Team Omega by Christopher G. Nuttall

are really quite alarming.  You might wind up taking down a superhero who hides a great deal of trouble under his cape.”
     
    Jackson stared at his fingers.  “Why doesn't everyone know about this?”
     
    “Much of the information I gave you is in the public domain,” the Professor said.  “Draw your own conclusions.”
     
    “They don’t want to know,” Jackson said.
     
    “Of course not,” the Professor said.  “And even if they did...take a look at the President.  His approval ratings are never very high at the best of times.  What would happen to him if he was to open up a full investigation into superhuman activity, perhaps even strengthened SARA?  His ratings would plummet, his enemies would see their chance at an impeachment...and absolutely nothing would be done.  After the oil shock when Saudi Arabia collapsed into chaos, you’d think they’d learn...”
     
    “But they didn't,” Jackson said.
     
    “That’s why Team Omega exists,” the Professor said, quietly.  “Your task is to keep a lid on this situation in the hopes it won’t blow up in humanity’s collective face.  I don’t envy you.”
     
    ***
    “Superhumans fall into three categories,” Professor Blunt said.  Unlike Professor Hayworth, he was military, a former Ranger who had joined Team Omega and had been crippled in a nasty confrontation with a pair of criminal mutants.  “There are those who are registered and catalogued, or seen in operation—the known knowns, if you like.  Vice President Rumsfeld devised the term five years ago, and it stuck.”
     
    Jackson nodded.  Everyone seemed to have different categories for superhumans. 
     
    “Then there are those who are not registered and catalogued, but are known to be superhuman—the known unknowns,” Blunt continued.  “We know they’re superhuman, yet we don’t know for sure what powers they have—we end up treating them with extreme care because we are moving blind.  It’s better to use extreme force than risk having an outraged superhuman crush you like a bug.
     
    “Finally, there are the unknown unknowns—we don’t know they’re superhumans, and sometimes they don’t know it, either, until their powers spark.  Most of the time, when we get called in to clean up someone else’s mess, it's when a superhuman or two were involved, but those on the spot didn't know it.”  Jackson nodded, remembering what had happened to New York’s SWAT team in the simulation.  “You cannot take anything for granted, ever.”
     
    He grinned, revealing a mouth that was missing several front teeth.  “Beyond that, superhumans are classed as being levels one to five—with ‘X’ for the inexplicable powers.  Level 1 superhumans aren't too difficult to deal with; level 4 and 5...we as a society are just hoping they’re good people.  Dealing with them is extremely difficult and can be very costly.”
     
    Jackson nodded, slowly.  Blunt had been crippled in one such operation—and five of his teammates had lost their lives. 
     
    “Superhumanity is practically becoming its own subculture,” Blunt continued.  “You’ve seen the black subculture...superhumanity is becoming something similar, with its own way of doing things.  Some of the surveillance tapes are remarkable; the so-called superhero teams all tend to fall into the same pattern, no matter what the original intent of the team’s founder was.  The stronger superhumans lead; the weaker ones follow.  I don’t think we can count on a Batman to keep them all in line.”
     
    “It's illegal to dress up as a superhuman unless you actually have powers,” Jackson said, quietly.  There had been a number of incidents where mundane humans wearing costumes had been killed because the superhuman who had confronted them hadn't known to hold back.  “Kids are so disappointed at Halloween...”
     
    Blunt ignored him.  “I’m writing a book on it, which I doubt the boss will ever allow me to