DC: Makenna Wayne

===*
The first weekend living with the Wayne’s had been peaceful, which should be rare here in a city like Gotham. Bruce was working, but Jason and Alfred kept me company, doing their best to make feel at home.

The morning after the first night I spent there, I woke up at 8:00 to make breakfast. I was halfway done mixing pancake batter when Alfred came in and asked why I was doing his job, jokingly. We started talking and it seemed like the Wayne boys don’t wake up until close to noon. Did they go out patrolling last night? So, I ended up having breakfast with Alfred, because we’re both early risers. It can’t be helped. Villa would always wake me at 8 o’clock sharp to get ready for the morning.

Jason and Bruce woke up close to noon, just as Alfred said, and they had their lunch with me together, before Bruce had to leave for work. It was a Saturday, and I sympathize over his abysmal schedule balancing between the lives of Batman and Bruce Wayne. Jason hung out with me all through the day as we played video games and watched movies. The movies were all before 2000s, and it seemed similar to modern earth, except that there were more crime and drama movies. Warner Brothers cartoons were in too, which I wasn’t so keen on watching. To my shock, there was no such thing as Walt Disney, but there is a Six Flags and a Knott’s Berry Farm.

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday, except that Alfred brought in the uniforms for me to try on so he could tailor it to my size. To my chagrin it was a prestigious private school that required its students to wear uniforms. Starting out in the fifth grade, the uniform was a bright teal plaid skirt matching the neck tie, and a white blouse with a suede jacket of that teal. It wasn’t awful looking, but I still wasn’t so keen on wearing a uniform. Last night, I began to ponder whether or not I should really go to school. How do I get out of it and convince Bruce to let me be homeschooled?

Monday finally came, and Bruce surprisingly went with me that early morning. We got into his black Rolls- Royce Phantom car, and I’ve never felt so overwhelmingly privileged. My previous life was that of a lower-middle class struggling over a college debt as a drop-out. Again, I was on the fence with school, but if this means that I could redo my whole college experience and actually graduate for once, then maybe all this won’t be so bad.

Alright! I’m going to give it my all!

“Mr. Wayne! It is a pleasure to have you here again at this school, and with a new daughter to enroll?” The Principal greeted us cheerfully as soon as we walked into the office, like an attendant greeting a wealthy person. I couldn’t help but eye suspiciously at Bruce, thinking that maybe he had bribed this school before with some ‘generous donations.’

Bruce didn’t notice as he smiled perfectly at the woman. “Principal Horton. A pleasure to see you again.”

“Likewise, I didn’t know you had a daughter, Mr. Wayne,” she said, eyeing at me like a Siamese cat. “Oh my... I can definitely see the resemblance between you two.”

“Hello, my name is Makenna,” I introduced myself and bowed my head in greeting.

“We are so delighted to have another promising Wayne attending our school,” she said, and though she’s seemingly nice, I can’t help but feel like her nails were scratching the chalkboard. Why do I feel so irritated by her? Maybe me not wanting to go to school is skewing my thoughts over here.
Or maybe...

“Come this way,” she said as she started to lead us.

Bruce followed her and I stayed just a couple of paces behind them as I started to cast a spell, gesturing with my little fingers.

[Detect Thoughts] – caster can peer into the mind of any creature that can speak a language and may perceive their surface thoughts. Caster can pry further inside for a deeper read, but can be countered by the target’s willpower, less so if unaware.

I didn’t need to ‘pry further inside’ as her thoughts were louder than their conversation together.

‘This is my only chance. If I play nice with the little girl and treat her well, maybe this time, he’ll finally take interest and ask me out!’ The principal’s real thoughts started pouring out.

So, I was her last chance to getting in bed with Bruce? Gross. No wonder I felt a little gross out. This doesn’t make her a bad person, of course, but I was already rooting for Catwoman and Batman to get together... or Harley Quinn and Batman. Either of those pairing would work well for Bruce.

‘Once he and I start dating, I’ll finally be able to file divorce papers against my useless husband, and Brucie will probably hire a very good attorney for me.’

I gagged on reflex when the nickname ‘Brucie’ reached my ears. Plus, this woman is married!

“Makenna? Are you alright?” Bruce asked, pausing their conversation.

“O-oh I’m sorry, it’s just... there’s a strong odor...” I made up an excuse.

‘It’s probably that woman’s perfume,’ Bruce’s surface thoughts reached me.

‘A strong odor? It’s a Chanel perfume, you little twit! You probably don’t know expensive and fancy even if it hit you!’ She screamed in her head. ‘Her mother was probably poor, so maybe that’s why she doesn’t know the finer things in life.’

...Okay. I do not like this woman.

The Vice Principal walked into the office and escorted me to take the written exam to figure out where my educational knowledge was currently at. It didn’t take me long. Most of those answers were easy, and perhaps, it’s probably because the American educational society had yet to make changes or advancements to push their students harder, unlike those of Asian countries.

I was done in less than 20 minutes, which surprised the VP, but he went ahead to correct my scoring sheet.

“...Wow... this is a perfect score. You’re pretty smart, little lady,” he said, and then he took out another blank sheet exam. “Why don’t you try to take this one next since you finished a little early?”

I blinked at the paper. Another?!

To my chagrin, I bit my lip and took the test. This time, it was a little more challenging, but I powered through it, and I finished it up in 30 minutes this time. Ugh, really, why did he make take another test?

Thankfully that was the last as he took me back to the Principal’s office. To my surprise, Bruce was still there as he and the principal were now having tea.

Bruce sighed with relief, seeing me. ‘Finally, I can leave now.’

“Oh? Already finished?” she asked. ‘Damn it. The brat came back too soon.’

...You’ve been torturing my poor father for an hour now, haven’t you, you shameless wench?

“Mr. Wayne, I’d like to start off by saying how remarkable your little girl is!” The Vice Principal said, and I looked at him a bit shocked.

Their eyes wandered over to me, and I glanced away shyly as I wondered what this VP was talking about.

“Her knowledge in English, Math, and Science is way beyond the scope of any elementary student, so I tested her on a higher curriculum exam, and she’s fared better than most high school students,” he said as he placed down my test papers on the table for them to look at it. “She seems to have the basis of Calculus down. She has an understanding of biology and physics, and her written responses are that of a college undergrad. Her knowledge of history and government is slightly lacking, but we don’t have to take that into account, considering that there may have been circumstances of her upbringing, as you’ve mentioned over the phone.”

Yeah, and that’s probably because I was living under a rock this whole time, but thank you for not taking that into the account.

“I see, so Linfield Towers Elementary will be having a prodigal student attending our classes!” The Principal said, standing up. “It would be such an honor for school to have your daughter attend here, Mr. Wayne.”

‘Well, there wasn’t any doubt that this girl would be attending our school. I suppose despite the mother, she is her father’s daughter.’

“Actually, I decline,” I quickly interrupted their conversation. “I refuse to go to this school.”

The Principal whipped her head at me. “Um, excuse me?”

“You are excused,” I told her and turned to Bruce. “Father, the tests given to me were too easy. According to the Vice Principal, I think I would excel better at a higher grade, preferably high school. If you think it’s too soon, then I’d rather continue being home schooled.”

‘No! No! You little brat! What are you saying?!’’ Principal Horton started to panic.

The vice principal awed at me. `Amazing... Is she really a ten-year-old? She speaks so well for her age. She sort of reminds me of students at the UK, but undergrads.’

Bruce stared at me and I could hear his thoughts. ‘If what the Vice Principal claim is true, then the subjects here would be too easy for her, and that would get boring fast. Also, she’s been home schooled all this time, even though her mother had been hardly present in her life—if what Alfred said was true—independent study is something she excelled on. Overall, enrolling her into high school would suit her intellectual better. Jason is currently in the 10th grade, and he could look after her whenever there’s time. It would also be easier for Alfred if their school schedules are the same.’

“Young lady, while being home schooled has been fruitful for you, what about your social life as a 10-year-old?” The principal asked. “Don’t you want to be around other girls at your age?”

In defiance, I shrugged my shoulders at her. “Oh, you know the saying... You can never miss what you never had. Plus, wouldn’t it be more beneficial for me to be around peers close to my intellect? I might be bullied by other 5th Graders if they found out I’m a little too smart for their age group.”

“Bullying and harassment won’t be tolerated here, so you have nothing to fear! Besides, you’re already here!” The Principal said, still insisting. “We have the paperwork ready to be signed, and you’ve taken the enrollment evaluation tests. Why not try staying here for a week or two?”

Bruce glanced over to her. ‘That’s true. We are already here.’

Oh no. I need to find some other way to get out of here, or I’ll really be stuck in this school.

Then, an ominous voice from far off, slipped into my consciousness. The [detect thoughts] picked it up to my horror...

The thoughts were crude as this person cursed the world internally over and over, exuding intentions to kill and die along with it. Someone with nothing left to lose, oozing with desperation.

No way… in this world? In this timeline? I have to do something!

“…No!” I shouted, startling them. “I don’t want to get to this school! That woman is flirting with you, and I don’t like it!”

“Makenna…!” Bruce shouted, and I could feel he was surprised at my unusual outburst.

“Excuse me…!?” The banshee screeched but I ignored her as I ran out of the office.

Not looking back, I followed the stench of those thoughts that faded away as the distance grew between us. Soon I found those thoughts again, latching unto them as I ran faster down the hall, infiltrating the private school that was supposed to have security gates and locked doors. How did he even get in?

I heard Bruce calling for me, but I didn’t look back.

Going around the corner, I immediately spotted the culprit. I charged even faster and purposely threw my whole body against the teenage boy carrying a large guitar case, and took him down with me on the ground.

Those malicious thoughts halted, interrupted by the pain I caused when I sent him down to the tiled floor.

“Makenna!!”

Bruce caught up to me and he pulled me up to my feet. I could tell that he was crossed with me, but also confused on how to deal with me, really double-guessing at enrolling me in this private school if I was going to cause trouble like this.

“I’m sorry about my daughter,” Bruce said as he was helping the young lad. “This is her first day of school…”

The young lad however rejected his help, shoving his hand away with his arm. “Get away from me!!”

Bruce held his hand back and his brows furrowed. ‘Why is a boy his age here at this school? This is an elementary.’

As the two were distracted, I was already picking up the guitar case to which the teenage boy panicked.

“Here you go—Hey!!” I pretended to hand the guitar case over to him, and he tried to wrench it away from me, but I held on tightly. He easily spun me around with my tiny frame.

“L-Let go! Let go of my guitar!”

“A-alright, here!” I shouted and as I did, I had already unclipped two of the latches, and immediately unlatched the last one.

Instead of a guitar, an AK-47 dropped to my feet when he got his guitar case back, hanging wide open.

“OH MY GOD!” Principal Horton shouted, and before anything else happened, Bruce tackled the teenage boy to the ground and expertly pinned him with his arms behind his back.

“Go call the cops! Now!” Bruce shouted when the Principal and Vice Principal continued to stand there in shock, but his shouting moved them to action. They were already calling the cops and shutting down the school.

Holy shit. Did I just prevent a mass shooting in school?

“Makenna! Go stand over there and out of the way,” Bruce said as he gestured with his chin.

“Okay!” Being very obedient I ran down several meters away and took cover behind the lockers, watching patiently for the authorities to arrive and handle this mess.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it…! Get off me! Fuck you all!” The teenage boy continued to rage underneath Bruce, struggling with all his might to get free and finish what he had committed to do, starting with me who had foiled his plans.

But too bad for you, my father is secretly Batman.

===*