Visiting a friend

"First, we need to hail a taxi," Mrs. Hepburn said, patting Henry on the shoulder.

"Oh my god, do you know how difficult that is? Calling a taxi in New York City."

"Come on, little Tiger. If you can't even finish this little task, it's not like you at all."

"Okay, but we have to get out of the park first. You could stand here for a whole year and not get a single empty taxi," Henry said, making way and pointing to the nearest exit.

Audrey Hepburn took Henry's arm and said, "You're right. So, let's go."

Do you know why Uber will become so popular in the future? It's because taxis in New York are just too hard to hail!

To prevent the world's busiest city from becoming a giant parking lot filled with taxis, the New York City government strictly controls the number of taxi licenses.

There are even three different types of taxis, restricting their pick-up areas to prevent a large number of empty taxis from flooding into the core area to randomly pick up passengers and increase the burden on the city streets.

This is why you often see New York scrambling for taxis in movies. It's a true local phenomenon.

This is rarely seen in other United States cities.

But perhaps it was because of Hepburn's lucky yellow outfit that Henry accompanied her to the main road and they were fortunate enough to hail an empty taxi and get in.

Please go to 1407 Greymalkin Lane, Westchester County Salem Center.

"Westchester County? That's a bit far, but that's no problem for Wesley. Guests, hold on tight. Wesley drives fast and safely; getting a ride in my car is definitely the luckiest thing that's happened to you all today."

The Old Black driver fully utilized his racial talent for gossip, telling all sorts of New York jokes while glancing at the elderly woman getting into the car through the rearview mirror.

"Ma'am, has anyone ever told you that you look like a big star?"

"Oh? Which big celebrity does he look like?"

After a rare pause in conversation, Old Black glanced around, then at the road. Finally, he managed to say, "Audrey Hepburn. You really look like that lady who was in the newspaper not long ago. Could it be you?"

"Of course not. I just look alike," Ms. Hepburn said, while giving Henry a playful wink beside her.

She added, "What If...? I were really a big star, I'd probably have a private car and be accompanied by three to five male model-level bodyguards at all times."

Old Black, who loves to gossip about celebrities, nodded and said, "Yes, yes, oh no, no, no! Don't underestimate me, ma'am. I've given rides to quite a few celebrities and famous people."

"Do you know Vito Corleone? The Godfather of the Italy Mafia, I've ridden in his car. Do you know Dr. Emerson Brown? The great scientist who invented the time machine, I've ridden in his car too."

Old Black rattled off several impressive names. If Henry hadn't seen all these people's movies in this world, he would have thought that these movie worlds were embedded in the Marvel Universe.

Simply put, this Old Black was using his racial talent to brag with a rapid, trilled tongue!

If that Mafia the Godfather really existed, would he just casually take a taxi? Wouldn't he be afraid of being targeted by his enemies and having his head shot?

The time machine is even more ridiculous; Henry didn't even want to waste his energy criticizing it.

However, Audrey Hepburn seemed to be having a great time, exclaiming in surprise every time the other person mentioned a name. With such an attentive listener, it was no wonder that the Old Black was even more enthusiastic in his storytelling.

Time passed by unnoticed, and the taxi arrived at its destination: a large estate.

Although Westchester County is the southernmost county in upstate New York, it is also part of the New York metropolitan area. Most residents use the Metro-North Railroad to commute to work in Manhattan.

It's easy to imagine that the people who live here are not ordinary white-collar workers.

To own such a manor in such a place is something that ordinary people cannot achieve.

Especially the bronze sign at the main entrance of the manor —Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters —well, it's definitely not a place for ordinary people.

Watching "Audrey Hepburn" expertly open the large iron gate and walk inside, Henry hesitated. Did he really want to follow her in and participate in this charade?

"Henry, why aren't you keeping up?" Audrey Hepburn turned around and smiled.

"Here-"

"Oh, don't worry. The old friend I'm going to see is the principal and head of the school, Professor Xavier Charles Francis Xavier. This isn't just a school; it's also his family's business."

Well, after hearing all this, if Henry still doesn't understand what kind of situation he's in, then he's wasted his time traveling through time.

It's just that while the world is no stranger to Mutants, in publicly available information, all members of the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants are referred to by code names, and their base of operations has never been revealed.

I don't know if they're afraid of being disturbed, or afraid of people seeking refuge with them.

Moreover, the love-hate relationship between the two sides dates back more than a decade. In recent years, there haven't been as many conflicts; it's just that their ideologies remain opposed, but both sides have accepted the arrangements made by the U.S. government.

This is similar to the struggle between the Republican Party and Democratic Party in United States politics. There's no question of who's good or bad; it's simply a matter of differing ideologies and stances.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, ordinary people would not know what this place is for, or who Professor Xavier Charles Xavier is.

However, Henry wondered what the point of continuing to play dumb was, given the desire to deceive himself. He didn't want to repeat the mistake of trying so hard to appear smart only to end up looking foolish again.

Henry decided to be blunt, saying, "I'm not going in, ma'am. Your impersonation was flawless; I was fooled at first too. But let's leave it at that."

"Oh, when did you realize something was wrong?" "Audrey Hepburn" didn't deny it; instead, she transformed in front of Henry.

Her skin was flipped over from top to bottom, completely changing her appearance. She went from a rather slender figure to a normal, voluptuous woman. Moreover, she was a female Mutants with blue skin, dark blue markings, yellow eyes, and red hair —Mystique.

"That's really not surprising at all," Henry said. "I sensed it from your conversation with the driver in the taxi. The real Ms. Hepburn wouldn't make such tasteless jokes."

"And you yourself admitted it. You're not Audrey Hepburn, you just look like her. You speak these truths with a clear conscience because they're the truth, aren't they?"