Rise To Stardom-Chapter 252: Worth Every Dollar

’Jump!’

It was the shared thought most in the auditorium had as the score swelled!

Yet the moment Tech Wiz dived instead, Derek’s eyes widened in surprise, one that was reflected in every other fan’s gaze in the cinema which was glued to the IMAX screen.

As they watched him plummet downwards, the score constantly pulsating in rhythmic, heavy-hitting percussions that synced with their heart beats, the payoff of a different approach from the comics came.

The surround sound system in the cinema seemed to amp the orchestral heroic score as it burst forth, sending electrifying chills of excitement through everyone’s spine as Tech Wiz glided with his wingsuit!

Watching the hero landed perpendicularly to the building, the slow motion CGI reflected in their irises as he took his very first grav step up the building, Derek, alongside a couple fans in the cinema couldn’t help but want to scream at the top of their lungs like the fan boys they were!

But since they could disrupt other people’s viewing experience, they reeled in their unbridled excitement the best they could.

Yet, even Linda, much like the general audience, wanted to do the same as Nathan’s child-like scream of exhilaration, boomed through the speakers!

And so, as they watched him chain his runs with his retractable hook and wingsuit, alongside executing a plethora of stylized movements, including the corkscrew through the concrete pipe, the feeling of excitement in the hall, palpably increased.

-

"I’m the best."

-

A string of excited chuckles, verging on becoming a full-on laugh of exhilaration as Nathan praised himself for a job well done on his first run, cascaded through the room.

Yet most completely fell off the verge, their mirthful laughs ringing the loudest the moment he fell gracelessly down the building!

Linda and Derek were among those who did, yet, the moment the fan boy, alongside other hardcore gamers in the hall, noticed whom the people dressed in motion-capture suits were, they widened their gazes in shocked disbelief!

-

"Well, this is awkward."

-

Another wave of laughter from these group of fans in the hall, caught the general audience off-guard as theirs rang louder!

Linda too, angled her gaze over to her boyfriend, unsure of what was causing him to go into another fit of laughter.

Yet, that experience was short-lived as the movie went on, the scene moving over to the scene where Nathan had to save Felicia from the thugs.

And upon watching as he quickly dispatched of them, a terrified Felicia still spooked beyond measure as Tech Wiz gave her a brief nod, Linda thought to herself;

’Wonder if she’ll ever find out its Nathan…’

However, for Derek who had his gaze focused on the screen as he watched the next scene where Nathan sat in a lotus position before his helmet in his dorm room, he smiled as he inwardly commented;

’I’m so glad they took the liberty of adding this scene…’

The scene, despite how brief it was, was one practically everyone could feel the weight of as they realized through Nathan’s deep, purposeful gaze that he wanted to be something more than just a vigilante.

This was the halfway mark of the movie.

So when the next few scenes played out, the audience, much like the fans in the room, felt a sense of heroism from Nathan as he started helping out around his Gramps home-shelter neighborhood.

’Ohhh… so that’s how he got the name Tech Wiz!’ Linda smiled warmly as she watched another scene where the masked hero left a ’Your Local Tech Wiz’ note after jumpstarting a car for a man.

With an electric pulse, the vehicle sputtered to life as the man who was late for work, thanked Tech Wiz profusely.

Added to that, the audience soon understood why Felicia was always so tired as a fairly long scene after, showed her coming off her night shift as she walked through the neighborhood, her gaze spotting Tech Wiz as he helped a young girl, grab her cat off a tree.

But one of Nathan’s great moments of heroism, unbeknownst to even fans and general audience alike, came a couple moments after.

The burning building scene.

-

"I take it you’re not gonna tell me who you are and why you’re doing thi—"

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

-

As Derek watched the Overclock warn Tech Wiz in genuine curiosity, the backdrop raging with flames, he didn’t realize he had unconsciously leaned forward as he mused;

’I don’t remember this scene from the comics…’

However, as the familiar banger of a soundtrack slowly pulsed in the background just as Tech Wiz analyzed that the building would soon explode, the fan boy felt his excitement similarly ramp up.

-

"Higher stimulus!"

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

-

’Wait… don’t tell me he’s gonn—’ Derek, much like other fans in the room hadn’t even finished his thoughts when Nathan’s words gave them their answers.

-

"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!"

-

As the heroic orchestral piece burst forth once more with Tech Wiz, blitzing across the body of water, every core fan of the comics and video game, let out an unbridled cheer of exhilaration this time without care for where they were!

Even the general audience, couldn’t help but be amazed as they watched the amazing scene, the tidal surging forth as Tech Wiz executed tight zig-zag formations to increase the water’s drag!

Watching as it was brought to shore to douse the flaming inferno, Linda tightly grabbed her boyfriend’s arm as she whispered in awe;

"That was so amazing!"

"I know right?!" Derek replied in kind, with a thrilled grin.

No sooner had the scene ended though, with every citizen within vicinity chanting his name loudly, the exhilarated audience was soon treated to the twist that came a few scenes after.

And it was at this moment that Derek and other hardcore fans in the room, finally had a shocked expression on their features.

Even as core fans, they themselves weren’t expecting that.

Yet, the more they thought about it, the more they felt that it was an ingenious move.

’If they do go down this route, it would completely cement Overclock as a full on villain, just like the comics! There won’t be any justifications for his actions anymore!’ Derek felt a tingle in his spine as he watched on with intrigue.

The idea of trying to make villains relatable was something everyone was really getting tired of in Hollywood movies for a while now so seeing this, came as a breath of fresh air to most fans.

As the next few scenes played though, with Malakai explaining to Nathan what exactly was going on, whilst indirectly answering his questions about how he got his powers, Linda nodded in realization;

’That explains him losing his arm. Also explains how Nathan got his powers…’

’But is Malakai just a proxy for Overclock then?’ the lady then asked herself.

She had unfortunately been tricked, much like all of the general audience who weren’t core fans of the comics and games that maybe, the live action version of Malakai wasn’t as bad as he seemed to be…?

Wrong!

And the next few scenes proved that as Linda, had her thoughts shattered, she, much like everyone, feeling the hairs on her skin rise up as Malakai completely switched demeanors.

-

"Prof, I really think I shou—"

"Ah, Nathan."

"You just had to come back, didn’t you?"

-

’I swear this Clint guy’s the perfect, Prof. Overclock!’ Derek inwardly gulped as he felt the sheer fury and malice reflected in his green irises as the now cyborg-clad man, choked Nathan and threw him aside.

At this moment, a clear line had been drawn in the audience’s mind.

If Malakai was willing to manipulate and hurt his student et colleague’s son whom was trying to reason with him, just to get what he wanted, then he really needed to be stopped.

From there, the scenes kept escalating and before the audience knew it, they were in the last half of the movie.

The Matriculation Ceremony Scene.

-

"Who… who are you?!"

"Call me, Overclock."

"Now…"

"Ready for your final act?"

-

But with the familiar orchestral piece kicking in once more, every bit as inspiring as ever, the audience in the room practically felt liberated as Tech Wiz saved Eccleston with his gadget and streaked up the building to sock Overclock a grav-infused uppercut!

Then their frenetic, action-packed fight scene followed, with everyone practically on the edge of their seats.

’Man, the CGI’s darn near perfect!’ Derek felt himself getting more and more into the scene as it continued.

However, when Tech Wiz started losing, Linda, alongside many others in the cinema, despite knowing fully well that it was a superhero movie they were watching, couldn’t help but clench their fists.

It was clear that they too, just like the pedestrians on the street in the movie, were rooting for Nathan to come out on top.

However, watching as he was mercilessly beaten down again, with Overclock now holding his defeated figure by the throat, so many in the auditorium whom were unconscious about the deflated gazes on their features, listened as Malakai spoke;

-

"I tried to warn you Nathan…"

"But you wouldn’t listen!"

-

And then the hairs on practically everyone’s skin rose up in anticipation, as they watched Nathan slowly raise his vindictive gaze upwards, his eyes burning with relentless fury!

-

"You knew!"

"Such a disappointmen—"

-

The brutalizing crunch of Malakai’s cyborg helmet that followed, courtesy of Nathan’s electro-infused punch, instantly had a pained fan in the auditorium audibly comment!

"Get him Nathan!"

And much like him, others in the cinema’s auditorium, although they weren’t saying it, felt the exact same!

Linda and Derek, weren’t exempt either.

So, with all their emotions of resentment fed, much like Nathan whom was currently bodying Malakai on screen, especially with every blessed punch resounding through the auditorium’s surround sound system, everyone watched him direct a frustrated, guttural roar at himself as he held back from finishing off the man.

Then, they all listened as he spoke, every range of complex emotions palpable in his voice;

-

"I tried to talk. I want you to remember that."

"I tried to reach out."

"I tried to understand."

"And I think you understood! You just didn’t care!"

-

Hearing that part as Nathan roared in fury, Derek could feel strongly, just how badly his favorite hero had wanted to help Malakai from the way his face contorted in a mix of rage, pain, hurt and disappointment.

As a result, he couldn’t help but genuinely feel like Kyle had done a phenomenal job of bringing Nathan North to life.

But the scene wasn’t over yet so he watched on intently, wanting to actually listen to the rest of the words Nathsn had to say… especially since this scene too, much like the past ones, wasn’t even in the comics.

-

"You were a monster…"

"And that was the role you were so determined to play."

"So I had to play mine."

"The man who stops the monster."

-

Hearing that part, Linda, much like everyone else in the room, be they fan of the comics or not, experienced the moment that truly elevated whom Nathan North was in their minds.

Malakai had used, manipulated and practically tried to kill him a couple times and yet, he still chose the hard path of doing the right thing.

If that wasn’t the true mark of a hero, then they didn’t know what was.

’He’s such a well-written protagonist…’ Linda thought to herself as she watched him, leave the aftermath of his fierce battle against the villain as distant police sirens blared.

With that, the next few scenes were shown.

-

Malakai was imprisoned in a secure facility.

Nathan, using a cloaking tech on his face to mask his injuries, was shown meeting with his worried Gramps later in the day at the house.

Apologizing to George, he lied that he’d actually overslept is why he missed out on the matriculation and his calls.

And then the next day, the young man rushed to college, having actually overslept this time.

However, just before he arrived at the gates, he ran into a tardy Felicia who casually waved over with a smile…

…only for the duo to have their attention grasped by the blazing speed of police car in a fierce chase with a couple armed robbers!

A glint of purpose surfacing in his eyes, Nathan had almost wanted to bolt when Felicia suddenly threw a thin metal plate in his direction.

Catching it effortlessly, the young man’s eyes widened in realization.

It was the now repurposed mini-vacuum slate he had thrown to cushion Eclesston’s doomy fall!

He’d been unable to retrieve it due to his fierce fight with Overclock but seeing as Felicia grinned knowingly after having pieced it all together, she stated;

"You can borrow my notes when you’re back."

Donning a light smile of his own, Nathan replied appreciatively;

"Thanks! I will!"

A familiar inspiring tune cued, already pulsating rapidly.

With that, he bolted the opposite direction as he soon found a secluded alleyway, and in a few seconds, was vaulting up its perron as his exosuit slowly took form.

And by the time he was fully suited, he launched himself off the building’s ledge like a soaring phoenix.

The orchestral heroic piece soared in sync, accentuating Tech Wiz’s heroic, mid-air pose!

-

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

And at that exact moment, the movie ended, the credits rolling as everyone in the cinema’s auditorium, instantly began to give a round of applauds and whistles, Derek and Linda vigorously doing the same.

Yet, a couple minutes later after the credits had rolled, most were awaiting a post-credits scene like most superhero movies had these days.

But even both fans and general audience alike could not have expected it to be so cryptically mind-bending.

-

As footsteps echoed in the mysterious chamber, a masked figure in the dimly lit room, approached the cryo-chamber that housed the fragile life that was Caitlyn North, encased within.

And upon unveiling the mask, back still turned, the figure suddenly turned around to face the camera with a determined gaze!

It was, none other, than Caitlyn North herself.

-

…

…

…

"My goodness…" Derek audibly commented the moment he was out of the theatres with his girl, a bamboozled expression very much painting his features as he tried to wrap his head around the post-credits scene. Explore more at novelbuddy

"If even you are stumped, I don’t wanna get started on what I’m feeling right now." Linda who had her hands interlocked with his, stated with a similarly puzzled gaze.

A plethora of other individuals whom had watched [Tech Wiz: Year One], had the exact same expression of bewilderment on their features.

Yet, at the same time, they couldn’t help but feel like the movie was worth every dollar they had paid for it, enough for them to want to go for another seating.

Meanwhile, as the couple walked up to Leo and Kim whom were already out the theatres earlier than they were, Daniel and Mary-Jane already arguing over something in the corner, the bulky Linebacker simply ignored their shenanigans and asked the duo instead;

"So, how was it?"

"It just kept going and going till the end!" Derek replied contentedly to which Linda chimed in with an even more ecstatic smile;

"Couldn’t have said it better myself!"

"Yours?" Linda curiously inquired of the couple.

"Opposite of yours I’d say. It was good in the first half. Really good. Then it just kinda took a nose dive to a crawl midway till the credits rolled." Leo sighed in response to which Kim, did the same as she stated;

"Maybe we should’ve watched the superhero movie after all…"

"Oh so now you’re interested!" Leo pinched his girl’s cheeks once more.