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Miles was able to fulfil his dream through the city, volunteers and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a charity that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.

Batkid had a police escort worthy of a dignitary as he sped around the city in a black Lamborghini with Batman decals, with officers blocking traffic and riding alongside him on motorcycles.

“I think it might be the first time a Lamborghini had a booster seat,” said Patricia Wilson, the executive director for Make-a-Wish in the Greater Bay Area.

The crowds grew after each stop, reaching into the thousands. Spectators climbed trees and clambered up lampposts, and police and organizers struggled to keep a path open for the motorcade.

At Batkid’s stop in the city’s Russian Hill neighbourhood, a woman sat on the cable car tracks in a dress and thigh-high black boots. She had a handkerchief around her mouth, and her hands were bound behind her back.

Batman and Batkid sprang into action, with the aid of a trampoline, as the crowd roared. They rescued the woman and disabled a plastic replica bomb she was tied to.

The two masked superheroes then took off to nab the Riddler as he robbed a downtown bank. They later jetted to the Penguin’s kidnapping of Lou Seal.

The 5-year-old at first seemed overwhelmed by the outpouring, quietly working through each scenario with clenched fists and tight lips amid delirious chants of “batkid, batkid.” But by the time he reached City Hall to receive a key to the city in front of the biggest crowd of the day, Miles was all smiles.