Nova shook his head. The mutant situation was complicated. Although open discrimination wasn't as rampant in most places anymore, the harsh reality lurking beneath polite laws and official policies was far uglier. Paper promises couldn't erase centuries of fear and hatred.
Mutants with visible or permanent physical mutations suffered the most. It wasn't just prejudice they battled — it was the everyday struggle to live. Getting a decent job, blending into public spaces, or simply walking down the street without attracting the wrong kind of attention remained an uphill fight. Hate groups, rogue corporations, and shadowy organizations still prowled in the margins, hunting or exploiting them in ways no law truly prevented.
Nova knew that unless he became stronger — not just in power, but in influence and understanding — there was little he could do to meaningfully change that. One day, with enough strength and knowledge, he might uncover a way to help those with irreversible physical mutations, maybe even confront the deeper, systemic rot festering beneath society's surface. Because in every world, strength was the one truth that shaped everything.
Shaking off those thoughts, Nova forced his focus back to his own situation. His parents had been undercover agents — specifically, operatives for S.H.I.E.L.D.
Publicly, they wore the faces of international security consultants. Experts in risk assessment, crisis management, and high-stakes corporate protection for multinational clients. It was a flawless cover. No one questioned the constant travel, the perilous assignments in unstable countries, or the months-long absences. On paper, they worked for a private security firm subcontracted by elite clients — from Stark Industries and Oscorp to clandestine projects in Sokovia and Madripoor.
But one thing gnawed at Nova's mind — a fear he hated admitting, even to himself. The unsettling thought that his parents might've been HYDRA agents as well. It was a possibility he couldn't entirely dismiss. In this world of masks and double lives, loyalty was rarely clear-cut.
Thankfully, that fear seemed unlikely. If his parents had truly been HYDRA loyalists, he would've been raised differently. Indoctrinated, molded, and primed from childhood to carry on the organization's twisted ideals. Instead, there had been none of that. No sinister doctrine disguised as bedtime stories, no subtle grooming toward their ideology.
Another reason for his belief came from something far deeper — his bloodline. Nova's grandfather had fought with the legendary Howling Commandos during World War II, standing shoulder to shoulder with Captain America himself. In his father's old room, there still hung a faded black-and-white photograph of that era — a defiant young soldier with a rifle slung over his shoulder, flanked by Steve Rogers and the original Commandos. It wasn't just a family heirloom; it was a declaration of where his family stood.
The Howling Commandos had bled and died fighting HYDRA when the world teetered on the edge. It was hard to believe that a man with that kind of legacy would raise children to betray everything he'd fought for. And Nova doubted his parents, who grew up hearing those wartime stories firsthand, would ever secretly align themselves with the very enemy their father had risked everything to destroy.
That connection gave him a thread of certainty in an otherwise murky world. It didn't erase every doubt — the life of a spy was built on deception — but it was enough for now.
And truthfully, before his past-life memories awakened, Nova hadn't even known his parents were agents at all. To him, they'd been ordinary, if somewhat unorthodox, professionals — always on the move, always on edge, but seemingly normal. It was only after those buried memories resurfaced that the scattered pieces of his childhood began to realign.
He remembered now — blurred flashes of half-seen documents, symbols glimpsed when they thought he wasn't looking. Files stamped with a stylized eagle, clutching branch and arrows. The unmistakable insignia of S.H.I.E.L.D. He'd seen those files tucked in travel bags, flickering on secured tablets, and left on kitchen counters during hushed late-night phone calls.
And one name stuck out in his memory: Helios Network. At the time, it had meant nothing. Just another string of unfamiliar words on a classified document, which said, 'Helios Network is backed up by the 'Professor X.'
Back then, it had all been meaningless to a child's mind. Oddities and curiosities he filed away without context. But now, the truth was painfully clear. His parents hadn't been ordinary consultants. They were elite field agents tangled in the clandestine, invisible wars fought in the shadows of politics, corporations, and superhuman affairs.
A thought struck him then, and Nova smirked. He could practically imagine Nick Fury himself — all smug mystery and theatrical timing — showing up at his front door one night. No doubt stepping out from the darkness like some overdramatic ghost, wearing that damned eyepatch and carrying a classified file. Revealing the truth about his family's hidden history with a cryptic remark like, "You deserve to know where you come from, kid."
And somehow, Nova wouldn't even be surprised. Shaking his head, Nova moved on to his personal life.
Although his parents were secret agents, his life was mostly normal. He was a normal kid like those around him, just trained in various martial arts and weapons. He grew up dismantling guns and shooting beer bottles for fun.
All that training gave him a lean, muscular body which actually made him very popular in school and beyond. This can be evidenced by the fact he lost his virginity halfway through puberty to an unknown girl.
Hey, don't blame him — it was all the fault of the unknown girl's boyfriend, who cheated on her. So to get revenge, she did the same. Pretty lame, right? But does it matter? After all, he lost his V-card very early in this life.
Anyway, let's move on to another topic. His neighbors.
Guess who his neighbors are?
The sexy tomboy, Gwen Stacy — the genius and the drummer with a little bit of a bad backstory.
In this unknown timeline, her mother died when Gwen was young. With her father busy with his police work, she fell in with a bad group. Smoking, skipping school occasionally, and hanging around with people who thrived on trouble — it was her way of dealing with grief.
And damn, she had looked like a total badass goth-tomboy bitch.
She'd cut her blonde hair into a messy, uneven boy cut, had a few piercings — just enough to add to the tough-girl aesthetic without going overboard — and even had a tattoo on the left side of her tummy. A black rose with thorns sprawled elegantly across her back, its petals dark and mysterious, while the sharp thorns coiled around it.
Then came that night.
After drinking way too much thanks to her so-called "friends," she had been walking home alone when two drunk guys dragged her into an alley.
They tore her jacket, ripped her shirt, and were this close to tearing her bra and panties.
But then he arrived, out on his late-night stroll.
Nova didn't hesitate. He first called the police and then grabbed a nearby steel pipe. A single brutal CRACK to the head took down the first guy. The second barely had time to react before Nova slammed him into the wall with enough force to make him rethink his life choices.
By the time the cops arrived, Gwen was shaken but safe. She pressed charges, cut off those toxic people, and turned her life around. But she still sometimes kept that gothic tomboy look.
----
Then there's the redhead beauty, Mary Jane Watson. Singer, heartbreaker, professional damsel. Every guy within a five-mile radius has probably written her bad poetry at some point.
Then there's her half-sister. The chocolate-colored enigma, Michelle Jane Watson. Sarcasm levels dangerously high, trust issues even higher.
Yes, there are two MJs here. They're both half-sisters. From what he knows, their father was a bastard who, one day, got drunk and raped a Black woman, resulting in Michelle's birth. After he was thrown in jail, both mothers decided to live together.
Nova had a nagging suspicion that MJ and Michelle's moms were bisexual. MJ may have sneaked a peek while they were scissoring... he means, when they were mating?... No no no... mating is another thing entirely.
Um... let's be direct — when they were having steamy little lesbian sex. So maybe influenced by that scene, MJ became bisexual or a total lesbian. She never hid her interest in girls and even had a very sexy girlfriend.
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Last but not least, Peter Parker. The quiet, nerdy kid with a thing for science and bad timing. No drama, no bad poetry, no whispered rumors. Just a little bit bullied by jocks.
Fortunately, before awakening his memories, Nova always felt these four were special. So he paid attention to them and, seeing Peter getting bullied, he intervened and saved him. So from that day, Peter Parker became his sidekick… well, his friend.
It wasn't like Nova saved the kid out of some grand, noble reason — no heroic speech, no deep moral compass whispering in his ear. Nah. The real reason was far simpler, and frankly, a little shameless.
Peter Parker had a hot aunt.
And Nova, being a practical man of culture, knew an opportunity when he saw one. So when he spotted the kid getting his books dumped and his face introduced to a locker for the third time that week, Nova casually stepped in, cracked a knuckle or two, and made it clear that anyone laying a hand on Parker was going to need dental records for identification.
And it worked. Better than he'd expected, actually.
Before long, he and May Parker — the gorgeous, age-defying heartthrob of the neighborhood — were on very familiar terms. So familiar, in fact, that there were mornings where Nova would wake up naked, sweaty, sore, and tangled in silk sheets next to her, the room thick with the scent of sin and bad decisions.
It happened more times than he'd care to admit. But hey, who was complaining?
That, however, was a story for another day.
----
After that day, they became more than acquaintances but less than true friends. Nova just saved Peter from being bullied and, in return, Peter helped him with homework and various other study-related things.
So after regaining his past-life memories, Nova finally understood why he felt those four were special. After all, they are main characters and important side characters.
Who knew that skinny science nerd would become your friendly neighborhood hero, named Spider-Man. But in another world.
Yes — in this world, Peter isn't Spider-Man. Instead, it's MJ (Mary Jane) and Gwen Stacy, who go by Scarlet Spider and Ghost-Spider respectively.
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