Chapter 170: Disposable Batwing
Batman had converted the Arkham Batmobile into a mobile workstation, pre-positioning it on Bat Island.
For the New Mexico mission to extract Norman Osborn, the aircraft launch platform had received top construction priority—even pushing back Batman's preferred workshop upgrades.
Based on local terrain features, Batman had already deployed massive black webbing across strategic locations on Bat Island. The reinforced web matrix could absorb the impact of eight falling containers without structural failure.
Venom Robin's parachute billowed overhead as they drifted from Rikers Island toward Bat Island proper.
The instant they touched down, Batman issued immediate orders:
"Barbara, execute Batwing Protocol immediately."
"Understood, Bruce." The Oracle AI workstation temporarily mounted in the Arkham Batmobile responded without delay.
Batman had purchased a British BAE Systems "Harrier GR9"—a vertical takeoff and landing attack aircraft. The notoriously difficult aircraft had achieved an accident rate exceeding thirty percent, combining poor operational range with substandard speed and maneuverability. Its inadequate high-altitude combat capabilities meant retirement was imminent in 2006, creating Batman's acquisition opportunity.
But what military planners considered fatal flaws, Batman recognized as perfect advantages.
Piloting difficulty? Irrelevant. Batman had once borrowed Hal Jordan's Green Lantern ring to manifest a bat-shaped interstellar fighter, complete with cosmic-scale detection systems and wormhole jump capabilities, conducting a solo assault on Apokolips against Darkseid's military forces.
He'd modified General Zod's crashed Kryptonian scout ship, installing kryptonite missile launch systems and gravity field generators.
He'd commandeered one of Luthor's orbital strike platforms, enabling global deployment of the Bat-Family within sixty minutes.
Space stations. Brother Eye. The Watchtower. Batman had piloted vehicles and command centers far beyond normal human comprehension. A Harrier GR9 presented no challenge whatsoever—even Damian could fly it competently.
This prototype represented Batman's optimal choice given current market conditions and Parker Industries' lack of heavy manufacturing infrastructure. Eventually, he'd build purpose-designed Batwings from the ground up.
But the Harrier's vectored thrust nozzles were exactly what Batman needed—vertical takeoff and landing from Bat Island without requiring conventional runways. That single feature had driven the selection.
Its all-metal semi-monocoque construction offered extensive modification potential. Low radar cross-section design and spacious internal volume completed the package.
As a temporary Batwing, it was adequate.
But Batman wasn't satisfied with adequacy. According to his operational timeline, this aircraft was essentially disposable—a single-mission tool for the New Mexico extraction.
After returning, Parker Industries would gradually acquire heavy industrial production lines, enabling true self-sufficiency. Then Batman could manufacture an authentic Batwing built to his exact specifications.
Only after deploying that proper Batwing would Batman investigate Wyoming to determine whether the Cube prison had become a Hydra nest.
The data physically transported there by a Hydra operative contained Batman's embedded virus. He wasn't concerned about the information being exploited—the corruption would render it unusable until Batman personally confirmed the facility's status and authorized restoration.
But based on Dr. Banner's direct transfer from the Cube to Oscorp under General Ross's authority, combined with Hydra's desperate infiltration of the Adirondack Mountains base to steal Tesseract research...
The Cube prison had likely become Hydra's largest operational hub—hidden directly under SHIELD Director Nick Fury's nose.
Night dissolved into morning before Batman completed the Batwing modifications. He'd worked continuously except for minimal nutritional intake.
Without the Manhattan Batcave's mechanical assembly arms—impossible to transport via the Batmobile—Oracle AI could only provide computational support. Batman had to perform most modifications manually, with Venom occasionally extending tendrils to assist with simple tasks like tool retrieval.
Between modification sessions, Batman traveled to North Brother Island as Peter Parker, discussing energy conversion methods and specific partnership details with Dr. Octavius regarding the artificial sun.
Batman desperately needed capital. Even with Parker Industries thriving, his planned satellite network and rocket launch facility would consume resources far exceeding current reserves.
Yet despite this pressing need, Batman's negotiations with Otto deliberately relegated profit considerations to secondary status.
Batman needed money, yes. But he needed allies more.
Combat-capable allies. Scientific team allies. Because his true opponents extended far beyond General Ross's New Mexico facility or even the Cube prison.
Batman's real enemy was Hydra itself—an organization headed by the World Security Council, with sleeper agents embedded throughout governments and militaries worldwide.
---
Wyoming. The Cube prison.
Agent 19—"Mockingbird" Barbara Morse, dispatched here by SHIELD Director Nick Fury—stood with arms crossed, studying Hawkeye Clint Barton through his cell's reinforced barrier.
Since her assignment here, Morse had three primary responsibilities: protecting the scientific team analyzing Tesseract data, preventing anyone except herself from contacting that team, and... this.
Almost daily, Barbara Morse visited Hawkeye's cell. She never spoke. Hawkeye never initiated conversation.
Until today.
Hawkeye had been stripped of his signature purple sleeveless uniform and bow. Now he wore standard orange prison coveralls, hands and feet shackled, with an electronic collar blinking green around his neck.
"You want to escape?" Morse finally broke her silence.
Hawkeye looked up slowly, expression neutral despite the restraints.
"You and I both know nobody's ever escaped the Cube." His voice was rough from disuse—nothing like the confident tone he'd carried when arresting Banner with Black Widow in Dharavi.
"Correct," Morse acknowledged. "But there's been one instance of a prisoner leaving with assistance. And you personally arrested him."
Hawkeye's gaze sharpened. "You mean Dr. Banner?"
Morse offered no confirmation or denial.
"Banner wasn't a criminal." Hawkeye looked away, studying his feet. "Initially, I followed Director Fury's stated objective—'inviting Dr. Banner to participate in gamma radiation analysis of the Tesseract.' That was my mission brief."
"Even when I shot him with that tranquilizer arrow, it was purely precautionary. I needed contingencies if he transformed into the Hulk. I never imagined he'd be transferred to this prison."
Hawkeye had never disclosed to anyone what Banner had whispered during his brief Cube imprisonment.
SHIELD. General Ross. Dr. Banner. Shadowy manipulators. Coded instructions from the World Security Council.
From the moment Black Widow had framed him and he'd been locked in the Cube, followed immediately by Banner's helicopter extraction, Hawkeye's suspicions had crystallized into near-certainty.
Those suspicions made him distrust everyone—even former colleagues like Agent 19.