Hero Falls Kingdom Rises

by Farhat Kidwai

  “Are we ready?” President Bosworth asked for confirmation

  “Yes Sir. We will be launching the missiles from all directions as soon as he gets in range. We will blast that son of a bitch out of the air.” US Defense Secretary Wolf Confirmed

  President Bosworth seemed hopeful but some of the cabinet members didn’t seem overly convinced.

  Meanwhile at GSRC’s control center in Mersin.

  “You are about to enter the range of their missile defense system. Be ready. You will have a lot of pesky missiles heading in your direction.” Sol updated Omega as he got close to mainland America.

  “I am. I don’t see sense anything yet.” Omega responded as he headed straight to Washington DC.

  “I see one in the air. Maybe two... three… Whoa!! They are not playing around. Let’s just say there are a lot of missiles heading your way,” Helm informed Omega.

  “Well that’s actually better. I can get all of them out of the way at the same time.” Omega replied as he stopped in the air in one spot.

  “He just stopped moving.” The officer who was on the radar informed the President and the cabinet.

  “What do you mean he stopped?” President Bosworth inquired,

  “Sir, he is no longer moving,” the officer responded.

  “Is he in water?” US Defense Secretary Wolf asked.

  “He is still showing up on the radar so he should be in the air,” the officer replied.

  “What the fuck is he up to now?” President Bosworth seemed frustrated.

  “It’s like he is presenting a stationary target for the missiles.” US Defense Secretary Wolf tried to guess Omega’s strategy.

  Omega was still in the same spot in the air waiting for the missiles to get close to him.

  “Impact in 30 seconds,” the officer informed the cabinet.

  “Is it actually going to work? Son of a bitch. It might actually work.” President Bosworth finally seemed optimistic.

  The missiles were finally close to Omega. All of a sudden there was a blast of energy that emerged from Omega’s body and filled the sky for miles in every direction.

  “9... 8... 7…” the officer went silent.

  “Why did you stop?” US Defense Secretary Wolf asked.

  “It’s gone,” the officer replied.

  “What is gone?” US Defense Secretary followed up.

  “Everything, Sir. The radar is blank. I don’t see anything.” The officer seemed perplexed.

  “What is he up to now?” President Bosworth inquired.

  “Can we get eyes in the sky? Now!! We need to know what happened.” US Defense Secretary yelled at the officers.

  “Wait. I see something,” the officer interrupted.

  “What… What do you see?” President Bosworth wanted to know more.

  “I think it’s Omega,” the officer replied.

  “Where are all the missiles? Did we have impact?” President Bosworth asked with a bit of panic in his voice.

  “They are gone. They are all gone. He is moving!! He is moving again!! Heading towards the land,” the officer replied.

  “God help us!” The Vice President seemed hopeless.

  The missiles were in the Atlantic Ocean as the propulsion system and the electronics on the missiles shut off from the blast.

  “It’s not over yet. Inform the fighters to be ready to engage.” US Defense Secretary ordered the officers to contact the fleet.

  “Omega made it through our missile defense system. It is all of your squad. You are the last line of defense. We are counting on you. Innocent Americans are counting on you.” US Defense Secretary Wolf relayed the message to the squadron of fighter planes waiting to engage Omega.

  “We are ready to engage. Nothing is getting past us,” the squadron leader replied.

  “Give ‘em hell son! We are proud of you!” President Bosworth added to few words to uplift the morale of the squadron and the room.

  “You have 12 fighter jets approaching. Be ready to engage.” Sol updated Omega.

  “How far out are they?” Omega asked.

  “2 minutes till they are in sight,” Sol replied.

  “We have target in sight. Requesting permission to engage.” The squadron leader asked for confirmation from US Defense Secretary Wolf.

  “Fire at will!” US Defense Secretary Wolf provided the confirmation.

  “Lock on to the target and wait for my command to fire.” The squadron leader instructed the rest of the squad.

  “His flying pattern is not making it easy to lock on.” One of the fighter pilots updated the squad.

  “He is changing direction too fast. We need to engage fast or he will get too close to us,” another pilot added.

  “Delta squad. Spray him. Maybe that will slow him down and allow us to lock on.” The squadron leader gave the order to engage.

  Shells started flying in Omega’s direction hoping some of them land on target.

  “He is taking fire but he doesn’t seem to be impacted by them.” The pilot confirmed that the shells were not causing any damage.

  “We need something bigger. Has anyone been able to lock on?” The squadron leader inquired.

  “Almost there.” One of the pilots was close.

  “Fire as soon as you do,” the squadron leader instructed.

  “I have the target on lock. Missile is on its way,” the pilot confirmed.

  Omega saw the missile coming he way. He raised his arm out towards it and destroyed the missile with a beam of light from the top of his wrist. Omega had had enough of these games. He had a bigger mission and the squadron was just getting in the way.

  “No impact. He destroyed it.” Those were the pilot’s last words. Omega had blown up the fighter that launched the missile.

  “He took one of our fighters out, Sir.” The officer at mission control informed the cabinet. “We just lost another one.”

  There was silence in the room.

  “We are taking fire, Sir. What are our orders?” The squadron leader asked the mission control.

  They just looked at each other but no one knew what to say.

  Omega didn’t want to waste any more time so he let out another energy burst.

  “It happened again. They are all gone. The radar is blank.” Mission control updated the cabinet.

  US Defense Secretary Wolf just put his hand on his head and turned around. They knew what this meant.

  After a minute or so the officer at mission control announced, “He is back on the radar and he is moving. We can’t reach the squadron.”

  “Keep trying to reach them. Where is he heading?” President Bosworth asked.

  “If his flight pattern holds Washington DC, Sir,” the officer confirmed.

  “At least we evacuated all the key personnel out of the city,” US Defense Secretary Wolf added.

  “And what about the millions of people still in the city? What about government employees? What about Pentagon?” Vice President Wilks was not happy about the US Defense Secretary Wolf’s statement and couldn’t hold back. “Those people didn’t have a choice in our decisions and now they will pay the price.”

  “I apologize for being insensitive. I was not my intention. We are hoping he will leave the city alone when he realizes that we not there.” US Defense Secretary Wolf explained his previous statement.

  “Wow! It’s really reassuring that he only wants to kill us. You have not been right about one thing so far so I apologize for not believing that he will just leave the capital alone because we are not there.” Vice President Wilks was really angry at this point. President Bosworth had to jump in and calm the room, “Arguing will not get us anywhere. We will just have to wait and see what he does.”

  Omega was at the Capital right in front of the White House entrance. He was quickly surrounded by reporters.

  “What are you here for? Are you here for the President?” A reporter asked.

  “I am here to kill him and put an end to the Alliance,” Om
ega responded.

  “They already evacuated the city. President Bosworth and all the key cabinet members left earlier in the day.” Another reporter in the background yelled.

  “Then there is only one thing left to do,” Omega replied.

  “What is that?” another reported asked.

  Omega didn’t respond but instead pulled out a device from his backpack. He put the device on the ground and activated it.

  “What is that for?” A reported yelled at Omega.

  “It is to destroy this city and everyone in it.” Omega replied, turned away, walked a couple of steps and flew back in the air leaving the device on the ground.

  Cameras were left on the ground still telecasting as the reporters ran for their lives in panic.

  “Oh my God!! No... No... No. This is not happening,” Vice President Wilks was in disbelief watching live telecast on the news. “My family is still there!”

  The device went off and all the cameras went blank.

  There were tears in the eyes of cabinet members in the room. Their friends and family were still in Washington DC. All the people they had worked with for so many years were still in the city.

  “We can’t reach anyone in the city. Pentagon is also unavailable, Sir.” Officers at the mission control updated the group.

  “Can we get some eyes in the air? Get some planes or drones above Washington DC,” US Defense Secretary Wolf ordered the staff.

  “We are working on it, Sir. Drones will be in the air in a few minutes,” the officer confirmed.

  As drones got above Washington DC they started broadcasting live video of the city. All eyes were glued to the screens in the room.

  “We are online, Sir,” the officer informed the group.

  “Is this DC?” President Bosworth seemed horrified.

  “Based on the drones’ location it should be,” the officer confirmed.

  “This is not Washington DC!” Vice President Wilks couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Is this close to the White House?”

  “No Sir, we are still 15 miles out,” the officer replied.

  Everything that wasn’t on fire had already turned to ash. As the drones got closer to the ground they saw pieces of flesh scattered on the streets. It was hard to tell if it came from a human or animal.

  “Please turn it off. I can’t watch it anymore,” Vice President Wilks had enough.

  “Turn it off. Can we locate him? Where is he heading now?” US Defense Secretary Wolf asked the mission control.

  “We are trying to locate him, Sir,” the officer replied.

  “I don’t think he is done yet.” President Bosworth added.

  “I agree with your assessment. He doesn’t know our location yet. I think he might be heading to New York City next. Alliance members are in the UN headquarters.” US Defense Secretary Wolf took an educated guess of Omega’s next most likely target.

  Omega landed on the UN headquarters lawns. News about Washington DC had already reached New York City. Just the sight of him in the air over New York City caused a full-blown panic. People dropped everything and started running for their lives. There was chaos everywhere as people tried to get out of the city.

  Omega walked up the building entrance. All the security had already fled the building. He blew the doors open and walked in the building where the Alliance leadership was working on a strategy to attack Mersin up until a few hours ago. Now they were face to face with their enemy and there was no place to run and hide.

  “Are you here to kill us too?” British Prime Minister Longfellow asked.

  “I am not. But I am here to kill the leader of your pack. President of the United States. Where is he?” Omega questioned the group.

  “He is not here.” President of France Philippe answered.

  “We are telling the truth. He is not here. They evacuated Washington DC before the attack. His team took him somewhere secure.” Canadian Minister of National Defense May confirmed.

  “I am sure you can reach him.” Omega asked.

  “Yes. I believe we can” British Prime Minister Longfellow made eye contact with US Defense representatives.

  US Defense officers in the room were caught off guard as all eyes were on them. They fumbled through the response “Yes… Yes. I think we can. We can, Sir.”

  “Can you please get on it... right now!!” British Prime Minister Longfellow instructed.

  “Yes Sir. Of course, Sir!!” The officer replied as reached for the secure phone in the conference room.

  “We are getting a call from the UN Headquarters, Sir.” The officer at the secure site in Knoxville informed the cabinet.

  “Put it through.” President Bosworth instructed.

  Everyone was anxious about the call since the assumption was that Omega might be in the city.

  “Mr. President, this is British Prime Minister Kate Longfellow. Omega is here with us and would like to speak to you.”

  “Sure. Put him through.” President Bosworth tried his best to come off confident.

  “President Bosworth, I need you to get on the plane and get here immediately. I am waiting.” Omega ordered the President.

  “And why would I do that?” President Bosworth questioned.

  “I can’t make you come here but I can keep going through city by city till I find you. It’s your choice.” Omega gave an ultimatum.

  Vice President <>put the phone on mute. “You have to go. We cannot have another Washington DC.”

  “And what do you think he will do to the President if we send him there?” US Defense Secretary Wolf asked a rhetorical question.

  “Whatever he wants to do he will. There ain’t a damn thing we can do to stop him. But we can spare all the innocent lives by sending the President there.” Vice President Wilks replied.

  “So, you want me to sacrifice my life?” President Bosworth asked in frustration.

  “That’s the oath you took when you took this job. Or did you forget? If this can save the lives of millions of Americans you have to do it. We don’t know what it is he wants from you. He may just want you to surrender to him.” Vice President Wilks tried to convince President Bosworth to honor his oath.

  The President didn’t want to go but he also knew he didn’t have a choice. He could sense the mood in the room. They were going to put him on a flight to New York even if it was in handcuffs. So, he obliged to save the little bit of dignity he had left.

  “Call all the media to this building. This needs to be telecasted around the world. Tell them I am not here to destroy the city. I am here to put an end to the war once and for all.” Omega instructed the Alliance leadership. They were more than happy to do anything as long as Omega going to let them live.

  Air Force One landed within a couple of hours in New York City. A chopper picked the President up immediately from JFK airport to take him to the UN headquarters.

  “We are proud of what you are doing for the country. Good luck, Sir!” the pilot told President Bosworth over the headset.

  “I appreciate it son but it is my duty to protect Americans,” President Bosworth replied. More than anything he was just trying to convince himself.

  The largest conference room in the UN Headquarters was full of reporters. The event was being telecast all around the world.

  The Alliance leaders were lined up on stage waiting for President Bosworth to arrive. After just watching Omega run through all of the US defenses and the horrific destruction of Washington DC no one was coming to their rescue. Any disruption would only make things worse. It was time for Alliance forces to sit back and watch the show like everyone else.

  As soon as the helicopter landed on the UN lawn the place erupted in anticipation. President Bosworth was followed by news cameras all the way from the lawn to the conference room. Traditional press core rules were no longer in place as this was the event of the lifetime. Every moment needed to be covered.

  US President Bosworth was placed right in the middle of the
Alliance leader’s lineup on stage. Now all everyone was waiting for was the star of the event to arrive.

  Omega finally arrived and walked past the line of Alliance leaders to the middle of the stage. There was silence in the room filled with hundreds of media personal. No one wanted to miss a moment of one of the biggest if not the biggest event in human history. Omega walks to the middle of the stage and stops.

  “So, you are leading the Alliance to resist me? Step forward.” Omega was staring right at US President Bosworth.

  “We are all in this together. There is no one leader.” President Bosworth replied as he stepped up to the front of the line.

  “Do all of you agree with his statement? Anyone else who believes they are co-leaders of the Alliance you can step forward too.” Omega asked the rest of the leaders.

  They all looked at each other to figure out how to respond. No words were spoken and no steps were taken. President Bosworth looked back at all the leaders in disbelief. For some reason he believed that at least one of them would step forward. It was very lonely being up there all alone.

  Omega walks up to the US President and whispers in his ear, “This is why you never had a chance of winning. You humans are selfish. Every man for himself. Your selfishness destroyed this planet and now it will destroy you.”

  President Bosworth closed his eyes and acknowledged the reality. There was no need to say any more words. He could beg and plead for his life but he had nothing to offer Omega. Omega already won.

  Omega walked to the side of the stage and picked up the Alliance flag. Without any hesitation he stabbed the US President in the chest with the pole. The pole went right through his body and into the stage. As his limp body hung from the flag pole Omega lit the flag on fire. Even though he had won he couldn’t let the leader of the Alliance live. At the end of every war, unification requires that there be only one leader.

  Omega turned to the rest of the Alliance leaders. “Would anyone else like to lead the Alliance? You can step forward now.” Omega asked the rest of the Alliance members on stage. As expected no one stepped up.

  “Those who are done resisting and are ready to surrender can take a knee.” Omega gave the members a choice.