050

Norman was on the outskirts of a small town in Colorado, one could say it was a normal town like many others, although perhaps a little more forgotten, as it seemed to have been stuck in time.

Osborn was just waiting for Betsy to arrive at the meeting place, it was October 27th, almost two weeks since he had asked Betsy to find Jonathan and that was the reason he was in a town in the middle of nowhere.

Betsy had found him, at least someone who had the same alias and who seemed to be a ghost, as there was no record of him in any database, so the beautiful woman had deduced that this was the man he was looking for and consequently informed him immediately.

Jonathan Silvercloud better known as Forge, a mutant that while he might not seem dangerous at first glance was definitely someone you didn't want to have as an enemy.

His mutation was a practically "divine" intuition when it came to technology, allowing him to create things that would seem impossible with less time than many other geniuses.

Usually when creating a technological invention a series of both theoretical and practical steps were needed to arrive at the created result and usually these steps represented a challenge or caused researchers to fall behind in their creations.

But in the case of Forge this did not happen, his intuition allowed him to "fill in" unconsciously most of the steps that should be followed, which together with his innate intelligence made him a great inventor.

His skills in magic were also to be counted, although Norman found his mutation much more useful, although magic could be just as useful, if he was a version similar to the 616 universe then his magic would only be really useful in certain cases, and he would be in danger when using it.

Ultimately, someone with his powers and abilities was someone worth having on your side, and it was an opportunity Norman didn't want to pass up. At worst if he turned him down he would not hesitate to eliminate him someone like him was too dangerous to leave alone and with the small chance that he was similar to his version of the 1610 universe as in the case of Carol then he would rather assassinate him than risk him joining Magneto.

The sound of someone's footsteps approaching him snapped Norman out of his thoughts, and it only took one look for him to recognize Betsy who only approached Norman quietly.

"Nice bracelet" the woman mentioned to him as she positioned herself next to Norman.

Norman just looked at the black bracelet with small metallic patterns, it had been a gift from Felicia, according to her, it was a way to apologize for all the trouble she had given him, and he really liked the design, so he usually had it on his right hand.

After that Norman just brought his gaze to the woman next to him, "What have you managed to find out?" he asked.

"Nothing really important, it's a ghost a good one at that, but nothing that can really help you" she replied, "So tell me why are you looking for it?" this time it was she who questioned.

"I'll tell you once I'm sure" was all that Osborn mentioned to the woman who still with dissatisfaction just watched Norman, "Lead the way" Norman said to Betsy who after a few seconds started to do so.

…

Betsy took him to a small establishment in the center of town, while using some of her telepathic powers to erase them from the minds of the people who could see them.

Honestly when Betsy informed him about not being able to read his mind Norman felt immense relief, but he was also a bit curious about that fact, but he didn't give it too much importance, as it was unlikely that he would have an answer anytime soon.

The establishment that Forge had, was a store to call it something that served as a repair and refurbishment of electronic devices, without any hurry the man and woman couple entered through the front door of the store.

As soon as they entered Norman looked around the store in a sneaky way and was able to locate about 4 cameras or at least he guessed that's what they were, but they were probably the owner's creation.

Soon a man a little older than Norman arrived to attend them, he had long black hair that matched the color of his shirt while he had a pair of sunglasses despite being inside the room, the most prominent feature of his appearance was a kind of metal prosthesis that replaced his right leg.

The man just took off his glasses and looked suspiciously at the customers as he approached the counter, "What is the CEO of Oscorp doing in these forgotten lands?" he asked him in a direct manner.

"Forgotten perhaps, but with a lot of talent" he replied, however, he only received a smirk from the man, as for Betsy she just kept out of the conversation.

"Then you must be in the wrong place" he commented and Norman just looked at Betsy before nodding in her direction.

Betsy just stepped forward and could see for a moment how Jonathan subtly changed his posture to a much more defensive one. With a small wave of his hand and concentration a psionic energy dagger was created in his palm.

Norman just looked at Forge who was shocked at the turn of events, "Magneto sent you?" he asked grimly as he seemed to be in a high state of tension.

This time it was Norman's turn to be surprised, 'Great, just great' thought Norman as he now knew that Magneto existed in this universe a sly glance towards Betsy let him know that she was as surprised as he was.

"No, I have no connection to him" Norman replied to Forge as Betsy began to move in the direction of one of the store windows and began to slyly look out of it.

Forge was only silent for a few seconds before he spoke, looking like he had believed Norman, but still kept his guard up, "Then who are you with?" he questioned again and this time Norman could watch as he reached his hand under the counter, probably in search of a weapon.

"I don't belong to any faction, if that's what you want to know" he replied calmly, "In fact you could say I'm starting to create one of my own" he continued.

"A man with your skills would be a valuable addition to my team" he mentioned after a bit of silence.

"How did you find me?" he asked, "I'm sure I had covered all my steps to prevent this type of situation" he added with a bit of frustration in his voice.

Norman just looked at Betsy and a slight nod of the head from the woman let him know she agreed, "I didn't" she replied and Forge didn't need him to continue his words, as by following his gaze he knew who had tracked him down.

Norman turned his gaze back to Forge, "I think it's your turn to answer my questions" he mentioned, "Don't worry I only have one" he added, "What is your relationship with Magneto?" he asked.

"He tried to recruit me just like you" he began to say, "However his ideals were not something I could accept, my rejection was not to his liking" he continued, "Somehow I was able to escape, and I have been hiding from his men since that time" he finished by saying.

"You mentioned that someone like me would be a good addition to your team, but I want to know what kind of team it is?" he asked not forgetting the words spoken by Norman a short time ago.

"I need talented people, and you are one of them, honestly I won't lie to you and say that I am a saint, as I don't consider myself one, I have killed, and I am almost sure I will continue to do it in the future, however in a world like this and for people like us there are only two options kill or be killed" explained Osborn.

"Besides the world is changing more and more, I just want to make sure that when it changes completely I can overcome whatever it throws at me, but I won't be so arrogant as to think I can do it alone" he continued saying and both Betsy and Forge were paying attention to his words, "I have many weak points currently, so I need people who can help me to protect them" without stopping talking Norman mentioned.

"Of course the people who work for me will have their rewards and I will do my best to protect them" he finished by saying and seeing that he was unlikely to have an answer Norman started to turn around and walk to the exit with Betsy at his side.

"What do you think of the humans?" about to leave Norman asked Forge.

"I don't care about them, as long as they don't block my path or try to harm me I will leave them alone, that thinking applies to everyone else, but once they are my enemies I won't care who the other part is, as it can only end one of two ways" he began to explain without turning around and with one hand on the door handle.

"They will have to kill me, or I will exterminate them" he mentioned without any hesitation in his voice before opening the door, "I can't promise to protect you from Magneto not with my current power, but I can hide you from him" he continued saying only this time he did look at Forge, "If you decide to trust me then you know where to find me" with those words both Betsy and Norman walked out of the store leaving a man lost in his thoughts.

…

Being somewhat away from Jonathan's store, Betsy decided to speak up, "So you would protect me too?" she asked curiously gaining Norman's attention.

Norman didn't hesitate and answered quickly, "First of all I doubt very much that you want to be protected or even need it, secondly, despite our "alliance" you are still part of Ducard's league, so it's his responsibility not mine" He mentioned to her sincerely.

"What if I left the league?" she asked, "Would you accept me?" she questioned again.

"No you wouldn't, honestly I still don't know what kind of relationship you have with Ducard, but I'm sure you wouldn't leave him, at least not until you fulfill your debt" he replied to her, "Am I right?" this time Norman asked her.

This time Betsy did not answer Norman's question giving her answer silently as she simply walked beside Norman with a thoughtful look on her face.

"If at some point you fulfill your debt to Ducard then I will accept you with open arms" he mentioned to her after some thought.

Betsy didn't mention anything once again, but a small curl of her lips was all Norman needed to know that his words had made her happy.

"By the way how did you know about Magneto?" this time Betsy asked with a bit of seriousness in her tone of voice.

"I didn't" Norman replied and immediately knew his answer was not what the woman was expecting, "Maybe in the future I'll tell you" he added.

"Now let's go back to New York" mentioned Norman as he extended his hand to Betsy who only took it and a second later both people had disappeared.