Cipher's first appearance was in Young X-Men #8 by writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Rafa Sandoval.

Although Ink is very skeptical about this young girl's motivations or intentions, she is shown wearing the standard uniform of the Young X-Men, and has a jet from the X-Men's headquarters to transport him to his team as well, to show that her information is legitimate, even though she refuses to give any more information, about herself or the team, other than that.

In the meantime, Cipher developed a friendship with Blindfold, secretly communicating with her during past events in Astonishing X-Men vol.

Her newly revealed presence generated feelings of uneasiness and anger over their seeming lack of privacy and Cipher's ability to go about undetected in their lives.

[5] In a conversation with Alisa, Cyclops theorizes that she had chosen to reveal herself out of a subconscious desire to make herself known to those around her.

Cyclops assures her that "he" will have to get through the X-Men to reach her, reassuring Alisa enough for her to decide to drop her stealth mode.

She is also able to enter a phased state making her capable of passing through solid objects and levitating through the air.