Sequel alert!! I've posted a potential cover above. 

Chapter poll:

Which Games of Chance spinoff would you like to see written someday (completely hypothetical... for now)?

1. Birds of Prey

"You dream of walking someday... take my hand, and you shall fly".

A brilliant but disabled girl known only as Ravenna has spent her entire life in a Jacker training camp, never knowing who she is, where she comes from, or why she's there. Realizing that they have a common vision for the Jackers, she and the camp's most formidable young trainee form an unlikely team to take down the terrorists' greedy, nepotistic leader, Redface Joe, and his son, Camden. When he learns of Ravenna's true identity and she sees the shockingly familiar face behind the Eagle's mask, the two hardened warriors find their greatest secrets exposed and must learn to trust each other more than they have ever trusted anyone before.

As he battles with his growing feelings for Ravenna, the Eagle realizes that while he once thought she would never be anything more than a weakness, he has the tools to turn her into his greatest ally. Together, Ravenna and the Eagle embark on a series of perilous experiments that will blur the boundary between human and machine. In the process, they transform the Jackers from a band of petty criminals into a formidable terrorist organization with the means and the will to threaten the Order of Chance.

2. The Culling 

"Don't you get it, Luna? If you lose, you can just go back to your parents. Heck, you can even say you were kidnapped- you sure are important enough. But the rest of us... we're here because we have no place else to go. It's either the Order or the street, and I think we all know where we'd rather be."

Luna Elizabeth Chu, the youngest daughter of an Asian-American Hollywood family, knows there must be more to life than cameras and red-carpet events. But when she runs away in an impulsive attempt to escape her fake, gilded existence, the last thing she expects is to be swept up into The Culling: a mysterious contest run by an underground organization known only as the Order of Chance. The winner will be inducted into the Order as a full-fledged member- something they make clear is rare for outsiders- while the losers... well, their survival isn't guaranteed. From Hollywood princess to legendary Order agent. Witness Luna Chu's journey in The Culling.

3. Winterbird Rising

"Jamison, you have to understand that if I go back to them, I'll never be anything more than a weapon. But if I stay here, if I use my powers for what I think is right, I can... I can be-"

"A hero." 

"Yeah...a hero. That sounds right."

Five years ago, Astrid "Winterbird" Bennett, the superhuman product of years of clandestine military research, was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The opportunity to fake her death and escape the constraints of her government-monitored life. Now, she's Eleanor Lovejoy, an ordinary citizen of Arcana with no connection to the US government whatsoever. But when an anonymous tip sets both the US military and the now famous Arcanese superheroes, Project PROB, on her heels, she finds herself pursued by Colonel John Jamison, the very man who illegally orchestrated her escape. Surrounded on all sides, Winterbird must turn enemies into allies if she is to escape the worldwide manhunt for her. 

Note: Astrid Bennett, AKA Winterbird, will appear in Games of Chance 2: When Numbers Fail. 

4. Invisible Crown 

"It is as if she wears an invisible crown every time she steps into public. A crown much finer than mine." 

When Violet Stanton moved into her new apartment in Hewkin Heights, she never expected to meet its young, aristocratic owner, Henry Hewkin, much less marry him. Despite her initial surprise, she takes easily to her new lifestyle, gaining the adoration of Arcana's highest circles for her down-to-earth nature and genuine goodwill. Only, her rise in respectability is happening much too quickly, and the reigning star lady of the court, Princess Melodie, doesn't like the competition. While Violet makes it a point to attend every charitable event she can make time for, Melodie is a workaholic who seldom leaves Order headquarters and contributes little to her public image. As society's admiration begins to shift toward the more charismatic Violet, Melodie's jealousy spirals out of control, leading to events that result in a tragedy that will shake the very foundations of Arcana. 

......................

A solid three days passed between Chase's first appearance at the Royal Academy and when he was finally allowed to attend his afterschool Supplement. Juliana had explained the concept to him on his first day- being the chronic overachievers they were, most Academy students chose to remain in school for one extra hour each day to learn a skill or take a class that wasn't included in the school's core curriculum. He had actually been excited to choose his extra class. The possibilities were endless- he couldn't possibly begin to decide between piano, economics, and applied statistics, but when he finally settled on stats, he was surprised to see that a Supplement had already been updated on his online schedule. Project PROB. 

Now, standing in the Academy's gigantic main gym and watching Roy effortlessly swing around his forty pound mace while Juliana and Hayley did impossible stunts dressed in their brand new suits, Chase wondered what in the world he was doing here. 

"Ah, there you are!" Juliana motioned for Chase to join the other Heirs as they gathered in the center of the gym along with Commander Dev. "I'm so glad you will finally be joining us. Although you will all have other Supplements listed on our official transcripts for security reasons, we will be spending this time training and preparing for our roles as members of Project PROB as per the King's decision."

"So... why am I here?" Chase raised an eyebrow. He wasn't an Order agent, or at least he wasn't a very good one yet. He didn't have a combat suit. He couldn't think of what he could possibly do for the other Heirs other than slow them down. 

"Because Project PROB has four members. It always has, and it always will," Commander Dev smiled reassuringly. "Your role may not be the same as that of the other Heirs, but you will have one. We will find a way to integrate you into the team- trust me. Until then, I think it's best that you observe for the first few minutes to help you get an idea of what we're up to." 

Chase nodded, standing off to the side as Juliana, Roy, and Hayley huddled in the center of the gym, discussing something in hushed whispers. Finally, they stepped back activating their PW's in perfect synchrony as Commander Dev held up a black disc about the size of a dinner plate. Aiming for the ceiling, she hurled it into the air and they watched as it begin to fly aimlessly through the gym, dipping and humming as it made its way along a totally random path. 

"Now, you have five minutes to destroy the disc. You can use all of your abilities, including telekinesis, on anything but the disc itself. It has sensors and will attack and dodge you much like a human opponent would. Work together and play to your strengths and the strengths of your suits like we discussed yesterday. Juliana, the Crimson Angel is built to lead. You want to be the first thing the enemy sees." 

Juliana smiled at this, pressing a button on her glove and watching as her newly rebuilt wings unfurled majestically with a whoosh. 

"Roy, you've got the most raw power. Use it unabashedly." 

Roy grinned as he stomped forward, his heavy suit of glistening black armor having added at least four inches and thirty pounds to his already tall, muscular frame. 

"And Hayley, you're the wild card: your suit's got the best camouflage, and you don't want anyone to see you coming." 

"Wild card... I like that," Hayley grinned as she did a front flip, her sleeveless, lightweight suit easily conforming to her movements. 

Ready, set, go!" Commander Dev set a timer on her watch, jogging away to join Chase on the sideline as Project PROB spun into action. 

Juliana drew her spear, hurling it forward with speed and precision, but the disc veered to the side, causing the spear to crash into a window. She sighed in frustration, using her telekinesis to call her PW back into her hand, but not before Hayley attacked the disc from the other side, leaping off of the wall and grinning victoriously as her whip coiled around it. Yet, she clearly underestimated the amount of weight the disc was capable of supporting. She yelped in surprise as it took off toward the ceiling, dragging her upward by her whip, which she wrapped her arms and legs around in fright. 

Seeing her plight, Roy swung his mace around his head, releasing dozens of tiny metal spikes that flew toward the disc, uncoiling Hayley's whip from around it and allowing her to drop to the floor as gracefully as a cat. Meanwhile, Juliana bent her knees, taking a deep breath as she launched herself into the air, her deep red wings flapping in perfect synchrony, propelling her toward the disc.

And that was when Chase saw it. She was going the wrong way. 

Juliana flew toward the disc from the left, springing off of the wall to give herself more momentum. The probabilities danced before Chase's eyes. The disc had a 91% chance of diving, and if it dove, considering her current position, that meant Juliana would have to...

"No! Turn back, you have to go around!" he shouted, but none of the other Heirs could hear him over the whirring of the disc as it flew through the air, taking a steep dive toward the ground. Juliana narrowed her eyebrows with determination as she did the same, her wings wrapping around her as she shot toward the disc. Seconds before she could grab it, she found she couldn't move her hand. Her own wings had trapped her in a cage, staying folded around her like a cocoon as she hurtled to the ground, hitting it with a dull thud just as Roy's mace crashed into the disc, shattering it into a million fragments. 

"Juliana!" Roy ran to her side as she struggled, trying to worm her way out of her wings' death grip. Chase could see her concentrating, squeezing her eyes shut as she telekinetically forced the wings to unfurl, leaving her laying on the ground with Roy and Hayley crouching by her side. 

"I worked so hard on the diving mechanism, but I didn't realize that the system to get me out of a dive was so faulty," she sighed, sitting up as she took off her mask to wipe the sweat off her brow. "Chase," she motioned for him to come over to her. 

Chase lowered his gaze as he walked over her, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. He could see the frustration and disappointment in Juliana's eyes as she spoke softly to Roy. "This isn't Project PROB. This isn't the stuff of legends- it's a bunch of teenagers playing around with million-dollar tech. Back in the 1300s, they didn't have advanced combat suits. None of them could fly. All they had was each other, their PW's, and the driving desire to save the world, yet we still tell their story today. There's something we're leaving out... a missing piece," she paused in thought, looking up when she saw that Chase had arrived. 

"Ah- I wanted to ask you something. When I was flying, you said something... what was it?" 

"Oh, nothing," he shrugged. "I just saw that the probs of the disc diving to escape you were much higher if you approached it from the left, and so were the probs of your suit's diving mechanism failing. If you had gone the other way, you would've gotten the disc for sure. That's why I tried to tell you to turn around."

At this, Juliana and Commander Dev looked at each other, their eyes widening. 

"In the study of the Power, whenever there is an event that could happen two ways- like Juliana flying either to the left or to the right- we call it a bifurcation," Commander Dev explained. "Each option in a bifurcation can also bifurcate, and so on. Think of it like an eternally branching tree." 

"The thing is... the more bifurcations away from the present it is, the harder it is to see and manipulate a prob. You just analyzed at least three separate bifurcations at once with zero experience," Juliana shook her head, still in disbelief. 

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Commander Dev smiled knowingly at Juliana, who nodded eagerly, the disappointment completely wiped from her face. 

"But if we want him to warn and direct us in the field, we're going to have to work on some serious tech. He needs to have a way to see us as well as what we're seeing. We also need a constant line of communication that won't be affected by distance or... extreme situations." Juliana began to think out loud. 

"We'll go to the lab tomorrow," Commander Dev concluded. "I have some things we can test out." 

"I think we've found our missing piece," Juliana grinned at Chase, who could only stare back. His analysis of the bifurcations, whatever they were, had been merely instinctual. He didn't even know if he could do it again, much less on demand. He was going to need a lot of help before he'd be ready to fill whatever role Project PROB had carved out for him.