Gamble The Night Away

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity sat, staring ahead with intense blue eyes. Her leg was bouncing slightly from nerves and excitement. Her teeth were gnawing on her bottom lip, as they had been for the past few minutes. She cast a glance at the others around the table, all waiting for her to make her move. She looked back to her hand at the two cards that could make or break her night.

"Call," she said. The others at the table silently gasped. Serenity pushed all her chips in, an All-In, the all or nothing move in poker. Her opponent, the last person at the table besides herself, watched her from behind dark sunglasses. All of his chips were in as well. The tension in the table grew as both players laid out their cards.

"Ace of spades and King of clubs. Beat that, sweetheart," the man bragged. Serenity lost the nervous look and rolled her eyes. Her signature smirk spread on her lips at her cards were revealed.

"6 and 7 of diamonds."

The man tipped back his head and laughed. "Why thank you for your donation of money!"

"Don't laugh just yet. I can still win this."

And it was true. The dealer's cards were: the Ace of hearts, 8 of diamonds, 9 of diamonds and the King of spades. Serenity needed the 10 of diamonds to get a flush to beat her opponent and win $10,000.

The dealer looked between the two players, paused a moment for dramatic effect and flipped the top card in the deck over.

"YES!" Serenity cried as her card appeared. "Ha! Raven! I won!" She pulled the whole pot of chips to her, laughing as she did. The man across the table looked dumbstruck. Serenity stuck her tongue out at him. "Next time, don't underestimate me," she said in a sing-song voice, positively giddy. "Man, I love Vegas!"

[Rachel Roth]

Raven was a little bit tipsy. Not a lot. Just a little. That's why she was wearing sunglasses, really. The alcohol in her system made her super-sensitive, the lights in the room were just too bright without shades. And so, while Serenity gambled at the table behind her, Raven sat on a high-class bar stool in a high class bar, drinking a high class cocktail chosen at random from the menu.

It tasted like blueberries.

Raven liked blueberries.

She had been approached by several men at this point, but her demeanor of stifling concentration on her drink managed to drive all but the most persistent away. Those who remained were ignored with ease. She nursed her drink, happily ignoring the events of the past couple weeks. Perhaps Serenity was able to put all that behind her, but Raven was still thinking of the man who had once been Dr. Windsor. Though he had turned out to be a mutant, one undoubtedly evil, he had also been her doctor for weeks. She couldn't help but worry about what he might have taken from her body -- or put in. She was going to deal with it in the morning, but now, all she wanted to forget the mess her life was quickly becoming.

"YES!" The familiar voice crowed from behind Raven. "Ha! Raven! I won!" Raven slid off the bar stool, still holding her fancy drink with the little umbrella in it, and walked backwards to where Serenity stood singing her victory. Raven stopped right behind her, peering down at the cards and chips, even lifting her sunglasses for a moment to see with more clarity. "With a 10?" She asked, confused. "I thought you wanted the cards with the faces on them? How did you win?" Raven was still a little fuzzy on how Poker worked.

[Nathaniel Essex]

The sand in the hospital swirled and morphed, and in a matter of seconds became the vile Mr. Sinister once more. His eyes shot open, shining red in the darkness. His hands were clenched in fists as he stood alone, but then he opened his right hand and saw an abnormal dent in his palm. The villain was not disturbed by the sight, but actually rather pleased.

"So, you took the bait." He muttered to himself. "You cannot hide from me now, girl." The pale-skinned mutant chuckled darkly, and then casually walked right out the door. Before shutting the door he stopped and turned to face the tools on the metal tray. A syringe lifted off the surface and then rushed over to Essex. He grabbed the syringe with his left hand, grinning villainously, and then he placed it against his thigh. His leg rippled like water as it seemingly absorbed the syringe.

Mr. Sinister continued to the nearest window, which he then opened and flew out of using his telekinesis. ~I will find you, Raven.~[/color] He thought as he locked onto the sample of sand Dr. Roth had taken.
The dark blue and red clad figure soared over the city of Las Vegas, the many streamer-like pieces of his cape whipping about in the wind. After a couple moments he suddenly stopped, sensing his fragment was near. His smile broadened, becoming even more bone chilling than before as he lowered himself to the entrance of one of the many casinos.

"Hey buddy!" A security officer called out to him. "A little early for Halloween, isn't it?" The muscular man said, poking fun at Sinister's appearance, a mistake he wouldn't live very long to regret.
"I assure you, you simpleminded neanderthal, I do not wear these clothes in celebration of something as foolish as Halloween." Sinister replied as he turned to the man on his left. "They are a warning... One you should have heeded." As the mutant spoke the gem on his forehead began to glow, and then a red beam of energy shot from it and quickly burned a hole through the security officer's skull.

Nathaniel quickly morphed into his more normal human form, but this time he was wearing his red three-piece suit with a black shirt and tie. As he approached the doors he saw a bellhop standing there just staring at him with widened eyes. "You saw nothing." The villain stated as he took hold of the boy's head while passing him by. The young man shook violently as his memories were erased by the dozens, and then when Sinister released him he simply fell to his knees, drooling. "Ever."

It didn't take Mr. Sinister long to locate his targets, they weren't exactly the hardest pair to spot. Serenity was rowdy, and Raven was, well...holding a piece of his body, which made her easy to track. "Well, well... What do we have here? Disobeying doctor's orders are we, Rachel?" He said as he came up to the table, his dark blue eyes locked on the two superhumans. "That's not good. I think I may have to punish you." He added with a sickening grin, his eyes flashing red for no more than a second.

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity cheered again at her own luck, accepting a drink from a passing person. She downed it in one swig, enjoying the burn it left. She grinned hugely at Raven, with her shades and umbrella drink. "And you wanted to go back to the hospital," she teased. At her friend's question about her winnings, she looked back at the cards. "Yeah, it's called a flush. See? 6, 7, 8, 9, 10? All in a row! I beat his Aces! Haha, I won!" She let out another cheer as the dealer went about collecting her chips for her and placing them in a bag. "Cash those for me?" she asked the dealer. When the dealer didn't answer, she looked over at him. The man was staring at something behind her, his mouth open in surprise. A bit drunk off her winnings and the drink she downed, Serenity turned to see what he was looking at, right when she heard the voice.

A curse immediately left Serenity's lips and she backed off a few steps. Her eyes were wide with her mouth open a bit in shock. "But you were..." She couldn't even finish her words. For a moment, she wondered if she were hallucinating. It wasn't an unusual side effect of drinking, though she usually needed to be really wasted, not the few drinks she'd had so far. But from the way her arms were covered in goosebumps, not to mention the memories still in her head, she was pretty certain that it was really Mr. Sinister, grinning his hellish grin at them.

'Raven,'[/i] Serenity thought. 'Please tell me I'm seeing things.'[/i] The shadows around her moved and surrounded Mr. Sinister. She wasn't sure if she should capture him or not, seeing as how last time he broke out of it.[/color]

[Rachel Roth]

Raven squinted at the cards held up before her through her sunglasses. "Why is it called a... flush?" The girl took another sip of her cocktail, blinking blearily. More to herself than to her friend she mumbled into the cup "I still don't see how that's better than an ace..." She trailed off as the mood around her shifted suddenly. Thanks to her drink, she was slower to react than her friend, and turned like in slow motion to see the cause of the commotion. It also took her a moment longer to process what, and who, was before her. Serenity started to speak but trailed off, and Raven didn't blame her.

When he spoke to her, he called her Rachel. She didn't like that. And he was... solid... and that meant... Holding her glass away at arms length, she peered down to the small satchel that hung on her belt. The bag where, not too long ago, she had poured some sand into. She looked from the bag, to Mr. Sinister, then back at the bag, then back at Mr. Sinister. Slowly, her face morphed with disgust as she realized what must have replaced the sand. "There better not be anything recognizable in there." she droned, squinting distastefully at the bag, before looking back up at the man. "Seriously. Ew."

Serenity's message came through to her, but thanks to the alcohol, it was fuzzy and distorted. Looking at her friend confusedly, Raven mouthed "What?" to her. Then, when she registered Mr. Sinister's words to her, she turned that gaze to the villain. "Did you just...?" she started, confused. Then, "Was that...?" She stopped, shaking her head.

"You know what? This isn't working." She stated at large to the room. "I'm just going to go detox in the corner, mmm'kay? S., tell me when you've got him. We'll wrap him up and send him to Batman for Christmas." Then, turning blithely, she tossed down the rest of her drink and began walking purposefully away from the conflict. As she did, though, she sent out a massive emotional pulse to the rest of the room. Suddenly, all the casino's patrons felt an urgent need to get out of the building, go to their hotels, or other restaurants, or anywhere away from here. Raven, working off of gut instinct at this point, had pulled her shades back down and was sitting at the abandoned bar, eyes closed.

[Nathaniel Essex]

The look on Serenity's face was beautiful--so full of shock, and just the right amount of fear to make Dr. Essex feel a bit tingly inside. "But I was what, Serenity? Dead?" Mister Sinister laughed in a way that showed he had truly earned that name. "You're so simple, aren't you? Of course, what else could one expect from a mere thief?" Again he chuckled, but not as big as a moment ago. "Yes, I did see a thing or two while inside your mind."

By now the other one had noticed him, and was speaking. Her speech wasn't the clearest, and her mannerisms quickly told the red clad man she was drunk. He hadn't expected her to be intoxicated, but he chose to look at it as a bonus. Now he probably wouldn't have to fight her much in order to perform his experiment. The shadowmancer, however, did not seem to be in the same condition. No matter; he would wreck her mind easily now that Raven couldn't guard her. Then again... Why not have a little fun? Sure, he had plenty of samples from mutants like Serenity, but he had yet to really test one in combat. Plus, he was a little rusty when it came to truly striking terror into the hearts of his opponents--this could be good practice.

"There better not be anything recognizable in there."
"Don't worry, I'll be taking it back in a moment." He replied confidently.
The madman observed Raven closely, trying to determine just how drunk she really was. He got his answer when she foolishly turned her back to him and walked away. ~Did she just...?!~ Rage filled the villain, and an intense desire to show that girl just how stupid she was for carelessly walking away. Nobody turned their back to Mister Sinister and left unscathed. Nobody. She would soon find that out.

Essex narrowed his eyes in Rachel's direction, and then changed them back to their usual shining red. Suddenly the satchel snapped right off of Raven and soared at Sinister. He snatched it out of the air with his left hand, opened it with his telekinesis, and then sand gracefully streamed out of the bag over to his right palm, gradually turning into flesh. He closed his hand tightly for a couple seconds, and then opened it. He glanced down at the healed palm. "Good as new."

He let the satchel fall, and then started walking toward Raven, knowing her ally would undoubtedly get in his way. But, he was ready for her. The instant she tried to take hold of his shadow he would send a telepathic attack at her strong enough to disorient an average telepath; it would likely be more than enough to keep her from being able to concentrate on using her powers on Sinister.

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity glared at Mr. Sinister, laughing at her. Calling her simple and a mere thief. Her teeth ground together and she gripped her fists into balls. She hated when people degraded her, thought that she was stupid and weak. It was too much like her parents, her past, everything she had worked to escape. All these years, getting into fights and acting sarcastic and carefree - it was all to show how strong she was. But when someone came up and looked right through her act, it made her downright angry. With a mental command, the shadows moved and formed, coming together in her hands to form her shadow gun. Serenity pointed it at the red-eyed man before her, lips drawn in a line.

That is, until Raven turned away. Serenity blinked a couple of times in confusion before looking over at her friend, walking over to sit in a corner. Raven being drunk was funny enough in itself but the look on Mr. Sinister's face made Serenity crack a grin, shoulders shaking a bit from suppressed laughter. Even when drunk, Raven always knew what to say that made Serenity's head clear. She was still angry at Sinister but she was out of the blind rage she had been falling into. She kept the shadow gun aimed for the red-eyed doc and the grin fell into her usual smirk, confidence building.

The regular people in the casino all started moving at once, heading for doors and exits. Serenity figured it was something Raven did. She quickly stepped between Sinister and her friend, cutting him off from the beeline he was making. "Not so fast," she said. "It's not nice to attack someone while they're intoxicated. Unfair, and all that." Serenity knew that she was facing an opponent that was way outside of her strength range, but that never stopped her before. It just meant that she was going to have it give it all she had and probably a bit more. Quickly, she captured Mr. Sinister's shadow, knowing that it might not work, and started shooting at it, hoping to get as many shots as possible. If she could hurt him bad enough, give them enough of a head start, Serenity could get a portal open that would at least get them out of the casino. There was no way she was just going to let Sinister get his creepy hands on Raven.

[Rachel Roth]

Raven hadn't been lying when she said she was going to detox. She sat down on the bar-stool in the now deserted casino and entered a meditative state. Though she wasn't able to heal herself, she was very in tune with her body and used that now to fix it. Turning inwards, she started with her fingertips and very slowly began to draw the alcohol in her blood to one point. It was a slow process and required her entire attention and so the short girl set a couple mental booby traps in case there should be any environmental disturbances.

There were, or course, disturbances. She hardly noticed when the satchel was taken from her side, nor was she paying attention when the sand became flesh and Mr. Sinister approached her. Likewise, she didn't notice when Serenity stood between her and the villain, stretching out an attack. Protecting Raven.

Raven had cleared about half the alcohol out when her first booby trap was tipped off. She was vaguely aware of Serenity's shadow gun, and knew that there was something wrong. She wanted to shout out a warning, not to go for the man's personal shadow, but it was too late. Serenity captured it and aimed the gun, and the mutant man's counter attack sprang at her. It was a distortion field meant to unbalance and disable her friend. It crashed into Serenity a second before Raven's own attack went off, melting the shadows that had formed into objects and shapes.

A massive shock wave that burst from Raven's core and smashed through the rooms furnishings. Glass shattered while chairs and tables flew against walls, falling in splinters to the floor. The same force that exploded the windows out would knock anybody in the room back until they hit something stable. It wasn't perfect, it would hit both Serenity and Sinister, but that was how it worked. Raven's conciseness was still focused entirely on her detox and was unaware of what was going on around her. She was almost done, though.

[Nathaniel Essex]

Sinister could feel his mobility suddenly be hindered, and knew it had to be Serenity trying to take hold of his shadow. Thus, he unleashed his telepathic attack. However, there was some sort of interference he couldn't identify quick enough, and the next thing he knew things were being blown pieces.

He threw his left arm in front of his face to guard against debris, and slid his opposite foot back to keep himself stable. It was a strong force, but not enough send Mr. Sinister for a loop. It was, however, quite surprising. ~Could this be...the work of my target?~[/color] He thought to himself, his eyes moving in her direction for a moment. ~Sneaky girl.~ He said to himself, and then turned his gaze to Serenity once more. He lowered his arm after a short moment, and quickly healed whatever small wounds he had sustained.

"I wonder, shadowmancer, just how well do you aim while you're on the move?" His words dripped with as much wickedness as his name, and then suddenly the wild debris slowed and halted for a brief moment. "Let's find out." He said before thrusting his left palm at Serenity, causing the glass, wood, and so on to fly at the girl like rapid fire from a helicopter machine gun.

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity thought she was pretty prepared for the telepathic attack that was aimed at her. She'd mentally braced herself so to speak, vowing not to let her concentration slip. But then the attack actually hit her and her body actually moved back a few steps and her focus flew out the door. It didn't affect her like the memory attack back in the hospital but it definitely scrambled her thoughts. Even worse, there was this sort of horrid tugging sensation at the back of her mind, like something pulling for all its worth, like something trying to break free. 'Oh hell no. I did not just lock away my darker side and risk Raven's life and my sanity for this creep to mess everything up.' Serenity shook her head, forcing her thoughts to start making sense again and to stop being such a wimp against mental attacks.

But, of course, right when Serenity was able to stable herself, a blast hit the room and everything just seemed to go to hell. Glass flew everywhere and tables and chairs were in pieces. Serenity herself had been knocked forward by the blast, landing painfully on her hip because her hands hadn't come up fast enough. She lay on the floor, groaning slightly. She stared at her hands, where the shadows had seemingly melted away, taking her gun with it. What was that? Serenity looked to where Raven was and assumed it was the smaller girl because it sure hadn't come from Serenity and Sinister seemed to be feeling the effects of it, so she figured it wasn't from him. It was times like this that Serenity was really glad she was Raven's friend. The girl had managed to knock both her and Sinister around and Raven wasn't even paying attention to them.

Serenity looked at Sinister as he began speaking. When she noticed the glass and debris moving around, a few curses fell from her lips before she pushed herself to her feet, hip throbbing. Her eyes widened as the harmful things started firing at her like bullets and immediately, the shadows formed around her. Before she even realized what she was doing, Serenity had a portal formed and was jumping through it. It opened a few feet away, explaining why it formed as quickly as it did. Serenity rolled out and found herself standing behind Mr. Sinister. "How about you tell me how good my aim is?" The shadows from the portal condensed down into her gun and she took aim for his shadow's chest and fired multiple shots.

[Rachel Roth]

Raven was oblivious to the battle raging about her. Bit by bit, she was forcing the alcohol out of her system. However, it all had to go somewhere. Using a technique she had created and perfected after years of treating addicts, Raven held her hand open, palm up. Slowly, a bubble of something wet and gooey and slightly blue oozed through her skin, coming to hover over her hand. It was roughly the size of a bouncy ball and looked distinctly unpleasant. Finally, sober again, raven opened her eyes to the world around her, and she froze in shock.

Her memory got a little blurry once she started tasting the cocktails at the bar, but she was positive it hadn't been like this. Cursing herself for choosing now of all times to have gotten drunk, she looked around desperately trying to get a read on the situation. It was the man from before, and Serenity looked to be fighting him. Her friend stood between Raven and the false doctor, and Raven realized She's protecting me! The smashed furniture, the sound of alarms in the distance, it was all too much, and Raven wasn't sure how any of it had happened. She did notice, though, that the bag on her belt was gone, and her stomach twisted at the thought of how that had transpired.

All of a sudden, the battle in the room took a turn as a wave of debris froze in midair and turned itself at Serenity. Unfortunately, Raven was also in that line of fire. Crying out in surprise, she moved on instinct, launching herself into midair while simultaneously lobbing the ball of blueberry alcohol gel at Mr. Sinister. It was a perfect shot and splooshed over the villain's head and shoulders. At the same time, Raven saw Serenity dodge the same missile attack and shoot his shadow. She didn't know why or how he was here, but they had beaten him once and would do so again.

[Nathaniel Essex]

Sinister watched with delight as the girl scurried away like a cockroach running from a descending boot. He chuckled darkly, and then noticed the young woman vanish. The move was predictable, but he saw no need to avoid it. He merely turned about when Serenity's voice came from behind him, and stared her down as she fired. The shots rang out, the bullets hitting their mark, but nothing happened. He didn't flinch, or grunt, or even squint his eyes in pain. The bullets did hit, and he could feel the effects, but this was a creature who was used to getting shot by things far more powerful than puny bullets. "Is that all?" He asked with a sickening smirk.

~She rises.~[/color] Nathaniel thought to himself, sensing Raven launching an attack. He had been loosely monitoring her telepathically, so when the blue goo came his way he put up a tight telekinetic shield, making it appear as though it had hit its mark until a couple seconds later when it spewed away from him.
The villain spun half way around, his gaze locked on Raven, and his smile broadened a bit, making it that much more frightening. "I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of using your little friend for a bit of entertainment." He said to the pale-skinned woman. "Actually..." His head snapped to Serenity. "I wasn't quite done." He said as he aimed his left palm at her, and fired a red blast of concussive energy at her torso.

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity continued her shooting, despite the fact that Sinister looked as he wasn't affected at all. His little smirk actually made Serenity gnash her teeth together and shoot more. The shadows poured into her gun, creating more and more bullets in an attempt to injure the red-eyed man. She felt a tugging sensation in the back of her mind but ignored it. It wasn't anything she couldn't control.

Serenity noticed the Raven was functioning in a sober sort of way, so Serenity assumed that that meant the detox was complete. She breathed a silent sigh of relief. With Raven fighting as well, they had a much better chance of beating Sinister. Because her friend was up and going, Serenity stopped her shadow bullet barrage. She knew that she couldn't capture Sinister's shadow for very long but maybe... She hated using Ripped Shadow but sometimes, it was worth it.

Serenity took a deep breath and steadied her mind. As one of her more powerful moves, she needed complete concentration on her target. She made the shadows move, revealing only Sinister's against the ground. Her hands came together in a praying position as she readied herself. Serenity focused her blue eyes on the dark shape, filling her vision with nothing but that. She was so focused on his shadow that she didn't see the energy blast headed for her. Her gloved hands moved apart and she felt his shadow tear, but that was when the attack hit her. It cut through her gloves and jacket and Serenity flew backwards, crashing to the ground.

She lay there, mind groaning and body aching. She had landed on her side, adding a bruise to her already bruised hip. It was a few moments before she rolled to her stomach. Her arms, where the blast had hit, were red and raw and shaking. She worked to push herself to her feet. Serenity was finally able to stand, though she was definitely wobbling and she blinked to clear her vision. The shadows came together behind her. 'Now would be an excellent time to leave,'[/i] she thought to Raven as a portal started forming.[/color]

[Rachel Roth]

The satisfaction Raven had felt as the alcohol goo splashed over Sinister faded. He had pulled up a shield. It had been a juvenile attack, hardly meant to do lasting harm, but she couldn't help be annoyed. He wasn't even trying! He was toying with them! They were throwing everything they had - and by they, Raven recognized that this fight was mostly Serenity. Raven had used her soul self on him and he had recovered without any difficulties. The bullets that S. was pouring into his shadow were having no effect. She ground her teeth, indecision making her pause. The autopilot she had been running on was done now, and she was very aware of how rusty she was.

While she hovered there above the battle, looking back and fourth trying to do something, anything, Sinister blasted Serenity. Raven saw it building up, and maybe three years ago she could have done something, but now she only watched in horror as it tore through Serenity's own attack, throwing her back to land painfully among the debris. "S.!" Raven cried out, despite herself.

Throwing caution to the wind, she sped down to her friend. The healer could feel Serenity's wounds, and landed next to her, placing her arms around her to restrain her. "Yeah, I know." She answered telepathically. "Don't worry, I got this." Simultaneously, Raven threw up a massive shield, splitting the room in half. On one half was Raven, Serenity, and the growing porthole. On the other side was Sinister. The wall was opaque, distorting the view of the other side, but sound carried through it with ease.

"Why are you doing this?" Raven growled at the man, as much to stall as because she truly needed to know. There was no pretending anymore there was any coincidence where this man was connected.

[Nathaniel Essex]

Sinister paid no mind to Serenity's continuing fire, but then, just as he fired his own attack he felt something odd. He vaguely recalled an ability some shadowmancers possessed that allowed them to actually tear a target's shadow causing extreme pain. Nathaniel smirked at Serenity and laughed mockingly. "I think I felt a tingle, Serenity. That wasn't you actually trying to cause real damage, was it?" His words dripped with confidence, but he knew his regenerative powers would not be able to help him if she succeeded with that attack; he would feel the full might of a shadowmancer, and though he had probably been dealt more powerful blows before, he knew that at the very least he would be stunned for a fair amount of time.

His attention was turned back to Raven as she swooped down to aid her comrade. "How touching." Mister Sinister taunted. Suddenly, a giant barrier appeared, separating the room and putting the caped madman on the opposite side of the females. He examined the shield quickly, an expression of mild aggravation coming to his features. ~Cute.~[/color]

"Why?" He repeated, hatred boiling up inside him. That simple question had struck a nerve. This girl truly was oblivious to the ways and thinking of Mister Sinister, wasn't she? "For the years that those laws were in place, all that time the heroes were regarded as outlaws...while you were off playing doctor, Raven, do you know where I was?" He paused shortly, his eyes shining even brighter as he thought of the horrid place he had been kept. "In a cell." He said angrily. "A windowless, pitch black, horrible cell that no sound could penetrate. Have you any idea how maddening it is to sit in the dark for years without hearing anything aside from your own breathing?" The hulking villain approached the shield, staring right at Raven even though she was distorted. "My powers were kept in check by the very substance the room was made of, so it made escape nigh impossible... But, when you have nothing to do but think for a few years you figure things out a lot faster. While I was locked away I did one thing: I plotted." That familiar, bone-chilling grin came upon his face again as he continued. "I thought of a way to escape, and as you can see that worked splendidly. But beyond that I thought of how to make those responsible for my imprisonment pay; and you, dear Raven, are an integral part of that scheme."

Sinister's hands and the gem on his forehead shined brightly as he powered up an attack. ~Let us test the strength of your barrier.~[/color] He thought to himself, and then thrust his palms forward, shooting two big red beams of concussive energy as he also fired a smaller one from the gem.