BABYLON 575 BC
Elyus's POV:
Ever since we arrived on Earth, things tended to be back and forth about my purpose being here. Specifically, if I'm in the right team with the fighters rather than the thinkers.
The longer I spent time with Sersi, it showed that my powers only helped little with the Deviants and more with helping improve civilization in Babylon.
It's not that I didn't get along with the fighters, they're great. I got to spar with Thena near the gates, Gilgamesh advised proper stances so I can land on my feet better, Kingo and I demonstrated creative ways to use our abilities, and Makkari and I explored the trading posts from the artifacts she found.
Ikaris on the other hand was more on the stern side. I never understood why but he disliked the fact I always played with the children and preferred to hang out with either Sersi, Druig, Phastos, or Sprite rather than handle the Deviants.
From my perspective, living on Earth wasn't worth it if I was solely focused on fighting Deviants. I wanted to have some fun out of it while we could!
"And then you just cover the seeds like so," Sersi gently instructed, cupping a pile of soil in her hands before covering it over the seeds.
I try to grab a pile of dirt but my nails struggled to get a proper grip which caused me to furrow my brows in concentration. Thankfully enough she latched onto my wrist, halting my actions. "What's wrong?"
"That's dry dirt, darling." She giggled.
"What's the difference?"
"That dirt won't give the seeds the proper nutrients for it to grow into plantlings." She explained with a smile before crawling closer to me, unfazed at the dirt staining her suit. "Here, let me show you."
My eyes widen in surprise as she clasps her hand under mine and reaches for the pile of soil beside her, letting my fingers run through the soil. "Oh."
"Can you feel the difference?"
I glance at her, meeting her gaze which causes my eyes to soften. "Yeah...yeah, I do." I clear my throat before I nod my head towards the dirt. "It's incredible."
"If you think that is incredible, watch this." Keeping her grip under my hand, she pulls it out of the dirt to place it on top, allowing a flow of water to escape from her fingertips and into the row where the rest of the seeds we planted together.
"Your abilities never cease to amaze me." I lightly chuckle as she pulled her hand away from mine. "Sort of jealous that you bring purpose to the team, to be honest."
Her eyes narrow into concern. "What? Why?"
I hold out the palm of my hand and swirl my finger around, creating a mini tornado to spin around. "Having control over the wind doesn't exactly bring much to the table." I shrug. "At least...that's what Ikaris makes it seem like."
"Hey, you're important to the team just as much as I am. As much as everyone." She reassured, placing her hand on my arm. "Ellie without you, I'm sure these people would suffer from the intense heat temperatures that go on here. If nobody else can see the way that I see you, then they are just plain idiotic. You're amazing."
I raise a brow. "Ellie?"
Her cheeks flush in embarrassment as she shyly looked down to continue planting more seeds into the next row. "I--erm, my apologies. Lately, I've been thinking about some more names that you would like to be called since you told me a while ago that it sounds like a boy name so i-it just sort of slipped out.
I start to smile. "It's alright. I kinda like 'Ellie' more than Elyus."
She looks up from the floor with a surprised look. "Really?" I nod. "I tried mentioning it to Ajak about getting your name changed but she didn't seem too thrilled about the idea so I thought you wouldn't have liked it either."
"How about we make it our secret then, hm?" I playfully nudge her shoulder. "A special privilege where I will never mess with you."
She raised a brow. "Oh, a special privilege?"
"Yeah. Like you will never randomly have patches of dirt hit you." I say before chucking the mini tornado I created into the dry terrain, causing the dust to hit Sersi square in the chest.
She lets out a gasp before shaking her head with a grin. "Oh, now you've done it." She giggled, grabbing onto a patch of soil which immediately turned to water in a matter of seconds, causing my eyes to widen as I scrambled to my feet and sprinted away from her.
"Oh god, Sersi think about what you're doing!"
"Get back here, Ellie!"
PRESENT DAY 2024
I throw another pebble into the river, watching as it skipped across until it collided with the edge on the opposite side and sank into the water.
I grab another pebble but just before I could toss it, I clench it in my grasp and sigh in annoyance as I adjust my position on the bench.
As soon as I left the bar, my first response was to re-book another flight to Los Angeles but since the prices were twice as much as I paid for, it practically became pointless.
Especially since if I did head home, I wouldn't have been in the best mood to work. Better for my employees anyway.
Just for her to call me that nickname brought out the worst of my memories. Seeing her reminded me of it all. It was an exception for Julian since he knew my secret and practically treated me as his best friend and replaced all of the hurt I kept with good memories but now that he was gone, I only wanted him to be the last person to call me Ellie.
The only positive thing that I kept close to my heart.
I huff, harshly tossing the rock into the river which created a large splash to ripple across the water due to the wind that escaped through my fingertips.
Unexpectedly, bubbles emerged underwater which causes my brows to furrow in confusion but they soon enough shifted into horror at the sight of the being crawling out of the water.
"What the..." I mutter as I slowly stand up from the bench, seeing the Deviant set its angered expression on me.
"Shit!" A familiar voice cried out from behind and I turn, my eyes widening in surprise at Sprite standing next to Sersi while Dane had his back towards me, unaware of the beast behind me. "Is that a Deviant?"
"Dane, run!" I yell out but to my surprise, the Deviant's tentacles wrap around my arms, dragging me closer to the beast before one of the tentacles pierced my neck. "Agh!"
"Eleanor!"
I kick towards the Deviant, sending a surge of the sharp wind to slash the tentacle off which releases its hold on my arms. I blow a harsh breath, sending me to skid away from the Deviant but a strong pair of arms pull me to stand on my feet.
"I gotcha!" Dane scrambled but Sersi ran around him and touched the ground, changing the stone into sand.
The Deviant began to sink, fighting with all its strength until she touched the ground again, turning the stand into stone to trap it.
"Sersi?" He worriedly called but Sprite tugged his arm, urging him to begin sprinting with Sersi and I following close behind. "What is that thing?"
"A Deviant!" Sprite yelled as the four of us ran.
"You said that you killed them all!"
"You told him that?" Sersi groaned at Sprite.
"You believed her?" I scolded, reaching over and smacking Sprite in the arm with a glare.
"I do now!" He screeched but his expression twisted into confusion once he turned to me. "Wait a second, you just demonstrated that you have wind powers!"
I glance behind me once we reached the bridge, my eyes widening at the sight of the Deviant breaking free by using its tentacles to yank itself out of the ground by grabbing onto the wall.
Suddenly, Sersi halted her movements and sprinted back towards the Deviant. "What are you doing?" Sprite yelled out.
"Keep Dane safe!" Sersi hopped over the fence before she scaled the wall, disappearing from our sight.
"Sersi, wait!" Dane screamed, watching as the Deviant followed after her. "Sersi!"
I groan in annoyance, knowing that despite not being too big of a fan of the girl, I couldn't let her fight it on her own. "Sprite, you are on babysitting duty." I instruct before I step out of the bridge as well.
"You can't be serious Elyus!" I hear Sprite shout but I ignore her complaints by proceeding to conjure the surge of wind to blast the ground, sending me flying over the bridge.
Just before the Deviant could get closer to Sersi who defensively had her hand raised, I push my hands forward and send the creature to harshly roll backward away down the street from us.
"Ellie? I thought I told you to stay with Dane!"
"Your abilities won't be enough to stop this thing." I land in front of Sersi with a huff. "Besides, I don't take orders from you."
"It's not even about orders! It's so you can protect him and stay safe!"
"I don't need your protection." I remark as I turn around, seeing as the Deviant shook its head before approaching us. "How the hell is this thing here? They're supposed to be extinct."
I lift my hand to strike but suddenly several versions of ourselves appeared, causing the Deviant to stop as it frantically looked around at the versions of Sersi, Sprite, and I.
Sprite began moving, along with her illusions, and I slowly follow suit but walk on a different pathway from Sersi.
The Deviant raised its hand, letting its claw move through a false version of Sersi before trying to slice through another version of Sprite.
"Run, go, run!" I hear Dane shout, watching as he attempted to escort the people nearby on the street to run away. However, the Deviant slowly turned around at one of the nearby Sprites with a snarl, causing my eyes to widen.
"It knows where we are!" Sprite shouted, beginning to run away.
"How?" Sersi did the same as I frantically quickened my pace.
"I don't know!" Sprite yelped as she fell forward from the tentacle hitting the back of her head.
My eyes widen and I sprint toward her. "Sprite!" I yell out, watching as she crawled backward to get away from the creature but I was too far from where I was. "Sprite!"
Before I could reach her, something slammed into the Deviant and launched it into the tattoo shop, causing me to skid to a stop.
"Sprite!" Dane hurriedly ran to Sprite's aid by pulling her to stand on her feet, but I couldn't help but stare at the building nearby.
In a matter of seconds, the Deviant is thrusted out of the building and crashed into the lamp pole before rolling onto the street by two energy beams. The brief sighting of the energy beams alone made me recognize who they came from.
And I wasn't even close to being happy about it.
The silhouette of a figure stepping out of the building, causes a gasp to escape from Sprite's lips. "Ikaris!"
"Evening, ladies." He greeted with a smile but I glance behind me, taking note of Sersi's disbelief as well.
But her expression suddenly shifted into shock. "Watch out!"
I look over my shoulder just as the Deviant slams into Ikaris, sending them to tumble down the street before hitting an oncoming bus.
"Elyus move!"
I felt frozen in place as I stared ahead at the bus flipping over towards me but instantly someone stepped in front of me. A hand reached upward and the moment the hand touched the metal, it turned into thousands of rose petals floating through the air.
I slowly glance up at the figure, meeting Sersi's concern-filled eyes until she lifted her hand to reach into my hair, plucking the petal and letting it drop to the floor.
"Ugh..."
I snap my focus away from the girl, seeing as the driver dizzily sat up from the pile of rose petals.
"Sorry." Sersi sheepishly smiled at the man before pulling her hand away.
But the attacks didn't stop there. The Deviant was back on its feet within seconds and climbed the nearby building. Dane and Sprite quickly join our side but the Deviant went after Ikaris, who moved out of the way with ease.
Ikaris flew up at a higher level, using his laser vision beams which sent the Deviant flying backward to crash into the building.
Unexpectedly, rather than just being put to its demise, the Deviant raised one of its arms and hovered its hand over the singed tentacles, healing itself to stitch back together.
"Unless I drank too much of that whiskey," I whisper, feeling my stomach churn in discomfort at the sight. "are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?
"Did it just heal itself?" Sprite exasperated, watching as the Deviant fully healed itself.
The Deviant tries to charge at us once again but Ikaris blasted it backward with his heat vision, chasing it further down the street where it proceeded to collapse into the water and escape.
As Ikaris lowered himself onto the street, Sprite ran ahead first to embrace him into a tight hug with a grin. "Ikaris!" She giggled but I remained at Dane's side with my arms crossed over my chest. "It's great to see you."
"It's good to see you, Sprite." He chuckled.
Though, Dane glanced between Sersi and Ikaris until his eyes slightly widened in realization before walking forward to the man. "I'm Dane."
"Hello, Dane." Ikaris greeted with a short nod.
"Well, I guess you must be the pilot." Dane concluded, his eyes briefly meeting mine and Sersi's. "Looks like we have a lot to catch up on, don't we Eleanor?"
From behind, sirens approached from the street but Sprite quickly lifted her lands, making the five of us disappear.
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"We're Eternals, from a planet called Olympia. We came here 7,000 years ago on the Domo, our starship, to protect humans from the Deviants." I start, watching as Dane poured us two shot glasses filled with the whiskey I got him. "We thought we destroyed them all five centuries ago, but now they're back."
Dane slowly nodded but his brows furrow into confusion. "Why didn't you guys help fight Thanos? Or any war? Or all the other terrible things throughout history?"
"We weren't allowed to interfere in any human conflicts unless Deviants were involved."
"Why?"
"Well think about it. If we protected humanity from all the dangers for seven thousand years, do you think you would have developed the same way as society is now?" I question and he shook his head no. "I wasn't too thrilled about the rule but I didn't have a choice. I almost caved in with Thanos."
"But if the Deviants were eradicated a long time ago, why are you still here?"
I shrug. "We've been waiting to be told we can go home."
"So...Sersi." He trailed, pushing the shot glass closer to my hand. "I'm gonna assume she is the girl, Serena, you told me that broke your heart? With Ikaris?"
I ignore the question but grab the glass, instantly downing the drink. "Next question."
"Come on, Eleanor. It's clear there's unfinished history with that from the way you practically ran out of the bar like a deer in the headlights."
"Unfinished history that I don't need to revisit." I harshly state.
"You're not even going to try? Come on, especially if it's against a guy like Ikaris? The boy who flew too close to the sun?"
I snort. "Sprite made that story up when we lived in Athens."
"In the fifth century B.C.?" His eyes slightly widen. "Wait, how long were Sersi and Ikaris together? It probably wasn't even that long--"
"Five thousand years."
"...oh, I guess you can call that long-term. What happened?"
I roll my eyes. "I didn't ask nor do I care. She made her choice so I moved on."
"Clearly." Dane muttered, causing me to punch his arm. "Ow! Well, it's true! Does she even know?"
I shake my head. "She doesn't need to."
"But given the chance, would you?"
I stay silent, unsure of the answer but I glance down at my watch, seeing that I already spent enough time so I could meet up with the others. "I have to go."
Dane's eyes soften before he lets out a puff of air. "So much for our fun-filled week, huh?"
I grab the bottle from his hand and refill our glasses until I hold mine up with a small smile. "One for the road?"
He immediately nods, grabbing the glass to tap it against mine before we take the shot together.