In the SWU there are countless people who have been declared ‘Powered Individuals’ or ‘Enhanced Persons’. However not every one of them is the same, sparking the creation of the Enhanced Person’s Index or EPI. Which comprises 4 (debatably 5) primary categories
Biological
A Biological is a person whose powers, though seemingly fantastical, are biological adaptations typical to all members of their species. This category is usually reserved for Aliens, though Earth-based biologicals do exist, such as the races from Dante's Pit or certain humans who have trained themselves to peak physicality.
Biologicals can originate from Mutates provided that the mutant genes are passed down and around through the generations, eventually resulting in a new species. Examples include Demons, Mananangal, Ghouls etc.
Augments
An Augment is a person whose powers originate from some form of technology, be it alien or terrestrial, built by the person using it or simply something they stumbled across. The Augment category is very broad.
Temporary Augment
A Temporary Augment is someone whose technological power source can be willingly taken off, put down or dropped, such as armor and weapons
Permanent Augment
A Permanent Augment is someone whose powers source from technology that can not be willingly removed, such as cybernetic components or even by simply grafting a Temporary Augment's device on or into the biological component.
Synthetic Lifeforms, such as Artificial Intelligences, Androids and Robots are also considered a permanent Augment.
Mutate
A Mutate is any creature who receives their power or major biological modifications from an outside source, be it Radiation, Chemicals, Fusion, Vivisection, Serums or Ooze.
Mutates are the most common category of Powered Individual, Though should a Mutate's mutation be passed through several generations a new species can evolve from said Mutates and then any individuals of such a species would be considered a Biological, though such a process takes several thousand years.
Deviant
Deviants are the newest classification, previously being included in the Mutate category, before new research revealed that they were different.
Deviants gain their powers around puberty, though exceptions exist and one's powers can develop at a much younger or much older age, through a unique chain of proteins and DNA, informally called the Aetis Gene. The Aetis Gene is extremely variable and somewhat unstable, scientists are still unsure of it's origin, whether it makes the Deviants a separate species from Humanity or even how it develops.
Currently, Deviants are considered Human, as a Deviant can be be born from two non-Deviant parents and some controversial research points to the Aetis Gene not being a feature shared by a population but rather that it is a convergent trait, developing completely independently in each person.
Since 2015, Deviant populations have been on the rise globally, causing concern for some, fearing it may render humanity extinct in a few generations should the rate of new deviants keep climbing.
Dual Classifications
Augments, Mutates and Deviants can all be mixed-and-matched with one another if applicable. Biologicals cannot be combined with the other categories, if a feature from the other categories applies to a biological, they will simply have their classification changed to the applicable trait, where it can then be combined with another.