….
[Same Day]
….
Regal, still confused and intrigued about the tiny phenomena that happened with Andrew, rode to his next location.
"Did he reach?" He inquired Samantha through the call.
["He has been waiting for ten minutes…"]
"Allright. I will be there in five."
Regal cut the call, as the excitement he was hiding slipped through his eyes.
He can finally meet the dude.
The one and only…. man who has the right to play -
Golden Avenger.
….
Robert Downey Jr.
He is a man in his early forties.
However, presently his eyes looked like someone who is near the end, as he watched -
Regal Seraphsail - the current talk of the industry director.
"There is no such thing as kindness without motive." RDJ said, the smirk on his lips not quite reaching his eyes. "Especially when it comes from a suspicious-looking, mysterious little punk like you."
Regal didn't flinch, he leaned slightly forward, chin tilted in interest. "Kid or not. Suspicious or not… does it matter?"
He paused, tone soft - almost amused.
"I thought you were in a situation, where you wouldn't hesitate to make a deal with the devil if the paperwork made sense."
RDJ scoffed, tapping his finger on the rim of his glass. "A devil, sure, because I know what he wants - my soul, my sanity, the last of my good years. That, I can work with."
He raised a brow.
"But you? I don't know what you want."
Regal let the words hang for a moment, then, with a cool confidence that almost felt too calm for his age, he replied:
"If it's about intentions… you have got nothing to worry about."
RDJ studied him, saying nothing.
Regal added, gently - but deliberately. "And you might be right, in this power hungry industry, maybe there is no such thing as …kindness without motive."
RDJ gave a dry laugh and nodded. "Exactly."
"But–" Then Regal smiled - slow, sharp, and uncomfortably self-assured.
"....that is because." He said. "You have only ever met lackluster and greedy folks who had no results to back up their generosity."
The silence sharpened.
Regal leaned back slightly now, as if letting the words settle.
"But the current me?" His voice dropped, laced with arrogance now - unapologetically.
"I am different, I can afford to be generous and I have utmost confidence in my abilities, and that I will succeed."
Then came the twist of the blade - calm, but cruel:
"So you can't really blame me for that now, can you?"
"...." RDJ stared at the boy in front of him.
Not with irritation.
Not even confusion.
Just a blank, stunned look… like someone who had just realized the 'kid' across the table wasn't bluffing.
He meant every word.
And worse —
He could back every word.
"…You are a little freak." RDJ muttered under his breath.
Regal chuckled. "Takes one to know one."
.…
RDJ's POV - Before the Meeting
….
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. sits on a cracked leather couch, he wears a slightly crumpled jacket, unshaven, hair messy in that charming, careless way only he can pull off.
There was a kind of silence he hadn't felt in years.
But it was not the kind silence of a 'peaceful' room or the silence of sleeping beside someone you trust.
No - the kind of silence that buzzes in your skull, like a scream pressed up against your eardrums that never lets out.
That's what it had been like this past week.
His first week out.
Seven days.
One week of freedom, since he walked past the gates, breathed in fresh air without permission.
Since the guards nodded instead of barked and the meds stopped coming in cups.
…and the walls were no longer white and padded and smelled faintly of disinfectant and ghosts.
God, he hated white now.
Funny - for a guy who will make a career out of wearing red and gold.
Though it had only been a week since Robert Downey Jr. stepped outside those cold metal gates.
And yet, in that short window, the world already felt colder than the cell ever did.
You know what they don't tell you about prison?
It's not the bars, it's the time.
Time slows down in there… stretches you out like taffy.
Makes you face every version of yourself you have ever tried to outrun, and trust me - I was running for years.
There was a time he thought being the 'bad boy' of Hollywood was just part of the brand.
Like... he would show up a little late, crack a few jokes, maybe lose a weekend here or there, but hey - he had always landed on my feet.
Right?
Wrong.
….
It didn't happen all at once.
No one really falls in one step, not even Robert Downey Jr.
It began like most tragedies - slowly, invisibly.
For him? It began with one drink at the wrong party.
A little something to take the edge off, just to 'feel normal', a little escape and buzz.
But with RDJ, 'a little' never stayed little for long.
Back in the '90s, he was already dancing with devils, cocaine, heroin and booze.
Sometimes all three - in the same damn night.
He still remembers getting pulled over in '96 with heroin, crack, and a gun in the seat beside him.
They asked if it was loaded, he laughed and said. "With what? Bad decisions?"
Next thing he remembers?
Jail, rehab and a lot of headlines.
..and it didnt stop there.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
His career, once promising and electric - became a cautionary tale.
Studios labeled him uninsurable, friends stopped answering calls and directors who once called him 'genius' now called him 'risk'.
He cleaned up, slipped again.
Then another cleaned up, slipped again.
Until eventually… no one cared if he slipped.
Because no one was looking anymore.
….
And here he was, one week out.
Clean, dry, sober… Technically that is.
But also… broke.
Not in dollars… In something deeper, like confidence, relevance and hope.
The first thing he tried when he got out?
Dialing his old friends.
Only… most didn't pick up.
Some did, but only to say polite things like:
"Ah man, I am rooting for you."
"Tough time for everyone, right?"
"Keep in touch."
Which basically meant: "We're done here."
The reason he even contacted was not because he wanted help… he just wanted to.
But he didn't want to look desperate, even if he was.
But currently though… He was staying in a friend's barely furnished guest house. Sleeping on a creaky mattress, eating ramen and protein bars.
Still wearing the same watch he pawned once and somehow got back in a karma twist.
He thought about throwing in the towel, maybe opening a winery or vanishing to Iceland to do yoga on a fjord.
But the thing is…
He wasn't done.
RDJ needed a comeback, not just for Hollywood.
For himself.
….
Present.
….
Now - This Kid
So when someone mentioned a 'weird young guy' asking to meet - someone with ideas, money, and connections no one seemed to understand - RDJ said yes.
Why?
Because sometimes you need the devil.
Even if he shows up looking like a teenager with an attitude problem and eyes that never blink.
So now here he was, waiting in this over-stylized lounge, fingers twitching and thoughts racing.
That kid - what was his name? Regal?
This new guy everyone in the whispers kept bringing up.
Though he got a weird-ass name.
Even a weirder vibe.
At first RDJ sniffed, he didn't know what to expect from the so-called genius filmmaker, maybe someone offering him a cameo in a film about addiction.
He would smile, shake hands, and leave quietly.
But something about this one felt different.
That's when he got to know about Regal…
He didn't even have to do much.
He was all over the news headlines just like him… though for a better reason.
And then - footsteps.
The man entered with a calm and smiling… face a little creepy eyes that are radiating a little too much to his taste…
And in that moment, RDJ didn't need a script to know - this wasn't going to be a normal meeting.
This was something else.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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