Jim went in and out several times. He knew he'd been dropped roughly on something hard before he heard tires squealing and yelling around him. Then there were so many voices yelling to each other, and he was moving somehow. He had felt someone grab his hand. The third time he managed to open his eyes. He was in a dark hospital room with the sun just beginning to rise through the window. Batman had been standing in the corner, watching him. Jim mumbled something like a greeting or an accusation of stalking, he wasn't sure which. Batman had nodded and left as Jim fell back asleep.

The next time Jim woke, it seemed he was there to stay. He was tired, of course, but he didn't feel the pull to sleep again immediately. It was probably around midday, judging by the angle of the sun through the window and the bustle of noise outside his room. Jim took a quick inventory. Everything felt slightly numb while his stomach, shoulder, leg, and head were covered in gauze and other bandages. He fumbled with his good hand and managed to find the call button, pressing it. Jim glanced around again, ignoring the beeping monitors and the countless wires connected to them. It was just a plain hospital room.

A team of doctors and nurses bustled in, checking Jim over and asking a flurry of questions. What hurt? How much did it hurt? What did he remember? What was his name? How old was he? What day of the week was it? Did he know who had attacked him? Who had dropped him off at the hospital? Jim answered everyone, skirting around the issue of what had actually happened. He didn't want to piss off Luthor when he very clearly had let Jim live.

Once they were done, Jim felt the exhaustion pressing in, but forced himself to stay awake once he heard he had guests waiting to see him.

It didn't take him even a second to recognize Robin in his civvies. He attempted a nod but winced at the slight throb of pain that caused. They both waited until the last of the hospital staff left the room before Robin gently closed the door and went to sit next to Jim's bed. "What happened?" he asked.

"Luthor," Jim said. "Cheshire. I don't know who the people dressed in black were."

Robin nodded. "Give me a run down."

Jim explained as quickly and bluntly as he could. Robin frowned slightly when he was done and thought for a moment. "Did you tell the doctors?"

"No. Luthor could have, probably should have, killed me. Instead he let me go. As much as I would like to see him behind bars, I would rather not piss him off."

Robin nodded. "Batman's putting his foot down, by the way. You're getting actual training, and I think he's putting together some kind of utility belt for you, too."

Jim shook his head. "I doubt they'll come back this time. Luthor seemed pretty convinced I was useless to him."

Robin snorted. "I'll say. You almost didn't make it. That toxin they gave you is really hard to combat."

"Toxin?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah, we're pretty sure they gave it to you after they knocked you out. They may have given you a fighting chance, but I doubt they expected you to actually survive."

Jim yawned. "Lucky me."

"That's the point." Robin sat forward in his seat, arms resting on his knees. "We don't want to make you rely on luck. If they do come back, you need to be ready."

The door opened, putting a stop to their conversation. Barbara strode through, completely ignoring Robin, and made a beeline for Jim. Robin stood and closed the door again before returning to his seat.

"Jim, sweetie, are you alright?" she asked as she carefully wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm fine, Mom," Jim said as he hugged her back. His arms were still numb, and he could only really use one of them, but he still hugged her.

"For now," Robin muttered off to the side.

Barbara turned her attention to Robin. "Who are you?" she asked coldly. "What do you want?"

Robin raised his hands to placate her. "I'm Robin. I'm just here to check in on Jim." Barbara relaxed, and Robin put his hands back down. "I'm also here to inform him that Batman wants to put him in training. Given what just happened, it's the best way to make sure Jim's safe."

Barbara hesitated and glanced at Jim. He very clearly didn't want to do this, and she could understand why. It got him more involved and meant he would be showing them what he did know. It would be another weak point in his story, another gap he had to cover. She turned back to Robin, placing a hand on Jim's shoulder. "We'll talk about it. For now, I think you should go report to Batman."

Robin nodded and stood. Just before he opened the door, he paused and turned back. "This will count as your check in, obviously, but Batman's going to want an answer the next time we see you."

Jim nodded again, yawning, and Robin left.

"Jim?" Barbara said, pulling his attention back to her. "Get some rest for now, we'll talk about this once you get out of here and we can go back to Trollmarket."

Jim nodded and let himself sink back into the pillows. He felt his mom run her hand through his hair and place a small kiss on his forehead. "I'm glad you're alright," she whispered.

Jim mumbled something back to her and fell asleep.

"So, what do we do?"

Jim glanced up from the stone table he'd flopped over. Blinky had taken to pacing the room while Aaarrrgghh watched concerned from the corner. Toby and Claire were sitting on either side of Jim, while Barbara, Strickler, and Nomura sat opposite them and NotEnrique watched from his perch above them on the bookshelves. They had chosen Blinky's library in an attempt to avoid interruptions from people looking for help from either Jim or Blinky.

"You cannot allow them to know how much you've trained," Blinky continued musing to himself, "but you also say you cannot turn this training down."

Jim nodded. "Batman's pretty much decided I need training at this point. And it might be a little too late to keep them from noticing I have training."

Blinky stopped and turned to face Jim. "What does that mean, Master Jim?"

Strickler rolled his eyes. "The forest, Blinky. Jim won a fight there against Robin several months ago."

Jim nodded, but winced a moment later. "That's not the only time," he said slowly. "After the party a few weeks back, I was a bit sleep deprived and fell asleep in their library. And had a nightmare. Which they woke me up from."

Everyone winced slightly, a small hiss off sympathy and concern coming from a few people.

"I don't get it," NotEnrique piped up.

Jim winced again. "My nightmares tend to be rather violent, and, as a result, I tend to react accordingly if someone wakes me up during one. Kid Flash was on the ground before I even realized where I was."

Nomura whistled. "You got a speedster on the ground?"

"I put that down to surprise and the fact that he didn't want to hurt me. Again."

Strickler smirked at him. "How sure are you?"

Jim gave him a flat look. "He could have broken out of my grip easily with his speed, but that would have broken my fingers. The only reason I managed to get my hand on him in the first place was because he didn't expect me to wake up, much less start wailing on him the moment I did."

"Back to the point," Barbara cut in. "I get that this doesn't make it any easier to hide, but I can't help but think this will be a good thing."

"Why on earth would this be a good thing!?" Blinky cried.

"Know thy enemy," said Strickler.

"New strategies and techniques that trolls won't expect," Nomura continued.

Barbara raised an eyebrow at the pair. "That's true, but not what I was thinking of. Blinky, Jim might know how to handle trolls and goblins and everything else just fine and you've done a wonderful job teaching him that and how to utilize the stones, but trolls can't teach Jim to fight things that aren't trolls. They can't teach someone how to deal with super powered individuals, or long-range fighters, because trolls don't have any of that. The Justice League does. Even if Jim never needs it, I'd rather he have this training just in case."

The room went silent for a moment. "Good reason," Aaarrrgghh finally spoke up.

Blinky sighed and nodded. "As much as I hate to admit it, Barbara is completely correct. We cannot teach Jim those things, and he may very well need them if things don't go the way we want them to."

"Okay, so I get the training," Jim said. "Is that agreed?"

Everyone voiced their agreement.

"Dude, you've gotta teach us what you learn," Toby said, nudging Jim with his elbow.

Claire nodded next to him. "It'll be important for all of us."

Jim laughed softly, "It's probably going to be a little while before we get to anything useful. They'll start at the basics, and even that will have to wait until my wounds heal a bit more."

Barbara nodded, pinning Jim with a stern gaze. "We're lucky most of the wounds were superficial and the one on your abdomen missed all the major organs, but if you pull your stitches, so help me, I will keep you in the house until you're healed to my standards."

"Not to worry, Dr. Lake," Blinky said as he strode forward. "I have some very light weeks planned for Master Jim."

"More history?" Jim asked as he suppressed a groan.

Blinky smiled slightly. "Well, yes. But we will be focusing on expanding your vocabulary in Trollish as well. And we will be going over the stones you have not had a chance to practice with yet and what they can do. Some of the simpler ones we may practice with, but for the most part, we will focus on the theory."

Jim perked up slightly at that. History wasn't all that great, but it was usually more interesting than he let on. Trollish, meanwhile, made him feel closer to the people he was protecting, and he always liked learning more about the various stones previous Trollhunters had collected and how they had been used.

"Before you get started on your newest training regiment," Strickler interrupted, "we've found Bates." Every head turned towards him. "At least, we're fairly certain we know where she's going to be."

"She'd holed up in one of the idiots' old safe houses, but now, without money or any other resources, they can't take care of her and she's returned to using Janus Order supplies," Nomura spoke up.

Jim nodded firmly, "When are you going to move in? I'm-"

"No, you're not," Barbara cut him off with a stern glare. "You need to heal, and they aren't going to wait."

"Quite right," Strickler agreed. "We need to move quickly, and you need your rest. You are no good if you're constantly tearing open old wounds, Young Atlas." He snorted slightly. "Your arm is still in a sling for goodness sake, you won't be fighting any time soon."

"Trust us, Little Gynt," Nomura continued. "This isn't your kind of mission anyway. And we'll be bringing her back here, you can talk to her then."

Jim sighed and nodded, gently flopping back onto the table.

"Sit up, Master Jim," Blinky said with a smile, "we'd best get started on your lessons."

Jim grumbled quietly to himself and sat up as Blinky grabbed a book off the shelves and dropped it in front of Jim with a thump. The troll elder rattled off page numbers and paused as Jim flipped the book open with his good hand. Once he was sure Jim was on the right page, he began his lecture.

Jim was scowling when he saw Batman waiting for him on the other side of the Zeta Tubes. Batman gestured for Jim to follow and led the way out of the room. They stopped at the kitchen, where Batman took a seat and told Jim to do the same. Canary was waiting there for them.

"How are you?" Canary asked as Jim gratefully took a seat. He might be able to walk around, but he was taking his mom's orders to rest seriously.

Jim shrugged. "I'm doing alright. Got the stitches on my arm out the other day. My shoulder and abdomen are still healing, though."

"You and your mom have talked about the training?"

Jim turned his attention back to Batman. "Yeah, training is a go once I'm cleared for strenuous activity with the doctors, but I won't be going on any missions. I'm not a member of the Team."

"Agreed," Batman said. "Canary will be responsible for you training."

"For now," Canary took over, "you will be observing the Team's training sessions. We might work a little on your stance, but we won't start actual training until you're cleared. I would like to integrate your training with the Team's as well."

"Makes things easier for you," Jim teased.

"True, you're not the only beginner I'll be working with. Garfield is starting to learn. And this will help the Team learn as well."

Jim nodded. "One of the best ways to study is to help someone else."

"Precisely."

"Have you heard anything about Luthor since last week?"

Jim turned his attention back to Batman once again and shook his head. "No. Things have gone quiet again. I really don't think he'll come back."

Batman nodded. "Keep your eyes open all the same. He may send others in as well."

"Fine. I'll pay attention. Like I wasn't already doing that."

"Jim-"

"It's been seven months, Batman. Things have only gotten worse since you got involved in my life. Whatever happened in June is long since over, but now I have to worry about your enemies. I didn't sign up for this."

"I'm sorry, Jim," Canary cut off whatever Batman would have said, Shooting the man a look that clearly told him to shut up and let her handle this. Batman, much to his credit, did just that. "We never intended for you to get involved. We certainly weren't expecting them to even notice you, much less for them to have a spy."

Jim sighed, and took a moment to steady himself. "I know. I know it's not really your fault, but…" Jim shook his head and cut himself off. He didn't know how to finish that sentence, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to.

"I understand. Unfortunately, things happened. All we can do now is make sure you have the tools you need to protect yourself."

Jim nodded again and turned back to Batman. "Are we done here, or…?" To his surprise, it was Canary that answered.

An amused smile crossed he face. "Training starts in five," she said.

Jim nodded and stood. "I'll see you there." He turned and made his way to the mission room where Canary always trained the Team. As he walked a thought suddenly struck him. He couldn't be sure if Batman was still watching him at all, but training would mean he wasn't getting away from the League for a long time yet.