Surprise Attack

We stopped at a nearby park where it was possible to blend in with all the other humans around. I managed to convince Air to not let a bunch of bags float in the air. Mevis was sticking close to Air and staying as far away from me as possible.

"What's all this about becoming an Elemental?" Mevis demanded. "What even are Elementals?"

She sat down on a bench beside Air while I stood up. I shrugged before pointing at Air and myself. "We're Elementals."

"Okay?" Mevis raised an eyebrow.

"So basically, we're immortal," I continued. "We've existed since... I don't know how long it's been, but definitely much longer than this planet."

I just started lazily listing out the events that led up to this point in time. "Yeah, so we exist, then a few of us didn't exist anymore. About a hundred or so years ago, maybe a thousand, we ended up here."

I pointed at the ground. "We're on Earth. I think it's some joke Creation thought up, but we're gonna be here for a really long time. It's kind of annoying though. Always got to hold back or the whole planet gets destroyed."

"Aren't you a baker?" Mevis questioned.

"Yeah, and?"

She gave up on that question. She asked instead, "So if we win this competition, I become an Elemental? I'll just become immortal just like that?"

"I guess so," I shrugged.

"You're not sure?"

"I mean, we've never seen a human be granted to powers of an Elemental before. Who knows what might happen?"

"Don't you think it's selfish to drag people into this whole competition?" Mevis demanded. "I wanted no part in this!"

"Seems like this competition would do you good though," I commented. "If you survive all the way to the end while protecting your most precious belonging, you could possibly gain the power to do whatever you want. If you're immortal, what's going to stop you?"

I cleared my throat and said to her, "Okay, first of all, I need to teach you how to identify Elementals, okay?"

"Huh?"

"If you see someone with a scar somewhere on their body, just be wary of them," I instructed. "Like Air, who has a scar on the back of her hand."

Air gestured to the scar on the back of her right hand.

"Some of their scars are harder to notice," I continued. "Like Nature. Her scar is in her eye. Earth's scar is on the base of his feet. But there are also a couple of really easy-to-notice scars. For example, Water's scar is on his chest."

"How is that easy to see?" Mevis asked.

"He's constantly shirtless," I elaborated.

Mevis looked about as confused as the humans who might have overheard us as they walked by. Mevis looked off into the distance as I continued to talk. "Well, if you see an Elemental, just make sure not to engage with them. You never know what might happen. It's always better to avoid combat with an immortal being than to waste time fighting them."

"Uhm..." Mevis pointed behind me.

Air was starting behind me as well, waving. I inhaled sharply, saying, "But yeah, the others will most likely try to kill y-"

I was sent tumbling into the bench. Air appeared some distance away with Mevis in hand. Mevis was covering her face. I got up, my back smoking as the water evaporated. Water was there, a confident grin on his face.

"I was just walking around, enjoying the scenery when I saw you!" Water said to me. "What a coincidence, huh?"

He turned to face Air, who seemed like she was having a pleasant time watching me get hit. He told her, "Wait, you're getting a piece of the action too?"

Air shrugged.

I pushed myself up and jumped over the bench, saying, "There is no way you go to a park shirtless!"

"Suntanning, you know," He laughed.

He noticed Mevis, who was covering her face and looking away from Water. He pointed in her direction, asking, "Is she the human you're supposed to protect?"

He turned into a blob of water, splattering on the ground. He then reformed in front of Mevis, squatting down and staring her right in the face. She squeaked and tried throwing the bags she was holding at him. He stopped the bags easily, staring directly into her eyes.

"Did anyone ever tell you you're quite the beauty?" Water commented.

When he tried reaching out to touch her, Air pulled Mevis away from him. I appeared in front of him, grabbing his face. My hand sizzled and his face evaporated the moment we came into contact. Water stood up, laughing to himself.

Mevis was looking up. Water looked at her again to introduce himself, "Adam Wave, Elemental of Water."

"Oh, you're still going by Adam?" I asked.

I put a hand on his shoulder.

Adam shrugged. "You know m-"

I sent electricity through his entire body. He convulsed a little before just collapsing, still in his physical form. I turned back to Air, telling her, "Leave with Mevis while he's still unconscious. Who knows what kind of weird things Water is going to do!"

Air's wings appeared. She spread them wide and instantly took off with Mevis in tow.

I turned back to Water, who was already getting up. He knocked his head a couple of times, commenting, "That was an underhanded move."

"Do what I can," I replied. "What are you here for?"

"Checking out some of the humans," Adam answered honestly. "Seriously though, that human you're with is my type."

"What? Had a change of heart?"

"Eh..." Water thought about it. "Probably not."

Dark clouds gathered overhead as the rain started to pour down on us. Humans started running for shelter as I stood there, the rainwater evaporating against my skin. The rain got so heavy that it almost became impossible for me to see far in front of me.

"Don't use your lightning in here," Water warned me. "Who knows what kind of human will get involved."

A trident appeared out of the curtain of rain, impaling me through the chest. I grabbed hold of the trident, but my hand was sizzling the moment I came into contact. I reached back, my own weapon appearing in my hand.

A staff with a hooked blade connected on one hand appeared. I swung it at Adam, who pulled his trident out to block the strike. I caught one of the trident's prongs in the hooked blade, so I pulled it closer to myself. I used my left arm to uppercut Water. He took the hit, my punches not doing too much against him. He kicked me back, ice forming on my chest.

I scraped up some mud, the mud instantly turning red. I threw it in Water's direction. The mud was encased in a ball of water where the explosion was contained. Adam jumped up at me, stabbing his trident down at me. I used my staff to knock the trident aside, but he landed on me, pushing me to the ground. He reached back, ice forming into a long spike. He stabbed it into my chest.

I grabbed his hand, my body heating up. The ice melted and so did his arm.

He stabbed down with his trident, but I kept my staff in his way, stopping the trident.

"Hey," I called out.

Adam nodded in my direction.

My entire body exploded outwards. Water was thrown back, his body needing to reform. I stood up, the rain still pouring. I was standing in the middle was a crater that spanned half the entire park. My staff vanished as I started to run away. Adam chased after me, appearing in front of me. My body sparked with lightning as I zapped past him, stunning him in the process.

I managed to escape, for now.