The Millennial

Scooter Saviors

"Do we really have to go up there?" She waved a hand to her attire. "This outfit is from Juicy. I paid a lot for it."

"Yeah, but those sweats don't even fit you. You got them two sizes too big, so that when you transform, you can grow into them."

"Yeah, but they were still expensive."

Yvonne pulled down her beanie, which turned into a mask with holes for her eyes and mouth.

"Come on. Put on your disguises."

Sal took off his bicycle helmet and stuffed it into his back pack. He pulled a luchador mask out and slipped it over his head. It was black, with yellow flames that sprang from the eyes, making him resemble a psychotic bumblebee. Yvonne stared down at him, unable to believe what she saw.

"Are you kidding me?"

"What? I like Mexican wrestling! It's an art form." He touched his AirPod again. "Rebecca, do I need to put the camera back on?"

"No, I told you. I've hacked into the surveillance system of the construction site. There's a view down the alley. They put it up because people were stealing their copper pipes at night."

"I thought you said you don't hack."

He could hear what sounded like a sigh through the Pod.

"I told you, I didn't hack your earpiece because I didn't have to. Because you're working with me. I didn't say I couldn't hack. I was a computer science major. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

They looked to Nancy, who just stood there.

"What?"

"Your mask. Didn't you bring one?"

"No. Why would I? I can change shapes."

"Well, then are you going to change shape?"

"I can't do that now! I told you, I can only hold a shape for a short while. I can't shift for hours, while we wait."

Yvonne rolled her eyes. "Then you're going to want to wear a mask, so criminals can't recognize you."

"Okay, fine!" She pulled the hoodie up over her head, covering her long blonde hair. Nancy put on a pair of sunglasses and looked around. "Oh, wow. I really can't see much with these things on."

"Oh, my God. This is going to be such an epic fail."

Nancy climbed up on the crates and pulled herself onto the storage container. Sal looked up at them and laughed.

"Really guys? Is this necessary?"

"Uh, yeah. It's called a perch. If you want to be a superhero, you better get used to lurking on them. We could be up here for hours. Plus, it might give us an advantage over whoever or whatever shows up."

"Ugh, fine. I suppose I need the exercise." He patted his protruding belly, and with great effort, Sal scaled the pile of crates. He struggled and strained, and finally made his way to the edge of the storage container. "You know, for someone who says she's only doing this ironically, you're sure taking this seriously."

"Just because I'm doing this ironically, doesn't mean I want to die ironically."

With one last surge of effort, he pulled himself up. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky, and his two teammates.

"So what do we do now?"

"We watch. And wait."

The three stared toward the mouth of the alley, looking for any signs of treachery that might arrive.