The call ended with a soft click, the screen going dark as Felicia's voice faded into static.
Ethan sat back in his chair, staring at the array of monitors before him. His fingers drummed absently on the desk.
"Great," he muttered. "Peter didn't storm Osborn's penthouse and get himself killed or worse kill Osborn. One problem solved. The only other problem is that…"
He tipped his head back and let out a long, weary sigh.
"I don't actually have a plan for Norman Osborn."
The words felt sour even as he spoke them aloud. He prided himself on foresight, on always being two or three steps ahead. But Norman Osborn wasn't some thug or mid-tier supervillain like Fisk. He was Norman Osborn —a billionaire sociopath with political influence, bleeding-edge tech, and enough paranoia to make him dangerous even on his worst day. He was also the Green Goblin a very dangerous villain at that.
"Now all I have to do is… figure out a way to ruin Norman Osborn's life forever without getting anyone innocent hurt, steal Oscorp's entire catalog of cutting-edge projects, and make it look like someone else did it."
A humorless laugh escaped him. "Easy, right?"
He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. The clock on the wall read 8:30 PM.
'Damn, I was supposed to infiltrate Oscorp a month or two from now when I actually had a proper plan. Guess I'm not sleeping tonight.'
Ethan pulled his laptop closer and opened a fresh notepad file. The blinking cursor stared back at him like an accusation.
'Come on, Ethan. You're supposed to be the genius here. Think, think, think.'
He started typing:
Oscorp Problem:
Objective 1: Cripple Norman's entire infrastructure. (Force the government to seize and auction Oscorp.)
• Objective 2: Steal all proprietary data.
• Objective 3: Steal Norman's money. (All of it. Every shell account, every offshore vault.)
• Objective 4: Kill Norman Osborn. (If the opportunity presents itself.)
• Objective 5: Keep Peter's hands clean.
• Objective 6: Don't harm employees. (If possible… though realistically improbable.)
"Right," Ethan muttered. "Sounds simple when you put it like that. The only difficult part is that it's a billion-dollar corporation with military-grade security, run by a paranoid supervillain who has a hobby of throwing pumpkin bombs at teenagers. Easy peasy. God dammit, I'm going to get caught."
Idea #1: Smash and Grab – Expanded Version
Sneak into Oscorp.
• Copy everything — files, prototypes, R&D blueprints.
• Route stolen data to a network of shell buyers so the leak looks like a coordinated industrial espionage war, not a single culprit.
• Simultaneously reroute Norman's private offshore funds into "compromised accounts," making it seem like he embezzled from his own company.
• Watch stock tank, board panic, and regulators swarm.
Problem:
Peter will never go for it. Collateral damage is still too high — Oscorp will fire entire departments trying to find the mole.
And while the money theft works, Norman probably survives the fallout. Worse, it doesn't guarantee Norman ends up dead — just furious and bankrupt, which is arguably worse.
Idea #2: Direct Attack – Expanded Version
Sabotage the labs tied to Norman's personal projects only — super soldier formulas, GL-series enhancers, his private Goblin initiatives.
• Plant a cascade failure in the Goblin formula delivery system so it "malfunctions" the next time Norman tries a dose.
• Engineer the failure to mimic a chemical accident or physiological breakdown — plausible, clean, no fingerprints.
• Burn incriminating research to erase the connection between the "accident" and tampering.
Problem:
Still messy. Still obvious. Peter would have a moral stroke.
And if Norman senses even a hint of sabotage, he'll turtle up, not walk into an engineered death trap.
Also no money theft — Oscorp survives financially even if Norman doesn't.
Idea #3: Frame Oscorp for a crime they didn't commit – Expanded Version
Fabricate evidence that Norman diverted Oscorp funds into illegal weapons contracts with hostile foreign groups.
• Falsify payment trails showing Norman personally laundering millions — a perfect pretext for the IRS to freeze all of his accounts.
• Leak documents to SHIELD, FBI, and a handful of hungry investigative reporters.
• Stage an anonymous tip that Norman plans to flee the country, encouraging authorities to arrest — or accidentally "shoot" — him during the takedown.
Problem:
High blowback risk if any document gets traced.
Oscorp's collapse would still punish employees.
And relying on SHIELD or the FBI to "accidentally" take Norman off the board is gambling with a cosmic-level trouble set of loaded dice.
Ethan groaned and pushed away from the desk.
"Everything I've got so far is too blunt. Too risky. Or too dirty for Peter's palate. And none of it hits all six objectives without blowing up half of Manhattan."
For the next hour, Ethan cycled through concepts like cards in a deck:
Corporate Espionage: Frame Oscorp for spying on Stark Industries. "Nope. Tony Stark would figure it out in five seconds, sue me from orbit, and Norman would play victim on national TV. Doesn't get me Norman's money or Norman dead." Financial Theft: Drain Norman's accounts. "Cute. Annoying. But useless. He'd rebuild in a month with hidden assets, probably with a new Goblin suit and a vengeance complex." Leak Everything Online: "Peter would have an aneurysm. Innocents would get crushed. And even if the company collapsed, Norman's personal kill streak and bank vault would still be intact."
At one point, Ethan rubbed his temples and muttered, "I could always… I don't know… poison Osborn's coffee? Haha, if only."
The idea was so absurd it made him snort. "No. That's Fisk-level thinking. And I'm not Fisk. If I kill Norman, it has to look like the universe did it, not me."
By 10:15 PM, Ethan stared blankly at the screen, his coffee long cold. His thoughts felt like a web—messy, tangled—but somewhere in the chaos, a thread caught his attention.
What if I didn't take Osborn down directly? What if I… made it look like they took themselves down? And Norman goes down with it?
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Blame. Paranoia. Financial chaos. That's how you crack men like Norman. That's how you make them bleed money… and walk into their own grave.
He began typing again.
Tentative Plan: Orchestrate Norman's Implosion
Phase 1: Build digital bait.
• Fake emails suggesting Oscorp is selling weapons to enemies. (Actually, he's probably already doing that, so I could find the evidence)
• Plant evidence of bribery and regulatory corruption. (Probably also doing that too)
• Create a "whistleblower" persona to leak these later. (Should be a high-level executive in Oscorp.Note to self: leaks must point upward—toward Norman—not down toward employees.)
Phase 2: Controlled Data Theft.
• Use stealth drives to copy Oscorp's entire database.
• Deploy a worm that wipes backups, buries surveillance. Also quietly siphons Norman's private funds into shell companies until they enter frozen accounts.
Phase 3: Target Norman Personally.
• Manipulate his offshore accounts to trigger IRS audits and asset seizures. (Government needs to seize and auction off Oscorp assets. I will buy them.)
• Leak incriminating material to the press and SHIELD.
• Engineer a "coincidental" crisis moment—panic attack, lab accident, Goblin serum destabilization—that pushes Norman toward a confrontation with Peter out in the open, where a fatal injury can be inflicted.
Ethan sat back, staring at the growing outline.
"It's still messy," he muttered. "Peter won't like the 'framing' angle, so we'll have to pivot it into an 'uncovering' angle. Same payload, different presentation. He gets the truth, Norman gets the noose."
But the seed was there now. He could feel it growing.
Ethan leaned back in his chair, staring at the messy outline on the screen. The glow of his monitors lit up the dark room in harsh blue light, making his eyes ache.
It's not enough, he thought grimly. It's a good start, but Norman Osborn isn't the kind of man you topple with sloppy theatrics. If this isn't airtight, he'll survive it—and then he'll definitely come for me. And Peter. And everyone else. And he'll still have money. And he'll still be alive.
He reached for his mug, only to remember it was empty. With a sigh, he shoved it aside and cracked his knuckles.
"Okay, Ethan. You've got brains, caffeine withdrawal, and spite. Let's make a miracle."
Step One: Bait.
The whistleblower angle was good—clean, indirect. But too simple. Too easy for Norman to smother before it ignited.
And it didn't hit the two biggest goals: drain his money and push him toward a fatal mistake.
'What if Osborn can squash it before it spreads?'
Ethan tapped his chin. "Okay. Let's not rely on just one leak. I should make it multifaceted. Press on multiple pressure points at once so he can't fight back."
He added a new bullet point:
Seed rumors in multiple channels simultaneously: regulators, journalists, watchdog groups. Embed subtle flags in leaked data that point directly to Norman's private accounts—not Oscorp's. Whisper hints of an internal plot against him so he starts spiraling on his own.
He smiled faintly. "Flood the zone. Make him paranoid. Make him sloppy. Give him too many fires to put out at once… and he'll run straight into one of them."
Step Two: Steal and Sabotage.
At first, he considered a pure data dump—copy everything, wipe the servers, and leave Oscorp bleeding.
'No. Peter won't be happy about that. Too many innocent employees could get hurt if Oscorp collapses completely.'
Instead, Ethan revised the idea:
Target only Norman's pet projects: bioweapons, human experimentation, paramilitary contracts. (Focus heavily on the Goblin Serum. I need it for later—control the formula, control the monster.)
• Leave Oscorp's commercial divisions untouched. (When I acquire Oscorp, it'll actually be stable instead of a crater.)
• Quietly duplicate any research tied directly to Norman's personal crimes—anything SHIELD would consider treason, terrorism, or "full-blown supervillain energy."
'That way, employees aren't caught in the blast radius, he reasoned. Only Norman and his little cabal of mad scientists go down. SHIELD will recruit the good ones. And if there's evidence strong enough for treason… the fallout becomes federal, not personal.'
"Money's the real heartbeat," Ethan muttered. "You'll have to kill the cash flow if you want to kill the man."
Step Three: Financial Warfare.
He sketched out a sequence:
Hack Norman's offshore accounts.
• Simulate internal laundering activity.
• Trigger IRS and FBI red flags. (If I leak evidence of arms deals with foreign enemies, the Patriot Act ties a noose around his neck. Even his government friends will scatter.)
• Hack Norman's private computer and alter his emergency nest-egg routes. (Every criminal has an escape plan. If I rewrite the data, then when he runs—or dies—his entire fortune flows straight into my accounts.)
But a nagging thought stopped him.
'What if Norman figures out it's a hack and not a genuine laundering trail?'
Ethan smirked to himself. "Then frame one of his trusted lieutenants who's already skimming from the company. Bonus points if Norman starts suspecting his own people."
He added:
Falsify evidence implicating Oscorp's CFO as a double agent selling secrets to Hammer Industries.
(If that doesn't work… I can always just release proof that Norman Osborn is the Green Goblin. That's the nuclear option.)
Ethan leaned forward, eyes scanning the growing web of ideas.
"This is still too reactive," he murmured. "It needs… an offensive edge. Something that doesn't just make Norman panic, but makes him destroy himself trying to fight back. I can't just corner him—I need him to run straight into the knife."
He thought for a moment, then began typing:
Psychological Warfare:
• Plant subtle clues suggesting Oscorp board members are conspiring against Norman.
• Fabricate internal emails hinting at a shareholder coup. (This forces him into endless meetings and crisis management—keeps him off the streets and too distracted to notice the real attack.)
• Leak snips of falsified financial reports that suggest "internal theft," pointing to accounts he thinks only he controls.
• Make every stress point converge at once so his paranoia turns predatory… and self-destructive.
He chuckled darkly.
"Nothing's more dangerous than a cornered animal. But if I time it right, Norman won't just panic—he'll tear himself apart trying to stop threats that don't exist. And by the time he realizes what's real… it'll be too late."
Now came the real challenge: deploying Peter and Felicia without compromising the real mission. After all, there was no way he could attempt something this insane alone—not with six objectives, a billion-dollar corporation, and a supervillain who refused to die up to this point.
'Peter's normally too loud for stealth infiltration, but he's perfect as muscle. And as a witness. And with his moral compass, I definitely cannot let him anywhere near the "kill Norman" part. I also need an assassin I can trust to handle this perfectly.'
He typed:
Peter (Codename: Spider-Man)
• Escort Felicia through Oscorp's high-risk zones.
• Neutralize security threats non-lethally.
• Gather photographic evidence of illegal experiments for a press release.
◦ Plant surveillance bugs in important areas like boardrooms. Use this information to plan a major scoop for the future Printing Press Newsroom.
(Peter gets the truth. I get the leverage, a company, and money. Everybody wins.)
'Felicia's got the hands for this kind of work, Ethan thought. She's precise, quick, morally flexible, and won't ask why I need Norman's personal server directory mapped to the byte.'
Felicia (Codename: Black Cat)
• Infiltrate Oscorp R&D.
• Deploy Rubber Ducky payload drives to copy and purge sensitive data. (Note to self: build the damn drives.)
• Cover tracks with a custom worm virus. (Note to self: build that too.)
• Extract anything tied directly to Norman—Goblin research, personal logs, emergency cash routes.
Ethan (Codename: Shadowstitch)
• Oversee remote operations.
• Hack Norman's private servers for financial manipulation and nest-egg rerouting.
• Deploy Digital Ghost Protocol to erase all traces of their presence.
• Prepare fallback kill-switches in case Norman survives the financial implosion phase.
By 4:15 AM, Ethan sat back and read through the polished outline.
Ethan's Oscorp Infiltration Plan
Objective:
• Cripple Norman Osborn financially and politically without harming Oscorp employees.
• Steal all classified Oscorp data.
• Steal Norman's personal fortune through controlled digital rerouting.
• Engineer a "natural" fatal scenario when Norman spirals.
• Frame—or "uncover"—Oscorp crimes severe enough to force federal intervention.
• Leave no trace of direct involvement.
Phase 1: Pre-Mission Prep
• Rubber Ducky Payloads (auto-hack drives).
• Digital Ghost Protocol (corrupt backups, embed surveillance backdoor in servers).
• Forensic Bait (faked evidence of bioweapon sales and bribes).
• Create "disgruntled scientist" whistleblower persona for an Oscorp executive.
Phase 2: Triple-Pronged Infiltration
Ethan – Financial Strike & Backdoor Control
Felicia – Data Extraction & Sabotage
Peter – Physical Backup & Evidence Gathering
Phase 3: Orchestrated Exposure
• Leak Oscorp's darkest secrets to SHIELD, FBI, and selected journalists.
• Release partial footage to the public.
• Trigger shareholder panic and stock collapse.
• Allow Norman's paranoia and financial collapse to push him toward his "accident" or "murder". (Depends on what action Norman takes afterwards.)
Result:
• Norman Osborn isolated, paranoid, broke, spiraling, and too busy defending Oscorp to focus on Peter's loved ones. (He most likely will attempt to attack the city or Spider-Man directly afterwards.)
Ethan rubbed his burning eyes and glanced at the clock.
'5:02 AM.'
He groaned and collapsed back in his chair."Great. If Norman doesn't kill me, sleep deprivation and this headache probably will."
But despite his exhaustion, he smiled faintly. 'This'll work. It's the best I can do on short notice. And with any luck… Norman won't live long enough to see the aftermath.'
Ethan pushed himself up and walked to the mirror. His reflection stared back — tired eyes, wired nerves, and a mind still humming with violence. Part of him knew he wasn't supposed to find this — the act of killing a man — so easy. It hadn't been his first time imagining it. But this was the first time it felt… simple.
'I guess Bruce Wayne had it right. Once you cross that line, it gets easier and easier to step over it again. And again,' He swallowed, jaw tightening, 'I hope I don't lose myself along the way.'