreams that had corrected themselves and dismissed the event.

Down the hall in another room, Jackalman started to moan.

Alluro dejectedly reclined in a chair before Skytomb’s main control panel. It was just his luck that stuck him with midnight watch. Why did they post night watches on Skytomb anyway? Who would attack?

The Lunatac absently began to swing his psyche club back and forth, amusing himself with thoughts of Cheetara and Pumyra under his control. A smirk twisted his arrogant face, but it suddenly vanished and was replaced with a look of horror. His psyche club clattered to the floor, and the Lunatac surged to his feet, adrenaline pumping madly. Something was very, very wrong. Closing his eyes and concentrating inward, the Lunatac tried to use his hypnotic talents to locate the source of the disturbance. Whatever it was, there was a psychic aspect to it.

But before he could explore the source of his unease or even begin to pinpoint its location, the feelings of disturbance vanished. Opening his eyes in complete confusion, Alluro looked around. The control room of Skytomb surrounded him with its various lights and panels. All was perfectly normal. But all had not been normal a few minutes ago.

Alluro slowly sank back into his chair, eyeing the walls around him. Something had been wrong; he was sure of it. But it wasn’t wrong anymore. "Must be tired," he mumbled to himself, though he didn’t believe it for a second. Giving his head a good shake, he looked around the control room again. Nothing had changed.

Finally deciding it was probably his imagination, Alluro returned to watching blank screens for signs of an attack that would never come. But once in a while, he would cringe and look around, as if reminded of something he wasn’t sure had been there.

To someone of Lynx-O’s hearing, the Tower of Omens was anything but a quiet place to rest. Even as he slept, the lynx’s keen ears were recording thousands of various sounds. He heard wind blowing outside the Tower and the sigh of supports as they held against it. He heard small beeps from the control rooms as various scanners finished their programs and awaited further instructions. He heard Pumyra and Bengali speaking softly in the hall as they exchanged watches. Occasionally he heard a muffled pounding as Snarfer’s tail thumped the wall in the next room over. He heard the hum of the generators as they processed their loads of Thundrillium.

Through all these noises, Lynx-O continued to sleep. He had long since grown accustomed to them, and his mind dismissed them as part of the normal background static he always heard. But this time, through the normal patterns of nightly noises, something startled the lynx. He bolted up in bed, breath coming hard. Listening intently and processing all he heard, Lynx-O searched for the sound that had awakened him so suddenly. But there was nothing.

Lynx-O continued to search, knowing that something had startled him from his sleep, and abruptly realized that it hadn’t been a sound at all but a premonition. Though not as strong as Cheetara’s gift, Lynx-O had a small amount of psychic powers. And these powers were now virtually screaming at him that something was not right. Something had invaded the sanctity of his home, and it was not something to welcome.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Lynx-O was about to stand and sound an alarm when the feelings vanished. Dazed for only a minute, Lynx-O tried to relocate the source of his feelings. But it was gone. Nothing remained.

But something had been there. Did he still sound the alarm? And then what? he asked himself. What do I tell them? That something was out there, but it isn’t there anymore?

Shaking his head, he continued to search for some sign that evil remained. But he could find nothing. Had it been nothing more than a bad dream? Maybe his senses were a little on edge tonight for some reason. But as these thoughts began to cross his mind, he dismissed them and continued to search for a source of evil. He knew something had been there. It had been no trick of the imagination. But where was it now?

He searched for about half an hour before he felt sleep welling up again. During his search he’d found nothing to alarm him, and he was beginning to think that whatever had happened was over. Maybe Mumm-Ra had tried something and failed. Finally allowing himself to relax back into the soft folds of his bed, he prepared to rest again. He would casually inquire about the matter in the morning, but until then he would sleep. If something were wrong, it would be better if he was well rested. With this thought, Lynx-O drifted back into dreams. As he did so, he thought he felt another psychic tug, but it was so faint that he decided it was his imagination starting to play tricks on him. He continued to fall into slumber, and before long, the oldest of the Thundercats slept again.

Lion-O jerked awake and snapped upright in bed. For a few seconds, he sat there in alarm and confusion, wondering what was going on. Normally a sound sleeper, it was unusual for him to wake in the middle of the night. What had happened?

Was it Snarf? No, Snarf was curled up in his basket on the floor and still sleeping. Lion-O ran a hand through his disarrayed mane. Something had awakened him. What? And then it came, the feeling that had forced him from his dreams so suddenly. He felt the growling of the Sword of Omens.

Lion-O had become attuned to the Sword of Omens after so many battles and so much use. When it sensed danger, he sensed danger. When it felt a disturbance, it communicated that disturbance to him. It was something that had come with time and the lion was still not sure if it was normal for him to be so closely tied to the Sword. But normal or not, it was calling him.

As he swung out of bed and slipped on his uniform, the growls came again. There was an urgency and warning about them that Lion-O had never felt before. Usually it was just a sense of approaching danger, but this time it was different. It was as if danger was upon them and there was no way to stop it. The growls felt futile and vain, more for honor than for defense.

Lion-O raced out of his room and dashed to the Sword Chamber. Upon entering the room, he found the Sword on its pedestal growling madly. The Eye of Thundera blazed through the darkened room, lighting the walls with an eerie red glow. Even more disturbed than before and feeling the rush of adrenaline sweep over him, Lion-O swung the Sword up and held it before his face.

"Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight!"

The crossbars of the hilt curled and Lion-O waited to be shown what threatened the Thundercats. But what he saw was a surprise. He lowered the Sword and stared at it. Shaking his head, he repeated the process. Again, Sight Beyond Sight showed him the same thing. It showed him Cat’s Lair. It showed him the sleeping forms of Tygra, Cheetara, and Snarf. But, based on what he’d seen in the Sword, there was nothing wrong with them. They were sleeping peacefully.

Lion-O scratched his head and turned the Sword over in his hands. Something still didn’t feel right. The Sword continued to rumble slightly. "What?" Lion-O asked it. "What’s wrong?" But the Sword told him nothing.

Bewildered and concerned, the lion turned to leave the Sword Chamber, Sword in hand, when it went off again. The sudden snarl took him by surprise and he almost dropped it. Bringing it back up to his face, once again he called on the powers of Sight Beyond Sight. He was shown Tygra, Cheetara, and Snarf again, but the last image he had was of Panthro in the control room, practicing with his nunchucks. And then nothing. Lion-O put the Sword back down and examined it. It seemed to be okay. But why was it showing him images of the Cat’s Lair when nothing appeared to be wrong.

Appearances can be deceiving, he thought to himself. But he still couldn’t fathom what the Sword sensed as far as danger was concerned. Stifling a yawn, he turned and walked briskly toward the control room. He’d have Panthro run a few scans and see if they picked up anything.

Panthro looked up in surprise as Lion-O entered the control room. He finished swinging his nunchucks and took a good look at the lion. "What are you doing up at this hour of the night?"

"The Sword," Lion-O complained, stifling yet another yawn. "It woke me up with its growling, but when I checked it, I didn’t see anything. Nothing seems to be wrong. But it still growls and—" As if to accentuate his point, the Sword suddenly began roaring again, this time in earnest. Lion-O looked helplessly at Panthro.

Panthro studied both lion and Sword. "What does it show you with Sight Beyond Sight?"

"Us. The Cat’s Lair."

Panthro raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess we can check things out here. What exactly is the source of this ‘danger’?"

Lion-O plopped down in a chair, suddenly very exhausted. "I don’t know. The Sword just keeps insisting that it’s us. That something’s endangering us, but I can’t see what."

Panthro took a seat next to the lion and activated the internal sensors. "Okay, let’s see what we can come up with on the computers." There was a pause while Panthro waited for the results. "Ventilation’s fine and it’s clear of any gases or toxins. Scanners haven’t picked up any signs of mutants or Lunatacs, and I think we’d know it if the not-so-friendly bag of bones showed up. There are currently five life forms registering in the Lair, and since the Thunderkittens are spending the night at the Tower, that would account for everyone here. Um, temperature’s constant throughout the Lair. Thundrillium reserves are full. Backup systems register as ready. Tygra’s lab is secured. The hangers show no signs of intruders. All electrical systems are functioning. Cat’s Eyes are at full power and on alert. Energy weapons are still locked and accounted for. No signs of forced entry anywhere. And nothing outside." Panthro yawned slightly and turned to Lion-O. "Everything’s normal."

Lion-O tried to keep his heavy eyelids open. "That’s what I thought," he murmured. "But something doesn’t feel right."

Panthro yawned again and settled back in his chair. "I don’t know what to tell you, then. If something’s wrong, it’s nothing we can detect. And if it’s nothing the Sword can detect, well, I don’t know."

"But the Sword can detect it," Lion-O protested, having to fight even harder to stay awake. Why was he suddenly so tired? "It just can’t show us what’s wrong."

Panthro’s eyes closed briefly and then jerked back open. He fingered his nunchucks absently. "I can put the defense systems on full alert, but that would involve waking the others. And right now, we don’t know if there’s anything to wake them for." His eyes closed again and he seemed to relax.

"You look like you’re about to fall asleep," Lion-O observed with yet another yawn. "Maybe we should get Tygra to relieve you early so you can get some rest."

Panthro rumbled something and opened his eyes with obvious effort. "That’s strange. I wasn’t tired a minute ago."

It was then that it hit him. Weariness. The sudden urge to rest. Lion-O jumped to his feet but swayed and had to steady himself on the control panel.

Panthro watched him sleepily. "Now what?" he mumbled.

"This sudden sleepiness," Lion-O managed to get out. It was so tempting to sit back down and close his eyes. He could feel his breathing slow, and his muscles were turning to liquid. Almost against his will, he began to sink to the floor. "Why are we suddenly so tired? That has to be part of it!"

This seemed to rouse Panthro who got to his feet but instantly sank to the floor like Lion-O. "I don’t think I can fight it," he murmured, his eyes closing again. His nunchucks were firmly grasped in one hand, but they were useless against whatever they were fighting.

Lion-O’s head now rested on the floor, his entire body stretched out and relaxed. But he couldn’t relax! He had to fight. But how? The Sword was still in his hand, growling urgently. Could it help him? There was only one way to find out.

"Thunder…"

He felt the blade extend, but sleep was almost upon him. His mind began to lose track of his thoughts. He had to stay focused.

"Thunder…"

The blade extended again, but Lion-O was now having problems forming words. His mouth was too complex for his exhausted mind to operate. I’m the Lord of the Thundercats! he screamed at himself. I’m stronger than this!

"Thunder…"

He was almost gone. He had to get the last of it out. He could sense this unusual sleepiness was not a natural phenomenon and he had to escape. But his mind was succumbing to the darkness of sleep. He could no longer feel the Sword in his hand.

"Thundercaaaattttssssssss…"

The last command was never finished. Lion-O’s mind fell to the encroaching blackness of a dreamless sleep, the Sword of Omens fully extended in his hand and waiting for the final word.

The smells of cooking woke Bengali early in the morning. Before opening his eyes, he inhaled deeply. Definitely Pumyra. One of her hidden talents that she rarely shared was the ability to cook a mean breakfast. He opened his eyes and rolled out of bed, stretching and yawning as he did so. Donning his uniform, he strolled out into the hallway only to be knocked down by a pair of rampaging Thunderkittens.

"Whoa there, where are you off to this morning?" the white tiger growled as he grabbed Wiley Kat and pinned him.

"Breakfast," Kit answered from a safe distance.

"Smells good, doesn’t it," Bengali said.

"Let me up," Kat growled. He struggled vainly beneath the tiger who only chuckled at his efforts.

"Tell you what. I’ll let you up if you and your sister slow down a little so you don’t run in to anyone else. Deal?"

"Deal!" Kat groaned.

"Good boy," Bengali laughed. "Let’s find some of that good smelling breakfast."

The three wandered toward the kitchen and found both Snarfer and Lynx-O already up and seated at the table. Snarfer looked up at their arrival, but Bengali quickly held up a finger and motioned toward Pumyra. The kittens giggled, guessing what the tiger had in mind. Lynx-O caught on quickly and hid a small smile.

Bengali crept toward the puma who had her back to him and was deep in concentration. And before she knew it, she was swept off her feet and pounced upon. "Bengali!" She jabbed him in the stomach and he rolled off her, clutching his midsection.

"You didn’t have to hit me that hard," he laughed.

Pumyra gave him an indignant glare before turning back to the stove. "I don’t think you really deserve breakfast this morning," she grumbled. Bengali only laughed harder.

"So what’s on the agenda today?" Snarfer asked from the table.

"Thundertank for me," Bengali answered as he pushed himself off the floor and took a seat. "Panthro wants to try a new metal plating and he asked me to give him a hand. Tygra was supposed to, but he’s working on a new blend of Thundrillium fuel so Panthro asked if I’d be willing to help out."

"When are you going over?" Pumyra asked.

"Soon as I finish eating."

"But we were hoping we could explore some more," Kit protested.

"Yeah. We never did get to finish wandering up that canyon yesterday," Kat seconded.

"Maybe Pumyra can take you this time," Bengali told them.

"Breakfast is served," Pumyra announced with pride. "And I would be honored to go exploring with you two."

"Great!" Kat exclaimed. "How about right after breakfast?"

"If you help me clean up, that sounds fine." Pumyra took her seat after putting a large helping of scrambled eggs and something the warrior maidens called French Toast on the table. "So what are you up to today, Snarfer?"

Snarfer shrugged as he poured himself some lemonade. "Not much. I was going to fix some of the wiring in the Thunderstrike, snarfer, snarfer. There’s a glitch in one of the circuit boards that operates the scanners in the main pod."

Pumyra nodded. "Sounds good." She turned to the Thunderkittens who were wolfing down their breakfast. "We’ll have to be back early this afternoon. There were some medical samples I wanted to run a few tests on and Snarf wanted the two of you to stop by the Berbil village on your way back and pick up some Berbil Berries."

"That’s okay," Wiley Kit answered between mouthfuls. "We just wanted to check out a few caves."

"We were in that big canyon a couple miles to the south," Bengali explained.

"Boy, this is really great," Snarfer told Pumyra. "Do you think Nayda would mind if you gave this recipe to Uncle Snarf?"

"I don’t think so," Pumyra answered "Is it good enough to add to Snarf’s collection of recipes?"

"No doubt about it," Snarfer exclaimed. "Why, I’ll bet that—"

"Hey Lynx-O? You okay?" Kat’s interruption surprised the rest of the table and they turned to look at both Kat and Lynx-O.

Lynx-O hadn’t said a word since taking his seat. He normally wasn’t a big conversationalist at the breakfast table, but it had been odd for him not to comment on the speed with which the twins had devoured their helpings. And he hadn’t touched his own breakfast, either.

"Lynx-O?" It was now Bengali’s turn to be concerned. "You don’t look well. Rowr, is everything all right?"

Lynx-O stirred slightly. "I hope so," he murmured. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" He pushed his chair back, stood up, and left the table in the direction of the control room.

Those remaining exchanged glances and then got up to follow him.

They found him accessing communication controls and trying to contact the Lair. "Tower to Lair, over." He waited. "Tower of Omens to Cat’s Lair." There was another long pause.

"They’re probably eating breakfast," Pumyra suggested. "It may take them a while to respond."

"But they have the ability to respond from the dining area," Bengali mused. "They could have easily answered by now."

"Snarfer, snarfer, what’s wrong Lynx-O? Why are we trying to contact them?"

"Something I felt last night," the old Thundercat answered quietly. "At the time, I thought nothing serious of it. It was a sudden feeling of danger that was gone almost as soon as it came. But now…" He shook his head and tried to contact the Lair again. "Tower of Omens to Cat’s Lair, please respond."

"What do you suppose is wrong?" Wiley Kat asked.

"I don’t know, but I fear the worst."

The other Thundercats stared at Lynx-O. "What exactly do you mean?" Bengali managed to ask.

"What I felt last night was a powerful manifestation of evil. Mumm-Ra would have had a difficult time competing with it. And there was a definite feeling of malice towards us. I clearly remember that. But it passed us by and I thought nothing more of it until this morning when the feeling came again. But this time, the danger wasn’t here. It was somewhere else. And then it occurred to me. What if this evil presence only bypassed us in its search for the Sword of Omens? If this is the case, it will be at Cat’s Lair by now. They must be warned."

"Unless it’s too late," Pumyra added quietly.

"Unless it’s too late," Lynx-O agreed. Once again he turned back to the communications console. "Tower to Lair, if you can hear us, please answer."

And once again, there was silence.

Morning came to the Black Pyramid, if it could be called morning. The silence that surrounded the pyramid remained, the clouds that darkened the landscape had no intention of leaving, and the winds died down only slightly. But to the rest of the world beyond the shadow, morning came. And as the Ancient Spirits of Evil reckoned the passing of days, morning came.

The new day found Mumm-Ra pacing the floors. His sleep had been fitful at best, and he was bothered by his feelings of misgiving from the previous night. Something still didn’t feel right. It was almost as if something was intruding, but Mumm-Ra could detect nothing.

Ma-Mutt whined and leaned against his master’s leg. He gave the air a suspicious sniff and growled softly. Mumm-Ra stroked his dog’s head, but he was even more disturbed. Ma-Mutt could also sense that something was wrong. It wasn’t just Mumm-Ra.

The undead dog left the mummy’s side and began sniffing along the walls, looking for sings of an intruder. Mumm-Ra watched him for a moment and then turned to his cauldron. Ma-Mutt would find nothing, for whatever was wrong had no basis in the physical world. He was certain of that much. But eliminating that did almost nothing. There was still a host of possibilities to explore.

"Ancient Spirits of Evil, grant me, Mumm-Ra, the powers to search the dimensions of reality. Grant me the ability to see beyond this world and into the next."

Mumm-Ra waited expectantly for the euphoric experience of additional power. And he was rather perturbed when it didn’t come. Puzzled for a moment, he decided to try again.

"Ancient Spirits of Evil, grant me, your ever-living servant of evil, the ability to see the power that threatens this stronghold of evil."

Mumm-Ra waited again, but he waited in vain. The Ancient Spirits of Evil remained silent and still.

Ma-Mutt trotted over, curious as to what was going on. He’d discovered nothing in his search of the pyramid but still felt that something was amiss. His master certainly felt that something was wrong. And now the mummy was staring at the four statues above his cauldron with what could only be a combination of fear and rage. Ma-Mutt barked, trying to get some attention.

"Quiet," Mumm-Ra mumbled. He glared at the towering statues. "Evil ones, why have you not granted my request?"

That got an answer. Four sets of eyes flashed red and the pyramid seemed to darken in the sudden presence of their power. "Muuummm-Rrrraaaaaa, you have failed to rid this world of the Thundercats."

"Only a matter of time, evil masters," Mumm-Ra protested. His mind was racing, trying to determine how this announcement and the feelings of the night before might be connected.

"A matter of time? You have had time and you have done nothing. Your plots have failed, you have wasted our powers, and your foolish mistakes have lost you countless battles."

I have lost countless battles? Mumm-Ra almost brought up the incident of Snarf-Ra the Ever-Living and his accidental creation at the hands of the Spirits, but wisely decided against it. "If you will just be patient, evil masters, I will defeat the Thundercats."

"We are tired of waiting. We have given the job to another."

That dumbfounded the mummy. He hadn’t been expecting something like that. It took him a moment to recover from the shock and process all that was incorporated into that statement. He furiously commanded himself to regain control of the situation. Above all else, when working with the Ancient Spirits of Evil, you had to be in control or at least maintain the illusion that you were in control. Mumm-Ra mustered the boldness to speak again. "But ancient ones, who could serve you better than I? I know your powers. I know how to use them."

"You share in our powers no longer, Mumm-Ra." The statement was like a death knoll, reverberating around the pyramid. Ma-Mutt snarled and pressed against the mummy.

"Who?" Mumm-Ra demanded. "Who dares take my place?"

The answer was a bit confusing, as the four statues took turns in responding.

"He ruled the night once before."

"He is the master of the mind."

"He drains the lives of those he snares."

"He will destroy the Thundercats."

"He turns their minds against them."

"He lives and yet does not."

"His evil knows no bounds."

"He will absorb the essence of those who oppose us."

And then they responded as one. "He will be the new vessel for our power."

"Who!?" Mumm-Ra was almost shouting. "Who have you found?"

"Somnolar." The name was no more than a whisper, but it chilled Mumm-Ra. It was disconcerting to find he could still be frightened like that.

"Somnolar? But he was banished. How?"

"His barriers were no more than an illusion. We destroyed them." With that, the Ancient Spirits of Evil seemed to fade out.

"Wait! What if he fails you?"

For a moment, there was no answer. And then, faintly, Mumm-Ra made out the reply. "He will not. If he should fail, he will be completely sundered from this world." And then their presence was gone.

"Completely sundered," Mumm-Ra murmured. He reached down and began to stroke Ma-Mutt’s head. "Completely sundered." Glancing at his pet, a grin twisted his craggy face. "We shall have their power back yet, my beauty. Come. There is much to do."

Racing along on two of the Thunderstrike’s outer pods, Bengali, Pumyra, Wiley Kit, and Wiley Kat neared Cat’s Lair. They’d tried for almost an hour to contact the Lair with no response. It was now time to investigate.

Pushing the limits of the Thunderstrike, they made good time and were soon landing just beyond the front platform.

"Seems quiet enough," Wiley Kat observed as he jumped off from behind Bengali.

"Maybe that’s the problem," the white tiger muttered.

Pumyra and Wiley Kit joined the two. "Well? What do you think?" Pumyra asked.

Bengali shrugged. "Let’s see what’s going on inside. Stick together and keep quiet. We don’t know why they aren’t responding to communications, and it’s best not to take chances."

The other three nodded in silent agreement and they climbed the steps to the main entrance of the Lair. Bengali went first, followed by Kit, then Kat, and Pumyra took up rear guard, constantly checking behind them.

The Lair was dark, still running on nighttime schedule. Whoever was in charge of the morning watch hadn’t shifted the Lair’s electrical systems. There was no sign of anyone as they continued into the heart of the Lair, veering toward the control room but avoiding the brighter passages as they went.

"Wait a minute, Bengali," Pumyra whispered. "This isn’t right. It’s like the Lair is abandoned."

"I don’t like it either," Bengali agreed. It was far too quiet for morning in the Cat’s Lair. They should have found Cheetara stretching after her morning jog, Panthro out working on the Thundertank, Tygra wandering around with strange chemicals, Snarf making some concoction in the kitchen, or Lion-O reading up on the history of Thundera.

"Wait," Kat suddenly spoke up. "The weapons room is down that hall. There’s a remote access terminal in there. We can scan the Lair and find out what’s going on."

"Sounds good," Pumyra approved. "Let’s go."

The four crept softly down the hall, expecting at any moment to be met by some kind of resistance. There was an eerie feel to the Lair, as if something was pondering their intrusion but not acting immediately. When Kit punched in her access code for the door to the weapon room, she winced at the hiss of hydraulics that accompanied its opening. It was just too quiet in the Lair.

Once inside, Kat quickly called up the Lair’s scanners while Pumyra, Bengali, and Kit took up guard positions in the entrance. It didn’t take long for the computers to respond, but it felt like an eternity. "There we go," Kat whispered.

"Find anything?" Bengali asked.

"Just a minute, it’s loading." After a short wait, Kat answered Bengali’s question. "Well, yes and no."

"What’s that mean?" Kit hissed.

"As far as I can tell from here, the computers are operating fine. No malfunctions." Kat paused as more data scrolled onto the screen. "No reports of intruders. No forced entry. In fact, we’re the only entry for the past twelve hours. Environmental controls report nothing in the ventilation system. Air conditioning is operating at optimal levels. Air content is a mix of carbon dioxide and oxygen. No unusual levels during the past twenty-four hours. Hang on, it’s reporting on internal security now."

The others waited impatiently as Kat watched more data fly past him. The hallway was empty and there was no sound throughout the Lair except for their own breathing, but this only served to heighten their caution. Something was seriously wrong but they still didn’t know what.

"Okay, here we go. One lapse in security and that’s the weapons room. That means we register, we’ve left the door open, and proves that the computer systems are working. There’s been no security breach in the hanger. Nothing in Tygra’s lab, either. Nothing in the power conduits. Nothing in the generator room. Nothing in the sleeping quarters. The Sword Chamber was opened once, but that was last night and it was Lion-O. No, I take that back, it was opened twice. Once when it was time to shut down the Lair for the night and then another time in the middle of the night. Both times by Lion-O. And shortly after that, there was immense computer activity."

"Who was on watch then?" Pumyra asked.

"According to this, Panthro." Kat leaned closer to the screen. "And he never left the watch, either. No one relieved him. Or if they did, they didn’t log it in."

"Can you access security cameras?" Kit wondered.

Wiley Kat shook his head. "I don’t think so, not from this terminal."

"Rowr, I think we should get up to the control room," Bengali decided. "Anything to indicate that we need more fire power?"

"Nope. All reports indicate that nothing is wrong except for the fact that we’re still running under reduced power for nighttime conditions." Kat shook his head. "This is giving me the creeps."

"Let’s get going," Pumyra suggested. She was also growing concerned and with her concern came her impatience.

"Right," Bengali muttered. The waiting was beginning to get to him, too, and patience was definitely not one of his virtues under any conditions. "Let’s go. Same formation."

The four crept out of the weapons room and Pumyra secured it behind her. As shadows, they slipped down more dark corridors. But none of them could shake the feeling that no matter what they did, they were watched. Or maybe watched wasn’t the word to describe it. Observed? Felt? Noted? Unease growing with every step, they continued in the semi-darkness.

"Control room up ahead," Kit hissed between clenched teeth.

Bengali nodded slightly. A sliver of light could be seen beneath the door that would slide open to admit them. "Now what?"

Pumyra stirred in the darkness and moved to his side. "There’s nothing following us, but I still feel like something knows we’re here. Don’t ask me how, I just feel it."

"Me, too," the white tiger whispered. "What do we do now?"

"I guess we go into the control room."

"Let’s just do something, please," Kit begged.

"Okay, here’s the plan," Bengali told them quietly. "Pumyra and I will take the center, Kit, you’ll be next to Pumyra on the outside, and Kat will be next to me. Don’t make any sudden moves when we get inside, just challenge whatever’s there."

"If there’s anything there to challenge," Kat added softly.

"Something’s there," Pumyra murmured. "But I don’t know if we’ll be able to tell."

"Enough cryptic statements for now, let’s go," Bengali whispered.

After checking one more time to see that they were not being followed, the four lined up and approached the doors. "Here we go," Pumyra hissed.

Weapons at the ready, the Thundercats leaped toward the door. It slid open at their approach and they stopped in the entrance, taking in the control room.

"Panthro! Lion-O!" Kat exclaimed.

The others turned to where he was looking and saw the two Thundercats sprawled on the floor. Panthro’s nunchucks were firmly clasped in his hands and a grimace was spread over Lion-O’s face.

"Cover me," Pumyra ordered, moving toward the fallen Thundercats. Bengali, Kit, and Kat closed in behind her, ready to resist any attack that was made. But the Lair remained as quiet as ever.

Bengali backed closer to where Pumyra was hastily checking vital signs. "Are they okay?" he asked.

"They’re asleep," Pumyra answered, but there was an underlying note of concern in her voice.

"And?" the tiger prompted.

"And they’re not waking up," Pumyra responded.

Bengali turned to Wiley Kat. "Check the computers. Run a scan for all life signs in the Lair and try to ascertain their health status."

"Ben, see if you can help me wake them," Pumyra requested. She was pulling Panthro into a sitting position, but the panther remained as still as ever.

Bengali knelt beside Lion-O and rolled him onto his back. "Come on, wake up. Lion-O?" He gently shook the lion, but there was no response. "Rowr, this isn’t funny anymore."

Kat turned from his place behind a computer console. "Bengali? I’m picking up a total of nine life forms. There’s the six of us in the control room and three more."

"Where are the other three?"

"One in Tygra’s room, one in Cheetara’s, and one in Lion-O’s."

"Tygra, Cheetara, and Snarf," Pumyra surmised. "Health?"

"Asleep, life signs stable."

"Something’s not right," Pumyra muttered.

"Are the defense systems operational?" Kit asked.

Kat nodded. "And I’ve switched the computers to daytime running. They still pick up nothing unusual in the Lair. Everything checks out except for the fact that everyone’s asleep."

"Kit, come with me," Bengali instructed. "We’ll check the others and get the Sword of Omens. Maybe Lion-O will wake at its touch. Pumyra, keep trying up here. Kat, contact the Tower and tell Lynx-O what’s going on. And put the Lair’s systems on full alert."

"Gotcha," Kat answered.

"Be careful," Pumyra warned.

"We will be," Wiley Kit assured her.

"Come on, Kit, let’s get going." The sounds of alert systems followed them as they raced out of the control room.

"Bengali?"

Bengali turned as Kit poked her head into Tygra’s room where the white tiger had unsuccessfully tried to rouse the Thundercat. "What is it Kit?"

"I think we’ve got a major problem. The Sword’s gone."

Bengali’s eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. It’s missing from the Sword Chamber and I checked Lion-O’s room. I found the Claw Shield, but not the Sword of Omens."

"Rowr, and I didn’t see it when I tried to wake Snarf," Bengali murmured. The intercom started to beep and the tiger flipped it on. "Bengali here."

"It’s Kat. I just finished talking to Lynx-O again. With the Tower’s enhanced scanners, he ran scans on the exterior of the Lair and included everything within a five-mile radius. There’s nothing unusual going on."

"What about the Berbil village?" Bengali asked. "And the Tree-Top Kingdom? Are they awake?"

"Yup. Normal daytime activities, according to Lynx-O."

"By Thundera," Bengali growled, running a hand through his thick mane. "What’s going on here?"

"Ben?" The voice over the intercom changed. "It’s Pumyra. I’m guessing they’re not awake down there?"

"You’d be right." The tiger sighed. "But their vital signs are stable. There’s nothing wrong with them except that they won’t wake up."

"Well, since the Lair registers as secure, let’s move them all into sickbay. I can run some tests from there."

"The Sword," Kit whispered. "The Lair isn’t secure. The Sword is missing."

"What was that?"

"The Sword of Omens is missing," Bengali explained.

"This just keeps getting better, doesn’t it," Kat grumbled.

"We’ll inform Lynx-O," Pumyra said. "But I really want to get the five of them into sickbay. If I can do anything to help them, I can do it there."

"We’re on it," Bengali promised. "Get sickbay ready and I’ll meet you there. Bengali out." The tiger turned to Kit who waited expectantly. "Grab Snarf and take him to sickbay. I’ll start moving the others."

"What about the Sword?"

"Its disappearance probably has something to do with all this sleep. We’ll keep looking, but we need to help Pumyra find out what’s wrong with these guys."

"Right," Kit muttered. A chilling thought had struck her. Had she and Wiley Kat not spent the night in the Tower, they could be as asleep as the others. What was happening to them? What had happened last night? Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. She needed to concentrate on the here and now. What was it Panthro told her during training sessions? In a crisis, there was no room for the past and no time for the future. Everything was the present and had to be acted upon. Might-have-beens and what-ifs had no place. Everything was the moment.

"Kit? You okay?"

Kit shivered slightly. "Just fine. I’ll get Snarf down to sickbay."

Lynx-O absently tapped his fingers on the edge of the Braille board. Things were rapidly turning sour with no explanation as to what was going on. There were five Thundercats who could not wake up. There was the apparent theft of the Sword of Omens. There was Wiley Kat’s insistence that the computers had not been tampered with and were in perfect working order, and those same computers insisted that there had been no unauthorized access to the Lair and no contaminants in the air.

"Report on mutant and Lunatac activity is in," Snarfer announced.

"Analysis?"

"Negative, snarfer. Nothing unusual from the mutants and Skytomb is dormant in Darkside. Normal activities from the Lunatacs."

"What about the pyramid?"

"Nothing," Snarfer answered. Lynx-O could hear him shaking his head as he spoke. "It’s quiet, too."

"What about unusual amounts of energy discharge?"

"I checked that too, snarfer, snarfer. Nothing there either. Normal discharge for standard operating procedures in both Castle Plun-Darr and Skytomb."

"We need answers, Snarfer. Something has happened and we don’t know what." Lynx-O was about to say more when communications started to signal. "Tower."

"Pumyra here. Lynx-O, how much do you know about neuro-science?"

Lynx-O’s eyebrows shot up. "Rudimentary knowledge about various brain functions. Why do you ask?"

"Let me send you something to look at and then you tell me."

"Pumyra, I…" Lynx-O stopped as the Braille board began to download. He received the readouts with astonishment. "By Jaga," the lynx whispered. "Is that possible?"

"So you see the same thing I do?" Pumyra asked from the Lair.

"Basic functions and that’s all. Who is this?"

"The one you just received is Cheetara’s, but they’re all exactly like hers. In fact, they’re so dormant that the signature brain wave is useless in telling them apart."

It was then that Bengali broke in on communications. "So now that you’ve confirmed whatever Pumyra’s been going on about for the last few minutes, rowr, maybe you can inform the rest of us."

"What is it?" Snarfer asked.

"I have never seen nor heard of anything like this," Lynx-O whispered. "Are you certain?"

"Positive," Pumyra responded.

"This gets a little more serious, then, doesn’t it?"

"I would say so."

"Excuse me." Bengali didn’t sound at all happy. "For those of us who are unenlightened and incapable of reading printouts from various machines with a bunch of letters strung together for a name, what’s going on?"

"Based on these readings, our fellow Thundercats have no cognitive abilities."

There was a deafening silence at Lynx-O’s pronouncement. "That’s the ability to think, right?" It was Kat who broke in over communications.

"Kind of," Pumyra amended. "It also includes perception, awareness, and general knowledge. What their brain waves show is a complete absence of anything like that."

"What does that mean?" Snarfer whimpered.

"Well, it means that any further shut down and they’ll be brain dead," Pumyra explained. "The brain stem is still functioning and with it, the heart and lungs are still functioning, but nothing else is working. They’re not asleep, they’re comatose. There’s no activity in any part of the brain except for the stem. Looking at their brain waves, you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. Even blood flow has slowed down."

"Wow," was all Kit had to say on the subject.

"That doesn’t sound good," Bengali observed.

"Very perceptive," Pumyra sighed. "The question now becomes this: how did this happen and what do we do about it?

"I don’t think any of us are qualified to answer a question like that," Lynx-O responded.

"Well, somebody better answer it and soon," the puma warned. "Their vital signs are starting to drop. Not by much, but they are dropping."

Lynx-O rubbed his temples. "How long do they have?"

"I don’t know," Pumyra answered honestly. "But I’d rather not find out the hard way."

"And here’s something else to think about," Bengali stated. "If it happened to them, what’s to prevent it from happening to the rest of us?"

There was silence after that. "Thundercats," Lynx-O said at length, "I think we have a problem."