The Price of Fame

1:

The lights flashed as a masked young man flew across the scene, a cape billowing behind him as he fought to free an innocent woman from an evil mob boss. A swift kick to the gangster's stomach sent the crook to his knees.

Safely far away, the man set the girl down gently on soft grass, light blue hair framing his face. "Thank you for saving me," she gushed. The hero looked away. "Why are you looking away?" She asked. "Please, let me see the face of my savior-"

"I was only doing my duty to the people," he said strongly with a tone just barely above that of a whisper. "My face is unimportant." He began walking away.

"Wait! Where are you going?" The damsel asked.

"Wherever I am needed, dear lady." He turned and returned to kiss the back of her hand lightly. "But have no fear, I will come should you ever need me." And with that, the caped man walked into the distance.
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"Phew, that was rough wasn't it?" The perky blond woman beside Brycen asked. The actor only nodded.

"I never thought you'd have it in you to play that kind of hero in any action movie. You know, the hand kisser or whatever," she added. Brycen shrugged.

"It's not like the movements or lines were too taxing." This got a laugh out of Brietta, his costar.

"You've sure got that right! Crying while I was gagged and handcuffed? Easy!" She rounded on the blue haired man, focusing her bright blue eyes on him. "But you're a natural, Bryce."

"I suppose-"

"Oh, don't be so modest!" Her hand rested on his bare arm. "Although, I must say, a modest action hero is very rare. I love rarities." He didn't respond.

They continued leaving the set, until Brietta stopped. "Hey Brycen... I was wondering.... Are you free this evening? If you are, would you like to meet me at the restaurant in Castelia?" The young man was about to shake his head no, then he realized what his costar was asking.

She's asking me out? Sure, he was sure hundreds of men adored Brietta Bel. After all, it was a universal fact that she was a well known actress, and gorgeous too, with her blond hair falling in soft curls past her shoulders, and those brilliant blue eyes. Brycen himself had been spending more time himself watching the graceful way the delicate woman carried herself.

This isn't bad, he told himself. Going out with a lady would be nice sometime. And Bri's brilliant.

"I'd love to," he responded. The woman's face lit up.

"Great! What time are you free tonigh-"

"Brycen!" the assistant director shouted as he rushed to the pair. "The director would like you to add in a new stunt to the end credits."

"Again?"

"Sir, the director only wants to create the best films ever filmed. After all, he's paying people like you and Miss Bel here hundreds of thousands to star." The young man nodded.

"Very well." He glanced at Brietta.

"I'll be there as soon as I finish. Just go ahead and make the reservation."

"Alright," she said, smiling even as she left.

"So what's the new stunt?" He asked the Assistant Director. The assistant quickly explains the new act. Brycen's eyes widened. "What?! That's far too reckless! It isn't safe!"

"But Brycen, think... If you get this thing perfectly, it'll make the film that much better! You'll be even more famous!" Those words were the ones that convinced Brycen to climb the ladder to cling to an extremely narrow zip line after putting on a harness that matched the color of his costume. After all, that's what he left home to do- become famous.

With a sharp intake of air, the actor pushed himself off the platform, using only his upper body strength to hold onto the line. Now for the tricky part...

He suddenly released himself, somersaulting in the air. The line connecting his harness to the cable let him drop mere feet from the floor, then jerked him to the high ceiling, where he did a roundhouse kick in midair, then leaned backwards, letting himself free fall.

Fearless was he. This... Felt amazing. Brycen had done many stunts for movies before, but never something of this scale...

Something went wrong. Terribly wrong. He heard a twang, and his safety harness completely gave way. He didn't even have to have fear before he hit the floor rapidly in a crumpled heap.

_____________

The restaurant had already been full with reservations that night. It was too bad, Brietta had been looking forward to her date-no, dinner- with her costar. She had to remind herself that it was just dinner, not a date.

Brietta just found the tall blue haired man a mystery. He hardly spoke, but had the strength to break a wooden board with a single hand- she'd seen him do it. Nobody really knew much about him except that he'd started acting when he was 17, nearly eight years ago. Some said he came from the mountains of Icirrus, others claimed he had been raised in the Giant Chasm itself. That was the thing, almost no one knew anything about him. But... His mysterious ways only made him appeal to her even more.

Still, she wanted to have dinner with him. That's what she'd do now, ask him where he'd like them to eat instead. Blood drained from her face when she drove up to the studio. Right by the door, an ambulance was parked. Being wheeled out on a cart was a masked man with disturbed blue hair.

It can't be Brycen. Brycen never let anything disrupt his neatly done hair. Brietta quickly found the assistant director. "What happened?!" The man's face was also pale.

"There was an accident. The cable snapped while Brycen was dangling from it, and he fell at least fifteen feet..." She reopened the door to her car and unlocked the passenger seat.

"Hop in. We'll meet them at the hospital."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm afraid, Mr. Hachiku, that your acting career is over," the doctor said quietly. The young blue haired man laying on the table jerked himself up.

"What?! But I'm not even 30 years old yet!" He argued. The doctor shook his head.

"You've severely damaged many tendons in your leg and ligaments in your shoulder. It also seems like you've fractured two ribs. You're very lucky nothing punctured your lungs."

"Can't I get surgery or something to fix it though?" The doctor seemed deep in thought, then frowned deeply.

"I suppose you could. Although, it would cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars since the damage is extensive. Even with surgery, your body wouldn't be as strong as it was before." He stopped for a moment. "Mr. Hachiku, I know you don't want to hear it, but I would strongly advise you take early retirement. Leave the acting industry with your savings, and retire to some nice quiet place." The man turned to leave. "I'll leave you to consider your options for now."

As soon as the doctor left, the young actor set his face in his hands, then realized his mask was gone. With that, a choked cry left his throat and tears dripped down his face.
~*~*~*~*~*~*