Chapter 17: The Birth Of Sir Platinum
Dinner hadn’t arrived yet, so Nathan settled for the snacks he’d bought from the commissary.
He searched for accounts on the app and scrolled.
The first stream had eight viewers. It was an elderly man behind a stove, humming to himself over a wok of fried rice. The viewer count increased to nine.
Nathan tapped the gift button.
A galaxy streaked across the screen. The old man froze mid-stir.
"...Eh?"
Several other galaxies appeared and the spatula slipped from his hand.
Before the man could recover, Nathan left a short word of encouragement and moved on.
The next stream was a teenage girl quietly sketching a dark vigilante in a black cape for six viewers.
She was mid-sentence about shading, when a couple of galaxies detonated across her stream.
Her eyes widened. Then another series of galaxies showered.
Her hands flew to her mouth. "Mom! MOM! Someone just gave me a Galaxy!"
But Nathan was already gone.
Next, was a young man giving his opinions on superheroes for thirty five viewers.
"...and that’s why I prefer Atomic Queen to Lady Might. She’s not respected..."
[User: Sir Platinum has gifted a Galaxy x17]
"...Enough."
He adjusted his glasses in stunned silence. "I’m sorry. Did somebody just give me a gift?"
Nathan left another short message before exiting the stream.
He moved through several more streams.
A woman singing nursery rhymes to her child. A man recording robot creation tutorial videos. A gamer celebrating a hard-fought win. None of them saw him stay for more than a few moments.
For the next couple of hours. Sir Platinum appeared across the platform without warning.
He targeted small creators that had been streaming for a while.
Some of them he already followed on his old account because he genuinely enjoyed their content.
His arrival ushered animations of galaxies.
He never stayed long enough for a conversation. A generous gift, a brief message of support, and he was already in the next stream.
By the time Nathan stopped, he had spent around twelve million dollars worth of coins.
The system gave him the rebate.
[Spent: $12,000,000]
[Rebate (2x): $24,000,000]
[System Balance : $25,008,000]
Nathan smiled at the screen.
The internet, on the other hand, had already caught fire.
His account had gotten various badges he didn’t understand their purpose and verified accounts were sending him messages.
Across the internet. Theories and wonders of his name spread.
On TiikTuk:
⌕ [Who IS Sir Platinum?]
Videos were already being posted with varying comments from users.
["Bro just dropped five Galaxies and vanished."]
["Bro saved my life."]
["He tipped my dad’s cooking stream!! 😭😭"]
["This account has literally no profile picture. Is it a Bot??"]
["They saved me from getting evicted 🙏."]
InstaGlam wasn’t any calmer. Screenshots and videos hammered across stories and reels.
[Has anyone else seen this account?]
[Sir Platinum just made my roommate’s entire month🔥 🔥 .]
[It should have been me😕]
[He only donates to small creators. Why??😡😡]
Wetube users were already uploading reaction videos with click bait titles before the night was even over.
───〃NEW INTERNET SENSATION: WHO IS SIR PLATINUM??? 〃───
───〃GENEROUS TYCOON OR COMPLETE IDIOT?! 〃───
───〃SIR PLATINUM EXPOSED?! THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DONATIONS 〃───
───〃I RECEIVED A GIFT FROM SIR PLATINUM... HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED〃──
Even the HeroForum picked it up.
Thread #69047033 — Has Sir Platinum gifted any heroes yet?
Replies: 404
Nathan checked his TiikTuk profile, watching the follower and message count climb.
From hundreds to thousands. He muted every notification he could find.
So this is why famous people flex about muting notifications.
He didn’t mind the attention. He was anonymous after all. But the main focus was that his plan had worked.
No one would think to ask why he’d shown up for Catherine in particular.
They’d just chalk it up to the internet’s newest mystery and all the attention would be focused on him.
He locked the phone and laid on the bed. His eyes drifted around the walls. He had money but he was still stuck in a supermax.
The money, the fame, Sir Platinum: none of it meant anything if he couldn’t get out of Stone River.
His phone buzzed once more. Not a follower this time.
Critter. @ISimpForLadyMight
He opened the chat. Two new messages were waiting. The first one was short.
[The inmate problem is sorted.]
The second was an attachment.
Veronica.pdf
Nathan’s eyebrows lifted. "That was fast." He thanked Moe and made another request. A fake ID. Moe responded with a thumbs up and a goodnight message.
Nathan opened the file.
Veronica von Ritcherstein was a half German born in America. Not much is known about her childhood.
She was raised by her father who has ties to the military. No mention of her mother.
Nathan scrolled and stopped at a section. Her birthday was November 13th.
He frowned. That was the same birthmonth as his.
As he read further, his lips pressed tight. Her birth month, genotype and blood type all matched his and she was a natural blond.
"Coincidence?" Nathan shook his head. For a brief moment, he wondered if Moe was pulling his leg.
But his mind was moving somewhere else. Was that why the doctor hated him? Maybe he reminded her of an ex lover?
Nathan frowned. "That couldn’t be it."
His thoughts drifted to the laboratory equipment in her office.
Unless... She’s interested in me for some medical reason?
Considering she was a doctor, there was no telling what experiments she was up to in her free time.
He exhaled, somewhere he didn’t believe that was all of it. But he had something to start with. It was better than nothing
He’d have to prod the doctor the next time they met.
A few moments later, Theo arrived and the gate of his cell was locked shut.
A heavy sigh escaped his cell mate. "Yo, Nathan."
"What’s up Theo."
"Whew!" He exclaimed."I feel exhausted. How are your injuries?"
"Feeling better. The doctor gave me pain killers."
"That’s good to hear." Theo said as he sat on his bed. "That was some stunt you pulled in the yard. I didn’t think you had it in you."
Nathan shrugged. "What have you been up to?"
"Prison job and I was on cooking duty. We should be getting dinner soon, good stuff tonight."
Nathan nodded. "I forgot you have a job here."
"It’s not much but it’s honest work." Theo said as he laid down. "Also my lawyer visited today. She said my appeal has gotten some push."
"That’s great news," Nathan replied.
"Yeah, but they’re getting tired. I haven’t exactly been the most paying client." Theo let out a sigh.
Nathan suddenly remembered their conversation the other night. "Oh yeah. My sponsor said they are okay with you helping out."
In his cell, Theo’s eyes widened. "For real?"
"Yeah, they offered fifty."
Theo paused for a moment then laughed. "fifty bucks? Is this revenge on the password joke?"
"No." Nathan chuckled. "Fifty thousand."
Theo blinked. "Who the hell is your sponsor man... That’s a lot of money."
Nathan glanced sideways. "I’ll find out when I’m out of here."
"Well count me in, as long as no one dies, I’m good."
Nathan smiled before replying. "Of course."
Several minutes later. The guards arrived with dinner.
Nathan picked it and went to his bed. His thoughts drifted to the doctor and the many ways he could get her on his side
If I have flirt with her...
He grimaced at the thought. The doctor still annoyed him but he could always address her behavior, when he had cleared his name.
On the upside, Nathan did always like difficult women. That was part of the reason he had a crush on Tabitha back in high school.
He opened his phone and sent some crypto worth two thousand dollars along with a ’Thank You’ message to the guard he had bribed before.
A subtle reminder that his loyalty paid.
Eventually, Nathan intended to make him an offer worth risking his career for.
An hour later, it was lights out.
—-
Veronica’s face held a frown as she scrolled her phone. The glow of the screen reflected on her glasses.
Her other hand held a cup of steaming tea as she read Nathan’s information Moe had sent to her.
It was one of the reasons she was still awake. Most of it she already knew, his birthday, blood tests and appearance.
His life was completely ordinary. A delivery driver with a father and sister. No previous criminal records and positive references.
"An ordinary man gets involved in an armed robbery with three other men and confesses to the entire crime?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Something doesn’t add up."
Veronica frowned as she read all of it. Her trust in the justice system had always been narrow.
She and her father always had arguments regarding this.
Her body sunk into the sofa. She’d seen all sorts of men at Stone River. Murderers, rapists, thieves and she had treated them all the same.
Nathan had been no exception. At least, that was what she’d told herself.
The truth was, he possessed far too many of the qualities she found desirable.
Which only irritated her more.
But after reading his file. Maybe Celine was right and she had been too harsh on him.
Veronica set her phone down, picked up the remote and turned the TV on. She opened WeTube and scrolled through recommended videos.
The first few had titles regarding a mysterious gifter on TiikTuk
"Sir Platinum," she muttered. Then with an unbothered expression, she scrolled.
Eventually she found a cooking channel and relaxed on her sofa, sipping tea as the video began to play.