MARVEL-THE MULTIVERSE TRADER

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MASS RELEASE CHAPTER→3

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Nova stood at the door of Peter Parker's house, knocking twice. A moment later, the door swung open to reveal a grinning Harry Osborn — though the grin wasn't without a hint of exasperation.

"Finally! You crawl out of whatever cave you've been hiding in for the last twelve days," Harry blurted, immediately stepping aside to let him in. "No calls, no replies, messages left on read — dude, you vanished. One weird message saying 'I'll be off the grid for a while', and then poof. Seriously, I was this close to filing a missing persons report."

As Nova stepped in, the familiar scent of buttery popcorn and cold pizza hit him. The living room looked like a warzone from an epic junk food battle. Peter Parker and Ned Leeds were sprawled lazily on the couch amidst a glorious battlefield of snacks — half-eaten pizza boxes, empty soda cans, a toppled popcorn bucket, and at least three different candy wrappers stuck to Ned's hoodie.

Peter's face lit up when he saw him. "Nova! Man, you're alive!"

Even Ned perked up, setting his drink down and waving dramatically. "We seriously thought you got abducted by aliens. Or, you know, went full vigilante or something."

Nova raised an eyebrow, amused by the reception. "Okay… what's going on here? You guys secretly forming a superhero team without me while I was gone?"

Peter smirked. "Tempting… but nah."

Ned held up a worn Blu-ray case like it was the One Ring. "We're doing something way better. Harry Potter marathon. All eight movies. No breaks."

Nova blinked and shook his head with a grin. "You guys are seriously gonna sit here and watch twenty hours of British teenagers waving sticks around?"

Peter gave him a mock-offended look. "They're wands, Nova. Wands."

Harry grabbed a handful of popcorn and hurled it at him. "And yes, we're doing this. The magic demands it."

Ned nodded solemnly, like a sage delivering wisdom. "It's a rite of passage, bro."

Nova laughed and kicked off his shoes. For the first time in days, it felt like things were… normal.

Nova sighed in amusement. "You nerds are unbelievable." But as he looked at their eager faces—and the ridiculous amount of snacks—it was hard to say no. With a dramatic sigh, he grabbed a soda and plopped down on the couch. "Alright, fine. But if I get bored, I'm making you all watch something I pick next time."

Peter grinned. "Deal."

Just as they started the movie, Ned's eyes flicked to Nova's wrist, and he pointed. "Hey, Nova! New watch?"

Nova followed his gaze and saw a Longines HydroConquest, a premium diver's watch with a stainless steel case and a deep blue dial on his wrist. It's not a normal watch, it's the disguised rank 20 tech, the Omnitrix.

Since he is gonna create different identities and one of which will be based on Omnitrix, so it's better to disguise Omnitrix, to avoid suspicion.

He smirked and shrugged. "Yeah, something like that."

Harry leaned in. "Huh. Looks nice. Didn't take you for the fancy watch type, though."

"Hey, good taste isn't a crime," Nova said, casually rolling his wrist. "Besides, gotta keep things stylish."

Peter raised a brow but let it go. "Alright, alright, enough about watches. The movie's rolling."

As the marathon continued, the jokes, debates, and reenactments got more ridiculous. Somewhere in Chamber of Secrets, when Ron and Hermione had another one of their moments, Nova decided to stir things up.

"So, Harry," he drawled, smirking at Osborn. "You and Liz still just friends?"

Harry, who had been drinking soda, choked slightly before glaring. "Dude, what?"

"Oh, c'mon," Peter grinned. "You've been way too helpful lately. You offered to tutor her, you walked her home after that school event…"

Ned wiggled his eyebrows. "Bro, you literally spent an hour helping her with a project that should've taken fifteen minutes. And it wasn't even yours."

Harry groaned, rubbing his face. "You guys suck."

Nova smirked. "Hey, I'm just saying—when's the big date?"

Before Harry could retaliate, Peter turned to Ned. "Speaking of which, what about you, Leeds? I saw you getting all giggly with Betty."

Ned's eyes widened. "I was not giggling!"

Peter smirked. "Uh-huh. Right. And she just happened to lean on your shoulder 'cause she was tired?"

"It was a long day! She was tired! That's all!" Ned spluttered.

Nova grinned. "Right, right. And next you'll be saying she just accidentally gave you her number."

Ned huffed. "I hate you guys."

"Oh, don't worry," Harry said smugly. "You're not the only one getting roasted." He turned to Nova. "So, how's Gwen?"

Nova raised a brow. "Why would I know? I've been off the grid for twelve days, remember?"

Peter smirked. "Yeah, but that girl's still got it bad for you."

Harry snickered. "Totally. You're the dashing senior, man. She literally waits by the school gate in the mornings hoping to catch you on your way to college. I've seen her do it. She's probably made herself late more than once."

Peter grinned. "Dude, it's like some weird fanfic. 'The charming college senior and the determined junior'. Honestly, I half-expect her to start writing you love letters or something."

Nova just rolled his eyes and grinned. "What can I say? I'm irresistible."

Harry pelted a piece of popcorn at him. "More like insufferable."

Ned waggled his eyebrows. "Bet she's got a notebook labeled 'Mrs. Nova'."

"I hate all of you," Nova muttered with a grin, leaning back into the couch as the others burst out laughing.

He smirked to himself, thinking about how Ghost Spider — the badass vigilante — secretly had a crush on him. Who would've thought?

That crush had started after he'd saved her that night. And the irony? Despite them not being in the same classes, with him being two years ahead of Gwen, Peter, and Ned — them still eighteen, while he was twenty and in college— here they were, all tangled together in this weird, chaotic mess.

His bond with Harry and Ned wasn't from highschool school either. It was through Peter. That one connection had dragged him into this trio, and somehow, it stuck.

And honestly… he didn't mind.

But that didn't mean he was gonna sit there and take the roasting without payback.

Nova exchanged a quick glance with Harry and Ned, a silent alliance forming in an instant.

Then they all turned to Peter.

Nova leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "So… Parker," he said, voice light and dangerous, "how's your velvet-haired queen these days?"

Peter immediately groaned, burying his face in both hands. "God, why do you people never let that go?"

Harry perked up, eyes gleaming. "Wait, what? Velvet-haired queen? Who?"

Ned grinned wide. "Michelle Jones Watson. Last month, Mr. Romantic over here described her hair as 'dark velvet under moonlight.' Thought we didn't hear him."

Harry howled with laughter, nearly choking on his drink. "No way. Peter, dude, that's… that's actual poetry. Did you write her a sonnet too?"

Peter turned an alarming shade of red. "I was half-asleep, alright? I didn't sleep well that night, and Ned freaking recorded it."

Ned smugly held up his phone. "Still got the voice memo. Pristine audio."

"Delete. It," Peter growled.

"Not a chance," Ned cackled.

Harry snorted. "Man, no wonder MJ keeps frying you alive every chance she gets. She probably feels the simping through the air."

Nova leaned over and patted Peter's shoulder with faux sympathy. "You poor bastard. Better hope she never hears it."

Peter groaned. "You guys suck."

Ned raised his soda can. "To Peter Parker — hopeless simp, future victim of MJ's eternal sarcasm, and poetic midnight stalker."

They clinked cans together, laughing.

Peter sighed in defeat but cracked a grin. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up now. Someday I'll have dirt on all of you."

Nova smirked. "You wish."

And for a moment, surrounded by snacks, terrible jokes, and shameless teasing — the weight of politics, mutant laws, and secret agendas felt a little lighter.

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By the time they reached Goblet of Fire, the excitement had mellowed, exhaustion setting in. Nova checked his watch—the time was creeping toward four in the morning.

Harry stretched. "Alright, so… are we actually doing all eight movies, or are we just saying we are?"

Peter, rubbing his eyes, sighed. "I mean, we could power through…"

Ned, half-asleep, waved a hand. "Nah, man, I'm fading. Let's pause at Order of the Phoenix and finish tomorrow."

Nova smirked. "What, the mighty Harry Potter fans can't handle a full marathon?"

Harry groaned. "Dude, it's four AM."

Nova checked his watch and grinned. "Lightweights."

Peter tossed a pillow at him. "Shut up."

With that, they decided to crash for the night, still hyped about finishing the marathon the next day. As they started settling in, Nova leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

Despite how crazy his life and this timeline had become, nights like these—just hanging out with friends, teasing each other, and forgetting about everything else—were the moments he wanted to hold onto.