A gruff voice came over the speaker. “I hear you.”

“Sir, the Mutant space ship is headed back this way. Do I give them permission to re-enter Cat’s Lair if they ask?”

“Yes, I’ll be there to meet them. Panthro out.”

The panther cursed and turned off the monitor. He turned back to the Thundertank’s engine and muttered, “I never thought I would see the day where I would let the Mutants come into the lair...on purpose!” He threw down his rag and closed the hood. Then, Panthro went through a side door and waited outside until the Mutant ship landed before him.

With a loud thud, the door flew open. Stairs opened from the doorway to the ground below. A few seconds later, Monkian emerged and yelled at Panthro. “Where’s Lion-O?”

“He left already, Mutant.” Panthro replied through clenched teeth. “What do you want?”

Monkian hooted and shouted, “What is the big idea about having a ThunderCat spy on us?”

Panthro gave Monkian a quizzical look and folded his arms. “No ThunderCat is spying on you.”

“Don’t lie to me, Panthro! I saw her! What did you do, have her fake her death and blame us, only to have her watch our activities? Spying could be considered an act of war!”

The old ThunderCat put his arms out and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mutant!”

Getting angry, Monkian hooted again. He clenched one fist and pointed his finger at Panthro. “You ThunderCats think you’re so smart! Did you not think I would recognize her?”

“Who are you talking about?” Panthro shouted, growing frustrated at Monkian’s babbling. He slapped the Mutant’s hand away from him. “And don’t point at me!”

“Cheetara!” Monkian spat out. “She wasn’t in her uniform, but I would know her from anywhere!”

Panthro’s jaw dropped at the mention of the name. He began shaking his head. “No, Monkian. You have to be mistaken.”

He pointed at the panther again. “It’s no mistake,” he hissed. “I saw her at the cheetah headquarters.”

Panthro shook his head again. “You must have seen some other female cheetah. Cheetara is dead! You should know. You Mutants killed her!”

“You want to bet, Panthro! Come with me. I’ll show you her!”

The panther looked upward. He did not think Mutants could be so stupid. But Monkian was obviously upset. It was a situation that needed to be diffused and quickly. “Fine, but I’ll follow you in the Thundertank,” he answered.

“Good.” Monkian turned and re-entered his ship. The stairs were pulled up and the door was sealed shut.

Panthro walked back to the Thundercat and turned on his communicator. “Panthro to Cat’s Lair.”

“Cat’s Lair here.”

“I have to go with the Mutants to the cheetah headquarters. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Roger.”

“Panthro out.” The panther leaped into the tank and started its engines. He grinned as the familiar roar of the vehicle came to life again. He drove out of the garage and directed it to cheetah headquarters.

*****

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Mara closed her eyes and turned away from the hurt look in her son’s face. “I didn’t know how to without bringing up these memories. I wasn’t ready to think on them again.” She gazed back at her son with glistening eyes. “Please don’t be mad at me. I couldn’t bear it. It was you that saved my life. If you shut me out now, I won’t have anything.”

Kiros sighed heavily and leaned his head on his hands. “I’m not mad. It’s just a lot to take in.”

The cheetah put a hand on her son’s arm. “I know, and I understand. If you have any questions, I will answer them.”

“I have one. Why didn’t you return to Thundera when you escaped from the Mutant prison?”

Mara frowned and leaned back in her chair. She turned her back to Kiros and quietly remarked, “Of all the questions you could have asked, that is probably the most difficult one to answer.”

She closed her eyes and let the past memories into the front recesses of her mind. “I wasn’t the only ThunderCat captured on that terrible day. Two others were imprisoned with me, as well as several Thunderians. We were all put in separate cells, but we could communicate with each other through the small window in our doors. After we had been there a few days, I heard the Mutant guards coming down the hall. They were opening the doors, letting us go. I was so relieved.”

Mara sighed and turned back around to her son. “At least I thought that was what was happening. When the noises died down, dread filled me once again. I called out to the ThunderCats and Thunderians. No one answered me.”

“Were they killed?” Kiros asked quietly.

She shook her head. “No. They were not killed. One of the ThunderCats mentally contacted me. He told me that they were all aboard a ThunderCat ship and were waiting on me. A few seconds later, I heard the ship take off.”

“They left you...in the prison?”

“Yes,” Mara replied. She wiped off the stray tears from her face.

“Why would they do that?” he asked, a hint of anger laced in his voice.

The cheetah stood up and went to the window. “I don’t know how he did it without causing a fight, but I know why he did it.”

She ignored all outside stimuli. It was as if Mara was talking to herself, lost in the memory. “There was probably a political reason behind it. Yes, it had to have been. Otherwise, the others wouldn’t have supported it. Would they?”

A hand on her shoulder woke her. Mara looked at Kiros and commented, “Your father left me there because I was a cheetah. I was not good enough to have a permanent relationship with him. He was too much of a coward to tell me personally. That’s why he left me there. It was an easy out for him. That is when my perception of Lion-O died.”

The cheetah’s heart hardened again. She stood straight up and swallowed her emotions. “I didn’t return to Thundera, because I wasn’t welcome.”

At that moment, the door to the war room came open. Candra rushed in and commented, “The Thundertank is headed this way! You better get out of here!”

Mara turned to her son. “You leave, Kiros. I’m going to stay. I want some questions answered.”

“No, Mother! If you’re staying, then I’m staying too!”

She folded her arms and stared sternly at her son. “No! I don’t want them to know about you, not yet! You get out of here. I’ll be okay. I can handle this myself.”

“But...”

“No buts. Just go. Don’t worry about me. You leave while you can.”

Candra nodded her head in agreement. “Come on, Kiros.”

After only a few seconds of hesitation, Kiros agreed. He followed Candra out of the building to safety.

A few minutes later, Monkian ran into the war room with Panthro on his heels. He pointed at Mara and shouted, “See? I told you it was Cheetara!”

Panthro gasped as Cheetara smiled weakly at him. “Hi, Panthro.”

*****

“Cheetara? Is it really you?”

“Yep, it’s me.” She got up and embraced him.

Monkian interrupted the moment by stating, “Spy! I knew it!”

Panthro growled, grabbed Monkian, and threw him against the wall. “She is not a spy! You very well know that. You and the other Mutants will pay for lying to us about her death!”

The Mutant’s eyes widened as Panthro spat out, “What is this? Some sort of excuse to start a war with us? I knew never to trust a mutant,” the last word said in disgust.

“Panthro, let him go.”

The panther dropped Monkian and turned back to Cheetara. She explained, “It’s not a trap. I faked my death so that I could escape.” She then focused on Monkian. “And I’m not a spy. I’m not a ThunderCat. I haven’t been one in twenty years, and I’m definitely not going to start now!”

Monkian stood up and began backing out of the room. “You haven’t heard the last of this. I’ll be back!” He hooted and left.

“Stupid mutant,” Panthro muttered. He then looked at Cheetara as she sat back down. “I can’t believe I’m standing here looking at you. You’ve got to come with me to Cat’s Lair! Everyone will love seeing you again, especially a certain lion.”

“I’m not going back to Cat’s Lair.” She sighed and said, “Sit down, Panthro. I have questions for you too.” The panther sat down beside her and waited for her to speak. “I’m not welcomed at the lair.”

“What? Of course you are, Cheetara. Who wouldn’t want to see you?”

The cheetah let the question fall unanswered. “I don’t want to be a ThunderCat anymore.”

Panthro stared at her in surprise. “But why? I thought you loved being a ThunderCat.”

“Things change. I can’t return. There is a reason why I was left in the Mutant prison.”

Panthro shook his head in confusion. “I don’t understand. What does the Mutants breaking their promise have to do with you?”

Cheetara turned away. “Is that what you were told?”

“That is not what I was told. That is what happened. Lion-O agreed to release the Mutants prisoners here on Thundera, if they would release their prisoners on Plun-Darr. Those bastards wouldn’t release you because we had one less prisoner than they did. They wanted an even trade.” Panthro pounded the table in anger.

She smirked and looked back at him. “Did it ever cross your mind why I was left? You and Tygra were there with me. Why didn’t you or he get left behind? Why was it me?!”

“I don’t know, Cheetara. But I have wished many times that it was me who had gotten left, not you.” Panthro put his hand over hers. “That’s the past though. You can’t change it.”

The former ThunderCat sat up and pulled her hand away. “I know that Panthro. I’m not mad at you or Tygra. But you never questioned why I was chosen to stay, have you?”

“No,” he answered.

Cheetara sighed and leaned on her hand. “I was left deliberately, Panthro.”

“No, you were not. We would not abandon you purposely.” he replied.

“I know you wouldn’t, but Lion-O would.”

Panthro’s jaw dropped again for the second time. “What?” He questioned her quietly feeling an anger building inside him. “That can’t be true.”

“It is true.”

“No, no, no. You’re wrong, Cheetara. You don’t know what he’s gone through, especially when we thought you were dead. He was a mess the first few years. Then he spent all of his free time looking for you or finding concrete evidence of your death. By Jaga, he’s on Plun-Darr now looking for you! All this time, he never believed that you were truly dead!”

“Then let his guilt continue to weigh him with this responsibility!” She snarled, pushed back her chair, and stood up.

Panthro did the same, grabbing onto her arm as she walked by.

“Let go of me!”

“No, Cheetara. If what you say is true, you need to tell me what he would leave you.”

“It’s none of your business,” she remarked.

The panther sighed and released her. “Then at least come with me and talk to him about it.”

Cheetara shook her head. “I will not. I can’t. There are other matters I need to attend to.”

“Then at least come and visit the others while Lion-O is away.”

She refused again. “How are the others?”

“They’re fine. Pumyra and Ben-gali were married. They have two kids. WilyKat is married too. He has a child. WilyKit...”

Cheetara turned to him. “What? What happened to her?”

“Her husband died a few years ago. From a hereditary disease. No children.”

“I feel bad for her.”

“Then go tell her.”

“No, Panthro. I can’t go back. What about the others?” She inquired sitting back down.

He sat down and replied, “Snarf and Lynx-O have passed away. Everyone else is the same, including me and Tygra.”

“You didn’t mention anything about Lion-O’s family,” she murmured, running a finger along the table’s edge.

“He doesn’t have a family, Cheetara. He spends all of his time looking for you. It is eating away at him.”

“Then there is no clear heir?” she asked, sitting up again.

Panthro shook his head. “No, there isn’t. If Lion-O doesn’t have a son soon, everyone will be vying for a chance to the position. We’ve had to cool more than one uprising that was started because of this already. Don‘t you see how important it is that you return? I’m sure you and Lion-O can work out your problems.”

“I’m not the one with the problem. He is. Why don’t you ask him about it, if you’re so concerned?” She shouted, standing up again.

“Cheetara! I don’t want to fight with you. I just ask that you think about coming home, where you belong. If you don’t, I’m afraid Lion-O will drag you there against your will.”

She gasped and pleaded, “You can’t tell him about me, Panthro! It is important that he doesn’t know!”

“You can’t expect me to keep this from him. He would kill me! Besides, it goes against the code. I won’t break it.”

Cheetara sat down beside him again and took his hands in hers. “Please, Panthro. Don’t tell him. Don’t tell anyone. Just give me three months to finish some stuff. Then I’ll make my presence know. Please?”

Panthro sighed and smiled. “Okay, Cheetara. I’ll give you three months, but that is all! If you don’t return after that time, I’ll tell Lion-O everything.”

“Thank you! You don’t know what this means to me.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I’ve got to go.”

“Three months!” Panthro reminded her as she left the room. He wondered if agreeing to her request was such a good idea.