On this particular night, a man stood on the rooftop looking out at the sky. Although to call him a man is not quite accurate. Yet, to call him a boy is definitely wrong. This male is at the fine line between childhood and adulthood. From the outside, he is physically built like a male adult. Genetics has given him a big, muscular body. He stands six feet, ten inches tall. His blonde locks blow in the slight breeze as his red, cat-like eyes search the night sky.

There sits within him a yearning that only increases with each passing day. He does not understand the feeling and sometimes thinks he is imagining it. But tonight, this male thought he could feel something calling him...something beckoning him beyond the reaches of the stars.

“There you are,” a tender voice calls out to him. An older female treads softly to his side and looks out at the night sky with him. There is no question that this person is an adult. She is over forty-years, but shows no signs of her age except for the few wrinkles around her eyes. She too has golden hair, with the traditional black spots of the cheetah clan.

“What are you doing out here so late, Kiros?”

The male sighed and hung his head on his palm, still looking out at the dark sky. “I don’t know. I thought something was calling me. But it has to be my imagination.”

Mara put her hand on his shoulder. “How long have you felt this?”

He turned to her and shrugged his massive shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess since I turned nineteen a few months ago.”

The woman sighed and looked away. “I was afraid of this. I knew this day was approaching soon.”

“You know then, what it is I’m feeling?” he asked excitedly.

“Yes, my son. We’ll have to go back to Thundera.”

She turned to leave, but he reached out and grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving. “Your birth planet! What is it that beckons me? Does it have something to do with your past?”

Mara stared right into her son’s eyes. “Yes. But enough questions for now. We need to prepare for the journey. When we get there, I will tell you everything you need to know. You will only get the proper training from my people.”

“Training? For what?”

“For your destiny,” she answered boldly.

*****

The spaceport on Thundera sat on the edge of the capital city. Usually, the building was filled with people coming in or leaving the planet. This particular morning, there were only a few people besides the employees within the place.

As they neared the entrance, Mara saw two ThunderCat guards standing by. She pulled her red hood farther over her face and tensed as the small line went by the officials. To her relief, the guards paid no attention to her or Kiros. They stood in a short line to have their papers checked. It would be another test that Mara would have to pass before she could get through security safely.

Kiros was the first to approach the clerk. She looked over his papers and muttered, “You weren’t born on New Thundera?”

“No,” he replied.

She shuffled through the rest of his papers and approved him instantly. He waited as his mother sought for approval to live on New Thundera.

On a whim, the clerk typed in Mara’s information at her console. She shook her head and looked back at the cheetah. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t approve you. Your name is not in our database.”

“I left almost twenty years ago. Maybe there was never a chance to put my name in the system,” she explained.

The clerk shook her head. “No. Twenty years ago, there were only a few Thunderians here. You would have been added for sure.”

“Try it again,” Mara remarked. “I’ve got to be in there. I’m one of the oldest cheetah clan members.”

The clerk sighed and went back to the console. While her attention was focused on the monitor, Mara pointed at the machine, a gold flash hitting the back of the terminal.

“What the...” the clerk cried out in exasperation. She beat on the monitor several times. “Oh geez. Not today.”

“Is there a problem?” Mara asked, hiding a smile.

“Our system is malfunctioning again.”

“Well, maybe that is why my name didn’t come up.”

The clerk nodded her head. “Probably so.” She stamped the papers and handed them back. “Enjoy your stay here on Thundera.”

Mara forced a smile back. Under her breath, she remarked, “I highly doubt that.” She walked to her son. “Let’s go, Kiros. We need to find a ride to the cheetah headquarters.”

“What was that all about?”

“Oh, they’re just having technical problems,” Mara commented.

As the two newcomers exited the building, the clerk made a call.

“Yeah?”

“The system has gone down...again.”

“I’ll be right there.”

A few minutes later, a ThunderCat entered the building. She strolled behind the counter and went to the clerk’s computer. “What happened this time?”

The clerk shrugged her shoulders and explained, “I don’t know. One minute, I was checking in a Thunderian cheetah. The next minute, the screen goes blank. Can it be another virus, WilyKit?”

“Hm, it doesn’t sound like a virus.” She ran her fingers through her red hair in frustration. Sitting down at the console, she punched in a few keys. “Crap! And I programmed this machine myself.”

She tried a few more things then shook her head. “This machine is dead. The power isn’t even getting to it. That’s strange, considering we haven’t had any electrical problems lately.” WilyKit turned to the clerk. “I’ll have to get you a new machine. This one is blown.”

“Okay,” she replied. “If I see any more red-cloaked people coming in this line, I’ll give you a holler before I approve them,” she joked to the ThunderCat.

WilyKit froze in the chair. The woman said, “Red-cloaked? Did you say it was a cheetah that you approved?”

The clerk answered, “Yeah, she was cheetah. About ten years older than you.”

The ThunderCat turned her attention to the clerk and frowned. It couldn’t be, could it? Not after all these years. “What was her name?”

“Mara something. It‘s funny that you should ask that...her name didn‘t show up in the database the first time I checked.”

*****

Within the control room at Cat’s Lair, Panthro and Tygra sat at the panels monitoring the activity on Thundera.

Leaning back in his chair, Panthro raised his arms and stretched. “Everything seems to be quiet. No sign of Mutants or the Lunatacs.”

“Or an uprising by the Thunderians,” Tygra muttered.

“Yeah,” the panther agreed. “If he doesn’t do something soon, there will be a revolt.”

*****

“I wish to speak with Carvel. Is he here?”

The female cheetah looked over the stranger closely. “What do you wish of him?”

Mara folded her arms and gave her a glaring look. “It is a private matter.”

The cheetah shook her head and sighed. “I am afraid that Carvel is not here.”

It was Kiros who asked, “Where is he? I demand to know!”

“Kiros! Show some respect!” Mara warned her son. She turned back to her fellow Thunderian. “Can you tell me where he is?”

“Carvel no longer lives,” she explained. “I am Candra, the new cheetah leader.”

Mara gasped at the news. She turned her head away to hide her emotions. “When did this happen?”

“You haven’t been here for a long time,” Candra pointed out. “Our leader passed away several years ago. Maybe I can help you,” she offered.

Mara fell into a chair next to the long, rectangular table. She folded her fingers together and rested her head on them. Her son came behind her and put a comforting hand on the small of her back. He whispered to her, only to have her shake her head.

“No, Kiros. We don’t have a choice.” Mara looked up at her elder. “During my time, it was the custom for the cheetah leader to pick his successor. Does this still hold true?”

Candra nodded her head. “Yes, with approval by the Lord of the ThunderCats.”

Again, Mara looked away. She gazed at her son who sat down next to her. “And is Lion-O still Lord?” she inquired while looking on Kiros.

“Yes,” Candra answered. “Please, tell me what it is you seek. Maybe I can be of service to you. Any cheetah can ask for my services. That is what I am here to do.”

Mara, once again, faced her new leader. “My son and I seek asylum here. I wish to live on Thundera once again.”

“Asylum? Do you know what you ask of me?”

“Of course. Full protection of us from everyone, including the ThunderCats.”

Candra shook her head. “I can’t agree to that! There has not been need for anyone to ask for such a request in all of Thundera’s new existence!”

“You must agree. You don’t know what it will mean for the cheetahs if you don’t agree! Please!” Mara pleaded, her eyes showing a slight look of fear.

“Before I agree to give you and Kiros asylum, I must ask you a few things,” Candra pointed out.

Mara nodded her head. “Yes, my leader. I understand. Ask anything.”

“Why do you need protection from the ThunderCats? Are you outlaws?”

“No, we are not outlaws! But I do not wish for the ThunderCats interference in Kiros’ training. If they knew I was here with Kiros, they would seek us out.”

“What brought you back?”

“Kiros has the gift. I wish for him to be taught by the elders.”

Candra gasped, putting her hand to her mouth. She dropped it and said, “The gift?” She turned to the boy. “Is this true?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Well, then of course! Your training will start immediately.”

“I also want him to be trained as a fighter,” Mara stated.

Candra began to protest. “But, if he truly has the gift, he won’t have to fight!”

“No, he needs to learn!” Mara argued. “In return for your agreement to protect us, I will help the elders train Kiros. I will also train your warriors to fight as I was trained. Together, Candra, we can build our clan to the status it once had before Thundera exploded.”

“How can you be so sure?” Candra asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

“Tell her, Kiros.” Mara instructed her son.

He smiled and stared at Candra. “I am going to request a chance at the anointment trials.”

The cheetah leader’s jaw dropped. She turned to Mara who was smiling proudly at her son. “My, the surprises don’t stop. Is there anything else I should know?”

Kiros replied, “No. There is nothing else to tell.”

“I didn’t think future Lords were allowed to know about the trials beforehand. Do you know that it is nearly impossible for any other to pass the trials, except the true heir? The telepathy/telekinetic gift won‘t be enough for you to pass.”

Mara straightened up and hid her shock from her son. He said, “I know this.”

“He will pass. I felt it was important to tell him about the trials beforehand. He will need to be prepared mentally and physically.” Mara stated confidently, but softly.

Candra stood up and turned her back to them as she thought quietly to herself. As she opened the door, she glanced back at them. “Then so be it. Everything that you request I will grant to you. I will place you in one of the empty houses near here. Kiros, if you do become the next Lord of the ThunderCats, then the cheetahs will once again be in power. That is something that I cannot pass up. I won’t risk the ThunderCats learning of your pursuits.”

She left them in the meeting room. Kiros immediately turned to his mother. “Are you sure that I will have enough time to train?”

“Of course I am sure. It only took Lord Lion-O six months to train. You have almost a year to complete the task.”

“How do you know that?”

She stood up and looked out the window. “That was common knowledge for those of us who returned to Thundera.”

“You are still hiding things from me, Mother. What else is there? What beckons me here? The closer we got to this strange planet, the stronger the pull. What is it?”

Mara remained quiet as she continued staring out the window.

“You must tell me. I need to know!”

“Yes, it is time.” She turned to her son. “It is the Sword of Omens that you feel.”

He gave her a quizzical look. “The Sword of Omens? What is that?”

“It is the weapon of the Lord of the ThunderCats. It holds the Eye of Thundera, the source of the ThunderCats’ power.”

“Why does it beckon me?”

Before Mara could answer, Candra re-entered the room. “I have found a place for you. If you will come with me, I will show it to you.”

“Let’s go, Kiros. You will have time to ask me questions later.”

He frowned and grunted. Picking up their suitcases, he followed his mother out of the room.

“The elders will meet with you tomorrow morning at sunrise. Will you be ready?”

“He will be ready,” Mara answered for her son.