Superpowered Hotbloods - Verse

The world of Superpowered Hotblood is similar in many ways to Earth... and yet also very different.

The setting takes place on a Moon named [x]. The geography is completely different; no real-world countries exist here. It's populated by humans, and animals native to Earth, but also many species that were extinct on Earth exist here, including dinosaurs from every era. This moon is roughly the same size as Earth, with just slightly less gravity than it, and orbits a gas giant, far away enough that it is not tidally locked.

The world's governments have unified: what was once multiple countries has turned into a single, borderless empire, for the past several hundred years. The world is somewhat more dystopic than Earth. While xenophobia, or bigotry from gender or orientation, is no longer an issue, class warfare is still a problem. The government is somewhat tyrannical, censoring most criticism, silencing whistleblowers, and trying to uphold an autocratic capitalist status quo. Technological progress in the fields of automation has been held back from public, with the public excuse being that it would lead to people having no jobs, when in reality it'd mean an end to labor and the status quo. In secret, the government has been sitting on comparatively advanced technology for a while now, in secret.

Due to government censorship, the concept of superhero fiction never hit public eye, for unknown reasons. Thus, when the Ascension Event occurred, the public was baffled.

The Ascension Event began with a single woman who developed tumerous growths, and checked in to a hospital. Not long after, both the patient and the doctors who knew of her were whisked away to a government blacksite, where noone was allowed to leave. That woman became the first Ascended, and developed powers that science could not explain. The very laws of thermodynamics were upended; energy was being created without a source. From there, people in the surrounding area began Ascending as well, and it remained a secret for a short while, but it wasn't long before that secrecy was broken. Before long, the radius of the Ascension Event increased to cover the entire world, and the number of people with superpowers only increased.

The world's government did not seem to falter in their response, offering an ultimatum to those with powers. Those that had powers would be given the oppurtunity to work as elite government agents, gaining oppurtunites to train their powers until they could uphold the peace, and act as symbols of justice. These "superheroes" became celebrities, famous for their exploits, and living extravagant lifestyles with tremendous incomes. Those that refused this position were not legally allowed to use their powers. But, of course, many did anyways, becoming supervillains. Amongst supervillains, many were monstrous in goals, seeking carnage, or power. Others simply chose to use their powers in secret but live otherwise normal lives. But a sizable number simply saw problems with society, and now wanted to use their powers to enact positive change, something they couldn't do if they chose to be a "superhero."