The TV in the farmhouse living room plays an episode of Crognard the Barbarian, one that Michelangelo watches with no small amount of adoration. Leonardo, Donatello, Casey, Destiny, and Diaval stand in a staggered group around the coffee table in front of the fireplace. Raphael sits on the couch with April situated behind it.

A breaking news announcement interrupts Crognard while he's mid-sentence, earning the attention of the other teenagers in the room.

"Ever since the invasion that is known as the invasion of New York, humans want to know what is...going on," the usual news anchor announces, his expression dazed and unblinking. "Everything is...fine. No human is allowed in or out of the city until Kraang—" He goes cross-eyed for a second, then coughs and clears his throat. "Uh, the military," he corrects, "allows it. This is Carlos Kraang O'Brien Gambe."

Michelangelo leans closer to the screen as the newscast stops, stroking his chin. "Hmm, did the news guy seem a little Kraangy to you?" he asks.

Raphael smacks him with a comic book. "A little? What, are you on the pepperoni?"

April's nose wrinkles and she leans over the back of the couch, eyebrows knitting together. "The Kraang may have the rest of the world fooled, but not us," she says.

"Step one is storm the castle walls," Leonardo says. He steps aside and nods to Donatello. "Donnie?"

"It's not as heavily armoured as the Shellraiser, but it's more maneuverable, has more weapons, and gets better gas mileage," Donatello explains as he lays out a blueprint on the coffee table.

The others lean in, trying to get a peek at the plans. Casey takes one look at the vehicle designs and grins widely, throwing his arms around Destiny and Donatello's shoulders.

"Then let's stop jabbering and build this sucka!" he says, sticking his thumb up.

----------

At the close of long, hard hours of work, Donatello stands with his shell turned to their labour of love. He grins at his expectant friends and family. "The new and improved...Party Wagon!" he announces, sweeping aside and pointing at it rapidly.

The group admires their handiwork with "ooo's" and "aah's". The Party Wagon has a fresh coat of paint, new designs painted on the doors and roof, and of course it has a tricked out arsenal that includes a flame-throwing stuffed deer head that pops from the top of the van, stink bombs that can be launched from the tin roof spoiler catapult, and three soda canons on its doors.

"It's so awesome!" Raphael gawks.

"Alright, team. Let's do this!" Leonardo grins, sticking his hand up towards the group. Everyone joins him with a high-five.

----------

Packing up proves to be a lot more taxing than anyone expected, what with doing final cleanup and bringing what belongings they want to take with them outside and then packing them into the van. Casey hitches the Turtle Racer to the back of the Party Wagon, double-checking that everything loose is tied down. Michelangelo walks outside, placing his cooler down on the ground and flipping it open.

"Come on, Ice Cream Kitty. We're going home," he says.

Ice Cream Kitty meows up at him from her portable home and he pats her creamy head. Nearer to the barn, Donatello kneels next to Dr. Cluckingsworth and rests his elbow on his knee.

"Arrivederci, Dr. Cluckingsworth," he says as he hugs the intelligent chicken gently, her oversized head nuzzling against his cheek.

"You both sicken me," Raphael comments as he walks by. He looks to Leonardo and Destiny as they pack up their things. "You two as well."

Destiny flicks her tail in confusion and pushes her bangs from her eyes. "We weren't doing anything."

"Knowing Leo, he's thinking about something that'd sicken me," the red-masked turtle retorts.

Destiny's cheeks turn pink and she snatches up her Space Heroes backpack, throwing it into the wagon without making eye contact with the blue-masked turtle. Raphael smirks at Leonardo when her back is turned and Leonardo scowls at him in response.

April shuts the front door behind her, stepping off the porch and pivoting in place. She gazes up at the house, letting out a soft sigh. "Goodbye, old farmhouse."

Destiny walks around the back of the Party Wagon and looks out at the woods. Her ears flatten against her hair. "Goodbye, forest. I'll miss feeling like a real wolf."

There's a tap from the window next to her. Diaval sits on the other side, waving for her to come in and join him. She gives one last longing glance at the trees before turning and climbing into the vehicle, settling down next to Diaval. He gives her a side-eyed glance as she leans her chin against her knees.

"Y'okay?" he asks.

She nods. "Mmhmm."

That concludes the extent of their conversation. The turtles clamber into the back of the van and settle in as Casey and April take their positions up front. Michelangelo grins and flings his arms up in a victory pose.

"Hello, New York City!" he whoops.

The engine grinds a little before turning over and the van starts out on its journey, wheels crunching against the gravel and uneven dirt as it heads for the highway. Dr. Cluckingsworth lets out one more goodbye cluck and flaps her tiny wings, watching her friends disappear with sorrow in her little eyes.

----------

By the time the sun has sunken below the horizon, the Party Wagon has arrived on the last stretch of road leading into New York. Destiny wakes from her nap, having been sleeping against Diaval's shoulder in such a dead-to-the-world fashion that the boy occasionally checked her for a pulse. She wipes drool from her chin as covertly as she can as Diaval shifts his stiff shoulder. The turtles ignore the exchange as they scoot closer to the front window, peering out at the looming city.

"Alright, team," Leonardo says. "First, we track down Master Splinter, then we hunt for Karai and free the city."

The turtles' eyes glow white with intensity as the buildings get closer. Diaval's eyebrows lift slightly and his lips purse, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows. Destiny says nothing.

"So what's the plan, fearless leader? Ninja-y or allout attack?" Raphael asks, making karate chop gestures with his hands.

"Ninja-y. We park at the gate and sneak in. Then we split up and search for Master Splinter," Leonardo answers, rolling his shoulders.

"And my father," April adds.

"Karai..." Diaval mumbles.

"The citizens too," Destiny says. She fiddles with her fingers as her voice gets quieter. "The mutated ones...I mean."

Before anything else can be said on the matter, Casey slams on the brakes and the van skids to a stop, tires squealing. Giant searchlights switch on, bathing the vehicle in golden beams of light.

"Okay, not good," Donatello mumbles.

"Oh, man! They got us, dudes!" Michelangelo panics. He grabs Raphael's shoulders and starts shaking him. "The jig is up, homeslice!"

Raphael promptly grabs his little brother and claps a hand and some of his arm over the said turtle's mouth, reducing his noise to muffled shouts.

On the giant wall outside of New York, soldiers wait with their guns cocked. The mutants in the back duck down, Destiny dragging Diaval down by his collar, so that they're out of sight. One soldier leaves his station and marches towards the van, his face covered by a helmet, gas mask, and red goggles.

"Citizen! This is EPF quarantine sector 7B. Roll down your window," he orders curtly.

Casey obeys, resting his elbow on the empty space and flashing a gap-filled smile. The soldier, whose facial expression cannot be seen, still seems to glare at the teen through his mirrored goggles.

"Authorized personnel only. No one goes in or out of New York City," he reports.

"Casey, be polite," Destiny hisses from her hiding spot. Casey shows no indication that he heard her.

"Right, like he could be—" Raphael starts.

"Whatever you say, army dude," Casey says, still smiling.

Raphael pouts out his bottom lip and nods, looking surprised. "I stand corrected."

The soldier turns away and marches back to his post. The back of his neck has a blinking device on it, one that is distinctly Kraang-like. April gasps and taps Casey's arm while leaning back towards the window.

"You see that? It's a Kraang mind control device," she whispers, pointing as subtly as possible.

Destiny tenses, digging her nails into her legs as her pupils dilate, and Leonardo's hand shifts to brush her hand. She snatches his hand and grips it like it's a lifeline.

"I bet they all have them," April continues, glaring out at the soldiers.

"They're all controlled? Like...'Invasion of the Brain Suckers?'" Michelangelo whimpers, poking his head over the window ledge.

Raphael pulls him back down as he makes another weak squeaking noise. All the weapons along the wall power up simultaneously as Casey flips his hockey mask down, his dark eyes glinting with determination and slight excitement.

He steps on the gas and makes the car launch forwards. Everyone in the back of the van screams as they're thrown backwards. The soldiers start shooting, familiar purple Kraang bullets launching from their guns. Thankfully, their aim is about as good as a Kraang's.

"What are you doing, Casey?!" April demands, her voice getting slightly higher as she digs her fingers into the seats. "Stop!"

The van weaves back and forth on the road. Any bullet that hits it is proven ineffective, unable to pierce the upgraded transportation device. Casey drives straight for the gate and all the soldiers dive for cover as the van promptly rams through the blockade and screeches off down the debris-filled streets. The army keeps shooting behind them, but to no avail. The van is long gone.

They drive through the empty streets, the occasional newspaper drifting by and wrapping itself around a telephone pole. Raphael sticks his head through the window separating the front and the back of the van.

"What were you thinking, man? You got any brains behind that hockey mask?" he scolds, shoving his friend's head forwards briefly.

"I had no choice, Raph," Casey defends. "They were powering up their blasters."

"Um, guys? Where are all the people?" Donatello asks.

"You...you think the Kraang mutated everyone?" Michelangelo asks.

"No way, not possible," Leonardo says, shaking his head.

Destiny's lip twitches slightly. "I called it," she says to herself. She fist pumps and whispers, "Booyakasha..."

"I only sense a few hundred people left in the entire city," April murmurs, her eyes wide and her mouth twisted into a frown. "They're...gone. Millions of people...just gone!"

"One good thing. We haven't run into any Kraa—" Michelangelo starts.

The headlights of the van land on a familiar blue-skinned alien body. The vehicle skids to a stop yet again as Michelangelo groans and claps his hands over his head.

"Oh, no! Why did I have to open my big mouth?" he moans.

"It is the humans known as Casey Jones and April O'Neil," the lead Kraang says.

The aliens gathered around it starts shooting. Casey yanks the gear shift into reverse and swings the van around, only to be trapped by more enemies.

"Kraang! Eliminate for Kraang!"

"Man the defenses," Leonardo orders, shoving past Diaval and Destiny as he scrambles for his station.

"Readying soda cannons," Michelangelo calls as he finds his position.

"Loading breath mints," Donatello reports as he unwraps a tube of little white ovals.

He shoves the candies into a contraption fit with makeshift cannons and bottles of cola. The solution bubbles and fizzes. The doors swing open, Michelangelo and Donatello at the controls.

"Fire!" Michelangelo whoops.

They start firing the soda bottles, hitting the Kraang over and over again. One bottle smacks it in its brain face and it squeals in pain.

"It stings! It stings!"

"Bombapult locked and loaded," Raphael shouts.

"Launch!" Leonardo calls.

A fire extinguisher lookalike flies towards the Kraang droids after a quick pull of a lever, landing with a thud on the asphalt. The droids can hardly utter a groan before the bomb goes off with a loud farting sound, emitting a green gas. The Kraang immediately start gagging and falling over, clambering all at once as they cover their noses.

"You can smell it."

"That which is known as stinks."

"Peeyew."

"Time to go!" Casey calls.

He slams on the gas and the van launches forward, driving over empty Kraang consoles as it races away.

"Take a left," Donatello orders as they keep driving. "There's a secret entrance to the subway right here."

He presses a button on a remote, opening up a hatch and allowing the Party Wagon to disappear into the underground tunnels of New York.