The Pipeline is a loose affiliation of heroes, scientists, and wizards that live throughout the greater New York area. Exactly who is and is not a member of the Pipeline is unknown as members rarely have direct contact with each other. Instead, they connect via anonymous phone calls, internet forums, and scrying circles.
The greater villain community that has interests in New York City would pay a great deal for any conclusive evidence as to who or what directs the Pipeline. In a world where military spy satellites circle the globe, telepathic mutants can peer into the mind of anyone on the planet and a skilled sorcerer can scry both forwards and backwards in time, that no one can conclusively say who is and is not a member of the Pipeline is rather suspect. This information could be more valuable than national secrets on the black market.