The gathering of power

Ye Mo did not move. The chip was still in his hand, slightly warm, as though he had just snatched it from someone else.

The hall was quiet. No one spoke. Someone near Gray Crow lit a cigarette; the flame flickered and went out. Prism stood where he was, his skin reflecting the light. Circuit was still tapping his mechanical eye, but the rhythm had slowed.

Emma Frost had her eyes closed, her brow furrowed. "The third private room ahead on the right," she whispered. "The heartbeat inside is too steady. It doesn't sound like a normal person's."

Ye Mo raised a hand to touch the frame of his glasses without taking them off. He activated Thermal Vision and scanned the room-there was no human silhouette inside, only a low-temperature trace beneath the vent, as though something had pressed through the air, leaving an invisible path.

He understood. Whoever had arrived had not walked in. He had "slid" in.

The shadows five paces away stirred. A man in a dark gray trench coat stepped out, his face hidden beneath a hood. His steps were light, almost silent. He stopped in front of Ye Mo and raised his left hand.

A cluster of distorted ripples appeared in his palm, like the surface of water after someone threw a stone into it, yet without a splash. The ripples circled a few times before slowly stopping.

The system notification sounded for the first time: "Rare mutant ability fragment detected-'Phase Shift.' Allows temporary departure from the dimension of reality. Cooldown unknown."

The man spoke, his voice low, as though rising from underground. "You just made three people reveal their trump cards. Aren't you worried about being seen through yourself? I just passed through three security perimeters without anyone noticing."

Only then did Ye Mo remove his glasses and tuck them into his hoodie pocket. He stared into the man's eyes, even though all he could see was darkness. "Anyone who was afraid wouldn't be standing here. The fact that you came in means you want to break the deadlock too."

The man neither smiled nor moved. They stood a few paces apart, as though waiting to see who would back away first.

Without waiting for him to speak again, Ye Mo suddenly turned to face Gray Crow, Prism, and Circuit.

"You gave me information, and I gave you access," he said. "Now I want to ask you something-would you want someone who could watch your backs when you couldn't see?"

Gray Crow did not look up, but he stubbed out his cigarette. Prism's skin flashed, as though the energy inside him had fluctuated. Circuit's mechanical eye stopped blinking as he looked at Ye Mo.

No one answered.

Ye Mo turned back to the man in the trench coat. "I won't ask who you are or why you came. I'll only ask one thing: if the storm comes, which side will you stand on?"

The man was silent for two seconds. He withdrew the ripples in his palm, lowered his left hand, then slowly held out a hand.

Ye Mo reached out and shook it.

The instant their palms touched, the system sounded again: "'Phase Shift' gene fragment successfully acquired. Level 4 of the Gene Spiral Tower unlocked."

Emma Frost opened her eyes, glanced at the man, and said softly, "He wasn't lying. His emotion... is loneliness."

As soon as she finished, a cold laugh came from the corner.

It was the masked person beside Gray Crow. "Is the bar this low for Mr. X's recruits now?" He scoffed. "A shadow who won't even dare show his face deserves to stand beside you?"

Ye Mo neither released the man's hand nor turned around. "What about you?" he asked. "Do you dare say your master's name?"

The man could not get a word out and offered no reply.

Only then did Ye Mo release the hand and take half a step back. "Today isn't about allegiances, only choices," he said. "You can leave or stay. But remember-I don't want obedient pawns. I want people who can make their own decisions at critical moments."

As soon as he finished, Prism stepped forward. He looked not at Ye Mo, but at the man in the trench coat. "If you really can pass through security perimeters," he said, "could you tell my people the evacuation route before the next operation? I don't want to lose anyone else."

The man in the trench coat said nothing, but nodded.

Circuit's mechanical eye blinked, and he suddenly spoke. "I need a new jump server. S.H.I.E.L.D. has already flagged the old one."

"Three new nodes will go online tomorrow," Ye Mo said. "The password is your daughter's birthday followed by 'X.'"

Circuit's fingers paused, then he tapped the table lightly twice-a gesture of thanks.

Gray Crow finally raised his head, his burned left cheek looking darker beneath the lights. "I had an informant go missing three days ago," he said. "His last message was, 'They're looking for someone who can walk through walls.' I don't know if they're after you."

The man in the trench coat stiffened slightly.

Ye Mo glanced at him without explaining. "I'll investigate," he said. "But if you want to keep standing here, you have to accept one thing-we're neither a gang nor an organization. We're a group of people who don't want the rules to cut off every way forward anymore."

"So there are no orders," Emma Frost added. "Only consensus."

The hall fell silent for a few seconds. Then Gray Crow stood, placed the remaining chips in a metal box, and pushed it to the edge of the table. "These are the backdoor keys to the northern district's surveillance," he said. "Don't let them become new cages."

Prism took a blue crystal from his chest and placed it on the table. "This is my people's energy beacon," he said. "As long as it's lit, we can stay in contact."

Circuit offered no physical object, but remotely launched a program. A set of IP addresses and port mappings automatically popped up on the console. "This is a backup route through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s firewall," he said. "It becomes invalid after one use."

Ye Mo did not touch any of those things. He only nodded.

He knew what this meant.

It was neither submission nor allegiance-trust had begun to flow.

Emma Frost suddenly tugged at his sleeve. She looked toward the wrist of the man in the trench coat-there was a deep scar there, as though it had been torn open and healed.

Ye Mo took note.

He did not ask. Some things could not be asked now.

He turned and walked to the center, looking at everyone. "What happened tonight won't leave this room," he said. "But if anyone tries to use it as leverage, I'll show him what being truly 'unseen' means."

The man in the trench coat stood behind him to one side, motionless and silent, like a shadow that might disappear at any moment.

But he was there.

This was the beginning of change.

In the distance, a surveillance camera slowly turned, its red light blinking once.

Ye Mo did not look at it. He knew someone was watching.

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Every signal light on the console went out, then came back on within the same second, their color changing-from red to green.

This was their signal to one another.

Ready.

Emma Frost walked to his side and said quietly, "There's unusual signal activity in the northern district. It looks like someone is testing communications jamming."

Ye Mo nodded and looked at the man in the trench coat. "Those three security perimeters you just passed through-who set up the last one?"

The man finally spoke, his voice still low. "Hydra remnants. They've switched to a new frequency, using an old-style vibranium resonance code."

Ye Mo smiled. "Perfect," he said. "I just acquired a fragment that can interfere with it."

He took a small piece of black metal from his pocket. Its edges were uneven, as though it had been snapped off a large piece of equipment.

It was a vibranium fragment he had previously removed from Obadiah's equipment. He had never used it.

Now he could.

He handed the fragment to the man in the trench coat. "See if you can synchronize it with your ability," he said. "If you can, we'll have an 'invisible' team."

The man in the trench coat took the fragment, and ripples rose from his palm again.

The black metal slowly faded, as though being drawn into that mass of distorted space.

A few seconds later, the ripples dispersed.

The fragment was gone.

But beneath the lights, the man's body flickered-like a stuttering image, jittering slightly for an instant.

Emma Frost's eyes widened. "Did he... just leave the dimension of reality?"

Ye Mo did not answer. He stared at that jittering shadow, knowing clearly-

They were no longer people hiding in the darkness.

They had become the darkness itself.

At the other end of the hall, Circuit's mechanical eye suddenly began flashing violently. He jerked his head up. "Someone's hacking my terminal!"

Ye Mo turned immediately. "Source?"

"I don't know!" Circuit's fingers flew across the virtual keyboard. "The signal's been routed through multiple hops, but... this method..."

He stopped.

"What is it?" Emma Frost asked.

Circuit raised his head, his mechanical eye aimed at the man in the trench coat. "This intrusion method is exactly the same as the energy residue you just left behind."