Rise To Stardom - Chapter 238

Chapter 238: Run, Nathan. Run!
“You sure you’re not just being a bit paranoid?” Oliver, seated on the other end of his office desk, leaned slightly into his ergonomic chair with a composed gaze as he sought clarification.

It was already late into the evening by the time the duo left the studio today but Kyle, having told the suave agent that he had something important he wanted to discuss with him, had them make a pit stop by his office.

“Oliver, when have I ever being paranoid?” Kyle affirmed rhetorically with a similarly collected expression, arms gently folded across his chest as he sat on the opposite end of his agent’s desk.

“The timing of his arrival’s a bit suspicious if you ask me but, honestly, asides that, my gut just screams bad news bears for some reason or the other…” the young star sighed, a palpable hint of concern in his tone as he added;

“I know I might be reading too much into this ’cause even to me, it sounds outright crazy to investigate someone just because his energy doesn’t vibe with mine but still, I’d really just like to be sure. Better safe than sorry…”

Although Oliver never doubted Kyle’s words from the beginning, the fact that his usually amiable ward practically felt uncomfortable around Adam– Clint’s supposed stunt double– from their very first meeting and was being vocal about it to him from the onset, was a telling sign.

‘I’ve never seen him so tensed before…’ the agent inwardly remarked as he watched Kyle’s fingers restlessly drum on the desk, a subtle hint of wariness on his calm features.

As a result, he decided to commit fully into digging into this Adam guy as he stated with a serious tone;

“I’ll hire a private investigator to look into him. It wouldn’t hurt to be cautious as you said.”

‘That’d be the best. I wouldn’t want to alert him… or anyone else on set for that matter.’ Kyle inwardly stated to which he then gave his appreciation to Oliver with an appreciative smile;

“Thanks Oliver. Thank you for always going with my whims.”

“Don’t mention it.” the agent casually waved it off with an understanding gaze.

“Besides, if he’s making you feel that restless just by being around, then it’s only natural I’d also be curious about him.” Oliver concluded with a small nod, his expression considerate.

At the same time, Kyle himself, in an effort to ensure he could stay ahead of whatever bullcrap Atlas was up to this time, came to a certain decision.

And with his mind made up, he pulled up his system’s panel.

* * *

(A week later…)

Following up from the last scene where Nathan had saved Felicia from the thugs, the next scene had shown him, sitting alone in his dorm room in a lotus position, the helmet placed before him as he reflected on whether he really wanted to be a vigilante.

The fear in Felicia’s gaze had flashed back to him and it was then that Nathan knew, he wanted to be better.

That was why, in the coming weeks of him listening to the police dispatch frequency in an effort to know when exactly Cyborg man would inevitably show up again, Nathan, whenever he was chanced, would dash to any crime scene nearby.

And whenever he was done sorting out whatever the crime or situation might’ve been, would leave a small little note, tacked onto the criminals’ or perpetrators’ being that read; Your Local Tech Wiz.

Additionally, since a masked Nathan frequently stopped by his Gramps’ shelter to check on him, he gradually became a familiar presence in the neighborhood.

Before long, people simply started calling him Tech Wiz, especially with all the small yet helpful things he did like jumpstarting cars with an electric pulse, repairing power cables, rescuing cats from trees, and more.

It didn’t take long before he was soon in the media, with people debating over whether he was just a friendly neighbourhood helper, a vigilante, or an anarchist.

That said, during Nathan’s many visits to the neighborhood, he soon realized that Felicia was practically an orphan whom was on her own, scraping together money wherever she could to pay for her tuition— unlike him, whose Gramps had already covered his college expenses.

With her juggling late-night shifts and college responsibilities, she often needed a place to crash between work and classes, making rest a luxury she could barely afford.

That exactly was where the shelter came into play.

It was also why Nathan understood her certain disdain for a named tin tyrant who gobbled her penny, why she was always late to classes and why she just always seemed so tired every blessed time.

All of these scenes had already been filmed, most of which were in NYC, with the more CGI intensive scenes, been shot over the past week in Canada.

In any case, as the plot progressed, Malakai was brought back into the story, a scene showing him tinkering with the serum and running experiments on it till it transformed from a shade of blue to a seemingly ominous hue of red gas.

And in the next scene, he would then be shown, attacking another Horizon Tech industry, setting the highly explosive building on fire in an effort to raze it to the ground.

Once again, Tech Wiz would arrive on scene, albeit a tad bit too late to stop the destructive cyborg.

But in his absence, was a dire situation Nathan had to resolve.

The burning building, which after reaching a certain threshold of flames and heat, would combust and explode, taking out several blocks of houses and innocent individuals in the process.

Interestingly, this wasn’t a scene in the comics but one Xavier himself had written into the script to showcase the spontaneous ingenuity of Nathan’s character and his very first, big hero moment.

At the same time, it was also one of Kyle’s favorite scenes in the entire movie as, asides from being such a ‘that’ scene moment, it was also a scene that could be considered a reference to a peculiar scene from its videogame counterpart.

Unfortunately, though, the day they had wanted to film it, one of the rented equipment required for it had ‘suddenly’, went bust.

Due to this, Kyle had to wait till the next day before they could have it fixed and film the scene.

“Alright. Let’s take the scene again. Hopefully the treadmill doesn’t throw another wrench into our plans.” Xavier audibly stated with a light clap to signal the crew, a hopeful expression on his features.

Quickly, the cinematographers and stunt team, took their positions in the basement, everywhere plastered with green and blue screens asides from the massive, panoramic LED screens attached to the walls.

As Kyle stood suited up atop the green, inactive treadmill, securely fastened on all ends by several omnidirectional dynamic cables, he flashed The Director a giddy thumbs-up and grinned before stating;

“Ready when you are, Zay.”

“So am I.” Clint, dressed in a green suit, calmly remarked with an excited smile of his own and so did the other extras on ground whom were at the ready to give their all in the scene.

Reciprocating his actors’ eagerness with an enthusiastic thumbs-up of his own, Xavier, having made necessary checks with his signature hand gestures, called out;

“Lights… Camera… Action!”

In response, Kyle simultaneously activated [Deep Dive] and returned its grade from {A} to {S} whilst making a mental note to stay in control and resist getting completely sucked into the scene, no matter how incredible it might feel.

{Tech Wiz: Year One | 14th of September 2022 | Act 4 | Scene 1 | Take 1}

Situated near the riverside, an inferno engulfed the Horizon Tech’s technological industry, the fire raging with an almost unnatural intensity, fueled by the company’s volatile chemicals, high-density batteries, and cutting-edge machinery which were slowly being reduced to molten debris.

Sparks crackled like tiny lightning bolts as towering plumes of smoke billowed into the afternoon sky, the scent of burning circuits and scorched metal, thick and acrid.

On the streets, chaos erupted as people gawked at the blazing building, their faces illuminated even in the day by the raging glow of the inferno.

Some even stood frozen, phones raised to capture the disaster, while others shouted in alarm, urging fellow bystanders to back away.

Various windows of multiple storefronts and vehicles reflected the fiery blaze, rattling from the nearby explosions as the next blaze of explosion and eruption imminently inched ever closer.

Blitzing onto the scene of carnage, Nathan’s visor, now completely functional, spotted the destructive cyborg, jumping out of the building, his cybernetic body and masked face, gleaming in the afternoon sun as he landed a few meters away from him.

Locking eyes onto each other for a brief moment, Nathan asked, his voice huskier behind the helmet;

“I take it you’re not gonna tell me who you are and why you’re doing thi–”

The cyborg, not even giving his question the time of the day, pointed with his cybernetic fingers, his ominous voice from behind his mask, warning Tech Wiz;

“The less you know, the better. You’ve been warned.”

Then his arms and legs emitted a propulsion beam, launching him into the air like a controlled missile and out of sight in an instant, the tarred road scorched in the aftermath like molten magma.

Angling his gaze upwards as his visor tracked the propulsion beam and rapidly analyzed its chemical components, Tech Wiz, promptly angled his gaze back to the infernal building as he similarly scanned it.

[Hydrogen cells.]

[Experimental power cores.]

“The heat’s nearing critical levels! If it continues, it’ll take out everything within a 500-meter radius!” Nathan came to an immediate realization as a percentage meter showed on his visor.

80%.

An adrenaline-pumping score, pulsed in the background, slowly rising.

“Everyone run!” he turned to face the gawking crowd of onlookers, gesturing to them with his hands.

He knew for a fact he couldn’t outrun the blast by the time it happened, much less save every blessed soul within the short time span.

81%.

Some individuals snapped to earth at his desperate attempt, others still terrified while some fools, kept recording like the idiots that they were.

Realizing they weren’t listening, Nathan’s attention was soon drawn back to the meter in his visor which increased by another percentage.

82%.

“Higher stimulus!” he desperately stated, his eyes darting about at the group of onlookers he was trying to save, the idiots among them especially, starting to film him instead.

83%.

However, in that same panicked state, Nathan’s visor caught wind of the tranquil Hudson river, his restless steps freezing as he stated;

“Water! Yes, water! I should be able to run on water and create a tidal wave!”

84%.

Then he asked himself with a hint of hopelessness in his tone;

“But how would I drag that much water to shore?!”

85%.

The adrenaline pumping score, merged with a now familiar orchestral and heroic piece.

Bouncing warily atop his boots, unsure of what he was about to do, Nathan began to make mathematical calculations aloud as the group of onlookers kept taking videos, others already running away!

86%.

“Assuming weight is 195 pounds of force-per-step for vertical suspension and surface tension, necessary fluid drag in tight zig-zag formations should be— oh for God’s sake, just run!”

The heroic score burst to life once more, powerful and liberating as ever!

87%.

A familiar blur!

88%.

A familiar perception of time, slowing down.

89%.

Tech Wiz’s steps, slowly, landed atop the body of water, a faint ripple forming beneath his boot as his heels, dug in slightly.

90%.

And then he blitzed across the length of the river, his grav boots’ function activated as droplets of water gradually pooled behind with each step!

91%.

At just the right distance covered, the body of water swelled as he curved a semi-circular arc.

92%.

Soon, a tidal wave formed.

93%.

And Tech Wiz, performed a tight 45° cut, dragging the now 100-foot tidal wave, back to shore!

94%.

Accelerating even further, he burst forward alongside the tidal wave, his zig-zag movements, enforcing a tight formation to keep dragging the wave to shore!

95%.

The onlookers, and especially the fools recording, watched the tidal wave grow even higher!

96%.

Higher stimulus. Watch the blazing inferno, or get swept up in a tidal wave?

97%.

They all ran for their dear lives!

98%.

Tech Wiz landed on solid ground, blurring sideways as the tidal wave surged forward!

99%.

Critical explosion imminent, and ready to erupt in grand fashion, the 100-foot+ tidal wave, killed it off in an instant!

Vapor and steam fizzled into the air, Horizon Tech’s building scarred and blackened by the previously raging inferno.

And standing at the corner, huffing and panting tiredly, was Tech Wiz, head slumped downwards as his palms, leaned tiredly on his knees.

A few minutes later, realizing how amazing what he had done was, every onlooker whom had witnessed the incident, soon came out of their hiding place and began to applaud.

Then a chant began.

“Tech Wiz!”

Then a cheer followed.

“Tech Wiz! Tech Wiz!”

Then it mixed into a unison of both.

“Tech Wiz! Tech Wiz! Tech Wiz!”

Before Nathan knew it, everyone was roaring his alter ego’s name, prompting him to stand up tall as he basked in the mix of cheers, chants and applauds.

In that moment, Nathan realized, his alter ego may have just become something truly more than a vigilante.

A hero.

And heroes, never overstayed their welcome.

Hence, he launched his grappling hook towards a nearby building, retracting it and yanking himself upwards in one fluid motion as he gradually vanished out of sight with a glide of his wingsuit.

“Tailslate and… Cut!”

–

As Xavier signaled the scene to be over and gestured that the take had come out perfect, the extras whom had been playing their parts, alongside the cinematographers and stunt team applauded themselves, and more specifically Kyle for a job well done.

Both the ‘Higher stimulus’ line from him and the mathematical calculations he had stated out loud, weren’t even in the script and yet, it had melded so well into the scene.

Removing the helmet and smiling in a slightly bashful manner, Adam whom had been watching the entire scene from the corner, similarly clapped, a thin smile on his lips.

‘Treadmill, failed. Guess they’re really particular about safety on set…’ he pondered to himself as he kept applauding.

Honestly, with his frankly shady job in Hollywood, the fixer, had been to so many movie sets for a job to sabotage their work.

But having been at SpawnPoint Studio for the past week, he could confidently say that the working environment was just so homely and welcoming, yet at the same time, proper and professional.

Everyone here was really passionate about what they were making and it made for such an efficient flow of things.

This made things a bit harder for him as if even the slightest gizmo on set had an issue, the production crew and stunt team would find out almost immediately and resolve it swiftly.

It was just too bad though then…

‘Guess I’ll really have to burn it all to the ground…’ the stunt double inwardly stated with an apathetic tone.

And Adam, or more specifically Vance the Hollywood Fixer, meant those words, literally.

Yet, despite his sinister internal thoughts, Adam noticed as Kyle, suddenly trained his gaze on him for a brief second.

And for a moment, the stuntman, received the most vindictive gaze he had ever received in his entire life.