Parahumans were the weak link. It was a terrifying concept, but seriously, who would suspect a master of only being able to affect parahumans, especially if the manipulations were as subtle as they appeared, only being overt at the direst of situations? Most people wouldn't even understand how that was possible. Fortunately, I had a supercarrier plotting out the answer to that exact question. I wasn't certain the passengers were involved, but it was the most likely possibility.
Until we figured out the method behind information controls would need to stay in place. That was the more concerning aspect, and you could see evidence of it from the Nine's movements. Jack avoided cities where he could be threatened or defeated, where the group would likely see heavy losses despite whatever influence he was capable of. Looking at the situations in retrospect there was absolutely no way he could have acquired the information from conventional means, not with that level of consistent avoidance of threats. The power went both ways, and alerting an unprotected parahuman would tip off Jack.
The sad thing was that somebody else could probably have figured this out. Not on the timescale that I had, and not with the level of certainty we held, but with enough eyes on the situation someone would have seen the truth. Once the theory was in place the Nine's behavior would have confirmed it. Measures could have been taken to address the problem, provide information containment and finally mount a serious resistance to the Nine. But that hadn't happened, and it wouldn't happen, because people didn't talk about the Nine.
Survey had needed to work to get all the information she had. There was no national task force working twenty-four/seven on the problem. Not consolidated information center, no repository of information. The amount of data a local branch could request if they had the Nine on their doorstep was paltry, without even full assessments of the Nine's capabilities. The Nine had earned their status as an S-Class threat through the death, destruction, and devastation they wrought, but everyone was content to ignore the problem and leave things to the Capes.
It was almost funny, to see the problem I had to become what my family was always worried about. The exact thing they were afraid that keeping my Sphere moon base would convince people I was. They were concerned I would become a Slaughterhouse fanboy, and now I knew more about their actions than even the most deranged and devoted follower of gruesome exploits.
"Expanded interference in the Nine's approach increases risk of discovery." Survey warned. "I would advise against such measures, though I understand your motivation for this decision."
I nodded. A consequence of walking through every report, every confrontation, every scrap of medical data was knowledge of exactly what was waiting for the people who got caught in their way. Sometimes if someone stumbled onto the nine they were ended quickly. A slice from Jack Slash of Mannequin, a strike from the Siberian, or even a more aggressive action from Crawler. Not pleasant, but quick. Then you had slower fates. Basically, anything from Burnscar, Shatterbird's more creative uses of her power, and whatever Bonesaw could come up with. That slowness sometimes left people alive, though consistently in a state where they wished they weren't.
That was just the consequences of crossing their path. Active hunts or the stunts they pulled during their attacks were in another league entirely. I wasn't going to allow them to try any of that in my city, but I NEEDED to do what I could to mitigate the damage they would cause, even if I had to manipulate every aspect of their route to do so.
"It's an acceptable risk." I stated. "Once we have their location we should be able to influence things sufficiently to reduce casualties to the absolute minimum." And hopefully keep those non-lethal, if at all possible. "If we can keep the route either too busy for them to risk exposing themselves, or completely clear we can eliminate incidental attacks."
Survey nodded. "I would posit that the group may become suspicious of a run of 'good fortune', but analysis has shown consistent encounters with statistically unlikely scenarios, seemingly to a lack of awareness from the members of the Nine."
"We don't know how Jack's power works, or even how much awareness he or the other members have of it." I admitted. "This could pass without notice, or it could come off as a massive red flag."
"And if the Nine become aware of our observation and divert to another target?" Survey asked.
"Then we strike." I said in a cold voice. "The closer they are to the city the better justification we have, but they aren't getting away. I want to minimize the aftermath of this, but with a choice between a global panic and Jack getting away, there's no choice. He dies, one way or another."
