PFC Jackson McDonald, US Marine, has been chosen to join the anti-superhuman unit Team Omega after he managed to kill a rampaging superhuman. As he integrates into the special forces unit, however, the world is not sitting still. Half a world away, "Hope" of the independent superhero team the Saviors orchestrates the deposal of the Congo's warlords, setting a dangerous new precedent.
Team Omega
is a Web Serial Novel by Christopher G. Nuttall, aka "chrisnuttall". In a world where superhumans are a reality, how does humanity cope with them? It is complete.
This work contains examples of:
- Alternate History: Even without the changes directly caused by the existence of superhumans, there are other differences such as Bill Clinton being UN Secretary-General and never having tried for US Presidency.
- Anyone Can Die: The Sergeant, Mimic and in fact almost all of Team Omega have been killed.
- Beware the Honest Ones: Hope. He does everything aboveboard, even the public execution of miscreants and dictators, and does far more to the world than any number of shady backroom deals. For better or worse.
- Beware the Superman: Supers are definitely feared.
- Boxed Crook: At least one super codenamed Slaughter accepted working for the CIA rather than imprisonment.
- Cape Busters: The eponymous special forces unit.
- Captain Patriotic: A Legacy Character literally called America.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: "Who would want to be a supervillain if they made more money from photographs, autographs and carefully-orchestrated charity appearances?"
- Cutting the Knot: Deconstructed. When Hope did so by directly intervening in the Congo, his failure to consider other factors and realities of the ground are biting him in the butt.
- Depleted Phlebotinum Shells: Team Omega has various flavours of these.
- Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead: Repeatedly averted. Killing the Congo warlords didn't immediately fix the country, killing Gaddafi only plunged his country into civil war and the American troops aren't giving up the fight just because their leader has been captured.
- Dreadful Musician: Dreamy Girl.
- Godzilla Threshold: Lampshaded with an experimental weapon that has "DANGER – DO NOT USE UNLESS SHIT MEETS FAN" on the side.
- Good Is Not Soft: Hope, to frightful extents. At one point, Jackson almost references the Discworld saying about good men by wishing that he was a power-mad supervillain who would ironically have self-restraint.
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: Hope is genuinely a good person and wants to make a better world... by violence if need be. His opponents have reasons both good and bad to uphold the status quo.
- He's Just Hiding: In-Universe, SDI supporters hoping they were just sent to another universe and would return.
- He Knows Too Much: Redeemer tries to off Mimic. When he kills himself, it's ambiguous whether he did it to avoid her Mind Control or whether it was because of her Mind Control.
- Heroic Sacrifice: The Sergeant goes into battle with a full super to buy the Team time. Chris detonates the grenades on his person to weaken Mainframe.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Redeemer attempts to justify her lies.
- Immune to Bullets: Level 5 supers are this, though it still hurts to take them to sensitive areas.
- Legacy Character: There are several. We see at least one, Michael Lee the former Fireman.
- Life Drain: Dreamy Girl's other power.
- Master of Illusion: Dreamy Girl is one, but only with regards to making others see her as the girl of their dreams. It's not her only power.
- Mind over Manners: Examined. Telepaths like Redeemer can read minds and do it so invisibly that most people can't tell it happened. Few people like it.
- N.G.O. Superpower: The fear the world had of independent superhero teams unfettered by national loyalties was proved all too founded when Hope and the Saviors conquered the Congo.
- Nuke 'em: How the USSR finally killed a Polish super who was the focal point for their uprising - levelling Warsaw in the process.
- Person of Mass Destruction: Most Level 5s. The US has two confirmed means of killing one: Sending another Level 5 or nukes.
- Random Power Ranking: Supers are generally classified from levels one to five. "X" is for those with powers that don't easily fit on the linear scale, like Reality Warpers.
- Reality Warper: These exist and are grouped under Level X.
- Required Secondary Powers: It's briefly mentioned that super-tough skin also can't be stitched together if it's somehow breached.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The assassination attempt on Hope, meant to prevent him from turning his eyes on the US, led to him doing just that.
- Shout-Out: There's a missing kid called Parker Lewis.
- An impossibly well-endowed reporter called Lana Croft.
- Halo batteries are mentioned.
- Cyberman Powered Armor.
- A Borg program is also mentioned.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: When the UN tries to call Hope out on killing Gaddafi, he retorts that its willingness to stand by and let the man's actions be means they have no right to condemn him.
- Single Tear: Lane sheds a single tear when none of Team Omega Team One back down from fighting the superhero coup.
- Spy Speak: Team Omega has this.
- Super Registration Act
- Superpowerful Genetics: No one really knows how superpowers are passed down. One had a son who shared his Super-Strength and Super-Toughness while his daughter somehow got to be Casting a Shadow.
- Techno Wizard: Layla and Mainframe.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Many supers have this problem, which makes the trained ones all that more dangerous.
- Vigilante Man: Vigilante supers are discouraged and their takedown is included in Team Omega's remit.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Jackson could kill his Level 5 because the super still had to breath. Various otherwise powerful Level Xs don't have the passive defences of conventional supers and thus can still be gunned down.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Hope will save the Congo, and to Hell with anyone who disagrees. Except it wasn't all him.
- What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: Mutates usually look disfigured and are scorned even by other supers though their powers are rarely high-end.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Mimic chews Hope out for declaring war on the US in retaliation for their assassination attempt.
- You Are in Command Now: [[spoiler: Jackson becomes the new Team Omega leader due to every other operator having been killed.
