I liked the story. Union Dues are some of my fav ones, and this one just reinforced that for me.
Solid story, likable believable characters, and a plot that could happen.
About the idea of a union being exagerated; its true, however for the universe it has been put into it fits very well. Without a union to represent them (as was mentioned) they would be open to lawsuits, government red tape and generally not save people. Its been done a few times in various fiction, I have no idea if it originated in these stories; they are liable for damage they do. They did it, even if it was to save someone else; its evident in society that we live in now that people will take anything they can get.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-mdrown1007oct10,0,7318452.story?coll=orl_tab01_layout(FYI, she's now droped the case... but still she tried)
This would be an issue for super powered people.
To help them they get together and make a group who follow an agreed set of rules... but as it is coordinated with the government... the red tape piles up over time; until noone cares about making them comprehansable anymore, and can take down anyone it wants if it sees fit. If you have ever read an insurance policy, a contract, a loan application or a thousand other things, you can see its believable; and that is the imporant thing.
Any a lot of the time a union does keep it's own interests secure... but it is within its best interest to.
But yeah most Unions would have fought against Chroms punnishment, as it seemed harsh and over the top... It jusr ends up a lot of the time the human factor is overlooked; and people just doing their job the way they are supposed to are sometimes punnished if the media puts the wrong spin on it...
(see AOL cancelation saga phone call. He didn't break any AOL rules until half way through, and if that wasn't in the internet and got media coverage; even if AOL knew about it; nothing would have happened. The guy was reportedly fired.)
The ideas of hypnosis being used are good; in a universe where super powers exist, more extreme control would be needed; so I can see that happening. Just as they would have greater physical/mental tests, and would be examined for if they should be allowed to protect the public... the official line would be important to be natural, before they could think about it.
Its like the army being trained to react to a situation without thinking and to aim shoot and be on guard without their brain ever kicking in, just reacting naturally; to keep them alive better. They don't train for what happens next; guilt etc etc... In this story it was the same thing; no thought was given to how it would effect everyday life, no thought about what to do after the emergancy is over, or how to cope wiht the aftermath. Brainwashing was a quick and easy fix. Almost a reset button...
//Side note//
Though if you have read the first issue of Civil War, you do see supers helping with the recovery and helping effort after the emergancy is over. Which I thought was a really nice touch.
As for whether supers are sci fi; I say yes. Easily. All super heroes just feel sci fi to me. And IIRC the union dues universe has giant robots in it..(see the previous story about the guy with no powers).
That went on longer that I intended.
sorry.