In American comics, all your teammates are the main characters and bosses

Chapter 279: Happy Bat Cave

After hearing the Joker's words, Todd's face darkened and a hint of repressed light flashed between his brows.

Not only Todd, but all the other bats in the Batcave fell into a brief silence.

In fact, although Bruce was troubled by Thomas and Martha, if you really want to count, Barbara, Grayson, Drake, and Todd, in fact, none of them hated the old man and his wife.

The main reason is that...

"Hey! My dear little bats!"

Although she had been treated simply, Martha, who was wearing casual clothes, still had some blood on her body. However, unlike the madness outside, Martha walked out of the sonic explosion tunnel with a bright smile on her face. She walked towards the crowd happily with a plate in her right hand and said:

“Come and try the cherry pie I just baked! I use the best ingredients! But you have to eat it slowly, because I baked it just right when I got home and took it out of the oven - well, if it was a second later, it wouldn’t be as soft and sweet as it is now~”

As she spoke, Martha took out a knife and cut the cherry pie into pieces. But before handing them out to everyone, she took out the largest piece and put it in the incubator beside.

"Little Bruce, I put yours in the incubator, make sure you finish it~"

"..."

After hearing what happened in the Batcave through the communicator, Bruce looked gloomy and said nothing.

In contrast, Barbara on the side was not shy at all. She took the cherry pie excitedly and stuffed it into her mouth. Then she let out an "Ah!" and kept fanning her mouth.

"It's so hot! But it's so delicious!" Barbara praised: "Madam's cooking skills are getting better and better!"

"You little cutie, I told you to eat slowly!" Seeing Barbara's excitement, Martha's face showed a hint of doting helplessness.

After living this life for a while, Martha already knew what the world had gone through for Bruce after the death of herself and Thomas.

It was undoubtedly a sad experience that would break the heart of any mother, but it was also because of this that Thomas's new family was so precious.

Especially Barbara, who silently helped Bruce when Bruce just returned to Gotham, which made Martha like this little girl particularly - especially when she heard that Barbara was almost killed because of Bruce, but was unwilling to say a word even in the face of torture and threats, Martha had already decided that this cute little bat had become a member of the Wayne family.

Especially now—she's calling me Madam! Oh~~
Martha elegantly took out a gold-painted handkerchief and wiped the corner of Barbara's mouth. She said lovingly:

"Don't be in a hurry, eat slowly, there's more in the oven. Yes, don't forget to take a piece with you when you leave, your dad will be busy again tonight~"

"Hehe, Madam is the best~"

Barbara is not afraid of Martha. Because she discovered very early on that Mrs. Martha is actually a good person - as long as you treat her sincerely and do no harm to Bruce, then Mrs. Martha is not crazy at all. Especially when you are helping Bruce, Mrs. Martha can even be said to be the most reliable partner.

Just as no one would doubt the Joker's obsession with Batman, Mrs. Martha's love for Bruce is equally unquestionable.

Looking at Barbara and Martha who were having so much fun, Drake, Todd, and even the butler Alfred looked at each other and then shrugged indifferently.

Apparently, Mrs. Martha's surprise visits to feed them were nothing new to them.

Well, it might be a little hard to accept at first. But now, they are familiar with each other and seem to be used to their current life.

That is, Batman desperately tried to stop Mrs. Martha and Mr. Thomas from violently killing the criminals. In the process, they won and lost, and Bruce was able to successfully save the criminals who were not human-like almost three times out of ten. Then, on the way back from rest, Mrs. Martha would visit the Batcave to comfort her.

Drake, Dick, and Barbara all liked Mrs. Martha because she loved them and would carefully tell them what they should do and what they should avoid when performing tasks, and would even help them point out some issues that needed special attention after they failed.

In comparison, Master Thomas was much more serious and silent - well, it seemed that Bruce was indeed the son of Master Thomas. They were both very silent, very serious, and both made people feel down-to-earth. Even their voices were full of magnetic and steady bass.

"Barbara, your personal terminal needs to be upgraded." Thomas said as he raised his arm. A chip popped out of the wristband, and then Thomas handed it to Barbara and said:
"I scanned your personal terminal when I hacked into the Batcave system. Although your system is tight enough in most cases, there are still three hidden firewall loopholes. Ordinary people may not be able to find them, but if you and Cyborg and other data life forms conduct information attack and defense, they can be easily exploited."

"Thank you, sir!" Hearing this, Barbara nodded quickly, but then asked hesitantly: "Well... did you peek at my... chat records or something?"

"I'm not interested." Thomas seemed calm.

This also made Barbara feel relieved - there was no need to worry about Master Thomas's character. If he said he was not interested, then he really was not interested. After all, compared to Mrs. Martha, Master Thomas was indeed more pragmatic and more indifferent. At least, until now, Barbara had never seen Master Thomas's defense break.

"Yes! Barbara!" Just as Barbara breathed a sigh of relief, Mrs. Martha beside her seemed to have remembered something and said with dissatisfaction:

"If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten, Barbara, when Dick Grayson would be here! I'm going to teach him a lesson! That brainless lucky idiot actually broke the heart of a good girl like our Barbara! It doesn't matter about others, but as a former little bat, I must teach him a lesson! Let him know that being a gentleman is a must for bats!"

"Uh... that's not necessary." Barbara scratched the back of her head awkwardly, then stared at Madam Martha with some unhappiness and said, "Besides... Madam, you peeked at my chat history again! I said I don't like this!"

"Because it is my responsibility to protect you!"

Madam Martha said seriously:

"When we were away, you helped Bruce a lot, both in terms of practical support and spiritual energy, which helped Bruce get out of the darkest period of his life. Therefore, it is my responsibility to protect you from harm that should not happen. Barbara, it is not wrong to fall in love with someone. But if the other person knows your love but does not respond, does not accept or reject it, then that man is either a slow-witted fool or has bad intentions!"

"..." Barbara seemed a little helpless. But she had to admit that Mrs. Martha's "domineering lady's forced love" still made Barbara feel indescribably moved.

Thomas obviously did not intend to spend too much time on spiritual construction. After handing the chip to Barbara, he looked at Todd beside him.

"I've been away for a while. Come to the training ground tomorrow and I'll check on your training progress." As he spoke, Thomas turned his gaze away from Todd and looked at the other people on the side and said:

"I don't want you to think that you can relax just because of the arrival of Martha and I. Bruce is very strict with you, but I know his character very well, and there are many loopholes in his teaching."

Thomas opened his hands as he spoke. A sophisticated electronic sound came from the wristband, and then a screen was projected in front of everyone.

"I have done a personality profile of Bruce. I won't make a hasty judgment about his temperament, but from the intelligence I have, he is too keen on preaching and trying to force his own values ​​on you."

"I won't comment too much on whether this is right or wrong, but this has undoubtedly affected your development possibilities. Admittedly, this is the necessary "experience" Bruce has learned from his fight against Gotham. But the negative impact of this teaching method is best demonstrated by the departure of the first Robin Dick and Grayson."

Thomas paused and continued, "I was busy with other things some time ago, so I had no time to take care of your education. But now, things are basically on track, and I will be personally responsible for your future training."

"impossible."

After hearing his father's words, Bruce's voice came from the computer beside him. He was not too panicked, but was as calm as ever:
"They are the future of Gotham, and I will not let them become like you."

"The future of Gotham belongs to Gotham. This is not something you can decide." Thomas said calmly, "And you can rest assured, Bruce. I will not change their minds, I will just strengthen their strength. Whether it is fighting technology or fighting methods."

As he spoke, Thomas's eyes swept across the faces of Todd and the others.

"Human growth is a long process. Trust, attachment, admiration... these are all indispensable parts of human nature. So there is no need to panic or feel ashamed about this, it is just a part of life."

“But as people’s abilities grow, their minds will gradually become sound and independent, and they will learn to observe and think about things in the world in their own way.”

"I won't try to make you another me. I just want you to have more choices. And strength, whether it is wisdom, cunning, or pure violence, is the basis of this right."

"...That sounds like the philosophy of those politicians."

After hearing Thomas' words, Tim and Drake scratched their heads, then looked at their friends and said, "What's that saying? Always keep war or overturning the table as a backup plan."

"The principles are the same."

Thomas seemed calm.

After hearing that Thomas would not interfere with the independent thinking of Todd and others, Bruce became much quieter.

As the patriarch of the Bat Family... well, now it should be said that he was the former patriarch of the Bat Family. Bruce knew very well that as the little bats grew up, they had already had different ideas from him. This could be easily seen from Todd's ruthless actions.

The once trustworthy second-generation Robin has disappeared. He is not dead, and can even be said to be still trustworthy, but compared to the past, Todd has become more brutal and even actively kills criminals...

No, Bruce didn't discover it from Todd's change. Instead, Bruce had already realized these things when Dick left Gotham and went to Blüdhaven to carry out independent activities as Nightwing.

"Although you didn't say it explicitly, in fact, when these children really reach the level of apprenticeship you require, it will be difficult for them to fight side by side with the young master like they are now, right?"

Alfred on the side felt helpless.

Put the sugar cube into the coffee cup. As a former soldier, Alfred has a fondness for sweetness due to his past experience of making a living on the battlefield.

Although it looks simple, white sugar is an absolute good thing. It is easy to carry, high in calories, and can provide a lot of energy when eaten alone. It can be used to make gunpowder, has good water retention, and can be directly applied to wounds to sterilize, moisturize, and promote healing. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a universal material.

After taking a sip of the sweet coffee, Alfred looked at the old man and sighed:
"Your actions are even more serious than teaching them wrong ideas. This will more or less lead to a crisis of trust and ideological differences within the Bat Family. This method of education is especially silent, but..."

"This is not my problem, it's theirs and Bruce's."

Thomas said calmly: "This is a problem that everyone who wants to change Gotham must face."

Hearing this, Alfred seemed a little helpless, and seemed to want to say something else.

Alfred has seen all the hardships Bruce has endured over the years. He knows better than anyone what a huge price Bruce has paid for this. Especially since Bruce grew up under Alfred's watch. Watching Bruce fight the darkness of Gotham alone, and now his parents from another world have returned, they want to take away his hard-earned new family...

Even though he had made up his mind not to get involved in the new and old confrontation between the master and the young master, Alfred still felt sincerely dissatisfied.

Simply put, the protective heart of the child came out. Even if you are the head of the Wayne family and Bruce's father, you can't be so mean to Bruce!

"It's okay, Alfred." Bruce's voice came from the communicator.

"I have already prepared myself mentally for similar things."

(End of this chapter)