Marvel: Pay to Win Gambling 20

Chapter 20: KYS

The nearly twelve-foot, red-eyed, metallic skeleton of a robot creaked forward, its movements stiff and awkward. And once the largest one took a step, the others—each around ten feet tall—strode forward in sync.

“What are these?” Iceman gasped, eyes locked on the lead machine as it took an unmistakable offensive stance.

“I don’t know,” I lied, even though every instinct in my body screamed at me to run.

I wasn’t all-powerful here. Whatever alloy they were made of rendered them immune to magnetic manipulation—I tried, and got nothing. No reaction.

“Kill. Mutants.”

The machines muttered as they advanced, each step deliberate and heavy.

Storm didn’t waste a second. Lightning shot from her hands and struck one directly in the chest. The force made it stumble back a few steps—but to her shock, the attack didn’t even leave a scratch.

Not a single mark.

And that was all Bobby needed to know.

“Take this, fuckers!” Iceman yelled as his body crystallized, transforming into his awakened form. In an instant, he let loose a concentrated beam of pure ice energy—freezing everything it touched.

Three Sentinels were caught in the blast, locked in place under a thick sheath of glasslike ice.

“It’s working!” Storm yelled, relief in her voice. Bobby redirected his beam toward the rest of the advancing Sentinels.

But was it really that easy?

As he turned back, dropping his form with a triumphant grin, my stomach dropped.

“Kill. Mutants.”

The frozen Sentinels were far from done. Even in their beta stages, they were still mutant killers.

“The ice is cracking,” Ororo whispered, and that rare note of fear in her voice was all the confirmation I needed.

The ice groaned. The Sentinels vibrated, their metal bodies humming at frequencies high enough to shatter the frozen casing.

Bobby cursed, transforming again and hitting them with another beam—twice as thick and even colder. The layer of ice doubled. Maybe it’d hold this time.

But we were too focused on the obvious. Too blind to the possibility of them being equipped with other mechanisms.

“The eyes,” I muttered, staring at the largest Sentinel. “Dodge!”

I shoved Ororo to the side as the Sentinel’s glowing red eyes unleashed a searing beam of energy—cutting clean through the ice.

And that wasn’t all.

The other Sentinels turned bright red, their bodies radiating heat, melting the ice around them like butter under a blowtorch.

Ororo rolled against the wall, barely avoiding the laser.

I had to act fast. Conjuring a sphere of plasma, I hurled it at the advancing machines, already charging up a stronger lightning arrow for the big one.

But the moment the sphere exploded against them, I knew it was useless.

No reaction.

No damage.

Not even a dent.

The thermal shock should’ve cracked them—ice to heat, rapid change. But the alloy was too resilient. Whatever they were made of, it laughed in the face of science.

Freed from the ice, the Sentinels advanced. Their hands extended toward Bobby, glowing red-hot.

His beam couldn’t touch them now—the heat coming off their bodies turned it to mist on contact.

“Dodge!” Ororo yelled, but he was too close to move. If the robot got its hands on him, it’d be game over—melted like butter in a skillet.

“Fuck!” Bobby screamed, the Sentinel’s hand stopping just an inch from his face. He could feel his brow and eyelashes singeing from the heat.

“Move!” I shouted, barely intercepting the Sentinel’s arm in time to stop it from crushing him.

We were lucky—stupidly lucky. Their programming was still in its infant stages. They couldn’t coordinate properly or process decisions fast enough.

While I held one of them back with a surge of tentacles, the others paused, seemingly confused, before stepping in to assist.

Bobby hit the floor hard, scrambling backward and narrowly avoiding the stomping foot of another Sentinel. Storm threw another bolt, this one aimed to intercept the backup units. It didn’t do much damage, but it did make them stumble—buying us seconds.

As for the biggest one, I had to conjure more tentacles just to restrain it. But I couldn’t hold more than two at once—not here, not with the space and energy I had.

Any more, and the floor would give out. Any thinner, and they’d tear through them like tissue paper.

And that’s when it hit me—

We weren’t fighting to win. We were fighting to survive.

I couldn’t summon massive tentacles in here, nor could I spawn more without thinning the ones already out.

A lose-lose situation.

And worse—my tentacles were organic. Under the infernal heat radiating off the Sentinels, they were cooking. Melting.

I forced myself to take larger strides, pushing toward the group, shielding them while Storm fired off bolt after bolt of lightning.

“We have to get out of here!” Bobby shouted, panic sharp in his voice.

But both exits were blocked.

The downward path had already crumbled under the Sentinels’ lasers. Concrete filled the tunnel, and if we tried to force our way through, the ceiling would likely collapse on top of us.

“Upwards!” I barked. “We need to force them aside!”

Summoning all my strength, I directed the tentacles to push two Sentinels to the sides. Each one burned and melted under the heat, and I had to spawn a dozen more every few seconds—each new conjuration eating away at my mind.

Bobby froze a few. Storm shoved others back with bursts of lightning. It wasn’t efficient, and it sure as hell wasn’t a solution—but slowly, agonizingly, we carved out a path to the next floor.

“Go!” I yelled.

They bolted toward the staircase. I released the tentacles, turning the battlefield into a chaotic mess to trip the Sentinels, and sprinted after them.

I caught up to Bobby. Ororo was just behind me.

That’s when the mistake hit.

The entire plan was a mistake.

I had underestimated their intellect. Thought they were too early in development to coordinate.

I was dead wrong.

“No!” Bobby shouted. He spun, casting a wall of ice behind us—but it wasn’t enough.

The Sentinels fired in sync. Multiple beams, all aimed at us.

“Fuck!” I lunged in front of Ororo, shielding her with my body. Bobby—sharp as ever—cast a reflective ice wall, redirecting some of the beams.

Smart move. Just not enough.

The biggest Sentinel’s laser punched through the wall like it was paper.

“Gah!”

I shielded Ororo from taking a shot to the chest—but the beam tore through my bicep, burning a hole straight through, nearly severing my arm entirely.

“Fucking robots!” Bobby roared. He released a massive wave of ice, tripping the Sentinel and sending it crashing down.

I collapsed, my arm hanging by a thread.

I screamed, uncontrolled. The pain was unbearable—and worse, the exit above had collapsed under the laser strike, burying it under rubble.

Ororo tried to defend me, but without my tentacles and with Bobby drained, she was left alone.

And the Sentinel made her pay.

It broke through the ice and threw a punch straight into her gut.

Her body folded unnaturally, slammed into the wall, and hit it hard—blood splattering from her mouth and skull as she dropped, limp.

Blood was everywhere—on the wall, on my arm, on the floor.

Bobby scrambled toward her, begging her to wake up.

And I just sat there.

Frozen.

Mind blank from pain, panic, and fear. Everything blurred. Slowed.

Time wasn’t right.

I watched the fists coming toward me—Sentinels ready to end it.

Bobby clutching Ororo’s body, pleading.

No escape.

And then—

[Burning through existing Moolah to freeze time]

[Moolah not enough]

[Burning through Moolah to slow down time]

[Existing Moolah: 8,180]

I barely registered what the system was saying.

[Slowing time by 1/100th for 8 seconds 18 milliseconds]

It wasn’t my mind slowing things down.

It was the system.

Burning my money to save my life—without asking.

But even slowed, time was slipping. From eight seconds to six—

[Host is advised to roll for a Legendary Skill with the penalty of a Sin]

Five seconds.

No time. No confidence in my luck. Luck is what got me here—twice near death in under three days.

Fuck.

Four seconds.

I didn’t trust my odds.

Roll for two legendaries. I don’t fucking trust my luck!

[Rolling for two legendaries with the penalty of two sins. Accept/Decline?]

Fucking accept!

Three seconds.

The system rolled. My adrenaline roared. The pain dulled—replaced by pure, unfiltered wrath.

Fucking robots. Worthless scrap piles.

[Rolling for a Legendary Skill...]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the Legendary Skill: Gravitokinesis]

[Gravitokinesis: You now possess full control over gravity and its concepts.]

[Limiting Legendary Skill to Solar System Level.]

I was shaking.

With rage.

With something primal.

[Applying Penalty.]

[Applying Primal Curse.]

[Curse Acquired: Sin of Wrath]

[Sin of Wrath: You will be quick to anger, reckless, and prone to harming others in emotional outbursts. Effects are tripled if you already dislike the target.]

A single word left my mouth. Unbidden. Subconscious.

“Down.”

The entire floor trembled.

Bobby, clutching Ororo across the room, dropped to one knee under the weight.

The Sentinels?

They crumpled.

Gravity crushed them where they stood, their limbs unable to resist the weight pressing them into the earth.

I felt nothing.

Not the pain in my arm. Not the panic. Not the fear.

Just one thing.

Wrath.

[Rolling for a Legendary Skill.]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the Legendary Skill: Techno-Telekinesis]

[Techno-Telekinesis: You now possess complete control over machinery, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Issue a command to destroy or reprogram.]

[Limiting Legendary Skill to Solar System Level.]

Still not satisfied.

I wanted more. 

More suffering. More pain. More control.

How dare these tin cans hurt me?

[Applying Penalty.]

[Applying Primal Curse.]

[Curse Acquired: Sin of Pride]

[Sin of Pride: You will be consumed by a sense of superiority. You may reject help, belittle others, and overestimate yourself. Effects are tripled when your ego is challenged.]

I knew exactly what I wanted.

And I gave the command.

Just one.

To every Sentinel around me.

“Kill yourself.”