Bruce was both feeling better from his mama's words and then confused as she said the last few sentences, and tried to think before his eyes widened, "Because you weren't a wife to Daddy like Mommy is, and Daddy didn't know you...Yet you did know him since you came to Mommy and came to love him like a wife, doing grownup things, but not married like a wife, but you are scared that he hates you because he might have seen you after he got...got dead...Am I doing right so far?", trying to help his mama, talking slowly, realizing that his mother's descriptions of the green half acting like an adult and a helpless baby, maybe toddler by now if this is the second time she came out, at the same time, with trying to develop the mental skills, if their motor skills and grown-up skills are there already.
"Makes... sense...", the creature said as Bruce had a small smile on his face as he gently touched her cheek. "I'm sure Daddy would've like you like he liked Mommy.", Bruce told her as almost a sense of calm was coming over the creature.
The creature smiled at him, "Martha-mate was right...You are amazing pup, smart...you going to be great alpha...", and Bruce blushed, "Thanks, Mama...Can we...can we stay here a bit longer? I just...I...I miss Daddy...", sniffling.
The creature kissed Bruce's hair, "Yes, we stay...Me here for you...Me miss Thomas too...Me cry together with Martha-mate...You cry on me. Me don't care...Can me be mama? Me never try being mama before...".
Bruce replied with sniffles, "You are my mama, Mama, and I am your pup! I love you too!", before curling up into her side, sniffling and crying, as the creature, no, Mama. Yes, she's Mama now. Mama held her pup closer, cradling him like a baby, rubbing his back gently, trying to hum Martha's lullaby in rumbling purrs as they lasted like that for a while.
Bruce knew he otcha be embarrassed by being held like a crying baby, as he's practically 8 years old, a really big boy, but somehow, he doesn't care, feeling safe and warm and awed of his mama's gentle strength...Honestly, if he thinks about it, he's practically a baby in size compared to her size...Heck, being called as a pup is quite special, like a secret name between mama, mommy and Alfred...
And if Mama never had done this before, well, Bruce never dares to hurt her if she wants to be Mama, including holding him like a baby. He remembered that his mother told him about babies needing to be held, to be fed, to be loved, and more when he saw babies in different places in one of the parks, a couple of years ago. Heck, he even saw one baby get cleaned up and changed in a spot near a bush after getting breastfed.
He bit his lip before noticing the underground pond, realizing that they are away from any eyes up there, safe and private, and then looked back at his mama who is closing her eyes in peace and concern with a bit of angry protective air, still focused on the lullaby as she cradled him, and he then glanced at the tank top, and he took a deep breath before vaguely remembering what he did as a toddler.
He whined hungrily, "Mama!", and Mama opened her eyes, stopping the lullaby, and looked down at Bruce, feeling something stir in her, "What is it, Bruce-pup?", concerned.
Bruce acted like a baby, whining hungrily as he gestured to a breast, "Mama!", and Mama was confused, trying to understand before something clicked, hearing Martha's faint voice, "Oh, he's being your pup, Mama! Go feed him!".
Mama mentally spoke to Martha, "Really? You sure?", and Martha's voice replied, "You can do it, Mama...I had my time with him, go have your time with him, you're safe and it's private down here, no one to judge or hurt you or Bruce, our son...You deserve to know what's like to be a mama fully for a while. I give you permission. After all, it's our body, try...After all, if we are carrying our new pup, we are sure to be making milk, and it doesn't hurt to share.".
There was a pause before Mama finally spoke up, "Bruce-pup know... another pup coming?". Bruce blinked for a few moments when it clicked for him. "I'm... I'm going to have a baby sibling?", he asked as his mother's alter-ego nodded.
"Pup still very young, Thomas-mate gave last gift...", Mama said as Bruce smiled. "Well, guess maybe some practice might be needed?", he suggested.
Mama smiled, "Me surprised you acting like baby, because me...Are you sure?", and Bruce nodded, "Yes, and afterwards, can you...can you give me a bath?".
Mama widened her eyes, and nodded, "Okay.", with a smile as Bruce must be dirty and mussed up from crawling and such all the way here, and it makes sense.
Bruce smiled widely, and then nodded at the tank top, and Mama gently placed Bruce on her lap before working on removing her tank top partially, removing it to her shoulder and neck that the tank top became a toga, revealing one of her breasts, seeing Bruce's eyes widen in stunned astonishment and curiosity...He knew he had glimpsed his mother's breasts in that situation with Daddy in bed, but this is upgraded level...
Mama glanced at him, picking him up, and whispered, "Hungry, Bruce-pup? Say no if you not want try.", listening to Martha's advice not to push him as this is something really new to her, and vaguely familiar to Bruce, but he's both a child in human age, yet a pup to her...
Bruce took a deep breath; he knew he was never going to say this to anyone, not even Alfred, because of his age, but there was a feeling that this was needed to be done, to help his mother's alter ego in maybe perhaps a sort of way to become something more of a gift for her rather than a burden that she feared upon her first change.
Bruce whimpered hungrily with a smile, "Hungry, Mama!", and Mama smiled tenderly, "Okay, my little pup...Here you go...", bringing Bruce closer to her breast, trying to follow Martha's instructions, cradling him like a mother, her feelings becoming stronger as she felt like something's happening.
Mama winced slightly as Bruce latched into her nipple, starting to suckle, his hands kneading upon the surface of her breast, and then she felt something flowing, tears falling as her feelings bloomed into love as Bruce gulped, using his works of his throat, widening his eyes as he tasted about the most delicious milk he had ever tasted, not even caring about the fact that the color is different of his mama's breast, being deep emerald green with the nipple dark green, and he suckled eagerly as he gave out a content smile, closing his eyes, enjoying the meal of nutrients in the milk.
"Is this...Is this protecting life?", Mama's voice mentally asked in awe and tears as she gave rumbling purrs again of humming the lullaby, kissing Bruce's head gently, "Is this actually happening? Me feeling like me love him so much, wanting to be there to see him grow...Me being mama like you, Martha-mate!", with a mental sob of motherly joy and shock.
It felt almost so weird for her; the sense of calm that was coming over her compared to almost that constant state of anger and rage she was having before; even moments before she still felt angry but now at this moment, calmness... which was now really starting to break down the sort of drive that Mama was having being herself in a way over the next minute; similar to when she saw Thomas' lifeless body in the alleyway before her whole world went dark and Martha woke up.
Yet Mama wasn't scared of the calmness, seeing her pup in her arms content, warm, and feeding, it's like those moments she saw through the window in Martha's mind when she was surrounded by love...Calmness of love...Yes, she could see it now...
Mama caressed Bruce's head affectionately and tenderly as he breastfed, enjoying the serenity as she basked in the amazing feeling of love, of being a mama, of finally understanding that she doesn't have to be angry all the time, especially when she has more to lose yet more to gain at the same time.
Mama whispered to Bruce, "Mama loves you too, Bruce...", with a warm, motherly smile, feeling Martha's pride and amazement in her mind, and after five minutes, Bruce smacked his lips, full, looking at his mama who smiled warmly at him, lifting him over her shoulder, rubbing and patting his back with so gentle strength as he gave out a burp.
Mama then got up as Bruce yawned, as Mama averted her eyes politely as she undressed him, and gently placed him in the shallows, listening to Martha's faint advice as Mama smashed some herbs and some natural loose milk to create a shampoo and wash from her breast, cleaning Bruce gently as he giggled and smiled and yawned.
Mama then lifted him from the shallows, while fixing her tank top, and used Bruce's vest as a towel, drying him, and then dressed him back in the other good clothes, lifting him up into her arms as he yawned again, wrapping his arms around Mama's neck as Mama walked slowly from their sacred secret spot, relieved that the bats are gone.
"Try to keep awake, Bruce-pup, we're almost home...Did Mama do good?", Mama glanced at her pup, her beautiful son, her sleepy offspring, barely noticing that she's slowly reverting back to Martha, but Martha is trying to give her some extra minutes, seeing that Mama wanted to hear Bruce's responses to the breastfeeding and the bath and all.
"Yeah...", Bruce said; right now, he honestly felt like he was doing much better than before. The pain was still there, but now at least he was feeling like he could start getting out of bed and trying to at least carry on with things, as opposed to how much he just wanted to lie in bed and never leave his room for the past few days. "I love you... both of you.", he said with a sleepy smile and kiss to Mama's cheek.
"I love you too, Bruce-pup...", Both Martha and her alter ego's voices said aloud in almost a strange fitting mix in some ways by the time Mama was now back in the deep places of Martha's mind, and she once more was in full control of her body.
After a few more minutes, one of the back doors opened as Martha walked in carrying a sleeping Bruce before Alfred soon showed up. Martha motioned him to keep quiet as she went to take Bruce to his room. It was a few minutes before she closed the door to his room and let him rest.
"Where was he?", Alfred asked the moment she closed the door. "Would you believe we've got some sort of vast cave system underground around here?", Martha explained.
Alfred blinked in surprise, "Your father or grandfather never mentioned it?", and Martha shook her head, "No. Maybe my great-grandfather did, but perhaps he was too paranoid back then. Turns out we need to map the system as Bruce and Mama came into one entrance, and then we came out another entrance.".
"Mama?", Alfred asked in confusion as they started to walk, and Martha exhaled, "You couldn't believe it, but it was strange, being in the same white void, yet there was this window I saw through her, seeing, hearing, feeling...Bruce did...I can't believe that he literally...".
Alfred replied, "Try to start from the beginning, ma'am, so I can understand.", as they headed to Martha's bedroom, and she nodded, "Right.", deciding between talking or not talking wholly of the entire events in sequence, yet she wants to hear Alfred's perspective and advice, even if it's a major step to realizing that Mama wasn't a monster, but rather the same her, just different.
"Well, for starters... I remember... getting angry again as I was trying to will her back into control. I remember feeling the anger towards some of the Wayne Enterprises board members that showed up; probably to try to keep a good look or something; I don't know if Thomas had anyone that he could truly call a friend amongst the board.", Martha explained.
"From all over if I recall him once mentioning; either favors or essentially rewards in terms of mergers and acquisitions to make sure they'd go more smoothly and less of a fight.", Alfred said.
"Yeah, well, anyway, I noticed a lot of them were looking at Bruce, I could hazard a few guesses but... anyway, it was getting me really mad and then the pain hit, and I blacked out for a few moments there.", Martha finished.
"Which from where I was... I could see everything... seeing you becoming that... hulking creature.", Alfred paused as he took a deep breath. "It was quite an eyeopener to say for sure.".
"Hulking?", Martha raised an eyebrow as that word seemed to echo in her brain. Alfred nodded, "Indeed. She was perhaps 7 ft if I remember correctly, and the hair was quite dark brown, with the skin a deep emerald green, with her eyes the same color, if brighter like radioactive. She reacted like a wolf, sniffing Master Bruce's clothes, and then took off like the best sprinter ever.".
Martha nodded, "Yeah. I saw everything from the moment she took off, it was like she knew Bruce's scent amazingly, tracking him to this spot like a half mile away from the manor, noting tracks, with a small cavern entrance that couldn't have fitted her at all, barely able to fit a teenager from what I saw. She dug, faster and easier than a badger or a machine, widening the entrance, and she then followed the scent, managing to fit, and then came out into the cave system, which was full of bats, but she stunned them with a slamming sound of her hands, somehow stunning the bats to bed or sending them out, while hearing Bruce's cries and sniffles from the far distance with a echoing call of him calling for me.".
"My goodness...", Alfred muttered at just how this creature was just able to practically do so much with such ease, tearing open the earth, the speed, shooing a gang of bats.
"After that, Bruce called out and she found her way to him...", Martha continued. "It's weird, Alfred, this second time... it was almost like watching a movie in a way; seeing sort of a vision of things through her eyes, honestly, it's almost like a half-remembered dream at moments..."
Alfred hummed, "Interesting.", and Martha nodded as she kept going, "She found him in a beautiful and serene spot where Bruce was unharmed, thankfully...He apologized to her when she explained that I was worried, that you were worried, telling him that he wasn't to run away like that...From what I heard, it turns out, seeing Thomas in the casket getting into the gravestone crypt...having judging looks of pity and avoiding him, and hating being told like people saying for his loss and such, it just got too much all at once...just like I told him a couple of days ago...It was like he tried to grieve in his room and all, but with the staff distracting him and not dreaming well, he never got the chance to be actually alone...to grieve at his own pace...to actually miss Thomas.", with a soft sigh.
"What about you?", Alfred asked her. Martha looked at him, "Me?".
"You've probably had it worse than him, on top of this... hulk business, you've also had to deal with much of the planning if at least I tried to take as much off your hands, and what will be happening in the coming weeks.", Alfred reminded her.
"I don't know...", Martha shook her head. "My other half, Mama... that... hulk... well, I guess we're dealing with it in our own way together. She misses him something fierce too.".
Alfred looked surprised, "Really? I mean, I know you said that she knew of Thomas' death and all, but it was scarcely a couple months for her since the treatment, while it was a decade for you...".
Martha smiled sadly, "Turns out Bruce was brilliant...He talked to Mama like helping her understand and translating her rough vocabulary and sentence structure...Turns out that she felt everything, and I mean, everything since the treatment and waking up in the limo. She fell in love with Thomas too, feeling my emotions...I think she was the reason why...why I was, ah, vigorous shortly before Bruce's birthday and ever since after I ignored the birth control pill upon getting the news that I was cured of Alderson's Disease from Leslie...", with a blush, "She might have known the difficulty I was having in getting pregnant with Bruce.".
Alfred raised an eyebrow for a moment before he quickly put things together, "Wait, you don't mean...?", with a widening of his eyes.
"Apparently I'm pregnant again... even if I haven't had any signs yet.", Martha explained before she sighed, "Of course, I should be happy but...".