Chapter 7

Bruce's P.O.V:

"Good morning, everyone." Dick spoke to the class as they all approached. "It's good to see you all here, present and accounted for."

"Good morning, Mister Grayson." Madame Bustier gave a small nod to Dick.

"Before we begin with our second half of the tour, I would like you all to meet Mr. Wayne over here." He gestured to me who was beside him. I bowed my head slightly to the class with a soft smile. "He is here to talk to you all about what happened yesterday."

"Thank you, Dick. First of all, I would like to apologize to all of you that something like this happened while you were in my building. I am very grateful that all of you made it out relatively unharmed and I'm sorry that you, Miss Dupain-Cheng"  I walked over to stand in front of the girl. "Had to go through such a traumatic experience."

"N-no it's okay, Mr. Wayne." The young teen nervously replied to me. "I've dealt with villains before. And I'm sorry I smashed through your window." She chuckled weakly.

I reached out and gently grabbed the girls' shoulder and she looked up at me with surprise. I opened my mouth to speak to her but before I could get a word out, Lila spoke first. "She should be sorry Bruce. Marinette likes to make big scenes."

I turned to the girl and gave her one of my signature bat glares. She began to falter under my gaze but tried to continue. It seems she knows better than to look weak. "I-I mean I saw her myself. She did it all on purpose." Alya tried to get Lila's attention to stop her but she kept going. "Marinette gets jealous of me sometimes so she does whatever she can to call..." She started to shake under my glare. "t-to call attention to herself."

It went silent for a moment before I spoke up. "Are you done?" I said in a no-nonsense voice. All Lila could do was nod. "Good. First of all, young lady, you can only refer to me as Mr. Wayne. Second of all, I will not tolerate your lies. I saw the videos of what actually happened. None of her actions were a result of attention seeking. Do not flatter yourself."

Lila did the only thing she knew how to do in the situation of her being cornered. She burst into the largest crocodile tears you had ever seen. Alya immediately went to her aid.

"Mr. Wayne," Alya busied herself with rubbing circles on Lila's back as she avoided eye contact with me. "That was kinda harsh, don't you think? Lila has been friends with your family for years. Speaking to her like that was very rude."

I raised an eyebrow at this news. "Is that what she told you?"

Lila immediately stiffened, because for the first time in her life she probably regrets a lie she once said.

"I'll have you know, Miss Rossi, that a lie like that can be considered defamation or slander to the Wayne name. If I catch wind of another lie about my family or I, you will be hearing from my lawyers." Lila stops crying abruptly and for once in her life had a look of genuine panic. Looking one last time at my harsh glare, she finds it in her best interest to hide behind Ivan for the time being.

I turn my attention back to Marinette and give her a soft smile. "Sorry about that. What I was going to say was don't worry about the window. We will be replacing all of them anyways. It's about time we make this building more secure."

"O-oh. Well that's great news then." She gives me such a bright smile that I can't help but smile back.

"I loved your paper by the way. I can't wait to see what you do with the fashion industry in a few years." I turn to the rest of the class. "I hope you all thanked her for this trip. A part of her winning the full ride Thomas and Martha Wayne Scholarship Foundation was also this trip for your class after all."

A murmur of "Thank you's" come from the class.

"Now that we have all the pleasantries out of the way, I'm afraid I have some bad news." I turned my attention to the teacher. "As is protocol with all minors within a Wayne building during any attack, we reach out to a legal parent or guardian to inform them of what went on. We assumed they would have already known because it is also the teacher's responsibility to contact them as well."

Madame Bustier went as white as a sheet.

"She did, however, contact your principal but even he did not contact your parents. He has been fired from the school board and Ms. Bustier over here is being called back for a review. I must be honest," I shook my head at the teacher. "you will likely be fired too. These men over here" I point to two large men in suits. "they will escort you to the hotel to gather your things and then take you to the airport."

"What?" Madame Bustier looked between the two men. "But who will take care of the children? They can't be left here unguarded."

"And they won't be." Dick spoke up. "The school board has agreed on a temporary caretaker while here in America. Ms. Mendeleiev was very happy to take over and her flight is scheduled to land in about an hour. We were hoping she would be here earlier but this was the quickest flight. For this short grace period though, I will be watching this class."

As Madame Bustier was escorted out, the class was in a mix of shock and ironically happiness (The happy ones seemed being Marinette and her friends).

"I know you might be disappointed to have lost a teacher" I spoke in a stern voice. "but it is never okay to be that negligent as a teacher. Some of your parents were very worried and upset that they weren't informed. Some also wanted you home right away and of course I agreed to send you back. This is a dangerous city and I would not want to keep you here if your parents want you elsewhere. So, if I call your name please step forward."

The class looked around at each other, most likely unsure if they were going home or not.

"Nathanael, Mylene, Sabrina, and Ivan." As Ivan was the last one to step forward, Lila didn't have anyone bigger than her to hide behind.

"You four will be going back onto the bus and back to the hotel to get your things. You will also be on the same flight to Paris with your former teacher. Please follow these kind folks out."  I gestured to a man and two women with child protective service badges around their necks. "They were the people appointed to watch over you until you are reunited back home with your parents. I also need to talk to Marinette in private." I stated finally.

"Me?" She pointed to herself.

"Yes. Come with me." I motion for her to follow me. "I promise it's nothing bad."

Marinette's P.O.V:

We walk down the hall a few yards then turn right into a staff only room. Once the door is shut, I look around to see that this seems to be a break room for employees. I also find another man in the room with them, sipping on a cup of coffee. "This is my son, Tim." The young man drinking the coffee cheerfully waves at me. "He is also my co-CEO. He's the one who helped me contact you and your classmate's parents."

"Hello, Tim." I gave him a bright smile.

"Hey." He nods back. "Bruce and I had a long conversation with your parents last night. They really wanted you to come home, but seeing as you worked so hard for this trip, we all decided it should be up to you whether or not you go home. We all read your paper and we all know how badly you wanted you and your class to come here so we came up with a compromise. That is, if you decide you want to stay." Tim then takes a long drink from his mug.

"Well of course I want to stay. I worked so hard for this and there is still so much I want to learn and see." I said earnestly.

"Well then I suggest you call your parents." Bruce informed. "They will explain everything to you and if you still want to stay, let us know."

Confused by the whole conversation, I open up my bag and pull out my phone to call my parents.

After a few rings, my mother answers. "Hello?"

"Hey Maman, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, dear. Hold on, let me get your father." I hear muffled talking for a minute or two before I hear them speak into the phone again.

"Marinette!" My papa's voice booms over the phone. "I'm so glad you called. We heard what happened yesterday. Are you okay?" He says in a gentler tone.

Giggling, I say. "I'm alright, Papa. It wasn't too bad. I was talking to Mr. Wayne here and he said Madame Bustier didn't call you after the incident."

"Yes." My mother said in an angry tone. "And we put our trust into that woman." I hear a long sigh before she talks again. "So, did Mr. Wayne tell you about our compromise?"

"No. He wanted me to talk with you first, I guess."

"He's a good man. I'm glad not all billionaires are like Gabriel Agreste." I snorted at my mother's assessment. "If you really want to stay in Gotham, and by the tone in your voice I'm assuming you do, then I want you to stay with Mr. Wayne."

"What?!" My sudden outburst caused Tim to jump in his chair, almost spilling his coffee. "Why do you want me to do that?"

"Because, sweetheart, we know how that class treats you." My mother replied in a soft voice. "We heard that the class left without you yesterday and we know it just had to be that Lila girl. Mr. Wayne said he went over the footage yesterday and before you got there, she was saying some terrible things. He sent the video to us and frankly, I am very upset. No one should ever be talked about like that. Ever. Mr. Wayne and his family like you and he promised he would look after you. Your father and I feel like this is what's best for you."

"But what about my friends?"

"You will still see them, just instead of going to the hotel with them every night you will go back to Wayne Manor."

"You hear that sweetie?" My father speaks up. "A Manor! How cool does that sound?"

I can't help but crack a smile at my fathers' excitement. "I guess that does sound pretty cool, Papa."

"So, is that a yes?" My mother questions.

"I guess." I sigh.

"That's great honey. Just make sure you call us every night before bed. We don't care about the time difference."

"Okay, Maman."

"We love you." Both my parents sang at the same time.

"Love you, Maman. Love you, Papa."

"We will talk to you later. Bye honey."

"Bye." I said and then the line went dead.

I turned around to see both Tim and Bruce looking at me expectantly. "Uh," I awkwardly smile at them. "Guess I'm staying with you guys for a while."

"Good to hear." Bruce gestured for me to follow him through the door. "We'll be sure to have a room ready for you tonight then."

Just as I was leaving, I turned around to wave at Tim. "Goodbye, Tim. I hope to see you soon."

"You will." He called back.

I followed Bruce back to the remainder of my class. He then turned around to face me. "I'll be seeing you later, Marinette. Now if you will excuse me, I have to get back to work." He patted my shoulder before going back the way he came.