“I am the righteous hand of God!” he said,” and I am the devil you forgot” she yelled

(Sure. When you thinking?)

(Hmm… how long were you wanting Daya to be in the hospital?)

(Alright. You want to do it then? Maybe she gets out and wants to immediately check on her necklace?)

(Alright, no worries)

Malcolm had finished his repair and appraisal of Daya’s necklace a few days ago. He had only put the one nanobot-infested gem on there, but he didn’t need much. Though, he wasn’t sure who would be getting the necklace, considering how much Daya seemed to want to get the necklace away. But, it was whatever.

Meanwhile, he had made more progress on his other work. He now had a bigger bot programmed to specifically target Maximus if he came in again. It would only take a word to make the bot attack, and Malcolm didn’t care if he had to use it or not.

Malcolm was checking the jewelry in the display cases when Daya walked in. He shut the display case and stood, noticing her bruises. However, he didn’t react, not even making an effort to act like he cared.

“Indeed. You are Daya, if memory serves. The one who brought in the elaborate necklace. I’ve finished my appraisal, and I even repaired it. But, I’m still a bit uncertain what you plan to do with it,”Malcolm replied, moving to stand at his usual spot at the counter.

Malcolm hummed.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you so adamant about getting rid of it? And, I have encountered your brother, so I understand that part,”he asked.

Malcolm inclined his head a bit.

“That’s not much of an answer. There is many, many different kinds of trouble. What’s so interesting about this necklace?”he asked.

Malcolm’s eyebrow rose.

“A great power at a great cost? You’ll have to be more specific than that,”he said, not impressed by her explanation.

Malcolm didn’t move for a moment, contemplating if he should trust her, but he eventually decided to do so anyway. It would clear up a few things if something actually happened.

Malcolm went into the back room and gently grabbed, bringing it out to Daya. He then waited.

(Diadem?)

Malcolm watched, intrigued but still not really convinced.

“So, is this a gimmick, or is that necklace laced with drugs? Excuse my lack of belief, or don’t, I don’t care, but I’m a man of science, pure and simple,”Malcolm questioned.

(I can’t help asking, but have you seen the tv show Moon Knight? Daya becoming an incarnation of Ra just seems too familiar, lol)

Malcolm snorted, then snapped his fingers. The nanobots hiding in one of the gemstones on the necklace emerged and started to inspect Daya.

It was a bold move, but he figured Daya wouldn’t have shown him this ‘power’ without a reason. So, why not return the favor? He needed some excitement before he finished his main project.

(It’s a good show if you ever get a chance to watch it. It’s a Marvel thing, but it’s absolutely hilarious, and focuses on Ancient Egyptian mythology, grin)

Malcolm watched patiently, a small sadistic gleam in his real eye at seeing her squirm. The nanobots examined her entire body, particularly her wings and diadem. They signaled to Malcolm that everything was indeed real, and not a gimmick, then returned to their gemstone hideaway.

“Explain more about this… ‘form’ of yours,”he requested, leaning against the counter with a bit more interest than before.

“Okay. Then, why give it up? Normalcy is just as shitty as uniqueness,”Malcolm wondered.

He was also starting to wonder if the necklace had far more use than he’d previously thought.