"You look better than the last time I saw you," Kevin said as he looked at Aldrich. He looked buff, taller, and stronger.
Aldrich looked down at his new body. He had grown multiple centimeters, which he hoped would be permanent, not temporary like his power. His muscles had grown, and his black hair had changed to light golden.
"It's all thanks to you," Aldrich said, his voice resonant and steady.
"Me?" Kevin asked, blinking in confusion. "How? I haven't seen you in days."
"Yes. It all starts with you. I was able to hunt and eat because of you. It is better than begging. Do you know what the best part is?"
"What?" Kevin asked, curious.
Aldrich didn't answer with words. Instead, he reached up and peeled away his ragged, salt-crusted shirt. He tossed the cloth into the waves, revealing a chest that looked like it had been sculpted from marble.
But it wasn't just the muscles that made Kevin's heart stop. Carved into Aldrich's ribs, slick and pulsing with every breath, were four perfectly formed, deep-blue slits.
Kevin instinctively reached up, his fingers brushing the fabric of his suit where his own gills were hidden, pulsing in the salt air. He pulled his hand away quickly, as if he'd been burned.
"Are... are you ashamed of them?" Aldrich asked.
"What? No," Kevin snapped, looking away at the horizon. "Why would I be? That's... that's a stupid question."
"I don't know," Aldrich said, his voice smooth and hauntingly calm. "Why do you hide them under that suit then? Why keep them in the dark?"
Aldrich looked down at his own ribs, watching the blue slits flex and breathe. "I would never hide mine. I think they look amazing. They're... perfect. They're why we're the only ones who can sit out here, in the middle of the ocean, and feel at home."
Kevin looked back at him, his mouth slightly open. No one had ever told him his gills were amazing. Not the Seven, not the girls he tried to impress, no one. Hearing it from the kid made something ache in Kevin's chest.
"You really think so?"
"I know so. I will be honest: when I first got them, I was angry and even cursed you, but now I can't thank you enough for all that you have done for me. By the way, isn't it strange that until now we didn't know each other's names? I'm Aldrich."
Aldrich. His name was Aldrich.
For a second, the name felt like a warm weight in my chest. No one had ever shared a secret with me like that.
I looked at his gills. They were beautiful.
If I brought him back alive, he was dead. If I let him walk, I was dead. Ashley's voice screamed in my ears, drowning out the sound of the waves: "He'll make a wish with our corpses."
"Aldrich," I repeated, testing the name. I felt the knife in my suit's hidden pocket. "That's a good name, kid. Strong."
My heart was a drum, beating so hard I was sure he could feel it through the whale's skin. I didn't want to do it. I really, really didn't. But I liked being a Supe. I liked the Tower. I liked the fame, and I'm really scared of Homelander.
With a lunge, I thrusted the blade straight into his heart, a clean kill with no pain. But the feeling I was waiting for didn't happen. Instead, it stopped at his skin. How is this possible? Even if he copied me, I can cut my own skin with this knife.
Aldrich wasn't surprised; he simply lowered his head to look at the blade pressing against his chest. The only thing between his beating heart and the blade was muscle and skin, yet they felt so far now.
I caught his wrist gently in mine and took the blade.
"Aldrich..." he gasped, his face turning a sickly shade of white. "I... I had to... they'll kill me, Aldrich! You don't understand!"
I looked at him. I wasn't angry. I didn't feel betrayed. Betrayal requires an expectation of loyalty, and I had none for this creature. I was simply... full for now.
I had hoped my previous words would spark something in him. It was the first time I had talked that much, and in the end, they were wasted air. Or maybe not. Maybe I enjoy talking more than I think.
I let go of his wrist. He stumbled back, nearly falling off the whale. "Please don't kill me" Kevin begged.
I stood up. I felt taller. The horizon seemed warmer and calling for me. I looked at the man who had given me the ocean, and for the first time, I saw him clearly.
"You're not going to... you're not going to kill me?" Kevin stammered, clutching his bruised hand.
"I can forgive you for what you tried to do to me, Kevin," I said, stepping toward the sea as the sun caught the gold in my hair. "But I can't forgive you for what you've done to yourself."
I tilted forward and dropped.