After passing the ring, Nova stood up and looked at the time in his watch. Its almost time for his date. That girl really surprised me by asking him put on a date.
Shaking his head, Nova casually used his technomancy and wirelessly sent a message to Harry and the others, informing them of his departure and instructing someone to take care of his bike.
Then he turned to Elara, who was still observing the Trader's Ring on her finger.
With a grin, Nova asked, "Wanna see a magic trick?"
Before she could roll her eyes again, he waved his hand in a slow, deliberate circle. The air twisted — pressure dipped slightly — and a circular aperture bloomed into existence midair, edged with swirling crimson energy.
A portal.
Elara blinked, startled.
She stepped slightly closer, unconsciously analyzing the phenomenon. Her mind shifted gears — from skepticism to deduction.
The portal boundary was stable — no flickering, no bleed. The edges were rotating around a controlled axis, possibly generating a centrifugal containment field. There was minimal energy leakage, which implied incredibly efficient phase-locking and inertial dampening. The color shift could indicate high-energy plasma sheathing, or maybe a dimensional coolant effect used to protect the fold margins from collapse.
In short — this was a controlled, stable space-fold aperture. A portal. Real and functioning portal.
And it had been opened by a man waving his hand and smiling like an idiot.
Her gaze flicked toward him, narrowing slightly.
He said he could do anything… as long as he understood the underlying logic and knowledge.
This was the proof. Full real-time manipulation of spatial topology. No visible tools, no machinery and no calibration sequence.
Her fingers twitched slightly. She wanted to study the knowledge behind this portal. Maybe she can create technical with same portal ability?
Elara gave one last glance at the portal — the other side revealed what looked like a simple bedroom. A desk, a shelf, and a framed photo of Nova with what appeared to be his parents.
Nova stepped through casually, then looked over his shoulder.
"After you complete all the assigned tasks, use Oscorp credentials to contact Pepper Potts—Tony Stark's secretary. Tell her I have a method of locating Stark, but I'm not interested in the hundred-million-dollar reward. The terms will be discussed with Tony directly. Just ask her to send a personal item of his. Tomorrow morning. Early."
He didn't wait for a response. The portal snapped shut behind him, leaving the secretary staring at empty space.
Pepper Potts? A way to find Tony Stark? A personal item?
Was that why he mentioned Afghanistan for tomorrow's destination?
----
After Nova returned home, he didn't stop to rest. Instead, he headed straight for the garage.
He stopped in front of a tarp-covered frame, resting in the shadows like a sleeping beast. With one swift motion, he pulled the cover off—revealing a jet-black 1969 Dodge Charger R/T. The chrome gleamed under the overhead light, and the deep rumble from memory echoed in his ears before the key even turned.
His father's car.
No flashy modifications. Just raw engine, steel, and muscle. It looked like it had rolled straight out of a different era—but Nova had kept it in perfect condition. This wasn't about speed or stealth. This was about memories.
He slid into the driver's seat. The cracked leather was familiar, worn into the shape of the past. For a second, he just sat there, letting the silence settle.
Then—click.
The ignition turned, and the old Charger rumbled to life, its deep growl echoing through the small garage like a beast waking from sleep.
Nova eased it onto the street, blending into the hum of evening traffic. The sky was a wash of deep orange and fading blue, city lights flickering to life one by one as the sun dipped behind the skyline.
It was a typical New York evening—horns blaring in the distance, someone playing jazz on a street corner, steam rising from a manhole as pedestrians shuffled past.
About twenty minutes later, Nova pulled into a quieter side street lined with parked cars and flickering neon signs. He stopped near a small, half-closed café. The Charger idled with a low, steady purr.
A knock tapped against the passenger-side window.
Nova glanced over—and smiled.
Gwen stood there under the soft orange glow of the streetlamp, hoodie unzipped over a black crop top that clung to her like it was custom-made. Her low-rise jeans sat snug on her hips, showing off a slice of toned stomach—and the elegant ink curling up from her left side. A black rose, sharp and beautiful, its thorns winding up toward her ribs. Dark, mysterious, and unapologetically bold. Just like her.
Her short platinum-blonde hair framed her face in soft layers, wind-tossed and effortlessly cool. She leaned in, resting one forearm on the edge of the window with a smirk tugging at her lips.
"You just gonna sit there and stare, or let me in?"
Nova hit the unlock button with a small smirk. "Can you blame me? Look how sexy you look."
A soft pink crept across Gwen's cheeks, but she played it cool. She opened the door, slid in smoothly, and shut it behind her with a quiet thump. For a moment, she busied herself adjusting her seat — stalling just long enough to steady her blush.
Then she looked over, flashing him a crooked smile. "Keep talking like that, and this might turn into more than just a date."
Nova chuckled, his hand already on the gearshift. "Guess I better keep talking, then."
She rolled her eyes, but her grin said she didn't mind one bit.
As Nova pulled the car onto the highway, city lights blurring through the windshield, Gwen asked curiously, "Where were you these past two months? I tried contacting you, but all I got was your recorded reply saying you were out of station."
Nova overtook a slow-moving car with a lazy flick of the steering wheel. "I went to the Harry Potter world."
Gwen gave him another eye roll, this one heavier. "Right. So, did you bring me anything from that world, or is this another one of your disappearing acts with no souvenirs?"
Nova raised an eyebrow, lips quirking. "Actually…"
Without taking his eyes off the road, he reached into thin air—literally—and pulled out a small bundle of colorful wrappers that shimmered slightly, as if reality hesitated to acknowledge them. The candies had materialized out of nowhere, right into his palm.
He tossed them casually onto Gwen's lap.
Gwen froze mid-motion, hand hovering above the wrappers. Her gaze snapped to Nova's face, sharp and suspicious. "Okay, hold up," she said slowly. "You just reached into the air... and pulled out candy. Like a vending machine that forgot physics." She poked one of the wrappers like it might detonate. "Tell me that was a trick. Or a gadget. Or anything that makes sense in this reality—because if you're casually breaking dimensional laws for chocolate, I need a warning system. Wait are you a mutant?"
Nova gave her a sidelong glance, a sly smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, I awakened my X-Gene a few months ago."
Gwen nodded slowly, but her fingers were already picking through the strange assortment on her lap. With an amused grin, she picked up a glossy packet labeled Chocolate Frog in swirling golden letters.
It looked like an ordinary (if a bit old-fashioned) wrapper, rich brown with the ornate Honeydukes logo embossed across the top. A little animated frog cartoon peeked over the edge of the packaging, mid-jump. Gwen hadn't opened it yet, so she assumed it was just stylized branding. "So your mutant power is… conjuring chocolate and candy out of thin air? That's actually kinda cool."
Nova chuckled. "You're surprisingly close. My ability isn't creating candy—it's understanding. I can do anything, as long as I understand the underlying logic and knowledge behind it."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "That sounds way too overpowered."
"Only if you're smart enough to make use of it," Nova replied with a wink.
Gwen tore open the Chocolate Frog wrapper.
The second the seal broke, the frog-shaped chocolate twitched—then leapt straight at her face.
With a startled yelp, Gwen jerked back, but her reflexes kicked in faster than her brain. In one smooth motion, she snatched the thing mid-air, fingers clamping around the squirming chocolate like a mousetrap.
She stared at it, wide-eyed. "What the hell?! Did this thing just move?"
Nova tried—really tried—not to laugh. "Yeah, they do that. First time I opened one, it jumped into a fireplace."
Gwen held the frog at arm's length, as if it might explode. It was made entirely of glossy enchanted chocolate, but its legs were still wriggling like it hadn't gotten the memo about being edible. She gave Nova a dry look. " Did you seriously create this jumping frog candy to prove your point?"
"Nope. Straight from Honeydukes," Nova said with a grin. " Why does nobody believe me when I tell the truth."
The frog gave one last twitch, then stilled, as if resigning itself to fate.
Gwen looked at it for another second… then shrugged and bit its head off. "Still tastes like chocolate," she said through a mouthful, "so I guess it's fine. Doesn't matter where it comes from."
Nova chuckled. "That's the spirit."
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→ SECOND DOUBLE CHAPTER WOULD BE POSTED A FEW HOURS LATER....
→ 30 REVIEWS= 3 BONUS CHAPTER's
→ 200 POWER STONES= 1 BONUS CHAPTER
→ 400 POWER STONES= 2 BONUS CHAPTER's
CURRENT PROGRESS:↓
– FIRST OBJECTIVE:- 22/30 REVIEWS
– SECOND OBJECTIVE- 84/200 P.S
– THIRD OBJECTIVE- /400 P.S
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CHAPTER:- [79 - BREAKING OUT] IS AVAILABLE ON MY P@TREON.
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