Driving Lessons

On Sunday, it was the day Gwen had arranged to practice driving. George Stacy, as her father, agreed on the condition that they practice at One Police Plaza, the parking lot attached to the New York City Police Department.

Henry, of course, had no objections. He was racking his brains trying to find a space to practice in Manhattan, where land was incredibly expensive.

Finding vacant land in Queens, where Stacy's family lived, was much easier. However, since her father had already decided on the location, Henry didn't interfere.

Teaching someone to drive doesn't require the whole family to come; Catherine Hepburn and Kitty had already completed their daily walk in the morning. So Henry drove his old Cadillac there alone in the afternoon.

Skye wanted to go along, probably hoping to gain some driving experience, but in the end she was left behind. It just goes to show that in this family, no one could refuse Catherine Hepburn's word.

Gwen went to the police station to meet Henry on her own. George made a brief appearance to check on the safety of Henry's vehicle before going about his own business.

If Henry's car wasn't up to par, he was prepared to offer his own. However, the condition of that old Cadillac was better than George had imagined; it didn't look like a car that was over thirty years old at all.

Before driving, checking and adjusting the rearview mirrors is essential. This is related to the driver's visibility, so Henry explained it in detail and had Gwen adjust it according to her own field of vision.

The first hurdle in teaching how to drive a manual transmission car is learning how to use the clutch, shift gears, and coordinate your left and right feet, as well as the clutch and accelerator. Passing this first hurdle will prevent you from stalling when starting the car.

Then, Gwen learned driving, shifting gears, parking on the side of the road, and reversing into a parking space very quickly. Basically, after being taught twice, the girl could remember the order of operations and complete them on her own. This put Henry at ease a lot.

The Kryptonian weren't afraid of their old cars getting hit. As long as it didn't burn into a fireball and turn into scrap metal, Henry would find a way to fix it, no matter how much repair was needed.

But look at where Gwen's dad designated the practice area: the New York City Police Department parking lot. If she makes a driving mistake and doesn't crash into the wall, she'll be swiping the entire row of cars.

Even with George Stacy's director salary, he'd probably be mortified by the financial losses. Luckily, his daughter was capable enough to avoid a serious driving blunder.

Throughout the entire practice session, all traffic rules were strictly followed, including wearing seat belts and using turn signals.

So after more than an hour of thorough practice, Gwen, the bold girl, suggested we hit the road. Henry didn't object, and the old Cadillac left the police station parking lot and entered the regular road.

When driving on the road, the biggest challenge for novice drivers, due to the ever-changing road conditions, is the tendency to get nervous.

But Gwen Stacy truly deserves to be Spider-Woman; although she was a little nervous, her actions were as steady as a seasoned veteran.

I don't dare to drive too fast when there's a lot of traffic, and I strictly adhere to the speed limit on all roads. Some impatient drivers, however, honk their horns quite frequently.

Henry's teaching style was much quieter; he wouldn't sit in the passenger seat and chatter away. He would only correct Gwen's driving behavior when she made a clear mistake.

The intention behind this was simply to avoid giving novice drivers too much information, making them even more nervous. However, on the other hand, the quietness in the car creates a rather awkward situation.

Once they reached a less congested section of the road, the naturally outgoing girl couldn't help but speak up. "Henry, I have a question for you."

"Sure, go ahead and ask."

Why did you adopt Skye in the first place?

"Why?" Henry turned to look at the girl in the driver's seat. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, appearing calm and skilled, not at all like a novice driver. "It was just a coincidence, I didn't think much of it."

"Just happened to run into you?"

Henry said, "I don't know if Skye has told you how I met her."

In truth, how could the Kryptonian not hear the two girls whispering in the room? He was just pretending not to hear, to make himself seem less perverted... For some reason, thinking this way, Henry inexplicably felt terrible.

Gwen thought for a moment and said, "Skye did say that. She said it was because you're a jerk that she took on a lot of prank jobs targeting you, which is why you targeted her."

"Then you, this stalker, followed her, found her, kidnapped her, and took over as her guardian without her consent. You micromanaged everything about her."

With a loud laugh, Henry said, "Kid, isn't that right?" Children aren't good at lying, that's true, but they're very good at making up stories that benefit them, even if they're full of holes.

After thinking it over, Henry decided to carefully recount what had happened back then.

"You mean, there was another child named ' Skye,' and then she died."

"Yes. By the time I found them, it was too late." Henry glossed over his ability to save the child with ruptured internal organs and severe internal bleeding. In any case, in the end, he indeed failed to save the person.

"Then Skye came back and saw this situation, so she's very resentful towards you. But you still decided to take her away from that place."

"Don't mistake me for a good person. I initially went there with the intention of causing trouble. But in this situation, even if I can't save the dead, I still have to try to save the living, otherwise my conscience won't allow it."

"So, you didn't know Skye was a girl at first? And that's how you came up with the idea of adopting her?"

"Who could tell? She's just a dirty, smelly little brat. If we'd known she was a girl, we'd definitely have thrown her into a government child welfare agency. Girls are too much trouble."

As soon as he finished speaking, Henry felt a death stare from beside him. He quickly changed his tune, saying, "Look, I'm just a grown man, I don't have a wife who can't conceive. I'm just a caregiver at Catherine's house."

"Could someone like me take care of a girl? It's obvious I'm not suitable. If it were a boy, I'd just make sure he had a place to sleep, enough to eat, and didn't end up on the streets."

"But this kind of treatment isn't appropriate for a girl. What If...? Catherine hadn't spoken up, I definitely wouldn't have let Skye stay. It's not that I disrespect women. On the contrary, it's precisely out of respect that I did this."

Gwen, her teeth chattering, and said, "What you said makes a lot of Reason, but something feels off to me."

"In short, my goal remains the same: to take care of her until she comes of age and has a legitimate means of making a living. Whether she hates me or likes me is secondary; I just don't want her to go back to a place like the sewers."

To be fair, What If...? this kid is truly worth nurturing, Henry still has three vials of Eternals blood. With some Super-Soldier Serum, even if he doesn't reach Captain America's level, enhancing his abilities and using the suit as support, he should be a good helper.

But if Skye really is Quake, Henry felt it was unnecessary to add anything unnecessary. The title of "Earth-Destructor" isn't something just anyone can have.

So... let's wait until she comes of age and get rid of this plague as soon as possible. Henry hasn't forgotten that she also has a very troublesome mother and sister, What If...? those two actually exist in this world.