Hero Falls Kingdom Rises

by Farhat Kidwai

  “Ok. Omega. You are free to burn this sucker down. Let’s see what you got.” Kat gave the orders to start the mission.

  Omega pointed both his hands towards the infected part of the ground. Within seconds a beam of white light concentrated like a laser beam came out of his hands headed towards the ground. As soon as it hit the ground it instantly eroded the ground a couple of feet deep and turned everything in the near vicinity to ash. The heat could be felt all the way to the bottom of the mountain. All the remaining frozen water started to melt at the top and started carrying debris with it down the mountain.

  “Get ready guys. Debris should be headed down your way.” Omega informed the group over the com.

  “You heard him,” Kat informed the team and the UN troops to get ready. “Fire up those flamethrowers”

  “Thought you would never ask,” Stan replied.

  While Omega started to head down the mountain burning down impacted areas one by one. The heat from the impact was so high that it even started to melt the metals in the rocks creating molten lava. Within a couple of hours that section of the mountain looked like it had been hit by ballistic missiles followed by a volcanic eruption.

  The team below did their best to fire treat all the water and debris before it hit the wall. This was to kill any virus that may have escaped and came down mixed with the debris. It also evaporated a lot of the water that had melted due to high heat from Omega’s attack.

  “I am done up here. The virus has been eliminated upstream. It is up to you guys to take care of whatever came down to the wall.” Omega informed Kat on the com. It only took Omega an hour to burn all the infected spots.

  “Are you sure it’s all gone?” Kat wanted to confirm.

  “Yes. I would be able to locate it if it was still here. I can’t. It’s gone from up here. There is still some down by the wall,” Omega confirmed.

  “Ok then. Come on down.” Kat instructed Omega to come down and then addressed the rest of the team “Guys, the mountain is clear of the virus. It’s all up to you to get rid of the rest. We are in the final stretch. Let’s get this done and go home.”

  “We are lighting everything on fire. How would we know when all of it has been eliminated?” Yasmine asked.

  “Keep doing what you are doing,” Kat ordered. “Omega is on his way to down to help with that. He can track the virus.”

  “What do you mean? He can see the virus?” Stan asked.

  “Yes. I think. Well he said that he can locate it if it’s alive. Don’t ask me to explain how. I am not even going to pretend to understand how he does it,” Kat responded.

  “Well, after seeing what he did to the mountain. Sure. I’ll buy that he can track the virus too,” Yasmine added.

  Omega landed at the GSRC and walked in to talk to Kat.

  “That was something. Do you think you might have overdone it a bit?” Kat asked Omega half-jokingly.

  “I had to make sure it was eliminated; even the ones hiding below the rubble. That was the right amount of force,” responded Omega.

  “I am sure you used the right amount of force. You are out here trying to save the world and one would think they would appreciate it. I have a feeling that not everyone will feel that way at the Security Council once they hear about it. They will be more focused on your abilities rather than your intent,” Kat seemed a bit concerned.

  “Well I can’t control how others feel. I can only control my actions and I haven’t done anything for them to question my intentions,” Omega responded. “I am going to go out there and help the team wrap this up.”

  Omega walked up to the wall and jumped on top of Stan’s tank.

  “Hey jackass, go stand on someone else’s tank!” Stan yelled at Omega over the coms.

  “It’s because you are his favorite!” Sol joked.

  Omega with a sarcastic laugh, “You are so sensitive Stan.”

  “I am not. I just don’t want you to destroy my tank. I just got it.”

  “I won’t destroy it, you little baby. Now can we wrap this up so we can get out of here?” Omega replied.

  “Yes please. Can you tell us if we got it all or if we need to keep blasting?” Sol asked.

  “There are still a few spots that need attention. There are some spots I will have to take care of. The virus is under the rubble so flamethrowers won’t be able to reach it. I can mark the rest and you guys can target the spots,” instructed Omega.

  “Sounds like a plan. Oh, and please go easy. We have people at the wall,” Sol replied.

  “I will. I don’t need to blast it. Just burn it.” Omega flew off and threw markers at the spots for the team to target. He also burned the virus under the rubble from up close so as to not cause debris to fly off. This time the blasts from his hands looked more like intense flames.

  “He always has the best weapons. Now that is a flamethrower So,.” Stan insisted.

  “Fuck off you unappreciative bastard,” Sol losing his cool made everyone laugh. The team was a lot more relaxed as they had averted a catastrophe. The world was saved by STF once again.

  Later that night the celebration was held at a local bar in the town of Sion in Canton of Valais.

  The local bar owner gave a passionate speech to welcome the STF and the rest of the forces who helped stop the spread of the virus. “We should have been evacuating today. Running for our lives and leaving our homes and this beautiful city behind. Instead we are here gathered together to celebrate. And it’s all because of them. I would like to welcome the heroes, the ones who made it possible for all of us to be here tonight. Words can’t express how much we appreciate what you have done for us. We don’t have much in this town. We can’t ever repay you for what you have done. This town will forever be in your debt. Your drinks are on us tonight and forever. I want everyone to raise your glasses to these brave women and men. Cheers!!” As the cheers from the crowd died down STF team sat down at a table.

  “Where is Omega?” Stan asked.

  “UN needed him for another mission,” Kat responded.

  “Of course! He knows that he doesn’t owe them anything? He doesn’t have to be their bitch and do all their dirty work,” Yasmine spoke in frustration.

  “It’s complicated. He feels like he owes us humans and the UN. He wants to help humans in any way he can,” Kat responded.

  “But he doesn’t. He has done enough already. He should not follow UN orders blindly. He will regret it someday,” lamented Yasmine.

  “I know. He still thinks very highly of UN and humans in general. They tend to keep him too busy for him to ever sit back and assess everything,” Kat agreed.

  “He infuriates me. Mr. Goody-Two shoes. Wonder if he will ever go through the rebel phase like we all did. Especially you Kat.” Yasmine jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Ugh. Don’t remind me. My Goth phase. I thought I was being so original. I am glad that is over. Poor Omega had to live through that. His brain could not comprehend my Goth phase at all. He tried to logically understand my teenage years. Our poor baby brother,” Kat laughed.

  “Elliot could never take you seriously. You had the look down but as soon as you opened your mouth it ruined it. You and your adorable British accent,” Sol chimed in.

  “Hey, I wasn’t physically strong like all of you. It’s hard growing up with Omega, Stan, and Yasmine. I was trying to look tough,” Kat added.

  Yasmin disagreed. “You are the toughest amongst. You are the leader of this team. You helped raise Omega. You keep Stan in line every day which is not an easy task. But in all seriousness going from life of luxury to ending up in an orphanage at that age. No child should have to see their entire life fall apart at that young age. I thought I had it tough but I never had a family so I don’t know how it was like to lose one. We are proud of what you have become sis.”

  “Yeah. It was tough. I was angry at the government but I really was angry at my parents for abandoning me. They just ran off one night and went into hiding w
ithout ever talking to me. I work up with the house being raided by police. They seized everything and none of my relatives wanted anything to do with our family. Being in an orphanage was really difficult at first for the little spoiled princess. Maybe I had to go through all that to be the person I am today. We all had to. Life wasn’t easy for any of us but we had each other. Look at us now. We are out there saving the world.”

  “True,” Yasmin agreed. “We just need to help Omega so he doesn’t get too caught up in the UN crap. Those scumbags are taking advantage of his desire to help. He is doing their bidding without questioning their motives.” Yasmine brought the conversation full circle.

  “Guys! We are here to celebrate. You guys are killing the mood. Can we get off the heavy stuff for one night and just enjoy ourselves? He is a big boy. Literally the biggest boy ever!! He can handle it,” Stan interjected.

  “You are right. Let’s celebrate. We don’t get these opportunities too often,” Yasmine acknowledged.

  “Cheers to saving the world and bring the team back all in one piece,” Kat gave the toast and started a night of celebration and binge drinking.

  Chapter 2

  A few months had passed since the STF saved the world from a catastrophic event. Thousands of people were gathered in front of the Parliament building in Bern Switzerland to celebrate and thank STF for their role in saving their country and the rest of Europe.

  President of Switzerland Sven Ackermann was at the podium along with STF members including Omega. President thanked STF and declared the members national heroes in his speech before unveiling their statues to the audience. The art installation included statues of each team member with a larger one of Omega in the middle. The team was used to Omega being in the spotlight on account of his super powers. He usually did the heavy lifting on most of their missions. Nonetheless it was an extremely proud moment for the ones who were once abandoned by their own families. They had come a long way from their rough beginnings. Their names would be part of history long after they were gone.

  The President asked Omega to come up to the podium and say a few words.

  “Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the opportunity to say a few words on behalf of the team. The team and I would like to thank you and the good people of Switzerland for their appreciation and these beautiful statues. It is a very humbling experience for all of us. None of us misfits could have ever imagined this day would be in our future when we were young. Our beginning was full of uncertainty. We started out alone but fortunately we found each other. We were not sure of our own future but we were lucky that the United Nations did. UN who proudly represents the people of this planet did envision this future for us. So we thank all of you for believing in us.

  On a more personal note, I really appreciate you accepting someone like me. When I first got here you had never seen anyone like me which might have been scary. I guess some people might still find me scary. You could have treated me like a threat. I wouldn’t have blamed you for it. It would have been just as easy to try to get rid of me but instead you accepted me and raised me as one of your own. For that I will forever be in your debt. As long as I am here I swear to always give my all to protect you from any threats. We hope to continue to keep your trust and respect and make you proud. Thank you!!”

  “You are getting pretty good at it Omega,” Kat complimented Omega after the speech.

  “He is. Maybe he can run for public office one day,” Yasmine joked.

  “Are you coming home with us?” Kat asked Omega.

  “I would love to but I can’t. I have to go help the UN with relief efforts in West Indies. They are unable to deliver supplies to remote areas. They could use my help.” Omega responded.

  “I appreciate you always trying to jump in and save everyone but it’s not your responsibility to save us all. Bad things happened before you came along. People died in the hundreds of thousands throughout our history and it will continue to do so long after you are gone,” Yasmine explained.

  “I know. But if I am able to help I feel like I should. It would be wrong of me not to. I owe it to them.”

  “I just can’t get into it again with you. Go save the world if that’s what makes you feel better.” Yasmine did not agree with Omega’s outlook but didn’t want to get into an argument on this day.

  “Who would have ever thought that a bunch of orphan misfits, who, let’s face it are probably too fucked up and emotionally unstable to part of normal society would get their own statues someday. Cheers to us,” Sol cheered.

  After the celebration the team headed back to the headquarters and Omega flew off to West Indies to help.

  A few months had gone by and Elliot had just wrapped up a conference on the dangers of climate change to London’s ecosystem. After the conference he was meeting with a few reporters for a Q&A session.

  “We barely avoided a catastrophe of epic proportions with the deadly virus in Switzerland. Do you think that was an unrelated incident or was that an indication of what in store for us due to climate change?” the host asked Elliot.

  “The latter. For sure the latter. See the issue is that some of these viruses have been hidden away, buried under snow from us humans throughout our existence. In the overall timeline of evolution life on this planet, humans have been only around for only a small fraction. In the time we have been around on this planet we have never had the chance to interact with some of these ancient life forms hidden away under ice. Some may be harmless to humans but others may be deadly to us and our food supply. Because we have never interacted with them before humans might not be immune to some of them. Depending on the uniqueness of these, as was the case with the virus in Switzerland, we may not have any cure for it either. The time it can take to develop a cure, let’s say in the form of a vaccine it might be too late for millions, maybe even billions of people,” Elliot elaborated.

  “Well, that is a very gloomy situation. So, what is the solution? How do we prepare for what’s to come?”

  Without hesitation Elliot responded, “Stop the ice from melting by stopping climate change. But we all know that would require sacrifice on the part of humans. We as a species are just are too selfish and shortsighted to do that. It would require us to stop burning fossil fuel right away and move to renewables which is not likely. Significantly reduce the consumption of meat. Also, not likely. And the most important; start reducing global population, and do it fast. Which again, we will not. So to answer your question, we have the solutions, rather simple ones actually but we as a society which includes both governments and citizens are not interested in making any sacrifices to save life on this planet. So viruses like the one in Switzerland might have to do it for us.”

  Confused, the host continued, “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is a virus like that solves global warming for us. It would have taken a lot of human life in a very short period of time but would have slowed down or completely stopped the sixth extinction. In a more philosophical sense it was life’s desperate attempt to reestablish a balanced ecosystem before the point of no return. This is how natural selection used to work all throughout the evolution of life. It is very recent that modern medicine changed all that for humans.” Elliot replied with groans from the crowd.

  “Hmm… aren’t we glad your adopted son Omega doesn’t feel that way,” the host laughed.

  “Yes. He does not. He feels like he owes humans so he is on a crusade to save them all. He might end up being the biggest curse to life on this planet. He may single handedly speed up the extinction of all life on Earth. I had very high hopes for him. He had the power to shape the planet, make it better but he is wasting it away.” Elliot was disappointed Omega’s actions.

  “Well we believe saving humans is a good thing,” the host seemed annoyed.

  “This short sightedness has brought us to this point and will push us past the point of no return. It’s the same mindset followed by the medical community. Save every human even if
it goes against nature. The ecosystem of this planet is unbalanced already and Omega is on a mission to make it worse,” Elliot began walking off the stage. “Sometimes I wish he never arrived here,’ under his breath but seemingly forgetting he was still wearing the mic, “He may end up being my biggest regret in life.” This was an emotional subject for him.

  The interview was heard around the world including by Omega. He was not expecting such a sharp rebuke of his actions from the one who raised him as a son. It came out on nowhere and really hurt Omega. His own father regrets that Omega ever came into his life. Being rejected by Elliot was nothing that all the love from him adoring fans could make up for. Being the only one of this kind he had always felt alone but for the first time he felt lonely.

  Omega landed at his Global Security and Research Center (GSRC) in Mersin, Turkey to confront his father, still unsure why Elliot was so mad at him all of a sudden. His anger quickly turned to joy as soon as he saw Stan in the hallway.

  “So all it takes was for Elliot to call you out for me to see my brother?” yelled Stan while walking towards Omega. “Wish I had known; would have called you out myself!” They hug and you could tell Omega really needed it.

  “It’s always good to be home. Where is dad?” Omega asked.

  “Where do you think? The man never stops working. Go easy on him. That man loves you more than anyone else. I’m sure he has a reason for saying that. I mean... I sure am not smart enough to tell you what it is.. I’m just the muscle.” Stan said jokingly

  They both laugh and Omega makes his way to the lab. “I sure don’t miss that ugly laugh,” Stan said under his breath. Omega flips him off as he walks away. “Heard that.”

  “Fucking alien hearing.” Stan gets the last word in before parting ways.

  Omega walked over to the lab. He could see Elliot working in the lab through the glass door.

  Elliot saw him staring through the glass and took a break from working to come out and see his son. No matter how mad Elliot was over his actions, Omega was still his son. Elliot had never cared more for anyone than Omega.