"How goes the watch?"

Tygra looked over his shoulder at Panthro. The panther was leaning against the door with a mug of coffee. "Dull," said Tygra. "The Mutants haven't been doing anything, and Mumm-ra and the Lunatacs have been quiet ever since that Cthulhu business." The tiger turned back to his monitors. "Everything's just been really slow."

A sensor beeped. "That doesn't seem slow. Cheetara?"

The tiger hit a few keys. "Out jogging, I'd say." Having nothing better to do, Tygra zoomed the cameras in on the runner. Startled he said, "It's not Cheetara. Who is that?"

"I dunno," shrugged Panthro. "Never saw him before. Looks like a white cheetah." The runner was coloured like a bengal tiger, but had the spots of a cheetah. He wore a white vest, boots, and blue pants, and was going as fast as Cheetara would.

"Think we should check it out?" Tygra asked. On the monitor, Cheetara appeared from out of the forest, chasing the white cheetah.

"Definitely."

* * *

Knave had been wanting to race the Thunderwoman ever since he heard of her existence. To test his speed against a full-blood cheetah!.. And he was doing quite well. He had, of course, a bit of a head start when he ran by the woman, and was starting to tire. Mystan had better be where he said he'd be...

Behind him, Cheetara cried out and collapsed. Knave stopped and jogged back. Mystan stepped out of the forest, admiring his handiwork. "I set up a telekinetic shield just as you passed," he explained to Knave, looking smug.

"Yeah, yeah, real clever. Where'd you park the Lunattacker?"

Mystan waved an arm at the forest. "About fifty yards that way. Bring it over. I can easily handle the cheetah if she tries to escape."

From the ground, Cheetara listened to the voices. Both male; one rasping, one smooth. She felt like she ran into a wall, but what did the smooth-voiced one say, something about a telekinetic shield..?

Footsteps moved away. Though half-closed eyes she watched a pair of white boots walk away. The one she chased had white boots... but now the other stepped in front of her. This one wore sandals on gray-skinned feet. Mutant? Lunatac?

The owner of the sandals crouched down beside her, tilted her chin to look at her. Lunatac. Long face. Gray hair. Pointed features. Yellow eyes. Greenish markings around the eyes. Psi-race. She didn't recognize him. "Rather interesting how Luna finds you so bothersome," said the smooth-voiced Lunatac. "You don't seem so tough to me." Though slight, he easily lifted her. There was a sound of crushing underbrush. "And that will be Knave with the Lunatta... what is that thing!?"

Mystan leapt back when the Thundertank crashed out of the forest, jostling Cheetara. Tygra jumped out of the vehicle, landing about fifteen feet from the surprised Lunatac. "Great Jaga! How many of you Lunatacs are there?"

The robed Lunatac shot the tiger a look of pure arrogance. "If I told you, the advantage would no longer be ours. Begone, Thundercats."

Tygra was curious. This gray man was obviously a psychic Lunatac, he had the voice and markings, but either he was the weakest hypnotist Tygra had ever met or he simply expected to be obeyed and didn't bother using his power. "Give us our friend back and we'll let you go," wagered the tiger.

"No."

"Suit yourself," shrugged Tygra, pulling out his whip. "Now you see me, now you... hey!" Before his illusion could take effect, Tygra found himself whisked high into the air.

Panthro started to climb out of the Thundertank, but the Lunatac fixed him with challenge behind his yellow eyes. "If you attack me, I'll lose my concentration and the tiger will fall."

Behind the gray man, the Lunattacker rolled out of the forest. The white cheetah stepped out. At this range, Panthro could see his horns and the crescent mark on his forehead. "You're a Lunatac?" asked the panther.

The white cheetah gave a mocking bow. "Half, on my father's side."

"We're finished here," said the psychic, looking over at Panthro, then nodding to the halfbreed. Before Panthro could react, the white cheetah was beside him. Suddenly it was very cold.

Mystan looked over the ice statue. "Very nice. Let's get back to Skytomb."

Knave climbed into the Lunattacker. "We make a pretty good team. What about tiger-boy?"

Mystan smiled as the Lunattacker drove away. "What about him?"

The instant Tygra realized he was falling, he took out his whip and wove a complex pattern in the air. Between the trees, a web of energy took shape. Seconds later, he hit it, bouncing slightly. With a thought, the energy dissipated and Tygra dropped the last twenty feet to the ground.

A couple fireballs took care of the ice around Panthro. The panther shook himself a few times to get rid of the excess water and exclaimed, "Those dang blasted Lunies got Cheetara."

"The Lunattacker was headed back towards the Darkside. We'll need reinforcements if we want to rescue her."

* * *

Much as Knave didn't like him, he grudgingly conceded that Alluro's help was required in this little experiment. It certainly caught the hypnotist's interest when he heard what it was. "You want me to figure out if psychic power is chemical based so that I can come up with a type of telekinesis formula? Is that idea even feasible?"

"It is if psychic power is at least in part chemical," said Mystan.

"You invented the skull-scope. Don't even talk about feasibility," taunted Knave.

Alluro scowled at the halfbreed. "Don't ever mention the skull-scope again. That was easily one of the most idiotic days of my life." The hypnotist looked down at where Cheetara was strapped to the table. "Ah, well, better her than us. I suppose I should start with something non-intrusive." He chuckled. "Perhaps a CAT scan?"

Knave rolled his eyes. Mystan ignored the pun. "We should get a sample of her cranial fluid, without damaging anything, of course. Not yet. I'll go get what we'll need from the medlab."

"And I will find something else to do," said Knave. He would never admit it, but hearing the two psychics calmly discussing their experiments creeped him out.

* * *

"More Lunatacs!?" Lion-O was not happy. Months ago, a big blue Lunatac had used a potion or spell of Mumm-ra's to control Cheetara and Pumyra. And according to Tygra and Panthro, the two that captured Cheetara were different. One was of Alluro's race, a psychic with telekinetic powers. The other was half ice Lunatac, and, horribly, half Thunderan cheetah.

"We have to rescue Cheetara," said Panthro. "Who knows what those Lunies are doing to her?"

"Agreed. I'll call the Tower of Omens."

As Lion-O went to call the others, Tygra said, "I didn't want to say this in front of Lion-O, didn't want to get his hopes up, but how old did the ice cheetah look to you?"

Panthro shrugged. "Couldn't be more than thirty."

"Do you think there could be other Thunderans living on the Moons of Plundarr?" asked Tygra. "I mean, the Lunatacs were half ancient history and half myth before we met Luna's gang, and they'd been stuck in lava for Jaga knows how long."

"They didn't do anything during the Thundera/Plundarr War," Panthro pointed out.

"Probably waiting to see who'd win."

"Probably."

* * *

"Luna, the Thunderstrike is coming through the Forest of Mists."

"Coming to save their friend, eh, Red-Eye?" said Luna. "I knew an early warning system in the Forest was a good idea. How many cats?"

"Three."

"Probably the gang from the Tower, then." Luna balanced her elbows on her knees and steepled her little fingers under her nose. "Let's pretend like we don't see them. Worse, that we're in the grip of some really big malfunctions. We'll cut all power but that to Alluro's lab so he can keep working. The cats will think that their approach was undetected and that we're unprepared." She cackled to herself, then shouted, "Red-Eye! Call up the others!"

* * *

Skytomb was parked in the Darkside, looming sullenly over the sandy, reddish plain. Lynx-O tapped a few keys. "This is odd. There's barely a power reading coming from it."

"Rowl, Skytomb is always breaking," chuckled Bengali. "That's hardly odd."

"Do they know we're here?" asked Pumyra.

"Unlikely," replied the lynx, fiddling with his braile board. "They'd have shot at us by now, or the Ice Runner would be attacking."

Bengali smiled. "Makes our job that much easier, then."

"Still, we must be careful."

"Of course."

* * *

"They're inside, Luna. Two of them anyway."

"Which ones?"

Red-Eye checked his screens. "Bengali and Pumyra."

"And Lynx-O would have been driving." Since most systems had been taken off-line to preserve the illusion of total engine failure, the Lunatac princess switched on her personal communicator instead of the intercom. "Knave, go out to the Thunderstrike and capture Lynx-O."

There was a bit of static, then Knave's rasping laugh came through. "Lynx-O? You waste my talents, Luna."

"Just do it fast and don't screw up. And call me when you're finished. Luna out."

* * *

Knave made a face at the hand radio. Lynx-O was old and blind; hardly a match for one of Knave's power. Of course, he was probably monitoring the others from the Thunderstrike and would alert them of any activity. He would need to be taken out fast.

It still annoyed him, though.

The ice cheetah manually opened one of Skytomb's doors, well away from where Bengali and Pumyra were sneaking around to avoid accidental detection. He then carefully walked around the foot of the fortress, figuring that any sudden burst of speed would catch the lynx's attention.

When there was nothing but thirty metres of open plain between himself and the ship, Knave allowed his cheetah heritage to kick in. He covered the red sand in seconds. With any luck, the cats left the doors unlocked.

They did.

* * *

Luna switched off her radio and turned to Red-Eye. "Knave got Lynx-O. Tell Tug-Mug it's time for Phase Two."

* * *

"This place is a maze."

"Rowl, you said it, Pumyra." The two had been wandering the lower levels of Skytomb for what seemed like hours. There had been a few useless rooms, but for the most part, the fortress was made of corridor.

"How do the Lunatacs find their way around?" wondered Pumyra. The place seemed to have completely random dead-ends and junctions, and the puma could have sworn they changed once or twice. She couldn't be sure, though. All the halls looked the same. "Maybe if we split up?"

"Bad idea. What happens if we run into the Lunatacs?"

"They're probably all busy trying to get the place working again."

"I'm sure I heard something." Alluro! Not alone, not if he was speaking to someone. The Thundercats froze.

"And the Thunderstrike's parked outside." Red-Eye. "Idiot. Why didn't you design this place with more windows?"

"Oh, hush. Come along. I think it came from this way."

"Stand back, Pumyra," whispered Bengali, pushing the girl behind him and readying his hammer. He then charged around the corner. "Thundercats, Ho!.. Eh what?" All that was in the corridor was an unpowered security camera and... an... intercom?

Behind him, a door slid quietly into place. "Bengali!" Pumyra ineffectively hit the door with her fist. Though it explained why it seemed the corridors constantly changed. It was because they did.

* * *

In the engine room, Tug-Mug chuckled. "Loona has her moments, eh?"

"I suppose I can turn everything back on again. The ruse is over," said Psikaris.

"Probably should wait unteell Loona says so."

"Fine. Psikaris! Tug-Mug! Why isn't the power back on yet!?"

Tug-Mug shook his head. "How do you do that? The voices?"

The hybrid woman shrugged as the main lights came on, replacing the emergency back-ups. "It's a gift." Hitting a couple buttons she said, "Psychro, Chilla, you're on."

* * *

Pumyra readied a marble, hoping to destroy the door separating her and Bengali. She was startled by a deep chuckle behind her. She turned to see a tall, ice/psychic Lunatac cross. He smiled, flashing perfect teeth. "Hel-lo, Pumyra. Long time no see."

The puma narrowed her eyes. "Psychro. Don't you have a rock to go crawl under?"

"Aw, what? No kiss and make up?"

"No!"

He chuckled again. "No loss. Never was interested in Thunder-women anyway. Now put that marble down."

The Lunatac realized his mistake in wording when Pumyra started to toss the pellet at him. However, he caught his error in time, as well as the puma's hand in a blast of ice.

* * *

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."

Bengali stifled a growl and waited in the shadows. Chilla's footfalls were too light for him to pinpoint her position, and even her taunts echoed strangely off the walls.

If it was a game of cat-and-mouse the ice woman wanted, well, he'd show her who the cat was.

"Come out, little kitty."

She was right around the corner. Bengali ducked around, loosing a bolt from his hammer. Which crashed harmlessly into a wall. Beneath another intercom. Bengali cursed himself for falling for the same trick twice when he was hit with a blast of cold from behind.

Chilla walked past the newly-made ice sculpture and tapped the intercom control. "I didn't need your help, Psikaris."

"Well, excuse me for making your life easier."

* * *

Alluro decided that the time had come for a maniacal laugh. Mystan looked over in annoyance. "What is all the noise about?"

The hypnotist composed himself and dangled a vial filled with a faintly blue liquid between long fingers. "Your guess was right, Mystan. There is a chemical attached to psychic power. If we can synthesize it, we could in theory boost our powers."

"Mino. Good. Do it."

* * *

Lynx-O's ears pricked up at the sound of his cell door opening. Judging by the slight drop in the room's temperature, it was Chilla. The Lunatac spoke, "Here. I brought you some food."

The voice was female and while holding a hint of a rasp, was pleasant. Not Chilla. Odd. While there had been reports of new Lunatacs, all three were male. And just as bad as the original Lunatacs. "You aren't like the others."

There was slight pause, and judging by her slightly shy tone, he assumed she blushed. "No, I suppose not." Another pause, a few steps towards the door. "I'm not supposed to be here. Excuse me."

"Wait." Obligingly, the footsteps paused. "What about my friends?"

"They're fine. For now." The voice was uncomfortable, hinting at regret.

"You don't like what's happening."

Lynx-O heard her turn with an exasperated noise. "Look, last time I saw Thunderans, they had barely started basic metalwork. Now I'm told that you're our worst enemy on Third Earth, plus your level of technology is beyond ours. I've had to adjust to a lot over the last few months, okay?"

"I didn't mean to upset you." No answer. "Why must you fight us?"

"Because the demon-priest will seal us in lava if we don't. Don't try to trick me, Thundercat. I hate this situation, but my loyalties are to Luna and the yerin. I've been warned that even you are a warrior."

"Even you." "You felt sorry for me due to my blindness? My age?"

"Blindness can be worked around. Your age."

Sympathy from a Lunatac was surprising, especially since Luna herself was described to him as getting on in years. "Why?"

"Because we do not." Footsteps retreated, the cold left, and the door closed.

* * *

Knave listened without much interest to the two psychics batting theories past one another. Not because he wasn't interested, but because he couldn't follow it. Science was never his thing.

Mystan said, "It cannot be completely chemical-based."

Alluro replied, "Why not? Thought is merely electrical pulses. Emotion is chemical. Life itself is a mere chemistry experiment."

"It seems wrong."

"You are letting your feelings get in the way of evidence you can hold in your hands? You? Mystan, I thought you were more professional than that."

"But if it is a mere chemical that grants us our power, could not others develop them?"

"Perhaps temporarily."

"Cut to the chase, Alluro: Does it work?"

Alluro gave Knave a dirty look for his interruption. "It has not yet been tested."

"Well, why not?"

"Fool. It would be dangerous," said Mystan. "We need a test subject."

Knave rolled his eyes. "Hells, I'll do it."

"You are a fool..."

"No, wait." Alluro held up a hand to stop Mystan. He smiled. "Knave is correct. The formula must be tested on one we can... trust."

The ice cheetah smiled without humour. "And one you deem expendable. Do it anyway."

* * *

"Still no change." Mystan thumped the Psionic-O-Meter in annoyance. Vultureman never took back his ill-named machine from when Alluro had borrowed it about a month ago.

Alluro was less edgy. "Be patient. He is half ice Lunatac, and his blood circulates slowly. The formula should be all the way through his system, and hence to his brain, in about ten minutes. It has been four."

For his part, Knave was sprawled back in a chair, drumming his fingers in irritation. Since Alluro decided this formula would merely enhance existing psychic abilities, Knave was in no danger of spontaneously developing telekinesis and wreaking the hypnotist's lab. Knave wasn't too sure which abilities he even had. A sort of sixth sense like Cheetara's, but what good would that do?

"... And the effects would, of course, be temporary," Alluro continued. "The chemical would be used up after a certain amount of time, even if one's powers weren't used."

"Unfortunate," murmured Mystan.

"Stupid," said Knave.

"But a step in the right direction," Alluro finished. "There!" The green indicator line on Vultureman's device jumped a few notches. "Now try to do something, Knave."

Knave made a frustrated noise. "How the hell am I supposed to..." Suddenly he whirled, catching a glass beaker aimed at his head.

Mystan stood calm, composed, and smug. "Apparently your sixth sense is working better. Before, you'd have been hit."

"You conceited, intolerable..."

"Enough," said Alluro. "Perhaps another type of test is in order?"

The cheetah hybrid swung through the pipes and bars of what functioned as a combat training room. Great wheels and engines could re-arrange the pieces of metal, but it was usually set at random, a sort of giant jungle-gym. Knave was moving a bit more cautiously than usual. Knave was also blindfolded.

From the floor, Mystan and Alluro watched the performance with interest. Knave's heightened danger-sense led him easily through the obstacles. For his part, Alluro half-hoped that the hybrid would miss a jump and break his neck. On the other hand, he liked when his experiments worked. Occasionally he would glance at his stopwatch, or jot down a few notes on a clipboard.

About fifteen minutes later, Knave did miscalculate a distance, but ten feet from the floor he stopped. Mystan then let him gently to the floor.

Knave tore off the blindfold. "Damn you, Alluro! I could have been killed!"

The hypnotist rolled his eyes. "But you weren't." Taking a short pencil from where it had sat on his ear, he said, "That dosage lasts eighteen minutes and forty-six seconds on Knave."

"Picky, picky."

"Science is picky."

* * *

Cheetara awakened when she realized someone was undoing the straps that held her to the table. She tried to sit up, but a strong hand pushed her back down. "Not so fast," whispered her rescuer. "Rest a minute, then get up slowly."

The cheetah struggled to open her eyes. It was an ice Lunatac... no, an ice/psi cross woman who stood by her, shooting nervous looks at the lab door every so often. "Who... are you?" Cheetara asked weakly.

"In big trouble if I'm caught," the woman replied. "I can buy you about tem minutes if you work fast and ask no questions." She quickly explained the area of Skytomb that Pumyra, Bengali, and Lynx-O were trapped in. "Do you have all that? Are you ready?"

Her mind spinning, Cheetara managed, "I think so."

"Get up, then, and be ready to go." The Lunatac said, closing her eyes and assuming a look of total concentration. When she opened her eyes again, she looked Cheetara over carefully. Cheetara looked down. And gasped.

Her black-spotted tawny fur was replaced by blue skin, her usual clothes replaced by a white shirt and pants, a wide belt, and a black vest with boots. From what she could see, Cheetara was now the copy of the woman before her. Before she could say anything, the Lunatac told her, "Say nothing and none will detect you. Go now!"

* * *

Mystan left Alluro and Knave bickering in the combat training room and started towards the command centre to report to Luna. Just because he didn't like the Lunatac princess didn't mean he wouldn't play the part of a loyal second. Not until it ceased to suit him.

Sudden movement caused him to instinctively raise a telekinetic shield. Well that he did, for a marble exploded against it. Mystan extended the shield to block the hall. Within seconds, Pumyra, Bengali, and Lynx-O appeared, led by...

"Psikaris!" the telekinetic shouted. "What do you think you're doing, helping these Thundercats?"

"Oh, damn," muttered Psikaris.

In Cheetara's voice?

Suspicion forming in his mind, Mystan lowered the shield ( but the cats couldn't tell, the telekinetic shield was invisible ) and send a blast of energy at the Lunatac woman. The telekinetic field met with and disrupted another, causing Cheetara to look like herself again momentarily.

"Return to your cells and we may be lenient, Thundercats," Mystan ordered, again setting up his shield. A bolt from Bengali's hammer disrupted it. Mystan backed away a few steps as the cats advanced, before ducking down a side corridor. He wasn't a coward, but Mystan was very good at calculating odds.

* * *

Mystan's first stop was Alluro's lab. As suspected, he found Psikaris there. She was faced away from the door, clutching a metal table for support. Every line of her body showed the strain she felt holding another's shape at this distance for so long. She almost screamed when Mystan's gray hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "I know what you've been up to," he hissed.

"I can explain..."

"Don't bother," he snapped, letting her go. She sagged against a table for support, drained by her ordeal.

Alluro and Knave chose that moment to return to the lab. "Where's Cheetara?" demanded the ice cheetah. "And why's she here?" he asked, indicating Psikaris.

Before the woman could speak, Mystan slipped an arm around her shoulders and said, "She was coming to ask Alluro for the Lunattacker schematics. Apparently Cheetara had worked her way out of the straps, for when Psikaris passed the table, Cheetara suddenly got up and knocked her out." Steering the hybrid towards the door, he continued, "I will take her up to the med lab, to make sure she isn't too injured."

Outside the lab, Psikaris asked, "Why cover for me?"

"Only this once."

"Thanks anyway."

* * *

Days later, Alluro set down a beaker with a sigh. "At least we know how psychic power is generated."

Mystan looked up from his clipboard. Luna had demanded a full report. "And the chemical?"

"Is unsynthesizable."