Chapter 48: The Batmobile's Small Shock
"Stop him!"
Scorpion roared, slamming the gas pedal. The pickup rumbled out of the underground garage.
This should have been an impressive moment, but compared to that vehicle at the street's end—its roar like muffled thunder reaching his ears—the Batmobile made Scorpion look like an infant at boxer Tyson's feet. No comparison whatsoever.
"What the hell is that thing? Police's latest vehicle? Or that so-called vampire's ride?"
Scorpion Mac watched the Batmobile draw closer, his scalp tingling involuntarily. He thought of the recently widespread vampire legends.
Fortunately, Hell's Kitchen's streets were now crawling with Kingpin's members. They drove vehicles specifically to obstruct police pursuit and support Walker.
Even though what pursued now wasn't a police car, these gang members still positioned themselves across the road, completely blocking the path between the Batmobile and Scorpion's pickup.
"Unless you can fly, I don't believe this many cars can't stop you."
Scorpion breathed easier, jerking the steering wheel to send the pickup in the opposite direction from the Batmobile.
He glanced at the rearview mirror—that Batmobile's figure grew more distant, seemingly truly blocked. He could only vaguely see crimson headlights, like a vampire's bloodthirsty eyes locked onto its target.
Just as Scorpion thought he'd completely blocked the Batmobile, those crimson headlights in his mirror suddenly shot skyward.
"Am I hallucinating? Why do I see that thing flying?"
Scorpion frowned, sticking his head out the window to look back. Then he witnessed something incomprehensible.
The Batmobile's front launched two steel cables, firmly embedding into buildings halfway up on both sides of the street. Then it leaped violently!
With its own spring and the cables' pull, the multi-ton Batmobile soared high into the air.
Then both cables rapidly retracted, and the Batmobile briefly charged forward through the air...
Then another cable shot from the airborne Batmobile diagonally downward, firmly embedding in the street surface, contracting at extreme speed, tightening, pulling the airborne Batmobile into a rapid diving glide!
In the blink of an eye, the Batmobile flew over the numerous vehicles blocking the street. With a thunderous engine roar, crimson headlights began madly closing on Scorpion's pickup.
"What the hell IS that thing?!"
Seeing the Batmobile that had nearly disappeared from his mirror reappear, Scorpion's mind completely short-circuited.
He'd rather believe that thing was an aircraft than accept it was a car.
"No good, I need to figure something out... I can't outrun it. I need to find somewhere to lose it!"
Scorpion glanced at Walker thrown in the truck bed. For an instant, he even considered dumping Walker and escaping alone.
But he ultimately didn't do it. Instead, he floored the accelerator completely, sending the pickup charging forward at maximum speed toward Hell's Kitchen's south side, toward West 40th Street.
Hell's Kitchen's streets were perfectly grid-like—no space to shake pursuers. The pickup's speed was far inferior to its opponent.
From the Batmobile's earlier leap, simply blocking streets might stop police but couldn't hinder the Batmobile one bit.
Only West 40th Street, closest from here, had relatively complex interchange lanes. Only there did Scorpion have any possibility of using his road knowledge to leave his pursuer far behind!
"Converge on West 40th Street. A vehicle with crimson headlights and a giant bat on its hood is chasing me! Shoot out its tires!"
Scorpion grabbed his radio, then recklessly rampaged through streets, smashing a string of parked cars' side mirrors, making these innocent vehicles wail warning sounds.
Simultaneously inside the Batmobile, Scorpion Mac's radio voice rang clearly. Having activated the monitoring system, Batman expressionlessly pressed the accelerator.
VROOM! VROOM!
As Scorpion issued orders to Kingpin's subordinates, trucks, sedans, and vans converged toward West 40th Street. Simultaneously—clack! Ammunition chambering sounds rang inside vehicle after vehicle.
SCREECH!
Scorpion hit the brakes hard, jerking the steering wheel completely, sending the pickup from Hell's Kitchen onto West 40th Street's overpass.
Behind him, a box truck first turned sideways, but seemingly due to the driver's poor technique, the entire vehicle simply toppled over at the overpass entrance.
Behind this box truck, more and more vehicles scattered haphazardly blocking the road, a full fifty-plus meters.
"I fucking don't believe you can still fly!"
Scorpion exhaled heavily. Ignoring the black-and-blue bruises on Walker beside him, he slapped Walker's body hard.
"Hang on—I've already lost that guy!"
"Hmph."
Walker slumped motionless in his seat. Daredevil had thrown countless punches to extract Kingpin's specific information from him. Almost no part of Walker's body didn't hurt.
But Walker's mouth remained sealed. He hadn't leaked half a bit of information about Kingpin.
VROOM!
Scorpion laughed, about to drive the pickup down from the overpass toward West 39th Street's underground tunnel.
Once through the tunnel, Scorpion would completely lose the Batmobile.
Thinking this, Scorpion Mac checked his rearview mirror. Sure enough, no Batmobile shadow remained.
"Something's not quite right..."
Scorpion gripped the steering wheel with one hand, feeling he'd overlooked something.
It seemed after he ordered his subordinates to converge on West 40th Street, the Batmobile hadn't appeared again?
Given that vehicle's mad engine roar and momentum ramming through vehicles when he first saw it, Scorpion didn't believe it was all bark and no bite.
He'd definitely overlooked something.
Just as Scorpion Mac drove toward West 39th Street's underground tunnel while pondering what went wrong—
CLANG!
Driving the pickup on an overpass nearly ten meters above ground, Scorpion Mac watched a massive grappling hook emerge from below at the roadside ahead, a steel cable attached to its end.
Screech, screech!
Clearly audible cable contraction sounds rang out. Under Scorpion Mac's ghostly expression, the sharp plow blade and massive bat symbol composing the hood slowly rose from the overpass's edge.
Though the crimson headlights didn't shine directly at Scorpion, he felt locked on completely.
"Go!"
Scorpion still stood dazed when Walker beside him punched the steering wheel, shouting.
BEEP!
Walker's punch triggered the horn with a beep. Only then did Scorpion react, flooring the accelerator to frantically flee around the Batmobile.
Inside the Batmobile behind him, Batman turned off the radio monitor, then pressed a button.
BOOM!
At the Batmobile's rear, propulsion devices salvaged from the Green Goblin's and Spider-Slayer's gliders erupted. The entire Batmobile roared forward, locked onto the pickup's tail.
"Oracle, take control."
Batman said, releasing the steering wheel to press another button.
The next moment, the Batmobile's roof slid open. The seat's electromagnetic ejection system activated. A black figure traced a parabola through the air. Batman crashed heavily onto the pickup's roof.
***
25+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces