This is an idea I came up with after looking at some fan fictions written by other authors in other archives. In it, I try to come up with some brotherly, and not-so-brotherly, moments between the comedians of ThunderCats, the Mutants, my favorite characters in the cartoon. The main characters will be Slithe, Monkian, Jackalman, and Vultureman, with an occasional appearance by Ratar-O. It'll also include the ThunderCats, the Lunataks, and Mumm-Ra, obviously, in some of the chapters, maybe many of them. Other, lesser characters might figure in it, too, and I may even include some OC's in some chapters. There will be some things from the real world included in these chapters, too, to add some color to the story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own ThunderCats. It's the property of Warner Bros.

Stolen Helmet

It was your typical sort of day in Castle Plun-Darr, like it usually was. At the time this little story begins, Slithe, the leader of the Mutants, was drinking some red wine and chowing down on a leg of lamb. He had to admit, the quality of the food in the place was getting better. Maybe it was due to that threat he had given their lizard cook, about sending him to be skinned alive by the Micrits, those tiny creatures that showed little mercy to those whom they deemed a threat to their society. The cook didn't want to get anywhere near those little critters, claiming that they once snuck into Castle Plun-Darr and stole all of his favorite silverware.

It was a nuisance, babysitting a lazy, cowardly cook, Slithe knew, but he also knew it served to have better food in the Castle than they normally did back in the days when Castle Plun-Darr was still pretty new.

Suddenly, Monkian stomped into the dining room, looking as angry as he normally got. Slithe sighed. This couldn't be good. Every time Monkian got mad, something got broken, and he had to crawl to Vultureman to have it fixed.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo! All right, Slithe! Where did you hide my lucky helmet?" Monkian demanded.

Slithe looked at him more closely. Monkian wasn't wearing his signature helmet that he usually wore.

"How should I know?" he said in an annoyed voice, "I'm busy eating and drinking some of the best food in Castle Plun-Darr right now, so how should I know where your bloody helmet is, yessss?"

"Hoo! Hoo! I know you did it, Slithe!" Monkian insisted, "You snitched it in the middle of the night and hid it so you would even the odds of me hitting my head and getting a headache just like the rest of you do when a ThunderCat thumps you! Hoo! Hoo!"

Slithe stared at the Ape Man as if he had a cuckoo bird coming out of his now exposed forehead. "Monkian," he said as patiently as he could, "I'm the leader of our Mutant group. I have to take charge when we face Mumm-Ra or the ThunderCats, or the Lunataks, as well. I don't have time or an excuse to take your stinking helmet and hide it somewhere. If anything, it's either under your bed, or you left it with your SkyCutter."

"Hoo, hoo. I don't think so, Slithe," said Monkian, crossing his arms, "It's been stolen."

"Oh, really?" said Slithe sarcastically, "Why would anyone want to steal it? That thing is worthless to everybody but you."

Monkian stared at him as if he wished he had X-ray vision so he could see through the Reptilian.

Slithe sighed again. "Fine, Monkian," he said, "You think I took it? Then search me. If you find it on me, then you can call me a thief, yessss?" He spread his arms and got into a frisking position.

Monkian looked at the slimy reptile in disgust and said, "You wouldn't be stupid enough to have it on you."

Slithe threw up his arms. "Fine, then," he said, "Why stop at accusing me? Why don't you accuse one of the other Mutants?"

Monkian looked thoughtful for a moment. "Vultureman does have shifty eyes. Then again, everything he does is shifty."

"Well, we can't argue with that, now, can we?" said Slithe, grinning at the mad Mutant. Suddenly, the door flew open again and Jackalman ran into the room. He looked distressed.

"Slithe! Slithe!" he said, "Did you just see what Vultureman did with a turkey? He zapped it with one of his contraptions, and it turned inside-out!"

Slithe leered at him in disgust and said, "No. I was eating, and then I was being grilled, yessss?"

"Oh, well, then I guess you should be glad you didn't see what happened to that turkey!" said Jackalman, "I might not have a good appetite for a long time now!"

"Hoo, hoo, hoo! Woo, woo! Where is it, Jackalman?" He stared Jackalman in the eyes.

Jackalman said, "Nyah! Where do you think it is, Monkian? It's spread out all over one corner of the floor in Vultureman's laboratory."

Monkian grabbed Jackalman by the shoulders. "I'm talking about my lucky helmet! The one that all Simian Mutants wear, to protect their heads from damage, right? Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

Jackalman looked surprised at that. "Oh, your helmet, that's it. Nyah! Ha! Ha! What makes you think I would do it? The only things I ever stole were a variety of weapons and treasure that the Mutants of Plun-Darr have always plundered, and that's part of our job as citizens of the galaxy."

"That's not entirely true, Jackalman," said Slithe warningly, "You stole my trusty axe when you made that foolish rebellion less than a year ago, yessss?"

"Hoo, hoo! Yes, and you also stole Vultureman's Flying Machine at the same time, woo, woo, woo!" Monkian reminded him.

Jackalman whimpered for a moment, but soon regained his bearings and said, "Nyah! Yeah, I did that, all right, but I was being foolish and reckless back then, thinking I had it in me to go it alone. I wouldn't steal Monkian's helmet, not even for a prank, okay?"

"Well, somebody did it, all right," said Monkian, "And it can't be me. I wouldn't steal my own helmet and place it somewhere where I can't find it! Woo, woo! Hoo!"

"Caw! Stranger things than that have happened than that with you as part of the Mutant team, Monkian," said Vultureman, entering the room at that moment. "Slithe! You'll want to see what I did with a wild turkey and my latest invention, the Inside-Out Juicer! I'll bet even the ThunderCats can't stand up to it! Cawww!"

"No thanks, Vultureman," said Slithe, "I think I've already lost my appetite just now, yessss?"

"Hoo, hoo! All right, it's your turn to be grilled, Vultureman!" said Monkian, rounding on the Avian Mutant.

"Caw! What's he talking about, Slithe?" said Vultureman, "I've seen Monkian make weird demands before, but now he seems to think we're all out to get him."

"Nyah! Maybe we will be, if he decides to go up in arms against all three of us over a stupid helmet," said Jackalman.

"It's not stupid, Jackalman!" roared Monkian, "It's lucky! It's something that all Monkians wear! I feel naked without it! And I intend to find out which of you stole it before the day is out!"

Slithe said snidely, "I don't suppose, Vultureman, that you've invented a rubber hose among all your junk? It would be useful to root out the fool who's causing all this quarreling."

"Caw! The only rubber hose I have, Slithe, is the fire hose we use to put out fires in Castle Plun-Darr!" protested Vultureman, "And you know we can't waste our precious water supply on an interrogation over a lost helmet!"

"That's it! Hoo, hoo, hoo! I'm going to get my Simian Shield! I'll torture all of you with its energy rays, until someone fesses up! How do you like that?" shouted hopping mad Monkian, and he ran to his quarters to get his shield weapon that he often wielded in combat.

While he was gone, the other Mutants argued over what to do about a situation like this.

"I say we use the hose, anyway," said Slithe, "That way, we can do some torturing of each other without any real pain or lasting damage, and this stupid argument can end, yessss?"

"Caw! I have a better idea about how we can find out who the crook is," said Vultureman, "I have a high tech lie detector in my lab. We can give each other a lie detector test."

"Nyah! Why don't we just do it the old-fashioned way, guys?" asked Jackalman. "Let's vote on the thief."

"Ridiculous!" said Slithe, "Plun-Darr is not a democracy, Jackalman. It's an anarchy. Have you forgotten that?"

Monkian re-entered the room at that moment, carrying his shield. But he didn't look as passionate about "torturing" his fellow Mutants as he had before. "Woo, woo. Just forget it, guys, no hard feelings," he said, "It's not that lucky, and I wear it mainly for decoration, okay? Now, why don't we all sit down for a nice, brotherly meal?"

Jackalman stared at him. "How can we do that?" he asked. "We're only brothers if we trust each other, and you don't trust us!"

"Well, I…I uh…" said Monkian, as if trying to form the words with difficulty.

"Caw! Spill it, Monkian!" said Vultureman. "Something's up! You're not the type of Mutant who normally has mood swings! Cawww!"

Monkian looked embarrassed. "Well, I, uh…I found my helmet. When I went back to my room to get my Simian Shield, I picked it up and…the helmet was behind my shield. I must have, uh, put it there when I went to bed last night. Hoo, hoo, hoo."

He looked around at the appalled faces of the other Mutants and said nervously, "Hoo, hoo! I guess it's kinda funny, right?"

Vultureman said bluntly, "No."

"You ridiculous fool!" yelled Slithe, "You made us all feel like thieves when we stole nothing of yours, and after you show so much commitment to making us look like bad guys, you crawl back in here and tell us you misplaced it after all! I don't know about the rest of you, but I've had enough of this fight! I'm gonna try to get my appetite back." He turned back to his meat and wine on the table.

Jackalman said, "I'll join you, Slithe. Despite the fate of that poor, ghastly turkey, I feel like sitting down and eating, too. Nyah!"

"And hard work makes a bird hungry, too," said Vultureman, "I'll go and see if the lizard cook has any carrion dishes to offer me." He went off to the kitchen.

"Hoo, hoo, and what about me?" asked Monkian hopefully, looking at the other Mutants' faces doubtfully. His fears were soon confirmed. Slithe looked at him balefully.

"Go out and catch your own, primate," he growled, "I don't let jerks have gourmet food after they nearly break up what brotherhood the Mutants of Plun-Darr still have. Take your precious helmet and shield with you, too. They'll probably protect you immensely, and I don't want to look at them for a while, anyway!"

And while the other Mutants settled down for a meal of red wine, lamb meat, and rabbit carrion, Monkian trudged outside to do his own hunting. He took off his helmet for a moment, gazed at it, and said, "This is all your fault!" Then he cast it into the moat. Immediately, he regretted it, as the crocodiles and alligators that swam in the moat took an interest in it. He panicked and tried to get it back, but the crocs and gators kept snapping at him, making it difficult for him to get it back.

"Hey, lucky helmet, I was just kidding! Please come back to me! Woo, woo, woo!"