Director Piggot stared at Jim and Claire. They'd come back, been checked out, and now were standing in front of her desk, along with Miss Militia.

Jim was trying to make himself small, a feat that he was failing to achieve.

"Explain why you felt the need to jump down there," Director Piggot asked.

"Aum, well, Miss Militia can turn her gun into anything, but she isn't more durable than anyone else, so when the smoke came out, I thought she might be in danger, I mean, they were using the smoke to keep her from seeing them."

"And what made you think you could help?" Emily asked.

"I'm… Kinda better at fighting in the dark?" Jim said. "I mean, when Gunmar had me, there were times he would beat me up in the dark and I got good at avoiding him, and after that, I kept in practice."

"Gunmar, the warlord who tried to kill you." Emily said. "You told us you'd been captured by him, but not about being beaten by him."

"Yeah, he was pretty pis—I mean, angry that I killed his son. He wanted to use his Decimer blade on me, you know the blade that was sort of like Heartbreaker, but he couldn't until he could force me to take my helmet off, and he could only do that by breaking my will. So he beat me a lot." Jim suddenly was looking anywhere but at Emily. "Can um, we talk about the fight?"

"It's okay, Jim," Claire said.

"Right," Director Piggot looked down at the report, Jim's sloppy writing contrasting with Claire's neat handwriting. "So when you jumped down, Grue attacked you."

"Yeah, I really couldn't see that well, but I don't think…" Jim shook his head. "He was trying to keep me off balance, I don't think he knew that I couldn't see, or at least not completely. I couldn't just hit him because well, he didn't act like he was an um, Brute."

"He's not. Regardless of anything else, your restraint was admirable. Then you were attacked by Hellhound's creations, after Ms. Nunez dispersed Grue's power. How did you do that, by the way?"

"I um, opposed it," Claire said. "I can't say much more, I'll have to talk to Merlin about that. I'm still learning. I mean, maybe you could ask Merlin?"

Director Piggot's eyes narrowed at that.

Jim winced. Merlin why can't you even try to make friends?

"So, Hellhound tried to kill you."

"I don't think so, she said hurt, and Grue sounded pretty angry at her. That's when Miss Militia fired and, well, that happened."

"Regent can introduce muscle spasms… as he did, and since you were on the ground…"

"Yeah," Jim said. "Sorry about that," he told Miss Militia. "If I'd seen you, I might have stayed were I was, but I didn't know if they were…"

"The Undersiders very rarely engage in violence, with the notable exception of Hellhound," Director Piggot said. "Still once she attacked, you had no choice but to fight back, and fortunately, you didn't engage Oni Lee, Ms. Nunez."

"Oh no," Claire muttered. "But I think he was just there to check out the property."

"So, how much trouble am I in?" Jim asked. "I mean, Claire did what she was supposed to, I was the one who jumped down and messed everything up."

Director Piggot frowned. "For now, nothing. You made errors, but I can't condemn someone for moving to assist a partner who they believe is in danger, especially since your coms were interrupted by Grue. I take it you aren't going to seek out them for a rematch."

"No!" Jim burst out. "I mean, I didn't think I would survive my sophomore year, so I'm not going to try to get myself killed for my junior year." He brightened visibly. "Especially since nobody's going to run for the hills screaming when I show up to Arcadia!"

"Then for now, I want you to make a complete report about Grue's power, how it interacted with both of your powersets and how you might counter it in the future. Also…" Emily tapped the paperwork. "You might need to work on your penmenship."

Jim's skin darkened and he covered his four-fingered hand with his regular hand. "I'll try, but you know, Trollhunters don't need to write." I didn't make you to write reports, I made you to kill Gunmar. Merlin's voice.

"They do if they're going to pass school," Claire said. She had her hand over his hand. "Is that all, Director Piggot?"

"Yes." Jim and Claire left, Claire pulling Jim out. "The Wards going to show Star Wars," she told Jim. "I know you love it and we can see if it's different here…" The door closed behind them.

"Why are we keeping Merlin around?" Miss Militia finally asked, her voice tight with anger. "He created this amulet, arranged for a fifteen year old to gain it, and we've clearly not been told the whole truth." She shook her head. "'Trollhunters don't need to write.' Any bets on who said that?"

"And on patrol?" Emily asked.

"They're polite, get along well with people, and used a minimum of force. For all that he made a mistake, it was an understandable mistake and he didn't freeze. He's a soldier, Emily, not a parahuman who joined the Wards, but a sixteen year old soldier." She shook her head. "You heard him, he really didn't think he'd survive his sophomore year, and he's still going to be in contact with Merlin."

"Yes. Merlin who might be able to crack Grey Boy loops. Merlin who was able to change a child into a… Trollhunter, even though our medical check shows no sign of him being a parahuman. Off the books, there's some pressure to see if we can get him to do the same with other candidates."

"To make parahumans like Jim?"

"If he could, yes. There might be enough people, people dying from illness or injury, who would accept such a deal." Although whether I'd trust people who would accept such a deal…

"So we can't do anything?"

"We can ensure that Merlin and Mr. Lake aren't left alone together." Emily frowned. "The only thing we know about his transformation was that 'Merlin convinced me' and the fact that Ms. Nunez and Mr. Blinky are unwilling to go into details, quite possibly at Lake's request."

"Should we press them?"

Emily shook her head. You got a feeling for people. The feeling with Jim was that there were places beyond which you couldn't force him. For all of his and Claire's oddly… passive take on their powers.

Passive hell. They're resting. Even with all they've evidently kept out, we know they were fighting a war. The way Jim acts about school, it's almost like I offered him a dinner-date with Alexandria. That was not normal for many Wards, who often found the idea that their new identity also included school to be a great letdown.

And the idea that someone could see the Bay as a place to rest…

"So, how was he in terms of fighting capability?" Emily finally asked.

"Well, it was short and Jim wasn't trying to kill anyone, but… he's good. Very good. He didn't freeze or over think. Neither did Claire, and keeping your calm next to Oni Lee is no small feat. I wouldn't want to be the cape that made them lose their temper."

"Agreed."