I almost got Claire killed. I almost got Claire killed… Jim wanted to scream as the jet landed in front of them. He couldn’t think about his mom or the trolls or anything else but the way Claire had been tumbling through the air, and it was all because he hadn’t been good enough.

“I’ll protect your mother’s home, Trollhunter,” Draal said. “From anyone.” That was followed by a suspicious glare at the Avengers and then Draal was running off into the night. Blinky was staring at the jet, eyes (all six) wide.

“I don’t think they’ll let you fly it, Mr. Blinky,” Claire said from her place in Aaarrrggghhh’s arms.

She was trying to smile, but Jim could see how pale she was, still trembling.

I almost got her killed.

“That amulet,” Thor said. “May I see it?”

Jim tensed, but then held it out so that the in the flesh Asgardian God could see it.

“Eitri’s work,” Thor said softly. “This amulet was forged by the same dwarf who forged Mjølnir.”

“I thought Merlin made it,” Jim said.

“Oh, he might have worked some sorcery on it, but no, no human or Asgardian could make this.” Thor stared at it. “It will find the worthy to wield it, and grow with them through their lives.”

“I don’t feel very worthy right now,” Jim said. I almost got Claire killed.

“The worthy never do,” Thor said and clapped Jim on the back (almost knocking him flat). “Come! Let us join your lady fair.”

Inside, Arrrggghhh allowed a deeply suspicious crewman to assist Claire into a seat, expertly putting an emergency support around her ankle. Claire hissed in pain but then smiled at Jim. Blinky and Arrrggghhh took up positions in the rear bay, the Avengers watching them carefully, while Jim buckled in next to Toby and Claire.

“This is awesomesauce!” Toby said.

“We just got beat by the Avengers,” Jim replied.

“I know!” Toby said.

“Jim,” Claire quietly said, and Jim looked at her. She was still in pain. “It’s not your fault. What if they had been changelings?”

“I… I just shouldn’t have let things get out of hand. I should have done better.”

“Draal kinda started the brawl,” Hawkeye said (and Jim still had a hard time putting ‘Hawkeye’ and ‘PE sub’ into the same sentence). “You had to roll with what happened. Claire use the staff much?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m getting better at it,” Claire said. “I mean, I practiced hitting moving targets with it, and…”

“Still a really hard thing to do, landing on Tony like that,” Hawkeye said.

“That’s actually what brought us here.” Captain America said.

Jim and Claire blinked. “Why?” Claire asked.

“We put together a sensor net after New York and it gave off readings like the portal over the city,” Iron Man said. “Has anything odd ever come out of it?”

“No… I just use it to go from place to place…” Claire blinked. “But things like those monsters? No.”

“Well, that’ll make Fury happy,” Tony said.

As the quinjet shot through the air, Steve watched the kids. They had fallen silent, a combination of fatigue from the fight and worry over the girl. Toby and Jim were both, hovering, holding Clair’s hands.

Steve didn’t smile. He’d seen that a hundred times, both in the war and now. A team wanting to make certain that everyone was okay, that nobody was left alone.

He could tell that Clint and Natasha didn’t like it, and Tony really didn’t like it.

But Steve would reserve his judgment. There hadn’t been a single unit in the war that didn’t have its quota of underage recruits, kids who had somehow slipped through, not wanting to let a little thing like a birthday keep them out of the fight. Some found the challenge too great, some rose to it, and too many died. But Steve couldn’t keep from admiring them. These kids, who had probably never faced a serious fight before in their lives, had stepped up.

And people say America’s gone soft.

“We’ll be landing in 5, sir.”

“That soon?” Jim asked.

“We broke mach one just out of Arcadia,” Natasha said. “We’re over the Pacific now.”

“Flying, Aaarrrggghhh! Just imagine it! I believe we may be the first trolls to fly.”

“Bolus the clumsy,” Aaarrrggghhh replied.

Blinky’s voice was aggrieved. “Flying because you didn’t understand that human dynamite wasn’t a candle doesn’t count, old friend.”

Barbara had been trying to have a quiet conversation with Claire’s parents. The problem is, that they felt that Jim was a bad influence on their child, and Barbara was wondering if Claire was a bad influence on Jim.

“You can’t tell us that you think Claire had anything to do with this!” Ophelia said. “She’s been a perfectly behaved young lady…”

“And Jim’s been just as well behaved.” Barbara sighed. “Ophelia, I’m not blaming anyone, but it’s plain that both of our children have been changing. Jim lied to me. He claimed he’d been attacked by wild animals and those bruises and injuries weren’t from animals. He’s also shown other bruises, and a few times I’ve seen your daughter limping—Toby as well.”

“So what? They’re in a fight club?”

“Or…” Barbara decided to go with her biggest fear. “It’s possible that a third party is bullying them, and they’re afraid to tell us. They’re teens. What if someone is threatening them?”

“I—” Ophelia fell silent, and Javier clenched his fist. “Why wouldn’t they tell us?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they think they can handle it themselves. I—” There was a firm knock on the door. Javier walked to, opening it to reveal two men in suits that screamed government.

“Mr. And Mrs. Nunez? Dr. Lake?”

“Yes?”

A badge was flashed. “We’re with SHIELD. We’d like you to come with us, please? It concerns your children.”

Barbara felt her blood run cold. Jim, what have you been doing…

The trollhunters had been quickly moved inside, right after the jet landed on the deck of a big aircraft carrier. Claire was put in a gurney, nobody paying any attention to her protests (including Jim), and was taken to sickbay, the Black Widow going with her. Jim was directed to follow the rest, and as much as he wanted to stay with her, he didn’t have much of a choice. They were ushered through several hallways, guards at every door, into a large conference room. And standing at the front of the room was a bald black man with an eyepatch, his good eye glaring out at them.

“Well, Mr. Lake, I trust that you and your friends…” He looked over at Blinky and Aaarrrggghhh, “wouldn’t mind letting me know what is going on in your town?”

Toby gulped. “Why is he scarier than Bular?”

“I don’t know,” Jim said. “It’s… A long story ah…” he told the man.

“Director Nick Fury, and we seem to have some time until your parents arrive.”

Oh God. I’m dead. I’m dead twice over. Jim wished he could have been with Claire to say his last goodbyes. “Well, it’s like this…”