Josh – Skinwalker

It was noon on Saturday, October 18th; everyone was tense and nervous. The moment of truth had arrived. The seven hopeful bank robbers were gathered, for the last time, at Kashif and Raphael’s apartment, getting all their gear on.

Seth was strapping on a backpack filled with water bottles. When he screamed for extended periods of time, his throat dried up quickly, and he wanted to guarantee that no little details would hinder him during the robbery.

Leslie was outside in the backyard, doing something with her power. She had been very cryptic about it, saying only that she was seeing to her personal defenses.

Amanda was sitting quietly in a corner, juggling a few shot glasses in slow motion.

Raphael was on the couch, eyes unfocused and darting around. He had told them that he was reviewing all the pain he had at his disposal, though of course no one could actually see it besides him.

Jake was in the bathroom, working on strengthening his flash right up until it was time to go. Every few seconds the bathroom door would glow for an instant.

Kashif had gathered his various weapons, as well as a golf bag, and was figuring out the best way to pack everything.

Josh was strapping everything on while trying to decide whether or not he should wear a shirt. The upside was keeping the element of surprise as far as the guns on his hips went, but the drawback was the added time it may take to grab them, on the off chance he got a little tangled up. He finally decided on a washed out gray tank top. Also, it showed off his physique, which was a plus.

After everything was made ready, masks were brought out, checked, put away. Kashif had his hockey mask, which Raphael and Jake had also taken to, thinking it made them look scary and intimidating. Josh had given his Zorro mask to Seth, who needed to leave his mouth unencumbered, and had put on a bandanna to cover his face below the eyes, bandit style. Amanda had bought an insane clown mask, thinking it eerily fitting.

No one had known what Leslie meant to wear, until she walked in and stunned them all speechless.

Leslie was clad, head to toe, in skin tight gray stone. It seemed to flow like liquid as she walked, constantly shifting to match her every move. They could only imagine how much concentration it must take to maintain it.

Even as they stared, the stone helmet around Leslie’s head appeared to melt down, bulking up around her shoulders like shoulder pads. She smiled at their shocked looks.

“What do you guys think?”

“So freakin’ cool!” Jake gushed. The others readily agreed.

“This is what you were working on at the park after we left?” Seth asked.

“Yup. I’d had the idea a few days ago, and I’ve been working on it constantly since then. It’s really easy to control, actually,” as she spoke she began to pull on jeans and a long sleeve shirt over her armor, so as to allay suspicion for as long as possible.

“Well, right on,” Seth said. “Is everybody ready? The bank closes in less than two hours, so we should probably get a move on.”

Kashif shouldered his golf bag and spoke for the group. “Let’s do it.”

Within ten minutes they were all piled into two cars, Kashif’s cherry red Mazda and Leslie’s off-white Nissan, both small and unassuming vehicles. Raphael and Jake went with Kashif, who would take the lead on the street, and Seth and Josh went with the girls. There wasn’t really a rhyme or reason to who went with whom; the deciding factor was simply the music that would be played.

Kashif had opted for loud Hip Hop, wanting a heavy bass beat to help him steady his nerves.

Leslie went a slightly different route, having made a bank robbery playlist the other night. The mix had every ‘get pumped’ song she could think of, including the theme songs from several action movies.

The drive to the bank downtown took about 20 minutes due to an overabundance of traffic, and was mostly silent but for the music. Everyone was too wrapped up in their own thoughts to offer much in the way of good conversation, though Jake did tell bad jokes at several stop lights to try to break the uneasy tension.

All too soon they arrived. Kashif and Leslie parked their cars in a no parking zone right in front of the bank, not planning on ever driving them again. The seven villains piled out and immediately headed toward the front doors, donning their masks as they went. Despite knowing it was coming, it was still a little disconcerting for them watching liquid stone slide around Leslie’s head.