A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, folks! I was busy unpacking our brand new house! It's so nice to have a place of our own.

So here we go with Martha and Roman!


A Raised Alarm

Roman and I ran for at least five city blocks, turning through alleyways and not watching for traffic. More than once we were nearly hit by a car and heard the angry honking and screaming of drivers. After running for several minutes, we finally stopped to catch our breath. "That was close." Roman said, resting his free hand on his knees.

"Yeah…but I think we lost them." I said, looking around. I wondered where we were.

The buildings had gotten nicer, sure. Window washers on their platforms cleaned the windows and men dressed in nicer suits strolled the streets. But I didn't recognize any of the street names.

"Now what do we do?" Roman asked, panting.

I ran over our options in silence. The plan to go to the library was out. No doubt Mrs. Gordon was calling her husband, which meant the cops would be looking for us. Dad and his men were looking for us too.

So we were stuck.

Maybe we should get out of Gotham?

But how?

A loud clacking overhead answered.

I looked up and saw the train whizzing by. Roman also looked up, his eyes sparkling.

He loved riding that train. Mom used that as an impetus to study. If he had a good week at school, we'd ride the train on Mom's first Saturday off. Roman had ridden it so many times that he had memorized not only the times but the routes. He could even give directions for transfers to people who were lost, with Mom and me interpreting for him.

Maybe we could get off somewhere close to a library.

Time to put his fascination to good use.

"Hey Roman?" I said, smiling. "Do you want to ride the train?"


I watched Roman sit quietly in his seat on the crowded train, looking around in excitement. He bounced in his seat, grinning from ear to ear and wanting to rush to the other side to look at the changing scenery.

Roman ran into a woman who was standing, holding the filthy handrail above. She dropped her things and looked at Roman. "Watch where you're walking!" She barked at him.

Stopping what he was doing, he signed "Sorry."

"I'm sorry, ma'am." I said, my cheeks red. This idea to use the trains was probably a bad one. Now people were staring at us. "He's super excited to be on the train."

"Keep him under control." The woman growled at me. "Or rather that's what I would've taught my child."

"Would you please stay seated?" I said to Roman, giving him the same look I had seen Mom give him whenever he was in trouble.

A deep blush colored Roman's cheeks as he slunk back over and sank into the graffiti covered seat next to me. "I'm sorry, Martha. I was just looking to see where our next stop was…" He said, not even looking at me.

I groaned. Roman meant well. He really did. But I wished for a few minutes he wouldn't attract so much attention to us.

This wasn't the place or time for it.

Roman tugged on my hand. "Martha?"

"Look, it's okay." I whispered. "You're excited…"

"I mean…he's been staring at us." He said, pointing across the way.

I push his arm down. "How many times does Mom have to tell you that it's rude…?" Then I looked in the direction Roman was pointing.

Sitting across the way from us was a man dressed in a filthy, ratty and threadbare brown coat. His boots were caked with mud and from what we could see of his jeans, he had spent a lot of time away from showers and washing machines.

His brown hair and beard were long and scraggly, like he hadn't had a hair cut in a long time.

But his eyes…they were looking right past us. Almost through us.

He felt like an old warrior that had been brought back as a young man but still retained his old secrets.

And that he was trying to glean the information from us.

Several loud beeping noises popped off around the car. Everyone around us reached for their phones.

Everyone except for Roman, me and the man watching us.

A shiver slithered up my back.

"An AMBER alert." A man popping his gum said, looking at his cracked Blackberry phone.

"For who?" A woman asked, twirling a kinky length of black hair around her finger.

"Whom. A brother and a sister. Last name Falcone…"

My stomach dropped and I tugged my hood over my head, shielding my face. Roman copied my action.

I made eye contact with Roman, ignoring the man still staring at us and signed "We're getting off at the next station."

Roman's eyes widened. "But we're nowhere near the Gold Bridge…"

"I know." I kept signing, my hands twitching from disuse. "But it's not safe. Dad's looking for us now."

The monorail slowed, grinding to a halt with squeaking brakes. People shuffled to the doors and I grabbed Roman's hand.

"Ready?" I whispered.

Roman nodded, holding my hand.

As the doors hissed open, Roman and I stood up and slipped out with the crowd. We noticed a woman and her children close by. Their backpacks swung heavy on their backs. I tugged Roman closer to the family so we'd look like we were part of their group.

My heart pounded as we climbed down the rickety stairs and I don't know if I gripped the railing or my brother's hand tighter. I shook as we climbed down.

"Take deep breaths, Martha." I whispered, taking deep breaths, calming my racing heart. "Take deep breaths."

We reached the bottom of the steps, coming face to face with the Embassy of Corte Maltese, the emblem of the pelican piercing its breast carved into the stone above the double wooden doors.

Roman looked at me, as if debating what to do now.

My mind was made up for me as a voice from behind called out to me.

"Martha? Roman?"

I stopped walking, my muscles frozen like icicles. I had heard that voice before. Long ago, when Jimmy's Dad came to pick him up.

Sergeant Jim Gordon.

I picked up the pace, pulling Roman. He rushed to keep up.

"Martha? Roman? Is that you?" Gordon called out again.

Our steps grew wider.

"Stop!" Gordon called out, his voice barking like Dad's when he wanted us to do something.

Roman stopped.

I didn't.

I yanked on his hand and we started running, weaving through the crowd.

"Hey! Stop! Get back here!" Gordon yelled. Someone was running behind us and a radio clicked on. "I'm right by the embassy and need help getting the Falcone children…!"

I turned into a nearby alleyway and ran around a stoop. "Roman, duck!" I said, yanking him down with me. Putting my finger to my lips, I looked at Roman. He put his own finger to his lips and we huddled together, listening for any footprints.

But there were none. There wasn't a sound except for honking traffic, pedestrians walking and talking and the occasional rat skittering around the massive piles of trash.

We sat there for several minutes, wondering if Gordon was going to come around the stoop and find us.

But he never did.

"What do we do now?" Roman asked.

I didn't look at him but I know his eyes were on me the whole time.

My mind spun. The cops were now looking for us.

Dad and Papa Carmine would also be listening on their police scanners and would know we're out and about.

Mom was gone.

I shook, panting.

Roman hugged me.

I hugged him back.

"I don't know what to do." I said, my voice and legs shaking. "I don't know."

"You'll figure it out." Roman said to me. "You always have."

It didn't provide any comfort. If anything, it made me feel worse.

But he was right…I always had figured things out.

"Let's stay here for a little bit…then we're going to find the nearest library. Once there, we should be able to find Mr. Pennyworth." I said.

It wasn't much of a plan…but it was better than nothing.


It took a bit of walking and dodging police forces before we located a branch of the Gotham City Library on Avenue X.

We found a computer and logged in under Mom's user name and password.

Once again resorting to sign, I told him "Help me look for any useful articles about Alfred Pennyworth. Anything with phone numbers or addresses."

Roman said "Gotcha."

But when we looked up Alfred Pennyworth on Google…we just got articles involving the Wayne murders and the disappearance of Bruce Wayne.

When Roman gestured to a certain link. I clicked on it.

The link was about the funeral of Thomas and Martha Wayne…and saw a picture of an elderly gentleman standing with a young boy in front of an elegant house. Both of them were dressed in black and standing as if they had been dipped in starch. The elderly gentleman was holding an umbrella, his face set in a stern line.

My eyes were drawn to the little boy.

He had brown hair and eyes…and something brimming in those deep brown eyes.

Roman pointed at the picture. "He looks like you." He said.

Yes…he had the same straight nose as me. He and I had the same plump cheeks.

And I recognized the look in his eyes.

He was scared…just like me…

I sat up, my plans gone and wondering…how much did we have in common?

I felt a pair of eyes on us.

Thinking it was maybe it was someone who wanted to use the computer, I logged out and got up. When I turned around, I saw the same man from the monorail, towering over us and gripping a cart full of books.

His brown eyes looked at us…studying us as if he hadn't seen us in a long time.

Roman got in front of me, his hands in fists and putting one foot in front of the other.

"No fighting, Roman." I whispered in his ear. "We're in a library."

The man tilted his head and the corner of his lip twitched up.

Did he think it was funny?

Roman frowned and his muscles tightened.

"I'm sorry, sir. You can use the computer now. We're sorry if we took too long." I said with a smile as I grabbed our backpacks.

Before he could respond, the librarian walked up to us, her black heels clicking on the wooden floors. Her stern looking face was formed into one of concern.

"Excuse me kids…but are you Martha and Roman Falcone?"

Now it was my turn to tense. "No." I said, trying to keep the shakiness out of my voice. "We're…Kelly and Anatole Dent." My smile was wobbling.

The librarian tilted her head and I swear I heard a bone pop in her neck. "Do you both mind coming down to the office with me while I call your parents to come pick you both up?"

"Uh…" I said, fear paralyzing my throat.

We couldn't go with this woman.

"It'll just be for a few moments…I promise." The librarian said. Without asking, she reached for Roman's arm.

The next few things happened so fast that it took me several moments to process it.

The man coughed so bad that he doubled over on the cart.

The Librarian turned to the man. "Are you all right? You sound like you're hacking up a lung…"

"I'm sorry…" He said, his voice a faint whisper. "I don't feel…"

The man collapsed, pushing the book cart over. Books spilled everywhere and people poked their heads out of the nearby rows, wondering who caused the loud crash.

The librarian, now several shades whiter, looked at us. "You two stay here, I'm getting him help." She said, turning and running for an office.

I knelt next to the man, worried for him. "Are you okay?" I asked.

He took my hand and pulled me closer. Roman also knelt by me. "Listen carefully." He hissed between coughs. "Alfred Pennyworth is at Wayne Manor in the Palisades."

I almost fell over. "How did…?"

He held up his hand. "Cross Queen's Bridge, in Uptown and you'll be two miles away. Now hurry and go…" He whispered, looking at the office where the librarian was.

"Let's go, Roman." I said, looking at the man in gratitude. "Thank you."

He waved us off, his face turning blue.

Others ran over. We took advantage of the confusion and ran outside.

We now had a place to go.

Now to get there before anyone else found us.


A/N: Don't worry...we'll get our proper introduction to Bruce Wayne in the next chapter...please let me know what you think!