From the Game's Introduction:
Welcome to the city. I'm sure your stay will be eventful. If you thought that life here would be simple, you couldn’t be more wrong. I bet you figured that with all the superheros protecting our neighborhoods, crime would be low. You're already a victim with that line of reasoning.
Back in the day, when criminals mugged you at the ATMs and ripped off banks, we had only the police to protect us. Back then you knew who the good guys were and they always carried badges. Now... forget about it. We've got some colorful costumes flying around and they couldn't care less about licenses. In some cases, they don't even care about legalities. They're thugs and vigilantes, but, they could save your life.
A lot of people miss the old days and want to return to them. These are the same people that curse the mutants and heroes for not leaving law enforcement in the hands of the police and feds. There's also another reason they hate them - supply and demand. With the supply of superheros busting crime rings, gangs, and the like, a new breed of evil came into demand - one that could compete with the heroes and offer average criminals the chance to make a dishonest living once again. Yes, you guessed it - supervillains for hire. They keep the heroes occupied, while the old-time crooks plunder, and then they split the takings.
This is what superheros did to our fine city. Now, the police can't even protect you against some of the bad guys. They just don't have the power.
Welcome to the new reality.
Welcome to the... Price of Power