MARVEL-THE MULTIVERSE TRADER

As Harry finished, a thought sparked in Nova's mind. He remembered now — Peter was interning at Oscorp under that particular professor. The one who, in another timeline, would eventually become the Lizard. A ticking problem waiting to hatch if left alone.

Nova's expression shifted, a spark of visible interest lighting in his eyes. He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbow on the armrest. "Yeah, Pete," he said, his tone casual but carrying a sharper edge beneath. "What exactly are you working on in that internship? Care to fill us in on the project?"

Peter hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty passing over his face as his gaze darted toward Harry.

Harry just gave a lazy wave of his hand, leaning back with a smirk. "Go ahead, man. No secrets here. You can talk."

Peter exhaled, nodding slowly. "Alright… well, it's part of their bio-genetics division. They're working on regenerative formulas — you know, limb regrowth, tissue restoration, that kind of thing. Pretty cutting-edge stuff."

Nova hummed thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing just a touch. Yep — this was it. The start of the Lizard incident. If he didn't step in somewhere along the line, history had a nasty way of circling right back to its old tragedies.

Just then, Ned spoke up, as direct as ever. "That's pretty cool, dude. If you pull this off — the regeneration formula, medicine, whatever you're calling it — it's not just gonna be a big win for science. It'll help Harry a ton too. I mean, sure, he's got absolute majority control now, but Oscorp's still a monster to handle. Tons of highly qualified, ridiculously smart people work there. And you know how it is — they'll never say it to his face, but deep down? They'll look down on him. A high school kid dropping out to sit on a corporate throne? That kind of thing makes people arrogant. They'll smile while quietly thinking he doesn't belong."

The room fell a little quieter at that, the truth of Ned's words settling in heavier than expected.

Harry chuckled dryly, lifting his beer. "Well damn, Ned. Didn't expect you to hit me with corporate politics tonight."

Ned shrugged, grinning sheepishly. "What? I pay attention. Not just about games and comics, you know."

Peter laughed, tension breaking a little. Ned might act like a goof, but he wasn't stupid — not by a long shot.

Harry, however, didn't flinch. He gave a short, humorless laugh and took another swig of his beer. "You're not wrong," he admitted, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I can already see it in some of the senior staff's faces. The polite smiles, the backhanded compliments, the unspoken 'You're just a kid with a lucky last name.'"

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, gaze sharp and steady now. "That's why I need something like this formula. Projects that work. Something I can put my name on. Not just inherit it, but prove I can steer the damn ship."

Nova studied him for a moment, seeing past the cocky smirk and easy arrogance. There was something colder there now — a simmering edge that hadn't been there before Norman's death. Ambition, no doubt.

Peter looked uneasy. "You sure you wanna take on all that, Harry? It's… a lot."

Harry shrugged. "Doesn't matter if I want to. It's mine now." He smirked at Nova, raising his bottle. "Besides, I've got smart friends. And if Pete here's little lizard serum works, maybe Oscorp gets its first real win in years."

Nova returned the smirk, though his mind was already spinning, calculating the risks. That serum would be a disaster if left unchecked. But now he have perfect opportunity to make his move.

So he spoke up, casually enough to sound like a joke, but with a razor edge beneath. "Well… awakening my mutant ability boosted my brainpower too, you know. Maybe with my enhanced intelligence and Peter's naturally scary brain, we can actually perfect the serum — without any nasty side effects. Like, say… turning someone into a giant lizard monster."

Which is a total lie, his mutant ability didn't give him any high intelligence but he does have Grey Matter.

The room went quiet for a moment before Peter let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, that'd be the goal."

Harry smirked, raising his bottle slightly. "Well, if you two manage that, maybe Oscorp's future won't be as screwed as I thought."

Peter hesitated, glancing between them. "It's all good in theory, but… what about Professor Connors? It's his project. Feels wrong just taking it from him."

Harry shrugged, unbothered. "What about him? The serum and its research are Oscorp property. Legally, we can do whatever we want with it. Besides," he added with a shrug, "it's not like I'm firing him. He can still work under whoever takes over."

Peter still looked uncertain, and Nova spoke up, leaning forward slightly. "How about this — Harry offers Connors a formal contract. It acknowledges his contribution, gives him a solid payout for all his work, and promises him personal access to the finished regeneration serum when it's ready. Keeps him in the loop, gives him credit, and avoids any bad blood. He will even have his name on the finished product."

Harry considered that for a second, then nodded. "Fair enough. It's clean, legal, and no one can cry foul."

Peter exhaled, visibly relieved. "That… yeah. That sounds better."

Nova allowed himself a small, knowing smirk. One future disaster partially sidestepped.

The tense mood broke when Ned suddenly threw his hands up. "Okay — can we just pause for a second? We're high schoolers, man! Well, Nova's technically a college guy, but still — we should be chasing skirts, crushing arcades, or sneaking into R-rated movies. Not frying our brains with corporate politics and mutant science projects."

The room fell silent for a beat… then Harry barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "You've got a point, Leeds."

Peter chuckled too, rubbing the back of his neck. "Kinda forgot we're supposed to be teenagers for a second there."

Nova leaned back with a grin, raising his bottle. "To chasing skirts, then."

They clinked their bottles together — the sharp clack echoing a little louder than necessary in the dim, wood-paneled room.

Harry leaned back against the couch, a lazy smirk curling his lips. "Alright then — since we're officially off-duty, who's up for a game? Pool? Cards? Or we can dig up one of those awful old fighting games my dad used to keep in the lounge."

"Wait — you've got a game room?" Ned perked up immediately, the thought of vintage games brightening his face like a kid on Christmas morning.

Harry snorted. "This is the Osborn estate, Ned. Of course there's a game room."

Peter laughed. "You never invite us over for the fun stuff, man. Always the serious business."

"Maybe because the serious business pays for the fun stuff," Harry quipped dryly.

Nova grinned, altough it feels strange partying after the funeral but what can do if the son himself suggested it. So enjoying the easy banter, he said "I vote for the old fighting games. I need to humble you children before bedtime."

"Oh, you're on," Ned grinned. "But fair warning — I'm unstoppable with button mashing."

"Which is why you're banned from using Chun-Li," Peter chimed in with a laugh.

"Hey, that's discrimination!"

They rose from their seats, gathering the bottles and heading down the hall toward the lounge room Harry pointed out. The Osborn mansion was far too big for four teenagers, the high ceilings and polished wood making their laughter sound louder, more reckless in the empty space.

As they entered the game room — a spacious, dimly lit den lined with dusty shelves, an old arcade cabinet in one corner, and a battered pool table in the other — Nova whistled low. "Man, you could throw a concert in here."

Harry shrugged. "Had a lot of quiet birthdays in this room."

That brief comment gave the space a sudden ghost of sadness, but it passed quickly when Ned hurried to the arcade machine, wiping the screen with his sleeve. "Alright, who's first?"

"I'll wreck all of you," Nova declared confidently.

Peter snorted. "We'll see about that, college boy."

And for the first time in days — amid grief, schemes, and looming danger — it felt like a regular teenage night again.