Living With Turtles (TMNT 2012 Fanfic)

Chapter 40: Memory Machine

Creeping through the shadows, the turtles, Abby, Sam, and Dalilah hurried to reach their destination. Abby led the way, with Sam by her side. She knew the way to Kenzie's apartment by heart, and Sam had been there to pick up Kayla enough times to figure out the route. It was a bit more tedious when they had to stay out of sight, but they made it to Kenzie's home nonetheless.

Sam, with a hat over her ears and her fox tail tucked down her pant leg, walked with Dalilah to get in Kenzie's room. They normally would've called up to Kenzie's room through the intercom so she could unlock the door that led upstairs, but no one was in the apartment, so that was out of the question. Instead, Sam used the key Kenzie had left in the lair's guest room to unlock the door manually. Once the two girls made it inside Kenzie's room, they opened the window so the turtles could climb in from the fire escape outside.

They were in search of the machine Kenzie used, years ago, to erase Sarah's memory of being captured by the Kraang. It had belonged to her dad's friend, Leo had reminded them when they discussed it at the lair, so it might not even be at her house. Even so, they didn't know who the friend was, or where he lived, so they decided to look around Kenzie's home just in case.

"She may have kept it, for an emergency," Abby pointed out. "If Sarah needed those memories back, she would have to reverse the effects of the machine."

"I'm fascinated to figure out how it works," Donnie commented. "I'm also suspicious of this 'friend.' Don't you think a memory machine would be all over the news? What if he worked for the Kraang?"

"It's possible," Leo agreed. "But we can focus on that later. Right now, we need to see if Kenzie has the machine."

The group of seven split off, covering each room. The apartment wasn't very big, but it was large enough to hold a kitchen, two bedrooms, a living room, and a bathroom. The kitchen was tiny, and attached to the living room. A short hallway led to the bedrooms, one being Kenzie's and the other, her parents. Leo, Mikey, and Sam searched the kitchen and living room while Abby and Dalilah headed for Kenzie's room. Raph and Donnie wandered around everywhere, looking for potential hiding spots.

Dalilah spotted something as soon as she entered Kenzie's bedroom. Her nightstand drawer was open slightly, and something that looked like a large TV remote sat inside. Abby's mouth curled upward in a grin as she, too, spotted the contraption, which was likely just what they were looking for.

"Kenzie isn't very good at hiding stuff, is she?" Abby laughed to no one in particular. She and Dalilah swiftly made their way over to the desk, pulling out the "remote." It was similar in design to a TV remote, but it was wider and longer, had one button, and an antenna sticking out the top. A small screen and keypad seemed to allow you to set a date, and even a time, presumably so you could specify exactly what memories you wanted erased.

"Guys! We found it!" Dalilah called. In moments, everyone was in the room. "I guess she did keep in for an emergency."

"Look," Sam spoke up as she examined the remote. "There's a switch on the side!"

She was right. What looked to be an on-off switch was actually a remember-forget switch. It was set to erase memories at the moment, but with one flick, it could give those memories back.

"This thing looks simultaneously too advanced for a human and exactly the kind of style a human would use. It's too casual for Kraang tech," Donnie observed. "I would test it out, but if it doesn't work, there could be disastrous effects."

"Maybe we can try it with one of Shredder's minions, to make them forget we were there," Sam suggested.

"Or, we could just try it with or friends. They have no memories to loose," Raph pointed out, his voice teetering on the line between speaking and growling towards the end.