MARVEL-THE MULTIVERSE TRADER

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MASS RELEASE CHAPTER→4

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By the time everyone had fully woken up, the living room was a mess of groans and stiff limbs. After a late-night movie marathon, crashing on couches and the floor hadn't been the best idea.

Peter stretched with a loud yawn, rubbing his face. "Okay, before we do anything—showers. We stink."

No one argued. The room reeked of sweat, leftover snacks, and regret. One by one, they dragged themselves to the bathroom, taking turns washing away the exhaustion. The sound of running water and the occasional argument over who used up all the hot water filled the apartment.

Nova took his time, letting the warmth loosen his muscles. It was a rare moment of quiet, a brief pause before diving back into the chaos of his life. Hot water cascaded down his back, and for a few minutes, he let himself enjoy the simple pleasure of feeling human. No powers, no trading, no plot confusions, no cross-dimensional madness—just the water, steam, and his own thoughts.

By the time they were all freshened up, dressed, and slightly more alive, Harry had already ordered breakfast. A short while later, the doorbell rang, and their salvation arrived in the form of fast-food breakfast sandwiches, hash browns, and steaming coffee.

They settled back onto the couch, the scent of food mixing with the last traces of soap and shampoo. Nova bit into his sandwich, savoring the warmth, but even as he ate, his mind began to wander.

Now that he'd decided to officially register as a mutant, things had to move fast.

He was going to visit Xavier's school. Not because he needed their classes or their guidance — no, this was about connections. Mutants were powerful, desperate, and many of them would be willing to trade for things their powers or lives couldn't give them. His Trader persona would thrive in that kind of environment.

But there was a hitch. Most of the artifacts he'd brought over from the Black Clover world were magical. While powerful, openly distributing them here would cause chaos, fear, and eventually bring authorities down on him. No, he needed tech too — technology advanced enough to create his own empire of business.

And that's where the Omnitrix came in.

Grey Matter's intelligence and Upgrade's techno-morphing abilities could help him develop high-level tech solutions. All he needed were resources, a lab, and money.

His parents had left him a solid inheritance. Good enough for an average life, even a cushy one — but nowhere near what he needed to build a multi-world trade empire.

In this unknown timeline, the plot may have been nuked into oblivion, but there were still fragments he could use as reference points. He couldn't follow the original storylines like a script anymore, but they offered valuable outlines. His job was to adapt.

The next event on his mental board should revolve around Spider-Man.

Well, not exactly Peter Parker, since he isn't spiderman here.

In this timeline — as far as his fragmented knowledge told him — Gwen had already become a spider-themed vigilante. And this world's curveball? Mary Jane had also been bitten, becoming Scarlet Spider. The original storyline had Gwen accidently kill Peter in his Lizard form, spiraling things into multiverse madness.

Nova wasn't about to let that mess happen unchecked. He didn't intend to force the plot along, but having rough references would help him prepare.

And then there was Oscorp.

He wasn't entirely sure about it, but every alternate Norman Osborn he'd seen across timelines had a genetic instability — one that either killed him or transformed him into the Green Goblin. It was a gamble, but if the same pattern held here… Norman would soon fall, one way or another. And when he did, Harry — Nova's friend, and importantly, someone far easier to trust — would inherit Oscorp.

That was Nova's opening.

Once the Osborn patriarch toppled, he'd swoop in with Grey Matter's brilliance, solve the 'incurable' genetic defect, and cement himself as Harry's savior. That would give him access to Oscorp's resources and labs — the perfect front for the technological side of his multiverse trade.

It was a rough blueprint, but it was solid enough to build on.

But first, he needed to test the waters.

It was time to reveal his mutant ability publicly — though not the real one. No way he was exposing his Wish power. That was too dangerous, too unpredictable. That gift would remain strictly under his Trader persona.

For his public identity, he'd claim a simpler ability: the power to manipulate reality within reason, as long as he fully understood the logic and mechanics behind what he wanted to do. A high-IQ, knowledge-based mutation. Harmless-seeming on the surface, but absurdly useful in the right hands.

Altough it's not the true extent of his ability but this alone is enough for him to be recognised as a Omega rank mutant or maybe someone with Omega rank potential.

This recognition is more important for him than the problems that would come along. But he can surely solve all those with his abilities.

But first, he was going to reveal his mutant ability to these three and gauge their reactions.

Although they were his friends, Nova knew better than to blindly trust anyone. He needed to see how they'd take it — whether curiosity would outweigh fear, whether envy would creep in, or if loyalty would hold. Only then would he decide if they were truly worth investing in when the real moves started.

And over greasy fast food and tired faces, the perfect chance presented itself.

They were lazily gathered around the cluttered coffee table, munching through breakfast sandwiches and hash browns, their conversations half about the movie marathon, half about how sore their backs were from sleeping on the floor. Peter was stretched out on the couch, absently sipping his coffee. Ned was busy arguing with Harry over whether Chamber of Secrets or Prisoner of Azkaban was the better film.

Nova, pretending to listen, spotted a sealed packet of hash browns lying temptingly beside Peter's elbow — way out of his own reach.

Perfect.

Without a word, without so much as a look, Nova lazily flicked his wrist.

The packet shuddered. Then it smoothly levitated off the table, sailed through the air like it weighed nothing, and landed neatly in Nova's waiting hand.

He bit into it, smirking as if this was just another regular morning.

The room froze.

Peter nearly spat out his coffee. "Wait—WHAT THE HELL?!" he coughed.

Ned's phone dropped with a clatter to the floor. "Bro—BRO! Did you guys see that?!"

Harry's eyes went comically wide. "Holy shit, Nova—since when do you have freaking Jedi powers?!"

Nova grinned, leaning back against the couch like a smug cat who'd knocked something off a shelf just to watch it fall. "Relax. Mutant gene. Kicked in a while ago. Just… didn't think it was worth mentioning."

Peter scrambled up onto his knees on the couch, gesturing wildly. "Not worth—Dude! You just made food fly across the room with your mind!"

Ned was pointing like a kid at a magic show. "You've been a mutant this whole time? What is it? Is it like telekinesis? Can you read minds? Bro, can you fly?! Can you make me fly?!"

"Chill," Nova laughed, hands up. "It's not like that. I don't just wave my hands around and stuff happens. It's knowledge-based. If I completely understand the logic behind how something works — the physics, the structure, the energy, everything — I can manipulate it within reason. Move it, alter it, bend the rules a little."

Harry let out a long, impressed whistle. "Damn, that's actually sick. Way cooler than, like, 'super sniffing' or some lame power."

Peter grinned, some of the shock giving way to fascination. "So you're basically a reality hacker? The smarter you are, the more insane stuff you can pull off?"

"Exactly," Nova smirked.

Ned was practically bouncing in place now. "Okay okay okay—make something else move!"

Nova rolled his eyes but waved his hand toward Peter's half-empty coffee mug. It jerked an inch, then slid smoothly across the table, stopping just short of falling off.

"Holy CRAP!" Ned howled. "This is the coolest thing ever."

"Wait, wait," Peter jumped in, pointing. "This is why you disappeared for twelve days, isn't it? You were off somewhere training this, weren't you?"

Nova shrugged, smirking. "Maybe."

Harry grinned, leaning back, crossing his arms. "Dude's been out here living his own secret X-Men origin story while we're watching marathons and failing chemistry quizzes."

Peter snorted. "Seriously though — do you have a code name yet? 'Nova' actually works, you know."

"Oh, and what about team names?" Ned added excitedly. "We could be like… 'The Midtown Mutants'!"

"I'm not joining any nerd team called that," Nova laughed.

The table burst into laughter, all three of them grinning like idiots.

And that's when Nova knew.

No fear, no hesitation but there is Envy but not jealousy. Just excitement, curiosity, and friendship.

It was genuine. And in a world where everything was starting to unravel, where Nova could no longer rely on old plots or predictable outcomes — that meant something.

They passed.