A/N: This is the third of the unrelated stories in my Mutant Victory trilogy. It bears some resemblance to what happened in the episode, "Monkian's Bargain," because Monkian strikes another bargain with Mumm-Ra, similar to the last one, but this time, he has an ally in the form of a beautiful female Simian Mutant, who is a lot smarter than he is. The question is, does Mumm-Ra ensnare Monkian and his new girlfriend again? Or does the girlfriend double-cross Monkian? Or do Monkian and his mate live as happily ever after as a couple of villains are capable?

One more time: don't read if you adamantly prefer good guy victories, but do read if you're interested in seeing a Mutant triumph.

Disclaimer: I do not own ThunderCats at all; Rankin/Bass and Warner Bros. own it.

Monkian's Prime-Mate

ACT I

It was another quiet day on Third Earth. The Mutants wanted to know what sort of ideas to improve Third Earth the ThunderCats had thought of this time, and Monkian, the Simian Mutant, had set out on his SkyCutter to patrol the grounds outside Castle Plun-Darr.

Monkian still hoped for the day when he could be a powerful ruler like Mumm-Ra, and control Third Earth. But his last attempt to do that ended with an embarrassing failure. He had made a bargain with Mumm-Ra, which had resulted in becoming all-powerful with Power Spheres and ruling the northern section of Third Earth, while Monkian himself had to be a prisoner in Mumm-Ra's Pyramid for eternity. He thought he could pay any price Mumm-Ra would ask for, but he wasn't. It was only by giving up his power that he could gain his freedom again.

Monkian promised himself that he wouldn't make a mistake like that again, but sometimes, it was hard for a creature as simple-minded as him to watch out for scenarios where that could happen again anyway. But on this particular day, things were going to change, in a way he didn't expect they would.

As his SkyCutter flew through the Forest of Silence, it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Then, without warning, due to the silence of the forest, something big crashed on top of the trees and came to a stop halfway up from the ground. Surprised, Monkian landed his SkyCutter and used his monkey talents to climb the trees and swing up the branches, until he reached the metal object that had smashed through the trees.

It was an escape pod, and as Monkian examined it closer, it turned out to be a Mutant escape pod from a Mutant Mothership. He stared in stunned disbelief as the pod's engines began to shut down. He wondered who was inside the pod. It must have been a Mutant, but he didn't feel altogether comfortable adding another strange Mutant to Slithe's dysfunctional family of warriors from Plun-Darr, because he could add even more bickering and in-fighting than there had been for so long.

Then the hatch of the pod slowly opened. Monkian stepped back and readied his weapons. "Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo! Who's in there? I'm warning you, I've got a Monkey Shield! Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

"Did I just hear a Monkian speak to me out there?" a female voice spoke from inside the pod. "Because if I did, I think this is my lucky day!"

Monkian recoiled. A female Mutant was in there? He readied himself, and then a creature came out that Monkian thought was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

She was a Simian Mutant, like him. She had pale skin and white fur like his, though hers was a little bit thicker, and except for some typical feminine features, she looked quite a lot like Monkian. But her eyes were a bright green color, her chest slightly pronounced, and her arms and legs slightly more slender than Monkian's. She also didn't wear a helmet. But she did wear a red skirt, similar to his, and a bra-like top on her torso. Monkian felt like he had just met his lucky girl.

"Nice, uh...I mean, hoo, hoo, hoo! Where did you come from, if I may ask?" Monkian stammered.

The Simian lady smiled. "It's so good to see one of my own kind this far out in the galaxy! Woo, hoo, hoo! My name is Salena, and I'm a survivor among female Mutants. I was a passenger on a Mutant star liner, when Thunderian pirates attacked the ship and raided it, killing most of the crew and the captain. I don't know if anyone besides me survived. What's your name?"

"Hoo, hoo. I'm Monkian, leader of the Simian Mutants," Monkian replied.

Salena blinked. "Monkian?" she inquired, "Hoo, hoo, hoo. But all Simian Mutants are technically called Monkians. Who calls you that, and why?"

"Uh, almost everybody, allies and enemies alike, call me Monkian," said Monkian. "I was the leader of the Monkian military before becoming stranded on Third Earth with Slithe, Jackalman, and Vultureman."

She whistled. "Boy, you really do live in a community where people don't have their own personal names. Tell me, what's your real name? What did your mother and father call you?"

Monkian blushed. "Woo, hoo, hoo. I don't know if I could say that, Salena. Nobody's called me my real name for years."

"Aw, come on! Hoo, hoo!" Salena challenged him, "I'm not just going to call you 'Monkian.' What's your name? I wanna know who you really are."

Monkian thought about it for a moment. "Oh, all right, but don't gossip about this to everyone you meet here on Third Earth, all right?"

"My sweet lips are sealed. Woo, hoo, hoo!" Salena replied.

Monkian thought about this for a second, too, before answering, "My original name is Addicus, Salena."

"Woo, woo. Addicus is a much better name for you than 'Monkian,' you know," Salena said.

"Uh, thanks, Salena," said Monkian, "So, would you like to come back to Castle Plun-Darr and meet the other Mutants?"

"Actually, Addicus," she said, "I had something in mind, something I wanted to try if I ever met another one of my kind. But first, I need to know: what do you and your comrades do here on Third Earth? And why do you do it? What's in it for you?"

"Oh, well," said Monkian, trying to figure out where to start, "As warriors and plunderers of Plun-Darr, we generally plunder and gather wealth wherever we can, and wreak havoc across the planet, and we fight our enemies, the ThunderCats, relentlessly, in order to gain, or destroy, the Eye of Thundera, the source of the ThunderCats' powers, embedded in the Sword of Omens." Suddenly, he realized that he had said too much about the Mutants' vile affairs, and feared that Salena was going to tell him off. But instead she grinned at him and said:

"I like that. Hoo, hoo, hoo! Makes it sound like you and your comrades are rough and tough go-getters. I wish I could've been here to see some of your fights."

"Well, hoo, hoo, you'd probably become disappointed quickly," said Monkian, "Because we Mutants have been failing constantly. We can never defeat the ThunderCats."

"Oh, no Mutant is perfect!" she replied, "Mutantkind has had plenty of failures with achieving our ends for a very long time. But tell me, hoo, hoo, is there anything else you've wished for, besides wealth? How about power? Mutants crave power. It's in their blood."

"Woo, hoo, hoo, hoo! Of course I've longed for power, Salena!" said Monkian, "But the one time I was able to get personal power, it was from a demon priest who tricked me into paying him the price of losing my freedom to walk all over Third Earth. After I defeated the ThunderCats and got the Sword of Omens for Mumm-Ra, he trapped me in his Pyramid in a cell that I couldn't escape!"

"Mumm-Ra?" said Salena, "I've heard of him! He's that scoundrel mummy that transforms into a much bigger guy that can fight enemies with immense powers, and fly, am I right?"

"Hoo, hoo! Yes, that's him, all right," said Monkian. "Since then, I've always been limited to my natural talents as a monkey in order to plunder Third Earth."

"Well, I'll tell you what. I like you, Addicus," said Salena, "And I think that you need a helping hand in ruling Third Earth."

Monkian looked very interested in her apparent scheming. "Hoo, hoo, hoo! You mean, you can help me achieve the power I need to be Lord of Third Earth?"

"Oh yes," she said, and as she continued to speak, Monkian became intrigued by more than just her lovely appearance. "But first, we need to dispose of Mumm-Ra, the 'Ever-Living,' and then usurp his role as Third Earth's Lord."

And as she continued to lay out her plan, Monkian could tell that this partnership was going to be very rewarding.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo! Mumm-Ra! Mumm-Ra!" Monkian shouted as he and Salena were permitted entry into the Black Pyramid. "We need to talk to you, Mumm-Ra!"

The sarcophagus opened up slowly, and Mumm-Ra, dressed in his mummy wrappings and red cloak and hood, came out of it, shuffling towards the cauldron.

"Monkian," he said as they entered, "What could you possibly want now? You know that you and your friends are incompetent minions who don't know how to learn from your mistakes."

"Woo! Hoo! Hoo! That's simply not true, Mumm-Ra!" Salena said. "Addicus here knows how to use power, and so do I, and we intend to get some from you!"

"Who is this interloper, Monkian?" Mumm-Ra demanded, "And why does she call you 'Addicus?'"

"Hoo, hoo, hoo! That's my name, Mumm-Ra, my real name!" said Monkian, "And this is-"

"A friend from Plun-Darr," Salena finished for him, "I landed here very recently. Addicus and I have a bargain with each other. We are competing for who can do a better job of defeating your enemies, the ThunderCats, and ruling Third Earth, but the thing is, we need power for that. And Addicus tells me that you are a most magnificent source for power on this planet."

Mumm-Ra looked at her and laughed inwardly. "She must be as naive as Monkian when it comes to the price of receiving power from me. Well, why not deceive her, too? Then I'll have two more prisoners to taunt for eternity, and I can show the world exactly how stupid the Simian Mutants really are. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"That is right," he said aloud, "I do have immense and infinite power, and it is given to me by the Ancient Spirits of Evil." He gestured to the four animal statues that surrounded the cauldron, the boar, the crocodile, the ox, and the vulture. "And yes, I can give it to you, but you must remember, power comes with a price, and you must pay it when the time comes to claim it, if you are to use this power."

"What's the price, Mumm-Ra?" inquired Salena.

"He, he, he! If I told you that right now, you wouldn't be worthy of the power now, would you? You could double-cross me if I give it away now! Haven't you told her, Monkian, about what happened during our last bargain?" Mumm-Ra enunciated.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo! Yes, I have, Mumm-Ra," confirmed Monkian, "And that's why she wants to take full responsibility for the price, so that I don't have to. Hoo, hoo!"

Mumm-Ra almost couldn't believe what he had just heard. A selfless Mutant? There must be more to it than this. No Mutant is generous enough to stick up for his or her fellow Mutants. But then, they were dumb Simians, and he was Mumm-Ra, the highly intelligent Ever-Living. He would ensnare both of them, as well as the ThunderCats, with his own scheme. After all, Monkian seems to like this 'selfless' Mutant, almost personally, what with the way he keeps looking at her, and he'll want to free her after I trap her here, and then I can trap him just as easily, too!

"Very well," he said cleverly, "You may both have these. They are the same weapons Monkian used last time, Spheres of Power, but this time, they have more abilities, and those abilities are enhanced to a stronger level. You should be able to beat the ThunderCats with them in little time."

Monkian and Salena took the Spheres and shared them between each other. "Hoo, hoo, hoo. Do these Spheres include the power to match the natural talents of the Cats, Mumm-Ra? Like Tygra's invisibility, Cheetara's top speed, and Panthro's muscle, for example?" asked Monkian.

"Hoo, hoo. Yes, that's very important if we're going to win this one," agreed Salena.

"Indeed, they do," said Mumm-Ra, "And they can still transform into weapons, as well. You will see just how good they are when you put them to use. Now, leave my Pyramid, and go do what you came to do. I must rest and regain my strength for Lion-O's latest guest appearance in the Pyramid."

Monkian and Salena bowed, and Mumm-Ra returned to his sarcophagus to sleep again. The Simians were teleported outside.

Once out there, they shared a conspiratorial grin.

"Woo, woo!" said Monkian, "He didn't guess that we'll be putting talents like the invisibility and the super speed to good use when he tries to trap us! Woo, woo, woo!"

"Hoo, hoo! I told you he wouldn't," Salena replied, "Even geniuses like Mumm-Ra get arrogant and overconfident sometimes. He thinks all Simian Mutants have sub-par intelligence, but I already have him partially outwitted. Between your strength, my brains, and both of our monkey agility, we have this jinxed already."

"Look out, Mumm-Ra! Look out, ThunderCats! Here we come! Woo! Woo! Woo!" Monkian exclaimed.

"No more monkey chatter for now," said Salena, "Let's have some fun sacking the ThunderCats and their lair!"

And with that, they were off to Cat's Lair. She's smart too, thought Monkian. So unlike me. With her by my side, I can never fail!

END OF ACT I