Ripanaugh Films: Ryan's Superhero Debut (Patreon)

This is one of two stories to be based upon the winning vote from this recent poll. Thanks for all the votes and I hope you enjoy!

As much as Ryan Guzman liked starring as Eddie Diaz in the hit television show 911, he always enjoyed the opportunity to play different characters in film productions during the summer break between seasons of the show. He was perhaps even more excited than usual for the next project he’d signed onto, as it was a superhero flick with him playing the lead role! Sure, it wasn’t with Marvel or DC or any of the big comic book universes, but getting the chance to play a superhero wasn’t one he was about to scoff at! In fact, as a kid he’d wanted to develop powers and be a superhero, and acting was the perfect avenue to live out those childhood dreams. He’d had a passing phase of wanting to be a firefighter and now he was playing one on television regularly, so he’d already set a precedent for himself.

His agent had been rather enthusiastic when he’d presented the script for the project to the actor, and while there was very little chance of it endearing itself to the snooty critics, it seemed like exactly the kind of fun project Ryan enjoyed working on. He hadn’t heard of the production company Ripanaugh Films before, but according to his agent they came recommended by the CW actor Cody Christian, who had previously starred in a body swap film for them, and that recommendation was good enough for him.

Ryan’s role in the film was that of Jack Bentley, a man who was involved in a near-fatal car crash and had the blood of a super-soldier administered to save his life. From there, Jack would develop powers of super strength and agility, and his average body would blossom with huge muscles, until he donned the persona of Freedom Fighter. It was a lightly redecorated spin on the Captain America story, sure, but it was all in the name of good fun. The production company had even hired a personal trainer and dietician to help get Ryan into shape for the project, so that there wouldn’t have to be any sort of morph suit to get him that superhero physique. While Ryan knew he didn’t have a bad body already, he was excited to get even bigger and then get fitted for the red, white and blue costume!

His first meeting with the film’s director, a guy in his early forties who looked like he’d just walked off stage at a bodybuilding contest himself, was at the project’s table read. The cast had all had good fun reading through the script and laughing at the tongue-in-cheek jokes peppered throughout the pages. As the event was wrapping up, the director requested to meet with Ryan in his office, and when there properly introduced himself to the actor. Graham Loudbridge wasn’t even a D-List director, but he’d worked with Ripanaugh Films a few times before on short productions and expressed how excited he was to be making his first feature length film.

“Anything I can do to help, man, and I’m all for it,” Ryan expressed, having worked with a few first-time directors throughout his career. Loudbridge didn’t seem quite as nervous as they had been, but they had also been about a quarter of the size of the muscular titan! It was hard to imagine that the other man ever felt any sort of fear. There was certainly no intimidating him - in fact if anything Ryan felt a little intimidated in his presence!

The offer earned him a heavy clap on the shoulder. “I appreciate it, bud,” the director replied in the gravelly tone Ryan was still getting used to hearing. “Now how’s the training going? You’re looking a little more solid.” He moved his hand down to Ryan’s bicep and squeezed. While the actor felt a little embarrassed by the unexpected contact, he merely chuckled instead and tensed the muscle underneath the man’s grip.

“Uh yeah, it’s going well. Hopefully I’ll be big enough by the time we start rolling!” Ryan sure as hell hoped so. The high-protein meals weren’t the most flavoursome that he’d ever had, and his body was still rebelling against the two hour workouts that he was performing twice a day, seven days a week. If he did all of that and still had to wear an enhancement suit under the costume then he was going to be seriously pissed!

Loudbridge took a minute or so to inspect Ryan from all sides, nodding to himself as he slowly circled the actor. “Looking good, man. Looking good!” he praised as he finally came to a stop. “We’ve actually just received some sponsorship cash for a new whey brand, so I’m gonna get some sent over to your dietician and hopefully we’ll be adding a little more mass to that frame of yours before filming! That good with you?”

Ryan quickly agreed, having no reason to doubt the director. Loudbridge wasn’t an average director by any means, but there was something infectious about his enthusiasm for the project. Besides, their interests were intertwined - they both wanted Ryan to bulk up even more so that he really looked the part. It wasn’t as if adding an extra protein shake or two to his day was going to do any harm!

Barely any time at all had passed when the actor received his first taste of the director’s recommended whey mix, as a bottle of the stuff was presented to him at the end of his evening workout. His trainer had put him through an intense weight training session and as a result Ryan was as wet as somebody caught in the middle of a storm, but he felt the familiar buzz of satisfaction that came from the hard work he’d put in. The shake itself was a little on the thicker side than what Ryan usually enjoyed, but it greeted his taste buds with a rather pleasant raspberry flavour, so he was eventually able to win the battle and stomach the whole contents of the bottle.

It was after his second bottle of the stuff the following morning that Ryan started to notice some of its effects. He had considerably more energy throughout his workout and had managed to up his barbell squat personal best by ten pounds. It put him in such a good mood that he didn’t mind having a second shake with his lunch or a third before his afternoon workout. The dietician explained that three shakes a day was the minimum and even encouraged him to have a fourth before he went to sleep. Wanting to show his commitment to the part, Ryan agreed that it would be a good idea and gracefully accepted the extra tubs of whey powder.

By his second day of consuming the shakes though, it became impossible for Ryan to ignore that they were having a rapid effect on his physique. The workout shirts that had once sat loosely around his already firm torso were suddenly stretched across the muscular landscape and the sleeves were a second skin as they trapped his thick arms within their fabric constraints. It was difficult to comprehend how he had grown bigger in such a short space of time, but the actor had to admit that he was already beginning to look a little more superheroic with the larger proportions. He made a mental note to question his dietician about what was in the shakes - traces of steroids, perhaps - but it would have to wait until after his morning gym session.

As he continued to rack up personal bests on every exercise that his personal trainer put him through, Ryan soon began to dispel the notion that his inexplicable muscle growth was necessarily a bad thing. He felt healthier and happier than ever! He no longer struggled with the thick consistency of the shakes, and indeed, he had begun looking forward to them. By his third day on them, he’d decided that four wasn’t quite enough, so he added to the total by having one as soon as he’d risen from his bed. On his way from his bedroom to the kitchen though he discovered that the doorframes brushed against his shoulders as he passed through them, likely thanks to the broadening of his shoulders, and the top of his head was suddenly only a mere inch away from a collision with the top of the doorway.

Even his hands seemed larger - he’d had to spend a whole extra minute typing out a text to his personal trainer because the thick digits of his fingers had repeatedly hit the wrong keys on the screen. Whenever he looked in the mirror and saw his enhanced physique though, Ryan’s doubts were put back to rest. All of his recent growth was a good thing; the director wanted him to look the part and the shakes were the fastest way to make sure he did. Besides, he had insurance, so it wasn’t as if the folks at Ripanaugh Films were stupid enough to do anything to him that would harm him!

It wasn’t just Ryan’s body that was seeing exponential growth though. His arousal had been massively accelerated since he’d started on the shakes, and he was much worse at controlling himself. He rocked chubs throughout most of his workouts and his personal trainer had even made a joke about it, forcing the actor to quickly stammer out some lame excuse. He usually had enough resilience to last until he got home from the training session, but there had been a couple of occasions where he had excused himself to a private stall in the locker room showers and jerked off. Playing with himself had always been fun, but it was even better now that every part of him was a little bit bigger!

It had been three weeks since the table read and Ryan’s introduction to Graham Loudbridge by the time Ryan arrived at set for the start of production. Three weeks of five muscle growth shakes a day. Three weeks of preparation to get the ultimate superhero physique! The hard work of Ryan, his personal trainer and his dietician was on full display as he finally strode onto set. The gathered crew gasped as they saw what had become of their lead star, but the director looked upon his creation with both pride and desire. Before him stood an absolute titan of a man - six-foot-eight and around four-hundred pounds of sculpted muscle! He was a modern day Hercules! Indeed, all of his clothes had to be especially tailored for his incredible physique, and even then there was no hiding the almost monstrous bulge at his crotch.

Of course, while the shakes had done absolute wonders for the actor’s physique, it had come at a cost. He wouldn’t have noticed it, but with each and every shake Ryan lost some of his smarts and the ability to make his own decisions. He was entirely dependent upon being given orders and the director was more than ready to take advantage of that. It wasn’t as if the actor was suffering in any way - the dumb grin on his face made it perfectly clear that he was enjoying himself - and Loudbridge had heard plenty of stories from Ryan’s trainer about the man’s enhanced sex drive. It was something he couldn’t wait to test out for himself, but before they could get to the fun stuff, they still had a movie to make!

Walking over to the wall of solid muscle, the director slapped him on the massive globes of his glutes. “Day one, man! How are you feeling? Ready to get in front of the camera and crack some bad guy skulls?” he asked, looking up at the towering figure.

Ryan flashed him a delighted smile in response and offered a simple monotone response: “Yes sir, I’m feeling super!”