Chapter Six – Let’s Go Gamble!

Artemisia searched the streets, looking for any of the villains. “Hello!” a voice called from above. Looking around, the cosmic hero found the source. “Roulette!” she called. Smirking, the villain said, “Test your luck, and see if you can catch me!” Running down the block, she dashed into the town’s casino. The one, in fact, that she owned. Taking a deep breath, she was ready to gamble. WITH HER LIFE!!!!!!

An array of colors met Artemisia’s eyes as she entered the casino. There were slot machines left and right, and large roulette wheels sat at various parts of the room. On pedestal in the middle of the room, Roulette stood with arms spread wide. “Welcome to my casino! Here you can either win big,” At this, she leaped to the floor, transforming into her wolf form as she did so. “Or lose it all!” With a mighty leap, Fray cleared the gap between the girls, and the battle began.

Quickly, Artemisia jumped out of the way of the ferocious lycan. Closing her eyes, the hero conjured large cosmic rocks around her. Eyes locking on the canine, she hurled the boulders forth. But Fray also had a few tricks of her own. It is her turf after all. Running back to her pedestal, Fray pawed a hidden button. With what happened next, she was lucky she had no customers. The slot machines started to glow. Artemisia didn’t have time to duck as fruits were suddenly flung at her head, coming in many shapes and sizes. The slots were spinning madly, and with each set, they flung a corresponding fruit. The hero had to be careful, otherwise her head might be taken off by a rogue melon!

Now Fray was in her element. She turned once again to attack her prey. To her surprise, Artemisia beat her to it. She struck hard with a powerful blow to the wolf’s side. Wincing slightly, Fray landed a sharp scratch as Artemisa pulled her arm away. Each stared daggers at the other. Watching the fruit fly through the air between them, Artemisia ran her fingers through her long hair. Hands resting on a certain object in her locks, she gained an idea. The only problem was it would take a while for her to charge enough energy for it. No, she would have to do something that was risky… and would hurt. Stepping forward, she merely watched as the lycan dashed forward to land her series of powerful blows. The hero fell to the floor, completely at Fray’s mercy. Or so she thought.

When the wolf got just close enough, Artemisia tore out her silver hairpiece and grazed her side with it. The effect was instantaneous, as Fray immediately became Roulette once more. The now human villain held herself as she cried out in pain. Artemisia ducked as a lemon passed her by and raised forth what she had been storing energy for. A large dark sphere was formed in the center of the room. Grabbing her enemy quickly, the cosmic female latched on to the floor as her newly created black hole began to suck up everything in sight. Like a vacuum to a dirty floor, the dark mass left a track everywhere it went. As soon as all of the slot machines were taken care of, Artemisia immediately closed the black hole. Sighing at the amount of energy that was required to perform such a feat, she turned to check on the villain. To her surprise, she wasn’t there. Instead, there were pawprints leading to the door. Shaking her head, Artemisia followed the footsteps out. While she didn’t fulfill what she came here for, she did know two things. One, Roulette wouldn’t be having any business anytime soon and two, she wouldn’t be stepping anywhere near a casino anytime soon!

“Where are you taking me?” an impatient, blindfolded “prisoner” asked. “Calm down! We’re here!” Quick to rip the obstruction to her view off, Crystal took in her surroundings. To her surprise, they were outside a Starbucks. Eyes widening, she heard her ex-friend step closer. “How about a hot chocolate?” the hero began nervously. The villain stood silently for a few minutes. Each minute was tense with everything that had happened between the two girls. Then, finally, “You paying?” Pacifica gave a small smile and nodded. Sighing, Crystal nodded her head. The two old companions walked into the cafe, reconciliation in the air.