When Bruce brought back the news, Ethan knew that the plot of the first Dark Knight movie had reached a critical stage.
Bruce thought he had blown up the League of Shadows' base and that Ra's al Ghul had died in the Himalayas, thus eliminating the threat the League posed to Gotham.
However, the Ra's al Ghul who died was merely a puppet placed at the forefront. The true Ra's al Ghul was actually Henri Ducard, the man he had saved.
Furthermore, most members of the League had not died, so the plan to destroy Gotham naturally would not stop.
What Falcone had been secretly transporting was the special drug that Bruce had once experienced. Inhaling it into the lungs would make people see their greatest fears.
The League's plan was to mix these drugs into Gotham's water supply, then use a special device owned by Wayne Enterprises to evaporate the entire city's tap water into gas at full power, causing the entire city to be enveloped in the terrifying drug.
Then Gotham's residents who inhaled large amounts of the hallucinogenic gas would fall into madness, perceiving everything as the object of their fear. Some might run around aimlessly, while others might take more drastic actions, such as eliminating the terrifying monsters.
Leaving aside that the entire city would descend into chaos, the gas itself would be fatal after heavy inhalation, and the entire city would fall into complete disarray. No one would be sober, so they would not know to escape or call for help from outside.
By the time others discovered that something was wrong with Gotham, the entire city would have become a ghost town.
This was also the goal the League wanted to achieve, to completely destroy this city of sin and then rebuild a new city from the ruins.
In the plot of the first movie, what Bruce had to do was prevent this from happening and save all of Gotham.
If Bruce were left to investigate slowly on his own, by the time he uncovered the truth, the League would already have invaded Gotham, turning the entire city into a city of fog.
Ethan had not left yet. Although he was not afraid of that drug, it did not mean he was willing to be in a toxic fog.
Moreover, as a spoiler enthusiast, he did not feel there was anything wrong with revealing the subsequent plot.
So he spoiled it very straightforwardly.
Ethan did not even need to explain where he got this information. The intelligent Bruce could figure it out completely.
As for how much he trusted Ethan's words, that did not matter, because Ethan provided very detailed information, and he could personally verify it.
It did not take much effort. Half a day was enough for Bruce to find all the information he wanted and confirm that everything Ethan said was correct.
"So what are you going to do next?"
After understanding the specific situation, Bruce began to ponder his next plan. He did not ask Ethan and the others for help, because this was Gotham, his hometown, and the place he was determined to protect.
In a sense, this place had nothing to do with Ethan and the others. They were not people from this world and had no obligation to help solve these problems.
"First, destroy that machine."
Bruce naturally found the key point in the opponent's plan. Compared to the drugs that were still being continuously added to the water supply, the device that could evaporate the water was the most crucial point. Mixing it into the tap water and drinking it would not cause harm to the human body. As long as the threat that could destroy the entire city was resolved, it would not be too late to deal with the water pollution problem later.
With the advantage of intelligence and the first-mover advantage, Bruce did not spend much effort finding the device that Wayne Enterprises had lost, and then decisively blew it up to a degree that made it absolutely impossible to repair.
During this time, he also defeated several League members who were hidden in Gotham. Since Bruce had put on a lot of new equipment, and these people were caught off guard by his stealthy attack, even though they were not weak, they still did not cause him any trouble.
Instead, Bruce was able to track them back and discover that Henri Ducard had actually come to Gotham.
The subsequent plot became more interesting. Bruce discovered that the guest list for his birthday party included Ra's al Ghul's name, and immediately realized that the opponent had listed him as the primary obstacle to destroying Gotham.
"Obviously, they want to deal with you first too."
Tony watched Bruce repairing his equipment. The Batcave already had a dedicated area for repairing and making new equipment, and it was piled high with various parts. In addition to replacement components, many items were materials Bruce used for practice.
His manufacturing skills were improving rapidly. Tony even taught him some black technology knowledge that did not exist in this world. If Bruce could fully digest this knowledge, he could create a new Batsuit that was lighter, more convenient for movement, and far better in defense than his current protective suit, capable of defending against most firearms, ensuring he would not be riddled with holes by a few thugs with automatic fire.
However, Tony felt that this time he might not see Bruce actually create that suit. He had stayed in this world for several months on and off and felt that the time was just about right.
Although he was a newly born Batman, many of his ideas were still naive and immature, and Tony could not share some experiences and insights with him. But he had a good time playing the role of a teacher. Tony felt that this trip was not in vain. Maybe he could take on a disciple after returning.
"Had enough fun?"
He watched Bruce continue to make preparations to welcome the great battle with the League. Even if that device had been destroyed, as long as the League still existed, Gotham would always be shrouded in the shadow of destruction.
To completely resolve this crisis, he had to directly confront the League.
Neither Ethan nor Tony planned to help, letting Bruce face this crisis on his own. For either of them, the League was just a bunch of mooks who could be dealt with with a wave of the hand.
Bruce's silence throughout had already shown his attitude. This was his battle, and he did not want them to participate.
For Batman, this was also a test. Only by crossing this threshold could Bruce truly become Batman.
He had to perfectly resolve the crisis while maintaining his principles and bottom line to be qualified to continue being Batman, otherwise everything would just be a joke.
Moreover, Ethan and Tony had already helped him a lot during this time. They had actually been teaching him all along. He had not only learned a lot of knowledge, but his combat skills and experience had also improved significantly.
Tony had also upgraded his equipment by more than one level in a very short time. Now Bruce always had new toys to play with. Tony's speed of manufacturing new equipment was almost catching up to his speed of getting familiar with it.
Fortunately, Tony had not continued recently, and Bruce also started to try to modify these pieces of equipment himself to make them more suitable for his usage habits.
In addition, Ethan also gave him a few other things.
"These few vials of potion can be used when you are severely injured. They can, in a very short time, probably a few seconds to ten seconds or so, restore you back to a normal state. Of course, only physically, mental recovery is not that fast."
Besides the recovery potions, Ethan also gave Bruce an amulet. When he needed help, he could directly crush the amulet, and then no matter which universe he was in, Ethan would receive the signal.
Because Alfred had treated them well during this time, providing good food and drink, Ethan also gave the old butler a bottle of potion. It was not a very powerful enhancement potion. Alfred's elderly body could not withstand such strong effects.
What he gave him was a very ordinary potion, very ordinary in Ethan's eyes, which could ensure Alfred's physical energy was relatively good and that he would not easily get sick, and it could extend his lifespan to a certain extent.
This meant that as long as no accidents happened, Alfred could live a healthy life until his natural death, and at least exceed ninety years old.
Ethan also left an amulet for Alfred. He believed that Bruce would not easily use the talisman he gave him, but Alfred would not have this problem. He would ask for help when he needed it.
When Ethan was making these arrangements, Bruce knew they were preparing to leave.
"When are you planning to leave?"
"Soon, maybe we will not even wait to see your performance this time."
Tony was not planning to keep watching either. In his opinion, it was a foregone conclusion that Bruce would solve this problem.
And the reason he had not given Bruce new toys these past few days was that he had been secretly tinkering with a big guy.
With Alfred also helping to conceal it, Bruce had no idea at all until the moment Tony actively brought it out. Only then did he see this completely black, heavy suit of armor.
"How about it, is it not very suitable for you?"
Tony tapped the hard, thick metal shell.
"I have left detailed design blueprints, but this is only a semi-finished product and cannot be used directly for the time being. You need to solve some problems before you can use this set of equipment."
Bruce looked at the heavy armor in front of him and found that it had no power system. Such a heavy suit of armor could not be moved by human strength alone.
"So, you need me to figure out the power problem myself?"
Tony, uncharacteristically, did not give an answer but returned a smile that was hard to describe, which made Bruce a little suspicious that there was something wrong with this armor.
(To be continued.)