Polar Opposites

Chapter 11: Battlefield

"Cora?"

Cora stood up and opened her eyes, turning around as Leo walked in. She jumped down from the rafters where she had fallen asleep making bombs and landed next to Leo.

"You look different." She noted, taking in how he was wearing white and no longer leaning on a crutch. He looked badasss.

"I came to a realization back in the woods during our spiritual mission." He told her, stepping closer. "It's time to go back to New York."

Her eyes lit up in surprise, but she nodded.

"Well if you're going, I'm going." She said.

Leo grinned and held out his hand. Cora grabbed it and her bag before walking with him back to the farmhouse, where everyone was running around getting ready to go.

Cora had a lot of time to think with the turtles gone. She might have been a criminal once and she wasn't able to save her mother from the Garrisons, in fact, quite the opposite, but she was determined to do her part now.

She would not fail again.

Everyone paused as Cora and Leo walked forward, clearly seeing the fire in their eyes as they approached the vechicles.

"Did I miss something?" April asked, staring at their intertwined fingers.

"Yeah, Mikey is the ultimate matchmaker." Mikey told her smugly.

Raph shrugged and went back to work.

Cora and Leo let go, climbing into the new Shellraiser. She pulled out her computer and linked back up to the New York traffic cams as they started to drive.

"Here's the plan. First we track down Master Splinter, then we hunt for Karai and free the city." Leo instructed.

"The Kraang have the military set up all around the city. If we're going in, we'll have to break through one of the checkpoints." Cora informed them.

"How do we manage that?" Casey asked.

April frowned. "Well they're being controlled by the Kraang. We could make them think we are too."

Casey pulled up to the barrier and a spotlight was shone down on them. The turtles and Cora ducked to make sure they weren't seen.

A soldier walked up to the window and Casey smiled at him.

"This is EPF quarantined sector 7B, roll down your window." He ordered.

Casey rolled it down.

"Authorized personnel only. No one goes in or out of-"

The guy suddenly paused and then turned around, walking away.

"Wait, what just happened?" April asked.

"The mind-control device is being Cora-controlled." Cora smirked, her fingers dancing across her keyboard.

"Wicked." Casey grinned as the doors went up for them.

They drove through and quickly went further into the city. The streets were eerily barren, despite it being midday. Signs of mutation were everywhere, the few trees along the sidewalk were purple and crystalline like those in Dimension X.

Nobody said a word, driving through the area quietly and staring at the desolate city. This had been their city to protect and they had failed it.

Leo glared into the streets, his eyes searching for a shadow, a glimpse of the man who had haunted his nightmares ever since he woke up from his coma. The man he could see when he closed his eyes.