Hero of the Day

Victor was lying down on the grass, looking up at the sky. Curled next to him is his girlfriend, who has tears in her eyes and her arms wrapped around his body. The year is 2012, and it is only five minutes to midnight on New Years Eve. Even though it is late, the sky is lit up with bright lights from every house. Nobody fell asleep early tonight, as there will be enough sleep in the following years. Years ago the scientist predicted the world would end on the 21st of December, 2012. They were wrong. The world will end tonight.
Every attempt to stop the meteor had failed. Nothing could shift its course, and with no hope left, the government issued its last message: “Prepare for the end, it is all over.” That was this afternoon. Within 30 seconds, Victor’s phone was ringing. People began gathering around his apartment building, shouting and screaming his name. “Help us!” they cried. “Save us please!” With a broken heart he looked out from his window, but could do nothing else. At least not anymore; not after what they did to him.
Two years ago, the world looked upon what would be its first, and last, super-powered individual. With his abilities, which the origins are still unknown, he exposed himself to the public in order to help the people during the Second Great Depression. Victor, although at the time he was going by some ridiculous superhero name, could generate and manipulate electrical pulses, both visible and subatomic. He could pull lightning from the sky, or shake the very fabric of time and space. With his unlimited power, the possibilities were endless. Electric cars, free energy, technological advances, all were open to humans now that he had gone public. However, unlimited power comes with a horrible price, for however many people adore you, twice as many fear you.
The governments were skeptical of a being that could destroy a country in a matter of weeks. They spread their skepticism and fear into the media, which in turn passed it onto the very people Victor wanted to help. Religious leaders turned him into the anti-Christ, while government officials blamed him for the strange and destructive weather patterns. No matter how many people he saved, or what technology he helped create, the world he wanted only to save slowly turned against him.
After months of hate being fed into their very hearts and souls, the people of the world cried out for his blood. No more would they stand for this abomination to go around freely using his abilities, for any purpose. The governments demanded an immediate surrender. Not wanting to start a war he feared would destroy the planet, Victor surrendered willingly. At first the officials tried to just hide him away, and continue using his abilities for technological advances. But after only months of this, his fate was leaked to the press, and the public cried out for a greater punishment. They wanted his powers gone.
With mounting pressure from the public, the government had no choice. They devised the means to remove his powers by using the technology he gave them. Not aware of the government’s plans to de-power him, Victor was easily tricked, and betrayed by the very men he had grown to trust. The machine worked perfectly, and Victor was successfully de-powered, with the footage shown world-wide to satisfy the public’s thirst. Victor, who was shocked and still not sure what had happened, was allowed to return home and live out his life as a normal human being. All he wanted was to help. But all they wanted was another person to blame for their mistakes. That was six months ago.
Ten seconds until midnight, and the world looks up to the heavens to watch the ball drop. Victor and his girlfriend had fled to a nearby hilltop, the highest in the area, to watch the end in peace. As she lies there huddled in his arms, he grabs onto her and pulls her tightly against him. Tears begin to stream down their cheeks as they look up towards the sky. He looks at her, and together they whisper their final words. The end of the human race has come, and the only thing capable of stopping it was taken away out of fear and hatred. The people had been granted their savior, and had turned their heads in disgust. They laid the foundations for their very destruction, and built their own tombs with their ignorance and corruption.