After leaving Natasha with enough gold to buy a small island (or at least a very nice penthouse in 2002 Manhattan) and a supply of potions, Rosen didn't immediately return to the main universe. He wasn't in a rush to hunt down radioactive spiders just yet.
Instead, he hailed a cab and headed toward the Upper East Side.
He arrived at a sprawling, gothic-revival mansion that screamed "old money." A butler, who seemed to have been expecting him, bowed low and led him into a study lined with mahogany bookshelves and expensive art.
"Mr. Rosen. You're finally here."
A middle-aged man with sharp features and neatly combed reddish-brown hair walked in. He wore a three-piece suit that cost more than most people's cars, and his posture was upright and energetic.
It was Norman Osborn. The CEO of Oscorp, the future Green Goblin, and the first true nemesis of Spider-Man.
"It's been a while, Norman," Rosen said, taking a seat on a leather chesterfield without asking. "You look robust. I take it you haven't been testing that 'Human Performance Enhancer' on yourself?"
"Sir, you're joking," Norman let out a relieved, slightly awkward laugh. "With General Slocum's full support, the military contract is secure. We have plenty of time for clinical trials. Why would I risk my sanity on an unstable serum?"
Rosen smiled. This was the change he had wrought.
The Scepter of Domination
When Rosen first stepped through the Dark Portal into Earth-96283, his first stop hadn't been Peter Parker. It had been Norman Osborn.
In the original timeline, Norman was a desperate man. The military, led by General Slocum, was threatening to pull funding from Oscorp and give it to their rival, Quest Aerospace. Backed into a corner, Norman tested the unstable Goblin Serum on himself, went insane, killed Slocum, and became a terrorist.
Rosen had fixed that with a single item from the System Store.
[Scepter of Domination] Effect: Permanently enslaves the will of one non-key destiny character. Usage: 1/1 Price: $1,000,000
The "non-key destiny character" restriction was tricky. Rosen had tried to target the U.S. President—failed. He'd thought about targeting Peter Parker—too risky. But General Slocum? The man was powerful, influential, but in the grand scheme of the multiverse, he was a footnote destined to die in a chair at a parade.
The Scepter worked instantly.
Now, General Slocum wasn't threatening to pull funding. He was Oscorp's biggest cheerleader. He had approved unlimited grants, pushed for Oscorp's exoskeleton program, and stonewalled Quest Aerospace.
With the military contract secure, Norman Osborn didn't need to rush. He didn't need to inject the Goblin Serum. He remained the brilliant, ruthless, but ultimately sane businessman.
And in exchange for saving his company (and his soul, though he didn't know it), Norman had effectively sold Oscorp to Rosen.
"It's good that you didn't use it," Rosen said, accepting a glass of scotch from Norman. "Stability is key. How is the stock repurchase going?"
This was the second part of the plan. In the movie, the Oscorp Board of Directors tried to sell the company out from under Norman. Rosen wasn't going to let that happen. He was funding a massive, secret buyback of Oscorp stock, transferring ownership to shell companies controlled by him.
"With the General's influence, the stock price has soared," Norman reported, opening a file folder. "I've managed to reacquire 65% of the floating shares. You are now, effectively, the majority owner of Oscorp."
He looked at Rosen with a mix of fear and respect. He didn't know who this young man was—a wizard? A time traveler? A demon?—but he knew Rosen had saved him from ruin.
"However," Norman hesitated, his expression darkening. "We have a problem. There are three key board members who refuse to sell. They hold a combined 15% of the voting stock, and they're blocking my motion to privatize the company."
"Let me guess," Rosen swirled his drink. "Quest Aerospace?"
"Exactly," Norman nodded. "Quest is backing them. They know they lost the military contract, so now they're trying to sabotage us from the inside. They want to force a merger."
In the movie, this was the moment the Green Goblin would have firebombed the board members during the World Unity Festival.
Rosen set his glass down.
"Quest Aerospace," he mused. "They built that clunky exoskeleton, right? The one that looks like a toaster?"
"The very same."
"Tell me, Norman," Rosen stood up, his eyes flashing with a cold, amused light. "If Quest Aerospace were to suffer a... catastrophic failure in their R&D department? Say, a prototype malfunction that burned their lab to the ground? Would those board members still be so confident?"
Norman blinked. A slow, cruel smile—the kind that usually preceded a Goblin mask—spread across his face. But this time, it was the smile of a CEO, not a monster.
"If that were to happen," Norman said, "their stock would tank. I could buy their shares for pennies on the dollar."
"Good," Rosen walked to the window, looking out at the 2002 skyline. "Give me their names. And the location of the Quest facility."
He wasn't going to send the Green Goblin. He was going to send something much worse.
"Oh, and Norman?" Rosen added, turning back. "Keep an eye on a high school student for me. Peter Parker. Queens. Smart kid. Might be looking for an internship soon."
Norman looked confused but nodded. "Parker. I'll make a note of it."
Rosen grinned. He had kept Natasha and Norman separate for a reason. Natasha was his shadow agent, his chaotic element. Norman was his bank, his scientist, his legitimate face. In this universe, he wasn't just a visitor.
He was the Kingpin. And unlike Fisk, he had magic.