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Henry walked quickly, but his movents were steady and smooth enough that the old lady felt little discomfort.
The group made it downstairs without trouble.
He carefully settled Katharine Hepburn into the back seat of the car and fastened her seatbelt himself.
In this era, rear-seat seatbelts were still often aftermarket additions.
Although Princess Diana's death in the 1997 car crash had pushed the issue into public discussion, society had not yet fully caught up with the need for rear passenger safety.
But once tucked into the back seat, the old lady complained:
"Hey now, you're not letting sit in the front?"
"Be good. If you sit in the back, Maria can look after you.
"It's much safer than the passenger seat."
After putting the caregiver's luggage in the trunk, Henry returned to the driver's seat.
Looking back at the two won, he asked:
"Everyone seated properly? Seatbelts on?
"The ride may be a little... exciting."
"My boy, you're not planning to do so street racing, are you?"
Katharine Hepburn sounded almost delighted.
Starting the engine and stepping on the gas, Henry sighed helplessly.
"In downtown New York? Who could possibly race here?
"It's just that today is a little special. It may feel more like bumper cars.
"So hold on."
Watching the strange scenes outside the window, the old lady asked:
"What's happened today?
"People on the street seem awfully tense."
After thinking a mont, Henry answered honestly:
"Do you know Sentinel, Katharine?"
anwhile, his driving alternated between sudden acceleration, sharp turns, and swerving around other vehicles.
"Of course I know him.
"The Golden Guardian, isn't he?
"I still watch the news and keep up with current events.
"Humanity's first superhero.
"Hah—superhero.
"I thought that word belonged only in comic books."
Faced with such sharp comntary, Henry didn't know how to respond.
So he simply continued:
"In any case... that superhero Sentinel has gone berserk."
"Oh.
"So he's stopped pretending."
"Stopped pretending? What do you an?"
Henry couldn't help asking.
He overtook another car as he spoke.
"His acting was far too amateurish to fool .
"I never believed that boy was anything like a comic-book superhero.
"Compared to him, your acting is much better, little Henry.
'Missed ,' hm?
"I almost believed you."
At tis like this, denial was the only option.
Henry stubbornly protested:
"What acting? I really did miss you, Katharine."
Then, feeling oddly guilty, he honked twice at another driver and rolled down the window just long enough to complain at them while passing.
But what interested Henry most now was this:
What quack doctor had diagnosed this old woman with dentia?
Her perception was razor sharp.
Trying to fool her?
Forget it.
As if emphasizing Henry's thoughts, Katharine asked:
"Since you claim you missed , wanted to cook for personally, and drink so good wine—
"Tell then.
"What exactly were you planning to cook?"
"Obviously whatever you want.
"I hadn't asked yet, so how would I know what to prepare?
"Katharine, is there anything you've especially wanted lately?
"You know my cooking.
"I could work as head chef at any five-star restaurant."
"You're letting choose?"
"Yes.
"Eating bland healthy food all the ti must get tireso.
"Is there any flavor you miss?"
"I want Beef Wellington."
Henry was speechless.
He swerved left, then right, avoiding another car.
"Katharine... you know I cook at Michelin three-star level.
"And you're asking to make one of Britain's most famous dark culinary cris?"
The old lady answered seriously:
"You asked what flavor I missed.
"Sotis the most delicious food is morable because of who you shared it with.
"But the foods rembered deepest of all are the ones so awful they leave scars.
"And Beef Wellington isn't bad.
"It just has... distinctive flavor.
"You asked.
"That's what I want."
Well.
No point bargaining.
If Katharine Hepburn wanted Beef Wellington—
Then Beef Wellington it would be.
After weaving left and right through traffic, Henry finally made it out of New York City proper and headed north toward the suburbs.
Driving to Fenwick, Connecticut would still take more than two hours.
Along the way, Henry chatted with this old woman who was either absent-minded or so lucid she had transcended ordinary clarity.
At the sa ti, he asked Maria Thomson to call ahead to the family ho in Fenwick.
Katharine's younger brother's family lived there.
Showing up without warning would be rude.
Besides, with New York in chaos, they were probably worried already and trying to contact her.
Calling to let them know she was safe was only proper.
As for Sentinel—possibly possessed by the Void, or with the Void personality now dominant—
He was currently battling U.S. military attack helicopters.
Several of the expensive war machines had already been destroyed.
At this point in history, Arica's confidence in military supremacy remained absolute.
And whenever faced with powerful mutants, they always believed they would eventually find a way to defeat them.
So when the opponent beca Sentinel, most soldiers simply viewed him as another especially dangerous mutant.
If command ordered attack, then they attacked.
Maybe one lucky bullet from them would bring him down.
Maybe they would beco a war hero.
The soldiers, of course, didn't realize that in the eyes of generals and politicians, they were rely statistics—
Combat resources.
Casualty figures.
Just another "1."
Still, Henry benefited from their sacrifice.
Because the military kept throwing itself at Sentinel, Henry's evacuation of Katharine Hepburn went smoothly.
At the very least, Sentinel wasn't coming after him.
At this stage, no one truly understood just how powerful this superhero was.
To an ant, after all, whether it was stepped on by an elephant or a dinosaur hardly mattered.
The ant neither needed to know nor could tell the difference.
The soldiers simply believed:
If bullets didn't work, the caliber was too small.
If bombs failed, the yield was too low.
Bigger guns plus bigger explosions could solve anything.
Henry had no intention of warning the U.S. military otherwise.
If he spoke up now, they'd probably suspect ulterior motives.
Instead, he found himself wondering:
Which comic storyline was this event connected to?
Or perhaps—
Did this an the world he lived in had already begun drifting away from the familiar paths he knew?
And most importantly...
Who was going to stop Sentinel?
Everything Henry knew about this world's Sentinel ca either from television reports or bits of private information Jack Reacher had shared.
How had Sentinel been treated here?
Who did he work with?
What had he actually done?
Other than the existence of that Watchtower building in New York—
Henry knew almost nothing.
Naturally, he was equally clueless about what had caused Sentinel to beco dominated by the Void.
He still rembered that in the comics, the first ti Sentinel truly lost control, it took Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, nurous other major heroes—
And Sentinel himself regaining awareness—
To suppress the Void.
Those heroes who had helped restrain him in the comics?
At this point in ti, most of them were still ordinary people.
Well...
Doctor Strange was uncertain.
Henry hadn't personally confird his current status.
So under these circumstances—
How would this catastrophe caused by a superhero end?
Henry was genuinely curious.
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