[TO BE REWRITTEN] LEGENDS NEVER DIE {Trollhunters/Young Justice}

56 JIM 56

"MOM! MOM, ARE you okay?! Did Strickler do this?! Were you attacked?!" Jim demanded frantically as he busted into the living room where his mom was waiting, hand already bandaged.

She waved him off, "I'm fine Jim, but we need to talk."

Jim paused, frowning, confused. "...What?"

Barbara chuckled slightly. She patted the seat next to her. "Sit down, Jim." Once Jim had sat down, she started, "I asked Walter for a way to make you and your friends look innocent. It just so happened that it worked to his advantage."

Jim's eyes widened. "What?"

Barbara hesitated before saying, "...He outed himself to the team as the main enemy of whatever they're looking for."

Jim frowned, "But that's not Strickler's style. He likes shadows and deception."

Barbara nodded, looking slightly helpless, "He is. Walt says he can still play that angle from here with few to no issues. He's called in favors to make... whatever he's making this out to be bigger than it is."

"Okay, but what does this have to do with you?" Jim demands desperately.

"Jim, he couldn't threaten to hurt me and portray you as an underling, because if you did something his persona would consider 'against the rules', he'd have to hurt me. Instead, now it just looks like everything suspicious you do couldn't possibly be anything but an order from Walt."

Realization dawned on him. "Because why would I risk my mom..."

Barbara manages to smile through her grimace. "Exactly. He had some of those statues left over and bonded our life forces again."

Jim's face twisted angrily, unsure how to feel about it.

"...Jim, we also need to talk about Connor."

Jim grimaced. "Mom, he's like my little brother, hiding this... it hurts..." He mutters, not even bothering to question how she knew. "I want to tell him everything. I'm tired of hiding from him. I know it hasn't been long, but..."

Barbara lightly chuckles, a bitter bite to it as she pulled Jim close. "Oh, trust me, I know, kiddo. It's hurting me, too." They sat like that until Connor got home.