Page 18 of Sin

“Hey, I did shorten a couple,” Mare said, wiggling her right hand and displaying her claws. The middle and pointer finger’s nails were trimmed super short compared to the rest of her fatally tipped nails. She gave Blade a wicked grin. “See? I compromised.”

Blade rolled her eyes. “You keep those short for other reasons, and you know it.”

Mare smirked and winked at her. “Maybe.”

“Anyway,” Blade continued, pointing at the suit again, “each tip is coated in a paralytic. It’s a great way to incapacitate an opponent.”

“That’s… cool.” And it was. I just wasn’t too sure I liked the thought of Mare having access to something like that. Not that she needed to paralyze someone to incapacitate them.

Blade moved on to the folder labeled Jinx. “Jinx’s suit is more complicated.” The suit displayed was a rich purple and designed similar to Mare’s in the way that it would cover the wearer from toe to neck. “Because he clones himself and whatever he’s touching, the suit itself needs to be able to duplicate along with each clone. This makes each of his clones just as protected as himself.”

I hadn’t thought much about the mechanics of Jinx’s power. I knew he was able to clone himself and that the clones were just as physical as his true body, but I wondered how many clones he could make, how long his power was able to keep the clones corporeal, and if each clone had individual thought, or if Jinx controlled them all himself with his mind?

“How does he clone items that aren’t him?” She opened her mouth to respond, but I shook my head. “You know what? I don’t think I’m up for that sort of discussion right now.”

She laughed. “Another time then.” Swiping across the tablet, she pulled up a blank design canvas. She tapped her stylus against the side of the tablet while she studied me. “So now what to do for you.”

I shrugged, making her roll her eyes.

“Come on, little snake. What’s your favorite color?”

“Maybe blue?”

She nodded in encouragement. “Okay, yes, I can do blue. Ooh, maybe I can give it scales? You know, like a snake?” She laughed like she was so funny. I really didn’t care what she did though. I wasn’t really one for hand-to-hand combat, so hopefully, any suit I did wear would be more for show than necessity. It didn’t hurt to be cautious though.

“Whatever you think. I don’t really have a preference.”

Pre-prison Sin probably would have cared. Would have sat down with Blade and bounced ideas off one another to make a suit so suave, I’d stand out. I loved to stand out in a crowd. Loved to have nice quality clothes, use the best products, indulge in the most decadent foods. I used to paint my nails black and line my ears in jewelry. But that was a different Sin. It felt like a whole other lifetime when I thought back to how I used to be.

Now I counted it as a win if I washed my hair.

Speaking of which… I wondered if I could convince one of them to let me shower.

Sighing, Blade waved me away. “Fine, I guess I’ll figure it out myself.”

Lewis finished with his welding, and shifted his mask up so we could see his beaming face. “Blade. Blade, Blade, Blade!”

“What?” she snapped.

“Look.” He held up what almost looked like closely looped chainmail. But there was something off about it. Lewis ran a bare hand over the material and the links shifted, like meadow grass under a summer breeze. Each one glinted and then, to my utter astonishment, they rearranged their shape. Like the thing Lewis held had a mind of its own.

No, not a mind of its own. Lewis was controlling it, reshaping it with a thought and a touch.

“Are you a metal wielder?” I asked, awed as he worked the material to look smooth and flawless.

He chuckled. “No,” he said, while Blade ambled closer to inspect what he was doing. “I’m a technopath. Though, I can’t manipulate anything long-range. I can alter the technology of any object, but I need to be touching it. This,” he said, holding up the sheet, “isn’t just metal. It’s actually created using advanced nanotechnology. These are the newest nanobots on the market.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed. I might not have been the guy’s biggest fan, but as I watched him shape the material into different forms with a simple touch, I couldn’t deny he must have been pretty strong.

Lewis and Blade left the room to go test out the nanotech—where? I had no clue—and left me alone with Mare, Jinx, and London’s still unconscious form.

I didn’t know what to do with myself, and as the clock on the screen ticked on, tracking the hours, I found myself falling asleep in one of the office chairs.

It wasn’t until Blade and Lewis returned several hours later, chatting loudly, that I woke up. London was still asleep, meaning he was struggling to locate Lucas. Mare was watching a show on her phone, still sitting beside London and absently patting his arm, like she was comforting him while he slept.

Their dynamic, the whole team’s dynamic, really, threw me. They were a team of misfits, some former Villains, some prior Mercs, but seeing them together… They meshed. Each had a role, a purpose on the team. They worked together and seemed rather protective of one another.

I was glad London had them, but I couldn’t help being envious too.

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