khajidont | MoM IC Contact

[Oh Jaime, there's so much material there and you can't even see it. Ask him how he found a mustard bottle as big as he is.]

Just the usual stuff, [Wally calls up to him.] People swear they saw a lady in the window, lights on when the power's been out for years, strange noises, blah blah blah. Everything that can be explained if someone would just go inside and take a look around.

Well, it's not as if they've got anyone native to this place born with superpowers, so I guess it'd make sense that they don't have any magic either. I'm really more of a science guy.

[Which is not to say he doesn't believe in magic - he has had too many run-ins with magic to count, and he hates it. Magic's just more of Traci's territory, is all. She'd be able to tell them what's up in a second.]

[THIS GUY DOESN'T]

It's not magic, and it's not a haunting. There's no such thing as ghosts, and magic is all either tricks or science we don't understand yet.

Dude, really? We go through all this, and magic's where you draw the line?

[Wally, you're weird.]

We even have a ghost here.

[Wally jabs a finger in Jaime's direction.] He does not count! There's something going on there, but he's not a ghost. It's probably some kind of astral projection or density shifting.

What do you mean he doesn't count? A ghost is still a ghost even if you call it astral projection. And it's definitely not density shifting when you can literally possess people. That's a ghosty thing.

['Ghosty thing'. Jaime's a man of science.]

[WALLY IS QUESTIONING THAT

YOU ARE NOT TRUE TO THE CULT OF SCIENCE, HEATHEN]

No, that's different because I don't mean woo-woo astral projection, I mean like using electromagnetic signals and audio manipulation- did you know that if there are subtle vibrations in the air, you can unsettle someone to the point of them hallucinating ghosts? This is fact, there's been published studies. It's called infrasound. You hit a frequency below 20 Hz just right, and people get that feeling of dread, start seeing or feeling things that aren't actually there. Throw in a little brainwashing and bam, you've got a possession.

[It should be difficult to look so skeptical with his eyes covered by smooth lenses and without any eyebrows to emote with, but somehow, Jaime seems to manage it.]

Dude, I have a supercomputer in my spine. I smell electricity and see signals. Also, not brainwashing - brainwashing's when it makes you think it's your idea, and you can actually fight the guy. It's got nothing to do with feeling things or thinking you've seen a ghost; every single person who got possessed by him had no idea what happened in the first place.

[Except him, but details.]

I mean, don't get me wrong, I think this place you wanna dig through is a phony, but that guy was definitely a ghost.

I'll give you "currently unexplained phenomenon" and that's it. [Sticking to his guns here. The boy is stubborn.]

...wait a second, a computer on your spine? Are you talking about your armor?

[Unexplained phenomenon you mean magic, Wally.]

Oh. Yeah, did I never mention that? It's why the armour comes outta my skin.

[NO HE DOES NOT]

Um no, you conveniently forgot to mention that. Doesn't it hurt? I just thought that was how your powers worked!

Oh. Whoops. Okay, so: I have an AI in my spine. Surprise? [He hums in thought.] And it used to hurt, but it doesn't really anymore.

[He doesn't stand around dry heaving anymore when he suits up. He's pretty happy about that!]

It just looks super gross and that's about it.

Dude, what the heck. You're okay with having that thing stuck on you?

Well, yeah. I mean, it was this whole thing when it first happened, but now I'm as cool with it as you are with your powers. Which I'm assuming you're totally cool with.

[Because super speed is cool, and why wouldn't anyone be cool with that?]

[Which he is.] Wait a second- Wait a minute! So all those times you've been talking to yourself, were you talking to the AI?!

Yes? Wait - man, did you think I was just crazy? Why didn't you ask earlier?

[Jaime is not nearly as subtle as he thinks he is, and he doesn't think he's all that subtle. Robin, he ain't.]

Why the heck would I ask?! If you catch a guy whispering angrily to himself like he's talking to someone, do you assume he's nuts or do you assume he has an AI fused onto his spine that can speak to him telepathically?! You don't just ask a crazy guy if he's crazy!

Because everyone asks! Not everyone believes me, but everyone asks.

[Or... they don't ask and go on believing he's crazy while he marches on in happy obliviousness.]

Or at least ask if they're your friend and not just some random guy on the street.

I thought you'd volunteer that kind of information! I wasn't gonna go, "Hey so, noticed you're pretty schizophrenic! That's so interesting, I wrote a paper on that in seventh grade." Who does that?!

Literally everyone does that, seriously. It seemed weird to just spontaneously go like, hey, there's a computer in my brain --

Faulty use of the word 'literally'.

--I know what the word literally means, it's just a saying.

[Because hell, if Wally knows now, why hold back at all?]

See, this is what I'm talking about. All day long. [He holds one hand up and flaps his fingers together miming out the Scarab's incessant chatter.]

Wow. Sounds like a real nagger. [Wally is just. Okay, well, he's not schizophrenic. Don't have to dance around that anymore, that's good.] You can't tune it out somehow?

Well --

[Jaime stops short, brow furrowing.]

Never thought of that. I probably could, but even if I figured that out, I wouldn't.

[It sounds like an awful thing to do. Khaji Da is sentient, but his sentience can only be recognized by the one person who can hear him: Jaime. They bicker back and forth as often as they help each other, but he never wants the Scarab to actually stop talking. He would miss it.]

'Cause you...like arguing with the computer that fused itself to your spine and put you in terrible pain -at first- and keeps talking and talking in your ear all day long. 'Kay. [Wally's not sure he'd be of the same opinion if he were in Jaime's position, but Jaime seems ridiculously chill. He probably smokes pot.]

See, now you're just making it sound bad.

[It is kind of bad.]

It's alive, I'm not gonna muzzle it, and I'm cool with it. Just... roll with it.

[The Scarab is, for once, silent, but that mostly means it's in agreement with Jaime.

(And sorry Wally, but Jaime's so straight edge it hurts. Good luck getting him to touch a beer!)]

Hey, y'know what, whatever you say. It's your spine. [Wally waves him off and digs in his heels in front of an old, rickety gate. The path beyond is choked with weeds, the lawn nearly knee-high and the dilapidated two-story house in shambles.

KF opens the gate and it creaks ominously.] Oooh, authentic.

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