Bane chuckled inwardly. He would have to remember to thank Batman later. When the time came.

Without bothering to decelerate, he disappeared into the tunnel.

McGarrity was on his own now. He accelerated down the highway, trying to stay ahead of the Batman. The laptop in his bag beeped, and a quick glance confirmed that the program had finished running. He sighed in relief. His mission was complete.

Now he just needed to get away…if possible.

The sobbing hostage, bouncing on the rear of the bike, slowed him down. Gleaming skyscrapers rose on either side of the highway, the light from the buildings allowing McGarrity to glimpse the Dark Knight’s own cycle gaining on him. Remembering what had happened to his comrades, he ducked his head as the Bat-Pod came along beside him, but, to his surprise, the vehicle appeared to be missing its rider.

Batman was no longer astride the cycle.

What the hell? McGarrity thought. Where—?

A dark shape came swooping down from the sky, casting a fearsome shadow over the hacker and his hostage. Batman’s scalloped black cape extended outward like the wings of a glider. Strong hands ripped the kidnapped trader off the back of the bike, jarring McGarrity, who lost control of his vehicle, laying it down across the highway in a shower of sparks.

The driver rolled away from the bike. Bruised and bleeding, he reached desperately for his laptop.

Batman was on him in an instant. The cloak falling back over his shoulders, he grabbed McGarrity and yanked him to his feet. His masked face was only inches away from the hacker’s.

He shouted at his prisoner.

“What were you stealing?”

McGarrity gulped, but held his tongue. He owed his allegiance to another masked man, one even more dreadful than the infamous Batman.

I do not fear you, he thought defiantly. I fear only Bane.

There was no time to try to sweat the truth out of the thief. He smacked the man’s head into a concrete divider, knocking him out so the police could pick him up. An electronic chirp caught Batman’s ear and he turned his attention to a gym bag that had been thrown clear of the crash. A battered laptop rested inside the bag, a message on its screen.

APPLICATION COMPLETE

In the next moment a blinding light from above left him exposed on the highway. A police chopper descended from the sky. Glancing around, Batman saw a veritable host of cops closing in on him from all directions. Thousands of cars, vans, bikes, and dogs. Multiple sirens screamed along, adding to the din caused by the whirr of the helicopter rotors. Bloodhounds bayed and strained at their leashes.

The Bat-Pod rolled to a stop nearby, just as Batman had programmed it to do.

The freed hostage, dropped off by the side of the road, ran toward the oncoming police presence. The hapless trader was safe enough now.

Time to go, Batman realized.

A USB drive was plugged into the laptop. He plucked it out of the slot and placed it into a pouch in his Utility Belt, even as a loudspeaker boomed overhead.