A/N: So sorry this took forever to upload. Life got in the way (as it usually does) All of you people wanting to know Bruce/Batman's reaction upon meeting Martha, wait no further...

Strangers Like Me

As Mom promised, the next day was my first day of school. "Hello, Ms. Beaumont." An average sized man in a nice shirt and tie greeted us at the office of Palisades Private School. He smiled widely and shook Mom's hand. "I'm Mr. Conroy and I'm going to be Martha's homeroom teacher."

"Nice to meet you." Mom said politely before turning to me. "So Martha, are you excited for your first day?"

"As excited as I can be." I muttered, tugging on the black sleeve of my uniform coat. To be honest, I was more nervous than excited. "Mom, if I don't like it here, can I go back to being homeschooled?"

Mom laughed as she kissed the top of my head. "Oh, Martha, you silly little noodle! I bet that in one hour, you're going to have so much fun that you're never going to want to come home!"

To nobody's surprise, it didn't reassure me. "An hour is an awful long time." I muttered, watching as she left.

"Don't worry about being nervous. I was nervous my first day too." Mr. Conroy offered his hand to me. "It'll go by fast. Trust me." He winked as we walked to the classroom. "What's your favorite subject?"

"Reading," I said, warming up to him.

"Well you're in luck!" He smiled. "I teach English and Civics. Right now we're reading Matilda. Have you read it?"

"I love that book!" I was liking Mr. Conroy more and more. "I also like the Nancy Drew series, Beauty, Fall of the House of Usher, Lord of the Rings and…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back up! Did you say that you've read Poe and Tolkien?" Mr. Conroy stopped and looked at me in surprise. No, surprise isn't an appropriate enough word. Shocked would probably be a better description.

"Since last year, Mom gave me a collection of their works for Christmas. Gobbled them both up in a couple of months." Now it was my turn to be surprised. "Don't most people read Poe and Tolkien?"

"No! Well, I mean, a lot of people do but…" Mr. Conroy decided to stop stuttering and smiled. "I'm just glad you like to read so much. Here we are." We went into a room filled with eleven other students, sitting at their desks. The room was decorated as to look like a library with pictures of books everywhere. I froze as everyone looked up at me. The only thing that comforted me was that we were all dressed in the same uniforms; grey tartan skirts for the girls, long grey slacks for the boys and wearing the black wool coat over a button up white shirt and black tie.

Mr. Conroy began talking. "Class, as I told you all yesterday, we have a new student today. This is Martha Beaumont. Say hello to Martha, class."

"Hello Martha." The students chirruped. Some even smiled at me.

"Hello," I said, smiling. "It's nice to meet you."

"Now Martha has never been to regular school before. She's been homeschooled, so everyone be nice to her and don't be afraid to answer any questions that she has. Same goes for you Martha. If you've got any questions, don't hesitate to raise your hand and ask."

"Thank you." I said.

"Now we've got a desk ready for you right here." Mr. Conroy took me to a small cluster of desks near the chalkboard. There were three other students sitting there; two boys and a girl. They looked up and said hello to me in low voices. I sat next to the girl, her cinnamon colored skin shone and her tightly braided black hair was clipped with plastic bows at the end.

"I'm Trisha Fox." She said, offering her hand.

"I'm Martha," I shook it and smiled. Maybe Mom was right, I thought as Mr. Conroy told us to get out our workbooks and went up to the chalkboard to begin the day's lesson. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

The last class we had before being dismissed that afternoon was Civics class. Mr. Conroy had a taped press conference he wanted us to watch before we started discussion. The portable TV blinked on and he played the message. Arthur Reeves was speaking before a crowd of reporters and police officers at City Hall. "I'm telling you, friends, it's vigilantism at its deadliest." I grimaced as Arthur's voice droned on. Just how did he manage to get elected? "Just how many times are we going to let Batman cross the line?"

"I'm sorry Councilman, but you can't blame Batman for what happened to Chuckie Sol." An older man shook his head as he contradicted Arthur.

If it was meant to intimidate Arthur, it didn't work. If anything, it fueled his fire. "Why not?" Arthur got into the older man's face. "He's a loose cannon Commissioner!" Arthur turned back to the crowd. "Some of the other officials, including the police I may add, think Batman is as unstable as the crooks he brings in! What kind of city are we running when we depend on the support of a potential madman?" There was a flurry of lights as cameras took pictures and questions being shouted. Mr. Conroy paused the video at a shot of Arthur holding up his fist. He looked like he was posing for a picture.

"I know we've been covering this whole story for several days now, but for Martha's benefit, we'll have a quick review." Mr. Conroy said before walking up to the board and writing a single word on it.

Vigilante

"Who knows the meaning of the word 'vigilante'?"Mr. Conroy asked us.

Trisha raised her hand. Mr. Conroy pointed at her. "Isn't that somebody who takes the law into their own hands?"

"Very good, Trisha." Mr. Conroy smiled.

"How'd you know that word?" I whispered to Trisha as Mr. Conroy began explaining the events leading up to the press conference.

"I learned it from a crossword puzzle." She replied quietly.

"I love doing those too!" I excitedly whispered. The more the day went on, the more Trisha and I learned that we had many things in common. We both loved reading, playing word puzzles and chocolate milk among other things. And best of all, our houses were very close to each other, within walking distance.

"Trisha. Martha. Can you please wait until after school to talk?" Mr. Conroy gently scolded us.

"Sorry, Mr. Conroy." We said.

"That's ok. Batman is a vigilante. As Trisha said, he has no affiliation with the police department. He goes out every night and brings in criminals. Some of whom you all know very well such as the Joker, Scarecrow and Two-Face."

This intrigued me. Why does somebody do something like that even though it brings lots of trouble from the likes of Arthur? I raised my hand, Mr. Conroy pointed to me. "Why does Batman round up criminals and brings them to jail? Isn't that why we have police officers, to arrest criminals?"

"Because there are a lot of criminals in Gotham and the police are too dumb and crooked to do it, genius." A boy with blonde hair said from across the room.

"Jordon! What did I say about raising hands? And you apologize to Martha." Mr. Conroy wasn't as gentle scolding Jordon as he was with Trisha and me.

"Sorry Martha." Jordon looked at me out of the corners of his eyes. I nodded, accepting his apology.

"To answer your question Martha, Jordon has a fair argument. There's only so much the police can do and some of them have taken money from criminals to look the other way. But nobody knows the real reason why he risks his life every night to bring in criminals. What is clear though is that he's walking the fine line, if not outright breaking the law. And that's why people are arguing about what to do with Batman. The real question is why he does what he does every night. Is it to keep people safe? Or is he trying to hurt others?" Mr. Conroy looked up at the clock. "Ok class, I think that's enough lessons for today. Let's get ready to go home and we'll talk more about this tomorrow. Trisha, can please you help Martha get her desk ready?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Conroy." Trisha said as we packed our homework into our backpacks and put our chairs up on our desks. "Do you think you can come over to my house and play sometime this week?"

"That'd be great. Let's exchange addresses and I'm sure my Mom will say yes." I was excited, ready to play with somebody my own age. But my mind was still on the topic from earlier. "Trish, what do you think of Batman?"

"I think he's doing a good thing. My dad supports him completely. And what about you?" She asked me as the bell rang. "What do you think of Batman?"

That was an easy answer. "Well if Arthur Reeves doesn't like Batman, then I like him."

"Thanks for the ride, Bruce." Lucius Fox said as they pulled into the parking lot of Palisades Private School. It was a rare sunny day in Gotham, not a cloud in the sky.

"No problem, Lucius." Bruce commented as he turned a corner. "Wasn't your fault that your car died. I know you would've done the same for me."

"There's a big difference though." Fox said, looking for Trisha in the parking lot. "You've got Alfred to chauffer you around. I don't have such a luxury." He smiled as Trisha came running over to him. "Hey honey!" Fox said as he got out of the car.

"Hey daddy!" Trisha ran into his arms. Bruce smiled nicely and then looked away. He remembered when Trisha was born and of how proud Lucius was of her. Isn't that what he should be feeling? Bruce reflected. He and Andy often spoke of having a family, of naming their children after their parents.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear Trisha and Lucius get into the car. "What are you doing here Mr. Wayne?" Trisha asked, taking off her pink Babs Bunny backpack.

"Daddy's car had a little problem so Mr. Wayne was nice enough to take us home." Lucius explained as Bruce drove out of the parking lot. "So how was your day at school, pumpkin?"

"Really good! We had a new classmate join us. Her name is Martha and wouldn't you know it, we're neighbors?! She loves solving crossword puzzles and playing with Barbies too! Oh please, can she come over and play sometime?" Trisha was gushing as Bruce pulled up to Fox's home.

Lucius smiled as they got out of the car. "I'm sure if you give me her address, I'll call and ask her Mom right now. What do you say to Mr. Wayne for the ride home?"

"Thank you for the ride Mr. Wayne and it was nice to see you."

"You're welcome, Trisha and it was good to see you too." Bruce smiled, waving at her and Fox as they left the car and began walking up the long walkway to the house. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need a ride Lucius." He shouted out the window.

"I won't forget and thanks again!" Lucius hollered from the other side of the walk.

It wasn't until Bruce had backed out and went down the street that he realized where he was. This was Andy's old neighborhood. He used to often visit her here at her large home, sometimes have dinner with her widowed father, Carl. In fact, it was at her house where he last saw her. Before she broke her promise to marry him and went to Europe with Carl. His heart ached thinking about it. Oh Andy…

A loud car horn behind him interrupted his thoughts. Bruce had no idea that he had simply stopped in the middle of the road. Time to go. He sped up, hurrying to get out of the gated community. The sun was going down.

Time for the Bat to come out and play.

"Jerk." Mom muttered at the car ahead of us as it sped up and hurried away. I shrugged and went back to my book. I was so excited to talk to her about my day but she seemed too distracted to listen. She turned a few more blocks. "Martha, we're home now, honey."

"Oh, ok." I picked up my backpack and got out of the car. "So Mom, is it ok if Trisha and I play at her house sometime this week? Here's her address." I was nervous. It might sound strange but I had never asked to go over to another person's house to play.

Instead, she smiled widely and took the slip of paper from me. "Of course sweetie, I'll look up her number right now and call to see if it's ok." She went into the house. I should've gone in, but instead it was really nice out so I sat on the front steps with my copy of Matilda.

"Martha? Martha? Oh, there you are." I was interrupted after a few pages by Mom coming outside. "I called the Foxes and you two have a play date for tomorrow. How does that sound?"

"Thank you Mom!" I hugged her. "Today was much better than I thought it was going to be!"

"I'm glad!" She laughed. "And it's going to get even better. Remember that old bike of mine that you wanted to ride? Guess, what, I got it fixed to celebrate your first day of school. When you get done with your homework, then I'll teach you how to ride. How does that sound?"

"Great!" I kissed her cheek and then ran inside to get my homework done. My day was just getting better and better!

The rest of the day passed normally. After finishing my homework, Mom kept her promise and began teaching me how to ride a bike. It was much harder than I thought it was. Things were fine once I got started; Mom would push me around with her hand on the small of my back. Then she'd push to let me try by myself. I kept falling over every time Mom let go of me.

That was until I went to bed that night. That set things in motion.

I shot awake in bed. Looking around in a panic, I shivered and sweated until I realized where I was. Nice, safe and warm in my own bed. The moon glowed from high above. It was a dream, I thought gratefully, wiping my face dry with the back of my sleeve. It was just a bad dream. About The Man. I hadn't had a nightmare of him in several months. Yet when I did, I would be too scared to go back to sleep for a few hours. Tonight was no exception.

I needed Mom. She'd know what to do. Pushing back the covers, I got up. Because I was still sore from all the times I fell over from trying to ride my new bike, I felt stiff all over. Shivering in my Babs and Buster Bunny pajamas, I went down the hall to Mom's room. To my luck, she was sitting up in bed and reading a book. "Mom?" I asked from the doorway.

"Martha?" She closed her book and looked at me. "What's wrong, baby?

"I had a bad dream." I muttered, shuffling my feet.

"About The Man again?" I nodded. Mom pushed aside the bedcovers. "Why don't you come and sit next to me? I'll keep him from getting you." Nodding, I crawled into bed next to her. Mom pulled the blankets close to us before tucking her arm around my back. "There we are. All nice and cozy now." Mom allowed me to cuddle up next to her. I felt safe. "Do you want to talk about your dream?"

I shook my head. "It's always the same. The Man looks down at me with a smirk while you're screaming. He picks up an apple and bites into it. Then he pats my head and leaves. There's something just…evil…about his smile." I shuddered and moved closer to Mom.

She patted my back and rubbed my scalp soothingly. "You know what sweetie?"

"Umm?" I looked up.

"I was just thinking that tonight's a good night for ice cream. There's this little ice cream shop not too far from here where I used to get sundaes. Would you like that?"

I smiled, remembering how having ice cream would make me sleepy. "Yeah, that sounds great, actually."

Mom smiled. "Get your coat and shoes. We're going out for ice cream."

Batman stood on the ledge outside Jim Gordon's office, smirking as he listened to the argument within. The sun had set a few hours ago. Batman had been slinking around on patrol, deciding to hang out at the G.C.P.D. building and see what he could learn.

"What do you mean you won't?! You have to go after him!" Reeves shouted.

Jim defended Batman just as passionately. "He didn't do it! I'm sorry; Councilman but your arguments are garbage! The Batman does not kill!" There were footsteps and the sound of a door opening. "You want him? You get him yourself. I'll have no part of it." Jim slammed the door shut. Atta boy Jim, Batman thought thankfully.

"Well gentlemen…any ideas?" Reeves asked the other people who were in the room. Oh he knew what they were going to try. Batman smirked. It was amusing, thinking about them standing on the roof with the Bat symbol, hoping he'd show. But who did they think he was? Stupid?

Anyway, he had more important things to do that night. Batman thought as he grappled to a nearby gargoyle. He had another late night vigil beside Chuckie Sol's grave. Hopefully any graveside visitors might give him some idea as to where to look next for the real murderer.

I woke up in the backseat of Mom's car. It was dark outside. In the distance, I heard an owl hoot. What was going on? I thought as I sat up, looking around. Mom was nowhere to be found. How did I get here? The last thing I could remember was eating an ice cream cone and laying my head against the window of the passenger seat of her car.

Where was I? More importantly, where was Mom? I opened the car door and got out. The car was parked in the back road of a cemetery. Shivering, I pulled my jacket close. The wind blew through the leaves, making them rustle ominously. Clouds blew in front of the moon, darkening everything. "Mom?" I asked as leaves crunched beneath my sneakers. No response. I felt my nerves tighten up like a bowstring.

I remembered catching Mom watching a scary movie set in a cemetery. It was late at night and boy oh boy did it scare me. Mom let me sleep with her that night. But now I was all alone in a spooky cemetery.

There was a tsking noise down the hill, Mom made the same sound when she was disappointed. I jumped behind a tombstone. "Chuckie, Chuckie." There was a man's voice speaking. I stuck my head out, seeing a squat man standing before a tombstone, throwing a rose wreath down on top of it. "You always were a loser."

"Buzz…" a creepy voice rung through the graveyard. What was going on? Was I trapped in a horror movie? The man's flashlight waved in my direction.

"What's that?! Who's there?!" The light caught me before I could duck down. "You! Come out!" He ordered me. What should I do? Should I stay there? "You can't hide from me! Get out here!" Nervous, I finally stepped out from behind the shade of the tombstone. The man's flashlight blinded me. "What the hell are you doing here, kid? Trying to give me a heart attack?!"

"I'm sorry." I couldn't help myself and began crying. "I woke up in the car and I'm looking for my Mom…"

"Jesus, kid, don't freak out on me, ok?" He stepped up to me, lowering his flashlight. "You scared me. Here," he took out a handkerchief. "Blow your nose and wipe your face." I did as he said; he took his handkerchief back, putting it into his pocket. "So…tell me your name and I'll get you home."

Before I could answer him, the voice rang out again. "Buzz Bronski…" shivers ran up my back. A fog came upon us.

"Batman?!" Buzz cried out, stepping behind me. Oh God, it was true!

"Your Angel of Death awaits…" A figure stepped out of the fog. Tall. Black and grey rags. A scythe for a hand. A skull for a face.

"You ain't the Bat!" Bronski yelled. So it wasn't Batman? I was confused, watching in fear. "Come on, kid!" Bronski grabbed my hand and we took off. We kept running, but I could feel the figure getting closer and closer to us. Bronski tripped over a wheelbarrow, sending us to the ground.

Batman ran from his hiding spot in the shadows. He had gotten to the cemetery just in time then. Buzz Bronski had paid a visit to Chuckie Sol's grave and was now being confronted by the murderer. Another costumed figure. To Batman's horror, a little girl was by Bronski, terrified. He could only watch.

"Catch this!" Bronski threw the pickaxe by him at the figure. A fog surrounded the costumed figure. The pickaxe flew right into the fog, landing on the other side. The fog dissipated, revealing the scary figure. "What the…?!" Bronski then grabbed the little kid and pulled her close. "Any moves…" Bronski took out a handgun and put it to the little girl's head. "…and she gets it."

What was going on? Buzz had been nice to me earlier. Now he was threatening to kill me… "Please let me go!" I cried. "I want my Mommy."

The figure paused, unsure. Afraid. "That's it." Buzz said, backing up, pulling me with him. "The kid won't get hurt if you leave us alone."

There was a whirring sound. CLUNK! "Augh!" Buzz cried, letting go of me. "Jesus Christ, it's the Bat!"

Before I could figure out what was going on, someone picked me up and began running. I was scared. "Put me down!" I began pounding on its chest. But whoever it was didn't let me go. We swept into some bushes. Before I could scream anymore, a gloved hand clasped itself over my mouth.

"Shush. I won't anything happen to you if you keep really quiet." A low voice said in my ear. It was a soft voice. A protective voice. I was safe, without thinking, I wrapped my arms around whoever it was.

Batman held the little girl and watched as Bronski fell into a freshly dug grave. The figure followed before vanishing in fog. "Farewell, Mr. Bronski."

Was it over? Batman kept a sharp ear and eye open as the little girl clung to him. Bronski wasn't going anywhere, but Batman couldn't leave his hiding spot lest he leave the little girl unprotected. A fog surrounded the base of the angel tombstone over the grave. Oh no…Batman listened to Bronski's screams as the angel fell over, crushing him. The sounds stopped as the angel disappeared. The fog dissipated again.

The figure was gone.

I was shocked. I had just listened to somebody get crushed to death. Shivering, I clung to my savior. The figure stroked my hair comfortingly. "It's ok. You're safe now."

That's when I dared to look up. The figure was a man, clothed in black, masked and cloaked. His costume had a yellow and black bat signal on it. The cowl also had pointed ears. That meant only one thing. "Batman…" I whispered.

The little girl…she looked so familiar…Batman studied her carefully. She had black hair and a limber frame. Just like his when he was her age. But her freckled face was rounded and her eyes a vibrant bright blue. Like hers…no…it can't be…but she looked old enough to be.

"Come on. We need to go." Batman said, holding the girl's hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked, letting him lead her.

"I'm going to take you home…" Batman noticed something on the grass. He knelt down, looking at it.

"What is it?" the little girl asked. Batman held up his hand as he studied the grayish reside. There wasn't much. But it's been that kind of night, he reasoned.

He looked up. A red car, the back door wide open, sat by the elegant tombstone. Where his parents were. Where he first met Andrea. Where he realized that he couldn't live without Andrea.

"That's Mom's car." The little girl pointed at the car. It looked like the same car that had honked at him earlier that day, when he was by Andrea's old home. No…it couldn't be. But the evidence was stacking against him.

Batman paused at the tombstone, partially out of habit and partially to gather his thoughts. He hadn't seen or spoken to Andrea in almost ten years. Why didn't she say anything? Did she even know that she was pregnant when she and Carl left for Europe? Then why didn't she let him know? The little girl stood next to him, reaching up for his hand. He looked at her. She offered a smile.

Her eyes and smile looked just like Andrea's eyes and face when she smiled…

Batman was about to lead the little girl back to the Batmobile. "Think they'd be able to afford a weed eater." a familiar voice came behind the tombstone. "Sorry Mom, but the whole world has gone to seed…"

"Mom?" The little girl said. She looked behind the tombstone. There, kneeling and pulling up weeds, was a woman wearing a coral trench-coat. Her auburn hair caught off the light of the moon. "Mommy!" The little girl broke free and ran to the woman.

Mom looked up from the ground. "Martha!? Martha, baby!" I ran into her open arms, crying. "What's the matter, sweetie?!" She said, kissing my head.

"I was looking everywhere for you! A bad man tried to kill me but Batman saved me!" I cried, relieved that she was ok. And I couldn't wait to tell Arthur off!

She looked up and gasped. "You!" She ran towards the tombstone Batman and I were standing before.

"That's Batman, Mommy." I tried to explain, following her. I wanted to thank him. But he was gone, like he never existed. How…? Why…? "Where'd he go?"

"Bruce…?" Mom said in a low voice.

"Who's Bruce, Mom?" I asked.

Mom gripped my hand. "Nothing for you to be concerned about." She began walking me to the car. We got in. "Honey. I don't want you to say anything to anybody about what happened here tonight, you understand?"

I was confused. "But why?"

"Just don't say anything!" Mom snapped at me as she turned the key in the ignition.

I shrunk back. Mom had never ever shouted at me like that before.

It was true…Batman thought as he watched Andrea drive away. He was safely hidden away in the shadows. Since he first studied the little girl, all the evidence was pointing that way but he didn't want to admit it. But he couldn't deny it anymore when he heard Andrea call the girl by name. The same name he wanted to give his daughter if he had one…

The girl he rescued. Her name was Martha…and she was his daughter.

A/N: So he knows now about Martha...how am I doing so far?