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chapter four

The White Smoke

‘No one must know that I am Batman,’ thought Bruce. ‘Everyone must think that I am just rich and lazy.’

So one evening, Bruce went to have dinner at Gotham’s most expensive hotel restaurant. He took two beautiful women with him, one on each arm. After dinner, the women wanted to swim in the hotel swimming pool.

‘It’s closed,’ said the waiter.

‘Then I will buy this hotel and open the swimming pool!’ said Bruce. He jumped into the pool with the two women.

Later, when Bruce was leaving the hotel with the two women, he suddenly saw Rachel. She wore a fantastic dress and looked beautiful. She was just going into the restaurant.

‘You haven’t changed much, have you, Bruce?’ she said. ‘It’s all fun and no work for you, isn’t it?’

‘Hey, Rachel. This isn’t the real me.’

‘The things you do are important, Bruce, not the things you say.’ And she walked away.

Batman went to see Sergeant Gordon.

‘There was someone in Falcone’s office with him that night,’ he said. ‘He was testing the drugs. Do you know who it was?’

‘No, I don’t,’ answered Gordon. ‘Dr Crane from Arkham Asylum often visits Falcone. Perhaps it was him.’

‘Yes, perhaps it was,’ said Batman. ‘I think I’ll go to Arkham Asylum.’

‘It’s not safe,’ said Gordon. ‘It’s in the Narrows, a very dangerous part of Gotham.’

‘Not for me,’ said Batman.

Batman soon arrived at the Narrows. Behind Arkham Asylum was a dark building. Batman went inside and found a very big ship’s box. It was difficult to open. At last he was able to push open the top. Inside there was a machine - it was the size of a big car. Batman read the words on the box: ‘WAYNE ENTERPRISES 47B1-ME’.

Two people came into the building. One was a ship worker. The other was a man in a dark suit. They didn’t see Batman.

‘What are the boss’s orders?’ asked the man in the dark suit.

‘We keep the machine here until he’s ready,’ said the ship worker.

‘Fine,’ said the man in the dark suit. It was Dr Crane.

Batman suddenly flew from the box to the floor.

‘No, it isn’t fine,’ he said. He hit the ship worker in the face and he fell to the floor. Crane quickly put on his mask, and then he waved his arm at Batman. WHOOOOSSSSSHH A cloud of white smoke came out of his coat.

Batman’s nose and mouth were suddenly on fire. He started to see all the worst things from his life in front of his eyes.

‘I’ve felt this way before,’ he thought. ‘But where?’

Then he remembered - Ra’s al Ghul, the wooden box, the bats, the building on fire.

He got to the window on his hands and feet.

Crane watched him. ‘You’re going to die, Batman,’ he said.

Batman climbed slowly through the window, up the wall and onto the roof.

He pulled out his mobile phone.

‘Alfred,’ he said. ‘Alfred, I-I need you. Please come quickly. I’m ill. And I need a blood test.’

Terrible thoughts were now in Bruce’s head. He was at the show. the bats. his parents. a gun. blood in the street.

And then - nothing.

He opened his eyes. He was home, in his bedroom. Alfred came in.

‘How long have I been asleep?’ Bruce asked.

‘Two days, sir,’ answered Alfred. ‘It’s your birthday today.’

‘It was the white smoke,’ said Bruce. ‘Luckily there wasn’t very much of it. But I’ve felt like that once before in my life. On the mountain in Bhutan. But this time it seemed much stronger.’

‘I’ve got the results of the blood test,’ said Alfred. He gave Bruce a piece of paper.

‘It’s a very dangerous drug,’ he said. ‘It can kill people. But I know someone who can make an antidote.’

The next day, Bruce showed the results to Lucius Fox. ‘This was in your blood?!’ he said. ‘You’re lucky you didn’t die!’

‘Yes, I’ve been very lucky,’ said Bruce. ‘Can you make an antidote?’

‘I think so,’ said Fox, ‘but it won’t be easy.’

‘One more thing,’ said Bruce. ‘Do you know what Wayne Enterprises 47B1-ME is?’

‘No, I don’t,’ said Fox. ‘But I can probably find out.’

Sergeant Gordon went to see Rachel.

‘Will Falcone go to prison this time?’ he asked her.

‘I think so,’ said Rachel. ‘It’s in all the newspapers.’

‘Batman came to see me, Miss Dawes,’ said Gordon. ‘He asked for my help.’

‘Yes, I know,’ said Rachel. ‘He came to see me too. We’re working with a man in a mask, Sergeant Gordon. Perhaps he’s dangerous.’

‘I don’t think so,’ said Gordon. ‘He’s done lots of good things already.’

The door opened and Bruce Wayne came in.

‘Oh sorry,’ he said. ‘I’ll come back later.’

Gordon knew Bruce Wayne from the newspapers.

‘It’s OK, Mr Wayne,’ he said. ‘I was just leaving.’ He went out.

‘What do you want, Bruce?’ Rachel asked angrily.

‘I want to invite you to a party tonight,’ he said. ‘And to say I’m sorry.’

Rachel smiled. She could never be really cross with him. ‘Where’s the party?’

‘It’s at home - at Wayne Manor,’ he said.

An officer opened the door.

‘They’ve moved Falcone from the police station to Arkham Asylum,’ he said.

‘Who decided that?’ asked Rachel.

‘The boss there, Dr Crane.’

Rachel quickly put some things into a bag.

‘I have to go,’ she said to Bruce. ‘And I don’t think I can come to your party tonight. I’m sorry.’

She opened the door and turned to Bruce.

‘Happy Birthday, Bruce!’ she said.