Hero Falls Kingdom Rises

by Farhat Kidwai

  The Arizona State Senators were gathered at the state capitol in Phoenix in a largest room available to accommodate all the international press that was there to cover the event. It was an occasion for local senators to make their name on the international stage to further their political career.

  “You may not know this but the United States is a nation of laws. We take that part very seriously in a border state like Arizona. Even if you may not agree with the actions of Bill Durban, he was a highly respected member of our society. Killing him in cold blood was one thing but killing our innocent officers who were there to uphold the law was completely out of line. These actions cannot remain unpunished. What do you have to say for yourself?” Chairman of the Senate advisory committee on Law enforcement Senator Jones kicked off the session with his remarks.

  “The only thing I regret that I didn’t make him suffer longer before taking his life. He made Roman suffer for days before he finally killed him. If I could do it all over again I would take my time.” Omega was defiant and had no remorse.

  “This is crazy. You are a mad man. Alien or whatever you are,” Senator Murphy was outraged with the answer. “You really believe you are above the law aren’t you? You can kill anyone you like whenever you like it and get away with it?”

  “I can but I but it wasn’t indiscriminate. It was justice. And yes, I am above human laws.” Omega replied.

  “What do you mean? What makes you believe you should be treated above the law?” Senator Murphy spoke up again.

  “Well you don’t have any way to enforce your laws on me which makes me above the law” Omega’s response got a chilling reaction from the room.

  “In United States no one is above the law. Not even an alien like you. We will punish you for what you have done.” Senator Garcia took the opportunity to make a grand statement in front of the global stage.

  “That sounds like a powerful statement but it is really an empty threat,” Omega responded.

  “What is the end game Omega?” Senior Senator Barker asked a more reasonable question.

  “To create a world where animals are treated with respect, dignity and not tortured and killed for your entertainment. A world where humans stop acting like invasive species on the ecosystem. To create a balance where all species have a chance to survive and thrive. A world where animals get the respect they deserve as equal partners in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.” Omega finally got a chance to make the statement he came here to make.

  “That is not an overly unreasonable ask. Now did you have to kill all those innocent officers to do that? What should I tell their families?” Senator Barker asked Omega.

  “I asked them to walk away and not get involved. They refused. It was unfortunate but I need humans to understand that I don’t make empty threats like the senator before. If you defy me there will be consequences,” Omega answered.

  “There it is. His true colors. He is hungry for power. He wants us to bow to his wishes. If we don’t he will resort to force.” Senator Jackson chimed in.

  “I already have all the power I need. I always did. The powerful have always made the rules in your world. You didn’t have a problem with my powers when you were using them to serve your agenda. I believe you do not like that idea of me having any independent thoughts.” Omega called out the Senators on their hypocrisy.

  “No one is asking you to not have independent thoughts. You get to live your own life. You just can’t take actions that break our laws without consequences.” Senator Garcia spoke up again.

  “Those are your laws. They are meant for your kind to follow. I have already stated that if you can’t enforce them on me then they don’t apply to me.” Omega was getting tired of answering the same questions. “Other than making these speeches do you really know what you want from me?” Omega understood the political grandstanding from dealing with UN on a regular basis.

  “We would like you to surrender and accept whatever the courts deem appropriate as your punishment.” Chairman Jones replied

  “I don’t intend on doing that. I would advise that you move on from that topic.” Omega advised the select committee.

  “We will not be told what to do. You will not disrespect us. We run this hearing and you are here to answer our questions.” Senator Jackson spoke with an aggressive tone.

  “Ok. I am no longer advising you to get off the topic. I am instructing you.” Omega has had enough of grandstanding.

  “What senator Jackson means...” Senator Barker tried to deescalate the situation but Jackson cut him off mid-sentence.

  “I can speak for myself Senator Barker. I will not be intimidated by this alien. I will stand up for mankind against the tyr - ” Senator Jackson couldn’t finish the sentence on the count that Omega had burnt a hole through his face. His limp body fell forward from his chair and the fall was broken by his head hitting the table in front of him.

  Trigger happy security in the room opened fire at Omega which was never going to work. Omega got up from his chair and took out all the security in the room and also ended up killing Senator Murphy and Garcia in the crossfire. That may have been an intentional accident. Omega flew up in the air and went through the roof of the room to leave the carnage behind. He headed back home but his latest actions would have lasting consequences no matter where he went.

  Chapter 6

  “What do you think about Omega’s actions?” Moderator asked at the News Conference of the Leaders at the Global Philanthropic Summit.

  “It’s great. Love what he is doing. It is about time someone stood up for the animals. You know what all the Social Media outrage and petitions do? Not a God damn thing. The rich psychopaths; yes, that is what they are; who pay hundreds of thousands of dollars and travel across the globe just to kill an innocent animal don’t care about the social outrage. Tweeting at them won’t change their behavior. “DopeGamer123 on twitter seems really unhappy about me skinning and beheading this lion. I never knew that my killing endangered species for fun hurt your feelings. Thanks for opening my eyes DopeGamer123. I have seen the light. I will never hunt another exotic animal again”. Yeah. Just on the surface if that sounded ridiculous, that’s because it is. You are dealing with people who think they own the world and the truth is, they kind of do. They have never been held accountable for their actions until now. Their power and influence had always protected them. Now they are dealing with one true power. All the money in the world can’t protect them from the punishment at the hands of Omega for hurting innocent animals. A lot of us wanted to do it ourselves but the laws always favored these psychopaths. So to answer your questions, I feel hopeful that there is finally justice in the world. There is hope that these endangered might actually make it.” Celebrity and animal right activist Ron Jefferson gave a passionate response. Animal rights groups and environmentalists were hopeful that things were about to finally change after fighting a losing battle for years.

  “I know you are passionate about this subject but you don’t really believe they are psychopaths do you?” Moderator asked a follow up question.

  “I do. Let me ask you. When you see a video of a beautiful majestic lion how does that make you feel? Or when you see a herd of elephants… Adults protecting and caring for the young. Keeping then in the middle of the herd to protect them from any danger? If you have kids you can relate to that. Giraffes eating leaves from the top of the tree? If you have been to an African safari or even seen videos of it. How does it make you feel? For most of us we go. Aww… look at how beautiful they are. It makes us feel happy... We are fascinated by them. Then there are some people who see the same videos and they feel the impulse to kill these majestic creatures. They are willing to pay thousands for dollars and travel all the way to Africa just to end their lives. So much passion towards killing something that has never done anything to them. And it’s not about a quick kill either. No, they want to take their time. Make these animals suffer before they die. Is that all they want? No, they are sti
ll not satisfied. They need parts of their bodies as trophies. Trophies? They call them trophies. What sane person would go on killing spree of innocent creatures and take their body parts as trophies? I am sorry but how is that not a psychopath? If I did that to your pet you would declare me as one and I would be locked in a mental asylum,” Ron explained.

  “I don’t agree with trophy hunting but I don’t see Omega’s actions the same way as you do. I am all for saving endangered species. My wife and I have donated a lot towards conservation efforts. None of us want to see any of these species go extinct but this is not the way. We have to operate under the law and that includes Omega. Whenever powerful have taken over it leads to a lot of human suffering. We have seen this all over the world with dictators and terrorist groups. It creates chaos and humanitarian crisis. Now he has decided to work with the terrorists fractions in Africa. These are the same people who have killed thousands of innocent people. Need I remind you that these are the people who kidnapped hundreds of females from local villages? It took us a year of effort to get them back to their families. Backing these groups will only embolden them and innocent Africans will pay the price. Not to mention the fact that these are the same people who are responsible for most of the poaching in Africa. They have been using the money from poaching to fund terrorist activities.” Billionaire and human rights activist Albert McMillan did not agree with Ron’s take. Human rights groups were not on board with Omega actions. They saw the glimpse of what Omega could be. If he was not held in check he had the power to become an unstoppable dictator.

  “So what is your suggestion to stop things from getting out of control?” The moderator asked follow-up questions.

  “I don’t believe in violence. I truly believe Omega is a good. He has done so much good in the short time he has been on our planet. I think he is just misguided in this particular case. I think he is letting his anger guide his decisions. In my opinion we can achieve conservation of endangered species while still serving our humanitarian responsibilities. Not too long ago Omega saved us humans from an extinction event. So I don’t believe he is against us. I think we all just need to sit down like we are doing right now and find a good solution that fits the needs of all parties.” Albert responded.

  “And who would represent the rights of animals at this discussion? Once again they will get the shaft. What is so wrong about what Omega is doing? I don’t see him going after good humans. He is trying to get rid of the worst amongst us. From where I sit I think he is doing us a favor. All he is asking us to do is stop killing innocent animals for entertainment. If you don’t want him to kill you it’s pretty simple. Stop killing endangered species. Whose rights are you trying to protect?” Ron pushed back on Albert’s assessment of Omega.

  “He intent might be good but the way he is going about it is not. These brutal killings will not further the cause. It will make people hate him. People are already not comfortable with someone living amongst us with that kind of power. I fear that actions like these will eventually lead to something really bad for the planet. In our society individuals don’t get to dish out punishments if they don’t agree with someone’s actions. Our society has laws. If someone breaks the laws they can go through the justice system and get appropriate punishments. Omega cannot be his own judge, jury, and executioner. If we think laws need to change to protect animals better then we can have a conversation about it like civilized people. If we let him take law into his own hands and do nothing about it what stops the rest of the society from doing the same? Our society can completely fall apart.” Albert tried to explain his perspective.

  “The problem with your world view is that you start out with the premise that humans are superior to all animals. The life of an animal has less value than humans. As long as you believe that there is nothing to discuss. You will always favor human life over an animal.” Ron seemed frustrated that Albert was not able to see his perspective.

  “Humans are superior to animals. We are more intelligent. We are the most evolved species on the planet and that is why we are at the top of the food chain,” Albert responded.

  “You are so wrong. All species that have survived are equal from an evolutionary perspective. We are just too arrogant to see that. We think we can destroy the ecosystem and still survive. Guess what? If we keep going like this, humans will go extinct but life will survive. A ton of other species will survive long after we are gone and will restart life on this planet. Does that sound superior to you?” Ron was getting irritated at this point.

  “I think I need to intervene. We are getting off topic. Do you think we can work with Omega to reach an amicable solution where we can have peace? I will let Albert respond first.” The moderator tried to take control of the situation.

  “I think we can. Omega has been a great ally to the humans all his life. Once we sit down with him we will be able to work things out,” Albert wanted to end of the hopeful note.

  “What do you think Ron?” The moderator asked Ron to respond to the same question.

  “As long as we continue to think like Albert I don’t think we will reach a solution to this. Omega is the now at the top of the food chain. My friend Albert here would agree that species at the top of food chain are superior to all others. We don’t negotiate with what we consider as lesser species. By that logic Omega does not need to negotiate with inferior species like humans and there is nothing you or anyone can do about it.” Ron ended the conference with that final statement.

  Similar arguments were happening all over the world. Some were in favor of Omega’s actions and others were completely against it.

  “The Devil has risen. God’s soldiers need to be vigilant. Soon there may come a time where we may need to take up arms to fight the good fight” Pastor Michael spoke to church goers in Arlington Texas.

  “Some believe he is God. Came down from heaven and will create the promise land on Earth.” A gentleman brought up a religion that believes Omega was their savior.

  “Devil worshipers. That’s what they are. The path to salvation is through Jesus and Jesus only. All others are imposters,” the pastor replied.

  “Omega had been protecting us from harm all these years. He is an alien but I am not sure he is the Devil,” the gentleman spoke up once more.

  “Devil deceives us. He might have caused those catastrophes and then saved us from them to gain our trust. Seems like the Devil already got to you. You cannot forget that the only savior is the lord Jesus Christ himself. Only he and he alone can save our souls. Not a creature that doesn’t even have a human face.” Pastor shut the gentleman down.

  These types of discussions were happening around the globe in Churches, Temples and Mosques. The same religious people who were once there to protect Omega were turning on him.

  Once a hero of conservatives around the world had now fallen from their good graces. The good old traditional poster child Superhero had gone rogue and made it difficult for people stand behind him.

  Omega’s supporters included environmentalists, animal rights groups and some religious fanatics who believed Omega was their savior. Everyone else seemed not too happy with Omega’s recent antics. There was always an inherent fear when you have to share the planet with someone so powerful. What if one day the superhero turns on them? Who can stop that supervillain from destroying everything?

  Everyone was on board with Omega playing the part of the Superhero. They expected him to be the guy from the comic books that they grew up reading and idealizing. Before he arrived, it was just fiction. They never in a million years would have imagined that their comic book hero would come to life. They were going to part of history. They were the generation that lived with a real superhero. They would tell their kids and grandkids about the super powerful alien who lived amongst them and was always there to protect them. It was a great time to be alive. They had never felt safer.

  In the comic books the superhero never changes sides. He is always good. He is always pure. But this w
as not a comic book. The reality was Omega had his own thoughts and could make his own decisions. It seemed like he was finally realizing that he didn’t need to play the role of the superhero anymore and it scared a lot of people.

  In all this fear there was a lot of hope for environmentalists and animal rights activists. They were helplessly staring at the destruction of the planet at the hand of humans. Species after species were going extinct. Since Omega’s arrival there was even less emphasis on climate change and environment because society had never felt safer. They didn’t have to worry about the big problems anymore because their superhero was always there to save the day. Earth was in the middle of the sixth extinction but no one seemed to care.

  Now that Omega seemed to care about animals it gave these groups renewed hope that the planet can be saved. This was their chance to turn the tide and they weren’t going to miss out on it. There was a concerted effort from them to support and defend Omega’s actions. They wanted general public to behind Omega in the hopes of pushing him even further towards environmental causes.

  The news was engulfed with this story and all the reactions that followed. This was a ratings gold mine and they were going to cover it from every angle and every viewpoint.

  “Why do you think the ruthless killing of Bill Durban was justified?” The anchor asked the animal rights activist on the panel.

  “Omega did exactly the same as Bill Durban did to the Roman. It was justice. Bill Durban ruthlessly killed Roman. Shot him with a bow and let him suffer for days before eventually killing him. Then he brought the head as a trophy to America to decorate his walls. That lion was Omega’s friend. You want him to just let it go? Would you let it go if someone did this to your friend? Omega could have done way worse things to him if he wanted. At least this Durban guy died quickly and didn’t have to suffer like Roman,” animal rights activist John Southerland responded.