Chapter 2: Points of Connection
[Afternoon – Queens, New York – Day 1]
The signal was a phantom. It wasn't a blip on a radar or a ringing phone. It was a cold spot in the System's mental map, a subtle, almost imperceptible line of code that felt wrong, a digital breadcrumb. Adam, now more in control of his body and his mind, followed it through the labyrinthine streets of Queens. He kept to the rooftops and side alleys, using his newly acquired "Blink" ability sparingly, a tiny flash of motion here and there, a quick shift from one shadow to the next.
Is this a trap? The System's data seems reliable, but I can't trust it blindly.
His internal reflection was a constant tug-of-war. The System had saved him, but it had also stolen his agency. He was a puppet, a lab rat, and he needed to understand the scope of his cage. The signal led him to a nondescript apartment complex, a brick cube in a sea of identical brick cubes. The only thing that made it stand out was the complete lack of any visible antennas or security cameras, a digital blank spot in a digitally-saturated world. It was too clean, too quiet.
[SYSTEM: Signal source located: Unit 4B. Caution: High-level surveillance protocols detected.]
Adam used another of his newly acquired cards, a "Perception Card," that the System had rewarded him with after his escape. The cost was minimal, a tiny drain on his mana pool, but the result was immediate and profound. The world around him shifted. The air shimmered with invisible data streams, glowing lines of information that coursed through the very walls of the building. He could see the faint outlines of hidden cameras, the subtle pulses of encrypted Wi-Fi networks. He was no longer just an observer; he was seeing the secret skeleton of the world.
He focused his enhanced perception on Unit 4B. Through the glass, he could see a man sitting at a table, bathed in the cool glow of multiple monitors. The man was dressed in a dark suit and tie, his face a calm, placid mask. On the monitors, Adam saw what looked like live news feeds—a car chase in Los Angeles, a political rally in London, and a blurry security feed of what looked suspiciously like… himself.
Wait. That's me. That's a video of me blipping out of that alley.
The man on the other side of the glass was Phil Coulson. A name that felt both familiar and alien. It was a character from a movie, a piece of pop culture history from a world he no longer lived in. Now, he was a real person, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, watching him.
Adam's inner debate raged. Do I reveal myself? What if he's a threat? He's a cop. No, a spy. A spy who just watched me use a teleportation ability. He's going to be either terrified or dangerous. Maybe both.
He had two choices: run and hope the signal was a fluke, or engage. The System was a key to this world, and a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was a lock. He needed to find out if the key fit. He had to get closer, to learn more. He saw a small server rack, a blinking red light that pulsed with an unusual rhythm. It was a secure network, a closed loop. A perfect place to leave a calling card.
He found a public Wi-Fi signal down the street, an unsecured network from a coffee shop. It was slow and unreliable, but it was a doorway. He focused his mind, a strange sensation of code and will flowing through him. The System gave him a new notification.
[SYSTEM: New Function: Data Manipulation. Cost: High. Recommended for Host with higher Mana Pool.]
Adam ignored the warning. He had a job to do. He reached into the digital stream, a strange mental connection that allowed him to see the data as glowing, ethereal lines of code. He found the secure network, and with a focused burst of his will, he wove a single, cryptic message into the flow of data. He didn't use a keyboard, he used his mind. The feeling was draining, but exhilarating.
He typed a single line of code, a string of symbols that meant nothing to an outsider but would be a clear, a deliberate intrusion to anyone with the right clearance. He sent it. The line of code dissolved into the network, a ghost in the machine. He sat and waited, his heart pounding in his chest. A few moments passed, an eternity of silence. He was about to leave, to chalk it up as a failed experiment, when his phone buzzed. A new notification from the System.
[SYSTEM: Incoming message from tracked source. Authentication protocol: S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson. Message reads: 'We've been watching. We thought you were a ghost. Turns out, you're a goddamn phantom. What do you want?']
Adam's eyes widened. He hadn't expected a response. Not this quickly. And not with that kind of language. He wasn't a threat to be captured. He was an anomaly to be understood. It meant that Agent Coulson wasn't hostile, not yet. He was curious. The gambit had worked. The door was open, and Adam, now more intrigued than terrified, decided he would walk through it.