Thundercats Fan Fiction ❯ Last Life ❯ Chapter Three: The Thundercats ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter Three: The Thundercats
Her eyes widened as she looked at the strange group of people, including the one who had saved her from falling. She was at a loss for words in the presence of these strangers. With her mind reeling and the adrenaline coursing through her body, Catrina just stared at them with Sammy clinging to her. She could see them now that the sun was starting to come up. They all seemed to resemble cats, only they were shaped like humans and the symbols they wore on their clothing. The familiar black cat with its mouth open against a red background.

“Who…who the hell are you people?” She asked. Her blue eyes went wide with confusion as Sammy slipped out of her arms. Her sister grabbed onto her side as she looked between the catlike warriors. They all seemed vaguely familiar but she could not place them with all the chaos that had been going on. Catrina felt her knees beginning to buckle.

Sammy tried to keep her sister up but failed as she found herself being taken down by her weight. “C-cat! Now’s not the time to faint!” Sammy knew that her sister would often faint from complete confusion, but this was the first time they had been attacked by alien space pirates or whatever those mutants were and lived to tell about it.

Seeing that his owner was about to faint, Kassim jumped off of the second story ledge and made the twenty foot fall before running over to Catrina’s side. He walked up behind her and eased himself onto the ground with Catrina resting against him.

Catrina gave Kassim a small smile. “T-thanks, Kassim.” She murmured softly into his fur.

Tygra had found himself stepping back at seeing the lion coming out of nowhere. His heart sank a bit at the girl before him not remembering him or anyone else. He cleared his throat, ready to speak when Lion-O beat him to the punch.

“You don’t remember us, do you?” The Lord of the Thundercats asked in slight confusion. He, too, felt a little down, but he suppressed the sadness in his tone as he asked that question.

With Sammy sitting beside her and Kassim supporting her, Catrina looked at everyone again. She felt a headache coming on, but she shook her head to clear it and at his question. “N-no, not really. I can’t actually remember my own life before this year to tell you the truth.” She replied, petting Kassim’s head as he licked at her shoulder.

The two youngest Thundercats both looked at each other before turning back to the scene before them. Tygra looked beyond upset, as did Lion-O and everyone else just seemed purely confused at her words. Wilykit looked away again, trying to hide her tears. It was very rare that a Thunderian would completely forget their heritage, life, or anything about themselves. The only possible explanation for Catrina, or Lina if she was Lina, not being able to remember anything is that she had forced herself to forget or she suffered a serious blow to the head.

Tygra knelt beside her. Worry graced his feline features, as he looked Catrina directly in the eyes. Her blue gaze locked with his red one. “We are the Thundercats. I am Tygra and the others are Lion-O, Panthro, Cheetara, Wilykit and Wilykat, Bengali, Pumyra, and Lynx-O.” He said gently, pointing at everyone in turn. He frowned again at seeing the strained look on his former student’s face. He watched her screw her eyes up in concentration, obviously trying to remember them or anything about herself.

Catrina just shook her head again. “I’m sorry, I still can’t remember. Those names sound familiar but…” She sighed and leaned back against Kassim and closed her eyes. “All I have are these weird dreams and even then I don’t know if they are memories or just dreams.”

Sammy gently tugged her sister’s sleeve to get her attention. “Cat, remember that thing you were found in?” The eight year old asked quietly. Catrina looked over at Sammy out of curiosity.

“Thing?” Catrina echoed. Her mind was completely reeling with confusion now. All eyes turned to Sammy as the little girl stood up. Sammy grabbed her hand and pulled on it while doing the same to Tygra.

“Mama and papa found you a year ago in a space pod or something and when they brought you home, papa put it away in case something happens.” Sammy led Catrina and the Thundercats into the garage, where various tools littered in one corner of the room.

Panthro raised an eyebrow in slight interest as he noticed the pieces of technology littered on the workbench and table. “So, who’s the tech whiz?” He asked. Catrina frowned a bit as Sammy released her and Tygra to walk over to a nearby shelf.

“Dad’s the tech whiz. He works with computers and stuff and he likes tinkering with things.” Catrina replied as she reached up to turn on the light bulb that hung over head. She had to jump a few times before she was able to grab the string that tied into the base of the light bulb. Her eyes widened when she looked over at Sammy. Sammy had climbed up onto a pile of boxes and her foot was at the edge of one while she stood on her tippy toes to reach for some unknown object on the top shelf. “Sammy! Look out!”

It was already too late. The box under the girl had slipped off and Sammy started to fall backwards. Her brown curls of hair seemed to come undone from the ribbon she wore in her hair as her small hands reached out to grab onto something. Catrina tried to run over to catch her sister, but Wilykat had leapt off the railing of the stairs that he and Wilykit were sitting on and he caught her first.

Sammy blushed a bit as she looked up into the Thunderkitten’s eyes. Wilykat sighed in relief, relaxing a bit. “That was close.” He said more to himself than to anyone else in the room.

Catrina relaxed a bit, but she narrowed her eyes as she walked up to Wilykat and her sister. Her gaze was focused on the brunette in his arms. “Don’t ever do that again, Samantha! You know that you’re supposed to ask someone for help if you need something that’s out of your reach!”

Tears filled Sammy’s green eyes and she looked away, “I-I’m sorry, Catrina.” Her voice came out as a small whimper as she buried her face into Wilykat’s shoulder.

Catrina mentally cursed herself while putting a hand to her forehead. Everything that had happened was putting a big mental strain on her nerves. The cat girl took in a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to calm down before she opened her eyes again. She gently took Sammy from Wilykat and hugged her sister. “No, don’t be.” Catrina whispered while rubbing Sammy’s back.

“By the way, what were you trying to get, Sammy?” Catrina asked, feeling something between them. Her sister held up a small circular object that reminded Catrina of a communicator of some type. Like her pendent and the symbols that were on the Thundercats’ outfits, it had the same black cat against a red background, only the communicator was blinking red like her pendant. “Where…?”

“Papa was tinkering with it a few nights ago, and it came off of the clothes you wore when he first found you.” Sammy answered as she wiped her eyes. “For the first two months, all you talked about was Thundera and your friends.” The little girl then gently slipped herself out of her sister’s arms and walked over to another corner of the garage where a something big was hidden under a big dusty cloth. Sammy pulled off the cloth, causing the dust to fly up.

Catrina sneezed a few times, as did a few of the Thundercats before she was able to see what was hiding underneath a cloth. It was a solid metal space capsule with a glass window on it and it was about the size of an average sized man. Maybe a bit bigger.

Lion-O’s golden eyes widened in surprise at seeing the suspension capsule. He watched in silence as Panthro stepped forwards and grabbed the space pod with much ease. Panthro walked away from the group a bit and grunted slightly as he placed it on a nearby table. After looking it over for a bit, he finally turned his gaze to the others.

“This is definitely one of the Suspension Capsules from Jaga’s ship.” The grey-blue Thunderian said, after prying the said object open and looking inside of it.

“So, does it mean that she’s Lina?” Lion-O asked a second later. He turned his gaze to the Thundercat Technician with a hopeful and yet curious look that swam in his amber depths. His red mane-like hair followed his head’s movements as he studied the inquisitive look in his friend’s crimson gaze.

Panthro put a hand to his chin, going into thought at hearing Lion-O’s question. “I think that would be up to you and Tygra to decide since the two of you know her best, and Tygra is the one with the mental bond with her.”

Catrina frowned as the adult Thundercats all started talking amongst themselves about her while she, Sammy, and the Thunderkittens were left to stand there. She did not liked being talked about when she is just standing right there. “Ok, so even Thunderian adults do the same thing as human adults.” She said loudly, catching the attention of everyone in the room, “Talk about someone who’s standing right here and ignore the kids in the room, only to leave them to get into trouble. And then when they finally realized what the kids get into, they will get mad and rant about how kids are supposed to learn responsibility?” She twirled her finger in a circular motion as if to indicate something, “It’s an endless cycle of hypocrisy.”

Sammy’s eyes widened and she immediately grabbed onto her sister’s side. She did not want to any trouble to be started. Catrina was known for her bold and outgoing personality. At least to her, she was. “C-cat, it’s not nice to say stuff like that.” She whispered quietly at seeing Panthro giving her sister an annoyed look that was border-lining anger.

Catrina blinked and gave a nervous smile as she raised her hands in defense. The look she was getting from Panthro was one that all adults would often give to children when annoyed or when the children were in trouble. And right now, she could tell that she was in trouble. She blinked in confusion when she saw his lips curl into a smile and Panthro let out a small laugh.

“Only a student of Tygra would say something like that.” Panthro smiled and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “But I’d never figure you to have grown so bold, Lina.” The warrior laughed again.

Catrina just shook her head while scratching the back of it. “Um, it’s Catrina now, that is if  I am Lina.” She replied softly. She felt somewhat more relaxed knowing that some part of her knew that the Thundercats meant no harm to her, but Panthro was still intimidating with just his appearance alone. She then looked at Tygra in mild confusion and curiosity. “And…what’s this about a mental bond?”

Tygra felt his heart sink a bit lower at hearing Catrina say that as he began to answer her question. “Whenever a Thunderian is born, they are assigned a mentor, depending on what kind of powers they exhibit upon being born. I became your mentor when you were barely an hour old and we share a mental bond.” He explained.

His words just made Catrina raise an eyebrow and her curiosity melted into confusion and disbelief. “So, you can read my mind and I can read yours?” She guessed, tilting her head to the side. She just blinked silently while trying to lock onto this mental bond that Tygra and Panthro mentioned.

“No, we can just sense whenever the other’s in trouble and be able to find each other rather quickly. A lot of Thunderians have mentors.” Tygra now smiled at her, seeing that her gaze flickered with interest.

“Uh-huh, and am I a Thundercat then?” Catrina asked, her gaze flickering between Lion-O and Tygra now. Lion-O shifted uncomfortably on his feet for a second before looking straight back at her.

“Yes, you are. You’re a Thunderian and a Thundercat.” Lion-O answered resting his arms at his sides.

“Well, that’s enough for me, for now.” Catrina said nervously. She picked up Sammy and started for the door, “Time for us to get back to our lives because none of this is making sense.”

“Cat! It does to make sense!” Sammy replied as she hung upside down from her sister arms. She was lucky that she was wearing her pajama pants instead of a nightdress.

“No it doesn’t. We’re still dreaming and I need some coffee to wake me up.” Catrina carried Sammy into the kitchen now. “Either that, I need a good slap or a good pinch.”


Sammy reached up and pinched her sister’s arm with a giggle. “There, is that real enough for you?”

“You little…” Catrina shot her sister a playful glare before setting her onto her feet. The pinch did hurt though and falling from her second story bedroom with those Space Pirates swiping at her was real enough for her. She looked over when she heard some footsteps coming up the short set of steps from the garage. Cheetara had stepped in, along with Lynx-O, Pumyra, and Bengali.

“Catrina, is it? We were wondering if we can stay here for a few days?” Cheetara asked politely as she stepped into the kitchen first.

“Um, yea. I don’t see why not but don’t you all have to go back to…your home?” Catrina blinked in confusion at the woman’s question.

“Actually, the Feliner is still in its prototype stage and I need a day or two to make sure it’s in top condition before we actually go home.” Panthro said loudly as he, Lion-O, and Tygra emerged from the Garage.

“Well, then I guess you all can stay.” Catrina bit her lip nervously, but she cracked a smile as Wilykat’s stomach let out a hungry growl.

“My stomach’s starving! Do you have anything to eat?” The Thunderkitten asked with a faint blush as everyone seemed to laugh.

Catrina smiled with a nod. She quickly ushered everyone, save for Sammy and Kassim out of the kitchen so that she could cook. She then turned to her sister with a grin. “Well, Sammy, we have a lot of people to cook for, think they’ll like my omelettes?”

Sammy giggled and nodded as she got onto the stepladder beside her sister. “Of course they will. You’re a great cook, Cat.”

Catrina laughed a bit as the phone rang. She smiled more at seeing her sister’s face light up. Sammy squealed and quickly jumped off the stepping ladder to run over to the phone. “I’ll get it!”

“No, you will not!” Catrina yelled, racing over to answer the phone as well. Sammy beat her to the phone hanging on the wall and she picked up the receiver, but she handed it to Catrina with an innocent smile. She had been eagerly awaiting a phone call from their parents all week and this had to be them.

Catrina rolled her eyes at her sister blowing a silent raspberry at her while taking the phone from her. “Hello?” She asked, keeping her tone polite as Sammy held onto her arm while standing on her tippy toes to hear the conversation. The voice on the other line was soft and barely audible as it spoke. Catrina had to strain her ears just to hear the words that were being spoken.

“Is this the Maxwell residence?” The voice asked in a whispery tone. Sammy watched her sister’s lips curl into a slight frown, showing off the tip of her catlike fangs. She tilted her head to the side, allowing some loose strands of her hair to fall over to the other side of her face as the conversation continued. Kassim just curled up in his favorite spot next to the kitchen stove as he closed his eyes for a small catnap.

“Yes, might I ask who’s calling?” Catrina asked back, hiding the puzzlement in her tone. There was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and she did not like it. It made her feel slightly uneasy. She could tell that this was not just a friendly call. Her fingers tighten around the receiver as the woman’s voice hesitated before going on.

“This is the International Airlines, and I’m sorry about the news I’m going to tell you.” Catrina frowned more now. The uneasy feeling felt like a cold ice ball that was beginning to melt from being in the heat of the desert. She did not like where this conversation was headed.

“What news?” The thirteen year old felt her eyes beginning to water but she blinked them back as the soft voice spoke once more. Sammy frowned now too as she heard the confusion in her sister’s voice. She saw the one called Lynx-O coming in and taking a seat at the table. For someone so blind, he sure could get around so easily.

His whiskers or beard twitched with every slow breath he took. Lynx-O could tell that something was wrong. He had originally set out to ask for a glass of water, but seeing as how the girls were currently having a conversation on the primitive communicative technology, he knew he would have to wait. However, things did not sound good. He could sense the sadness creeping up on the older girl and practically hear her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

“The airplane that your parents were on was headed to New York when it had malfunctioned. The plane had simply stopped and…There were no survivors.” That was all Catrina had heard for she released the phone, letting it swing on the twisted and curly cord as the big ball of ice in the pit of her stomach had finally melted.

Sammy frowned more and she slowly reached out for Catrina’s arm. “Cat? What’s wrong?” She asked softly. The tears that flowed down her stepsibling’s slightly furry cheeks took the eight year old aback. “Catrina?” Sammy squeaked gently in a pleading tone. She did not like the sudden silence that her sister had slipped into. It was discomforting and uneasy to say the least.

Catrina just shook her head mutely before slamming the phone back onto its hook and running out of the house. She felt her entire body trembling now. She had not felt this kind of pain in her heart in a long time. At least not since she was little when her birth mother had died and that was a lifetime ago.

Hina: This chapter was also edited.