Thank you for reading!
This little recollection blossomed into a little work of narration and I'm proud. Also the battery was rated until December of 2025 and she came in today! That battery has served a long life and outlived even its projected life span. Very neat!!

I know not of their life, but I can gleam his compassion and thoughtfulness. I know their marriage was inspiring, because I myself look up to this mystery gentleman who cared just a little bit more than most and grabbed the energy kings of the mid 2010's for his wife's computer mouse.

I can only think of this battery as a testament to their love. These titanous power cylinders are rated for 10 years. I like to believe the husband knew this and wanted to make sure his Wife's mouse never died in the span of his life, and maybe had some juice for after.

I point her to the battery rack and she soon checks out and goes home. I tell her to have a great day and she lights up, "Thanks for all your help!" "Absolutely!"

But she wavers. "That old battery was placed there by my late husband... It makes sense why he got those for me." She left shortly.

"Yeah sure!" She exclaimed after I gave a brief overview of the rarity. I talked about how powerful they are and the special feature they house. Now the king was in loving hands.

As I press the grey button atop the POWERCHECK bar, no light comes. What a shame I thought. Makes sense why she came in.

"Now I only need batteries and not a new mouse, like I thought" the lady continues.

A thought crosses my mind, "What will she do with that battery? Most likely trash it... That's a shame. Would it be weird to ask for it? I kind of want it." Being brave I ask about the ruby and copper hued dragon.

I pop the cover back on and Voilà. The aged husk beams a brilliantly familiar green dot where the palm of the user resides.

"It works! The battery was indeed the issue" I say while the once powerful king rests in the loving hands of the lady. "Thank you. Well that makes my life easier" she exhales.

"Oh good!" The lady beams as she hands the plastic rock to me.

I quickly turn it around and check the golden jewel. The incredible Quantum beast still lurks. With as much attentiveness but not as much care as Indiana Jones, I usurp the throne with a blatantly cheap metallic gold shined lesser.

It doesn't matter however, I only need one. I gut the dark grey plastic of half its resources and walk greedily to the lady, knowing I have the cure.

She has patiently waited and is happy to see me arrive. "I found one!" I cheerfully state and reach out my hand to receive the grey patient.

Arriving and grasping, I spin that sucker with ease and slide the bottom panel out, but what I find is odd.

Two batteries?? In one mouse? It has never felt heavy enough to deserve it. And it's relatively new. The standard two battery arrangement has been extinct since wireless went low power.

"Where would a loose battery be?" I racked my brain. "The Tech Bench? Maybe in the drawers there... Wait why not just take one from a mouse we're not using?"

Swiftly walking to the Print Counter, I spot my target. A lone Logitech M705 paired to a computer not of the Middle Ages. Perfect.

A proud and obnoxiously 25 year out of date beige Toshiba behemoth greets me. Its greasy finger worn IBM keyboard still better than anything we sell, and a faded tan perfectly square LCD panel that actually has touchscreen begs to move past the login screen.

I ignore it for now and find no battery.

"Do you have any spare batteries we could test the mouse with?" The lady decreed. "I think so. Let me grab one for you." I responded in a chipper tone. Mostly happy just to keep this Quantum particle in one place.

I rushed to the front POS counter.

I recalled @techconnectify.bsky.social 's video on these and was instantly enamored. Could the POWERCHECK feature still work today?

Pushing aside my thoughts, I let the lady know my diagnosis. She agreed that the mouse is old enough that this could happen. She then suggested a brilliant idea!

Yes, I found the legendary Duracell Quantum resting calmly so snuggled in its natural plastic home. I immediately knew of its age and could assume the battery most likely was the issue. As when titans fall, they leave a path.

I stood there in shock. It's been easily 7 years since I've seen one.

Looking for any dust or debris, I couldn't find a trace! The optical sensor was spotless and the power switch moved effortlessly.

I pressed on and lifted the bottom cover of the aging pointer and discovered something immaculate, and mostly extinct! And best of all in incredible condition.

As I was mentioning that there weren't any sales on them this week, she was curious as to why hers stopped working and quickly asked if I thought it was a battery issue.

I concurred that batteries could be a problem and asked to see the mouse.

She handled it to me and I flipped it to the bottom.

The rubber on the poor mouse indicated its age as it was halfway through shedding itself.

I asked the lady what I could do to assist and she spoke of needing a new mouse because this one simply stopped responding.

I led her to the mouse section and we talked briefly about how costly they've become

Happy birthday!! Your pixel art is amazingggg :)