LUNATAC MAYHEM: Chapter
Six
Jackalman and Monkian wanted no more part of the
Nightshade weirdness, and stayed back at Castle Plundarr. Slythe, however, went with the
Skycruiser. He hated Peregrine, but the Mutants
were involved, hence he should be there.
The principle seemed simple enough. Peregrine was by all rights dead, he just
hadn't fallen over yet. When his body
was killed, Nightshade would have to flee it for a new host. Which is where the fan came in. Nightshade, being a creature of mist, would
get sucked through the fan and into an air-tight container. And since a wraith could only live for about
five days without a host, she would be left there until she died. And even though it was a Nightshade-possessed
Panthro who suggested the device, it didn't seem to be booby-trapped or
otherwise ineffective.
Chilla had suggested that mist could be evaporated by
heat, but evaporation was merely a forced scattering of molecules. What if Nightshade could collect herself up
again? So that idea was set aside.
The next problem was how to kill Peregrine. The Avian was currently encased in ice so
that Nightshade couldn't escape. No one
wanted to be in the room when the wraith was free, and while Psikaris could do
it from a distance, she flat-out refused.
The only other person they could think of who could kill at a distance
was Mystan. The telekinetic was easily
found, not-so-easily sobered up, and the situation explained.
* * *
"Wily Kit. I think you should be a witness to
this. There's a closed circuit camera in that room with him," Lion‑O
said, placing a calm, reassuring hand on the youngster's shoulder.
"Everybody ready?" Cheetara asked.
"Tygra ready. The fan will be turned on as soon
as the wraith emerges."
"Mystan, ready as I'll ever be. This is not
going to be very pretty."
"Snyarf, snyarf. I can't bear to watch."
"It's necessary though. We can't let Peregrine's
sacrifice be in vain," Lion‑O said.
"Let's do it then. Mystan, begin," Cheetara
said.
At first there was no change in Peregrine's body, as
the ice shattered. The startled Avian seemed to be still wrestling with
Nightshade. Finally, his head pounding like crazy due to Mystan's telekinetic
torture, he bravely saluted the camera once and then dropped to his knees.
Without warning his body was telekinetically torn in several different
directions at the same time. A hideous creature of black mist arose from the
fallen head. Lion‑O nodded to Tygra and a massive fan sucked the creature
in.
* * *
Wily Kit turned away from the monitors and saw her
brother standing calmly before her. "Thank you for all you've done Kit. I
just wanted to see you through these difficult times. Panthro's waiting for me in
the other world, and you know how he is. Can't keep him waiting," he said.
"Oh, Kat. Will I ever see you again?" Wily
Kit asked.
"Who knows? Only time will tell," Wily Kat
replied.
The young Thundercat hung her head in sadness from
her wheelchair. She felt someone standing next to her. "You going to be
all right?" they asked. It was Psikaris. "I lost my brother too. If
you need any help getting through all this, just ask. I have a feeling things
are going to be changing around here." Wily Kit managed a faint smile and
promised that she would keep her in mind.
* * *
A large pyre was built outside Cat's Lair. In
accordance with Mutant traditions Peregrine would be sent to heaven, carried by
the war songs of his peers. Before the match was lit Lion‑O stood before
the assembly. "Friends, Mutants, Lunatacs, and all creatures from Third
Earth that are gathered here today. We commemorate the valiant efforts of our
comrades who died in the Nightshade affair. I would just like to have a moment
of silence for each one. Wily Kat of the Alpha Lions and Beta Tigers. Knave
Iespyk. Psychro Myntaello. Shade Twilight. Panthro Lord of the Beta Panthers.
Peregrine the great Plundarrian hero. We will miss them all," he said. All
around everyone bowed their heads, reflecting on those who had passed.
* * *
"Tug-Mug?"
The rotund Lunatac stopped, slightly confused as he
waited for Mystan to catch up with him.
The telekinetic usually spurned the presence of the other Lunatacs,
preferring his own company. "What
do you want, Meestan?"
"I have a problem that I think you can help me
with."
Tug-Mug raised an eyebrow. "What do you need?"
"You have a still, correct?"
* * *
By unspoken agreement, Mystan and the remaining
renegade Lunatacs; Chilla, Alluro, and Red-Eye; rejoined with Luna and the
others. Luna didn't say anything, didn't
gloat, merely went about assessing the damage to Skytomb. It would still stand, but with the fight
between the flying fortress, the Skycruiser, and Cat's Lair, it might never fly
again. Currently, the Lunatacs were all
in Skytomb, leaving the Skycruiser parked outside. Luna, Amok, and Tycho had disappeared to the
engine room to take notes, and Mystan had vanished somewhere with Tug-Mug,
leaving Red-Eye, Psikaris, and Chilla in the kitchen.
Alluro walked in, carrying several large sheets of
paper. "Psikaris, Red-Eye, two of
the three people I wanted to see. I'll
find Tug-Mug later," he said, spreading the pages out. "From what I can tell, either we should
just pack up everything and make the Skycruiser our base, or use the
Skycruiser's parts to fix Skytomb.
Popular opinion thus far is to fix the Skytomb."
"Right," Red-Eye chuckled, "Stick the
'cruiser engines on Skytomb. Why do I see
that as a repeat of your multi-octane-magic-special-formula-of-doom
fiasco?"
"'Multi-octane high potential maximum velocity
fuel formula'," Alluro automatically corrected. "No, really, I think that might
work. With a little alteration, the
designs are compatible. This is more
your field of expertise, Psikaris," he said, turning to the ice hybrid,
"Care to help on what may well be a non-feasible task?"
Psikaris found what she was looking for in the fridge
and closed the door. "I will, but
not yet," she said without looking at the others. "For the next few days I'm just going to
lock myself in my room and scream and cry and everything else I didn't have
time for during this mess." She
left.
There was silence for a few minutes, then Alluro
started picking up the schematic drawings.
"I'll be in my workshop," he said, waving the rolled-up pages
slightly.
Chilla blocked his way as he was about to leave. "No, you're not." Red-Eye plucked the pages from his hand from
behind. As Alluro turned to question the
Darkling, Chilla grabbed his arm and half-pushed him out the door. "You are going to go with Psikaris and
not ask any questions."
"What?
Chilla..."
"No questions," repeated the ice Lunatac,
giving him another prod. Alluro sighed
slightly, and disappeared down the hall.
Chilla turned back to Red-Eye.
"There. That's my good deed
for the year."
Red-Eye shook his head. "For which one of them?"
"Either.
That way I'm absolved for two years." She paused, then, "Knave loved her, you
know, but I never got to see Shade. Just
Shade."
"I'll tell you who she was in exchange for a few
stories about Knave."
"Deal."
* * *
It was some time later, as he sat meditatively under
a tree that Lion‑O heard footsteps. He turned and saw Luna and Tycho.
"We work well together when we put our minds to it," Luna said. Lion‑O
nodded, the woman was obviously having difficulty picking her words. "We
desire a truce," she finally said.
"So much has happened lately. We lost three
Lunatacs. Mystan's become an alcoholic, Red-Eye's depressed and Psikaris was
leaning this way anyway," Tycho explained.
"I see. The people of Third Earth would welcome
your assistance. Maybe we can even convince Mumm‑Ra and the Mutants to
renounce their ways," Lion‑O said.
"I wouldn't bet on it, but if we Lunatacs can do
it, anything is possible," Luna said, leading Amok and Tycho away.
"I think things have just gotten a little more
interesting on Third Earth," Lion‑O mused.
THE END
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