"… hm..?" Wickler's forehead scrunched up as the orb laid a few inches from his mouth, he lowered his hand as he examined the dark purple orb again, "Now that's strange…"
Raina's body stiffened as her arms were barely within reach, yet some sort of invisible barrier seemed to have blocked her from approaching any further.
Wickler's eyes turned to her with confusion, "It's not… compatible…?" His head tilted slightly as he spoke, "I don't understand…"
Raina could feel her heart slowly breathe out a sigh of relief as she glared dagger at him, "If it's not compatible, then maybe you should just give it back," She raised her hand,
"…But that just makes it all the more… interesting…" Wickler turned back to the orb, "I've never had an ability… reject me like this,"
His eyes suddenly glowed a pale yellow as his mouth suddenly gaped open, "Oh?" He then turned back to Raina, blinking a few times before looking back at the orb, "Now I'm even more intrigued about what this ability is,"
"What… What do you mean…?" Raina paused, sucking in a breath of cold air,
"2 million…" He muttered, "You are worth $500 grand. This is what I paid $2 million for... A 2 million dollar ability."
His eyes glistened with excitement, "Just what kind of ability is this? Imagine how much this would sell for!"
"You bastard!" Raina growled, "Don't you fucking dare sell my ability, you fucker!"
"Now, now!" Wickler's smile widened once more, "It seemed I have forgotten to explain the rules of this place. Let me introduce you to your new home real quick."
He spread his arms out,
"Welcome to Gambit's Paradise. The home to all gambling pleasure and the place to win it all." He spun around as an attendant released a confetti cannon, spraying the air with strings of colorful paper as it floated down onto the excited hunk of flesh.
"Here, everything with a price tag can be won."
He pulled out a red poker chip from his pocket, "This is our currency, Tokens. Win these through gambling games or trading and use them to buy whatever has a price tag stamped on it. For example, you." He pointed at her with a grin, "For a measly $500 grand, you can buy back your freedom, of course, ability not included."
"You-!" Raina grit her teeth as she clinched her fists. There was nothing she could do, nothing she had the power to do. She was once again powerless and useless. Once again, she was the weak and pathetic human she had so desperately cast aside.
"Oh don't worry, I've got you something to start off with," He flicked over the red poker token, "That's equivalent to a dollar. Better than nothing, am I right? Now, go on, go explore, there's so much to uncover in this place."
Wickler began walking off, "Ah, one more thing." He suddenly stopped and turned around, "There'll be no use attempting to leave this territory until your debt is paid off." He pointed at her wrist, "It'll just teleport you back here with another 2 grand on your name… oh… and speaking of leaving," He hit his head with a soft chuckle, "Don't think your little hubby will find and save you anytime soon. Not to brag, but this place," He pointed to the ground, "Is a big no-no area even for influential people like Richie-boy."
He slowly waddled into the building, repeatedly tossing the orb and catching it as he hummed a tune. The crowd within immediately parted ways the moment he entered, their eyes not daring to look up.
"Put this in the shop," Wickler threw the orb over to his attendant wearing a slick black, red, and gold vest.
The attendant nodded nervously as he caught the orb, walking over to a glass cabinet filled with other orbs of all sorts of colors, their price tags all displayed clearly.
"What-?" A clear gasp echoed around as Raina's ability was placed inside, the tag revealing a number none of them had ever dreamt of earning.
"Now back to your business!" Wickler clapped with a burst of loud laughter, "You've got tokens to win!"
He quickly disappeared into behind a door with a giant label 'no entry'. Two security guards stood in position as soon as the door shut behind him once more.
Raina's eyes wandered around the giant casino. It was extraordinary. Lights going off in every direction, loud punky music played in the background, and workers wearing all sorts of costumes wandered around, providing drinks and snacks,
"Hey," A voice suddenly called out to her as she felt a tap on her shoulder,
She turned around, a woman around her age, her soft dirty blonde hair resting by her shoulder as her emerald green eyes seemed worried and concerned.
"You new here?" The woman asked raising a hand, Raina shaking it, "I'm Martha. Martha Goodman"
"Alice Liddell," Raina let out a weary smile,
"Want a little guide around this place?" Martha asked as she pointed over to a bar, "I'll buy you a drink,"
"Thank you," Raina nodded as she followed,
"Two martinis," Martha slid over two red tokens as she spoke to the bartender who nodded,
"How much is your value?" Martha then turned back, nodding her head at Raina's wrist.
Raina raised her arm as Martha raised an eyebrow and let out a whistle, she raised her own arm, the number 23,000 displayed.
"You must be a real celebrity out in the real world," Martha chuckled, grabbing the two freshly made martinis and handing one to Raina.
"No really," Raina mumbled as she took a sip, letting out a cough as the alcohol lightly burnt her throat as it went down,
"You want to know the average value around here?" Martha chuckled, "10,000, and even then, people struggle to win that much."
Raina's eyes widened as she glanced around the bustling crowd. The sound of slot machines whirring and the groan of frustration rang out above the music.
"How come you're worth higher than the average then? Who were you in the outside world?" Raina asked back,
Martha took a sip of her drink, "Second Commander of the Western Resistance Group. 3 months ago."