In the casino,

"Yess!"

The dealer smiled slightly and took some of Gambit's chips and gave them to Val. He was enjoying it because Gambit had been winning bets after bets and the manager had signaled him and ordered him to 'take' care of him. But, the dealer refused because he wanted to see if Gambit's luck would run out which it did after Val arrived. He was more happy to see Val because he had the idea of using Val's appearance in the casino to publicize and make more money out of it.

On the other hand, Gambit was gripping his cane tightly. He glared at Val and his breathing became faster, even his hands glowed and dimmed repeatedly. He wasn't happy. He was winning all of his opponents' chips previously and was about to go home as a millionaire. But all of it came crashing down when Val appeared. He was angry. Not because he was losing but because of the way he was losing his money. Val was blatantly cheating. In front of everybody. And no one was saying anything. Everybody saw that he had aces first but when Val's turn came he would snap his fingers and his cards changed into normal ones while Val's changed into aces. He was using his powers in front of everybody to switch their cards. And, the most infuriating thing was that nobody was saying anything even the fucking dealer. The fucker was smiling. He was clearly enjoying it.

But... why would anybody say anything? Why would they willingly provoke the elephant in the room? Most of the people here were trying to double or triple their heroin, crack, or other type of black money. They were criminals. They knew it. Val knew it. If they tried to point out Val's cheating, who's to say Val wouldn't go back on his promise of 'not enacting justice'? Moreover, they wanted Gambit to lose money and Val to make more. Because they knew Val couldn't cash on those chips. What would the people say if their idol was revealed to be a gambler? A superhero has to maintain their image. Not ruin it. So they stood silently and watched Val do as he wanted.

"Annnnd... your chips arrre mine!", Val taunted as he dragged every chip from Gambit's side to his. He glanced at Gambit and saw him flaring his nostrils like an angry bull while glaring at him. He smirked making his breathing even faster and thought, 'Cajun boy! You've so much left to learn!'

* CLAP *

* CLAP *

A man in a tight suit behind Val began clapping enthusiastically. Seeing him, other people around the table also began clapping. Val smirked and bowed to them while saying, "Thank you! Thank you for liking my performance! Thank you very much!"

After the clapping died down, the man in the tight suit glanced around and thought, 'Now's the chance!' He cleared his throat and deliberately asked loud enough for everybody to hear, "Congratulations, Mr. Starlance! You've become a millionaire tonight. How would you celebrate it?" Everybody's attention was now on Val. The man knew what he was doing. He knew it was a risk. A risk that he happily took.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Val turned around and stared at the man. He knew what the man was doing. Of course, he couldn't cash those chips. Because the moment he did so, he would be named as a gambler. Simply gambling could be somewhat tolerated but cashing in those bets would be a big no-no. Even his fans and supporters would turn on him along with his comparatively small group of haters and he would be labeled as a gambler. So many kids look up to him and make him their idol. His public image wouldn't be tarnished but it would have a small dent on it. Nonetheless, Val stared at the man while thinking, 'Let's scare him a little. Would be fun to watch this criminal cower in fear.'

He smiled and patted the man on the shoulder and asked, "Are you implying that I'm a gambler?" The man's lower lip began trembling and his hands began shaking. He glanced around and saw most of the people take a step away from him. He thought, 'I'm done! This guy's onto me. I shouldn't have asked him.' However, Val suddenly began laughing catching everybody off guard and after laughing for a couple of seconds, he patted the man on the shoulder and reassured him, "Relax! Of course I'm going to celebrate and...", he glanced around and continued,"...I know exactly how to do it."

He turned around toward the dealer and ordered, "I'm feeling generous tonight. Mr. Dealer, there are 50 people around me. Divide the chips between them equally and make them 20k richer!!"

When everybody heard him, they couldn't believe their ears. And immediately began shouting, celebrating happily, "Wow! Starlance is so generous! He's so cool! And Hot!"

Val smiled and waved to everybody. He put his arm over Gambit who looked like he was about to take the 'leap of faith' any moment and whispered in his ear, "Walk with me... quietly!"

He smiled, continued waving and left the casino under the chants of, "Starlance! Starlance! Starlance!"

After both of them got out of the casino and walked behind it, Gambit removed himself from Val and said angrily, "Why the fuck did you give away my money? I was going to be rich, you fucklance!"

Val crossed his arms and asked him calmly, "And how would you become rich exactly? You...", he began counting on his fingers as he began, "don't have a bank account so that means you can't deposit the cash in your account. You aren't a drug lord or mafia boss and you could threaten the casino owner into giving you money if they refused. And lastly, you don't have a home in which you could keep the cash even if they gave it to you."

Gambit's eyes widened in alarm after hearing what Val said and his hands as well as his cane began glowing as he asked, "How did you know that? Are you here to take me back? Did they send you to bring me back to the island?"

Val shook his head and explained, "No, I'm not. I'm here to ask you what you know about the island."

Gambit's hands and cane stopped glowing as he calmed himself down and asked Val, "Are you going to attack it?"

Seeing Val nod, Gambit was about to begin, when suddenly there was a loud cracking sound and a painful cry.

* CRACK *

"Aaaah!"

Both of them turned in the direction of the sound and Val recognized the voice, 'Logan?'

He turned back to Gambit, took out a card which he gave to him, and said, "Go to the address written on the card. It would be best for you and me both.", and flew away.

* WHOOSH *

Gambit looked at the card which said - Xavier's School Of Gifted Youngsters.

Val, on the other hand, hovered in the air and saw Victor in his Sabertooth costume looking at Logan who was holding on to his broken claws while kneeling on the ground.

He narrowed his eyes at the scene and thought, 'Nice! I have both of you in the same place. Now, I can execute the next part of my plan.'