"So you were suspended for a week, and you won't be allowed to return to the school until you write an apology note?" Jim asks his daughter as she sits crossed leg in front of him.

"Back in my day we just used to stick whelps into the ground as punishment." He heard Kanjigar comment and several other Trollhunter ghosts murmur in agreement. "Of course, we still do that today."

"So unfair, that idiot just got a slap on the wrist and was sent to the nurse." Laura huffs in annoyance. "Anyways, enough about the stupid punishment. Recently Agate showed me something really interesting about the creatures and we think we have an idea of where they came from."

"And where did they come from?" Jim asks.

"The Darklands." This earned numerous loud gasps and frantic whispers from the ghosts as Jim and Kanjigar looked at each other in worry. "Someone or something let it out somehow, and I need to find out who it was."

"But the Bridge was destroyed after I was freed from the Darklands, how is this possible?" Jim asks, ignoring the ghosts.

"I don't know, but have you ever seen anything like them?"

"No, not until the night I died."

"Then you'll have to talk to the changelings who have been in the Darklands, perhaps they know something." Kanjigar suggests and frowns. "This makes no sense, the Bridge was sealed and destroyed years ago, how is it possible something got out?"

"Maybe when Gunmar escaped, that thing did too but it didn't stick around in Arcadia for long." Laura says with a shrug. "Who knows, and there could be more out there."

"Well a good thing my grandson had the sense to do research and go tell you the moment he found you." The ex hunter says with a nod. "Do tell him to get some rest, he's going to ruin his eyes from the strain of reading too much."

"I'll get him some glasses, should help his eyesight more." Laura chuckles as she stands up and stretches. "Better go, I got some family to talk to about this. Oh and I should talk to Dictatious too, he's been there for centuries."

"Actually, we need to talk about controlling your strength." Jim states as she was about to turn. "As mad as I am that your principal punished you, you need to know when it's okay to throw a punch and when not to."

"Papi, I already got this lecture from mama, please don't repeat everything she said." His daughter groans. "I've already been yelled at my her, by both my grandmothers and my grandfathers, and Blinky too of all people! Can this wait?"

"No, this cannot wait!" Jim snaps as she tries to walk away and immediately materialises in front of her. "You could have seriously hurt someone!"

"He was making fun of Steven, what else was I supposed to do?" Laura retorts angrily. "Sit back on my butt and let it go on? Marcus knew that if I even touched him, I would get suspended! Steven is a pacifist and that bully knew he wasn't going to fight back with his fists if he laid a hand on him, he crossed the line this time with making fun of my friend for not having a mom!"

"You didn't have to nearly break someone's arm to make a point!" Jim gives a frustrated sigh and runs a hand through his hair. "Look, I get that it's frustrating that you get in trouble for defending your friend and whoever else gets bullied. As the Trollhunter it's your duty to defend the weak and helpless no matter their species from the most dangerous creatures, but you have to know when to pick your battles and when is the right time to use your powerful strength."

"So I shouldn't have almost broken Marcus' arm?" Laura asks, folding her arms over her chest. "I should have stood by and let him bully other kids?"

"No, what I'm saying is that you could have dealt with him in a less... violent way. Like grabbing him off Steven and hauling him to the principal."

"I still would have gotten suspended."

"True, but maybe not as severly as what you got. You know what, I'm going to give you a mission."

"Oh boy." Laura mutters and her dad gives her a look. "Okay fine, what's my mission?"

"I want you to go back to the school tomorrow with an adult, preferably your grandma Ophelia, and talk to the principal. Explain to her what happened and have your grandma tell her that being suspended until you write an apology to that bully is unfair considering how he knew you'd get suspended for fighting him." Jim says and shudders. "Your mom's mom is honestly pretty scary, especially when she goes into her protective Hispanic grandmother mode."

"Maybe taking Strickler would work better?" Laura suggests. "Little more scary, especially when he does that thing where he's silent and glaring at you like he wants to tear your lungs out?"

"No that's what your mom does, Strickler is more of a...staring at you silently while thinking of various ways to plot your death and hide your body in another country." Jim laughs. "Just take an adult who will back you up in this meeting with the principal."

"Actually, I've already got a good adult in mind for the job."

⚔️⚔️⚔️

Laura was absolutely loving the nervous and confused expression her principal had on his face as Notenrique stared back at him with an unamused expression while he sat on her lap. Marcus was also in the room, looking very bored while a tall dark haired woman, who she assumed was his mother, sat in a chair busily texting someone on her phone. Getting her troll uncle to come with her was an easier task than she expected, not even needing to use smelly socks to convince him.

"That little bugger got what he deserved from you, not fair you had to suffer this unfair punishment! Seeing him get his just deserts if this meeting goes our way will be rewarding enough." Notenrique had told her when she was putting him into her backpack. "And believe me kid, this meeting will go our way whether that fleshbag of your principal likes it or not."

And now here they were, seated in the office with Marcus looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there while the woman was looking so disinterested in everything that wasn't her phone while the principal looked ready to crap himself.

"So, you gonna unsuspend my niece or not?" Notenrique asks in a bored tone. "And are you going to rightfully punish the real bully?"

The principal gulped nervously and tried sitting up a bit in his chair. "Uh... well you see mister-"

"Cut the crap, I've already heard enough from my dear niece how "fair" you are." The troll interrupts as he stood up and jumped onto the desk. "You think I'm stupid or somethin'? Just because I live underground doesn't mean I don't understand your stupid school system. My girl was defending her friend from that punk, who knew she'd get suspended if she even made a move to attack him! And yet you never let her explain why she had his arms pinned behind his back and was close to snapping them like toothpicks!"

"What the hell are you?" Marcus asks in annoyance and Laura glares at him, earning a laugh from her uncle.

"What, never seen a troll before, fleshbag?" Notenrique sneers as he walked across the table to stare down at Marcus. "I'm the uncle of the girl you've been provoking and got suspended. Be lucky it's me who's here and not her mum or grandmothers, otherwise you'd be dealing with some very angry women. Now back to the coward of this principal."

The man gives a startled yelp as the small troll jumps right onto him and grabs his tie to pull his head close. "Now we can make this easy or hard, either way my niece walks out of here free of that stupid suspension and that brat gets rightly punished instead of getting a slap on the wrist."

"My son did nothing wrong." The woman suddenly spoke up, snapping her phone shut to look at them with a glare. "That little-"

"Oh no, it's the "oh my sweet innocent and spoiled baby was accused, that other kid did wrong!" act." Laura mutters as she sits up in her seat. "Listen Mrs. Lang, I don't know what your son told you, but it's absolutely wrong. He literally provoked me into a fight by picking on my friend, and if you don't know yet, it's my job to protect all people in Arcadia from bullies worse than your demon child. You and your husband probably have the principal wrapped around your gold ring encrusted fingers, which is why I keep getting punished without my side of the story getting told. How do you think my grandmother, Ophelia Nuñez the mayor of our town, would feel hearing that someone is paying off a man like the principal to look the other way when students are getting bullied by some rich brat?"

"Oooh she got you all there." Notenrique laughs when the principal goes pale and Marcus' mother looked ready to deck Laura. "Now, about that ridiculous statement that my niece has to write an apology to your brat for defending her friend against him?"

"I'm not retracting that." Mrs. Lang snaps and Notenrique makes a tsking noise.

"Now now, let's be fair on this. There are several students who saw and heard what happened who will tell us that your boy was bullying one Steven Palchuk and actually attacked him, but Laura jumps in to stop him and gets yelled at by this yellow bellied human you call a principal."

Laura was trying so hard not to laugh at this point. Both Marcus and his mother looked like they wanted to strangle her tiny troll uncle and the principal looked like he wanted to melt into his chair.

"I can sue your family for this." Mrs. Lang snaps and gives them a smug look. "I'm a lawyer, I can obviously win this case."

"Oh no, not a big shot lawyer!" Notenrique gasps dramatically before breaking down in laughter. "You think that's gonna scare an old timer like me? I've seen and faced scarier things than a middle aged woman with awful plastic surgery and fancy suits with the latest cellphone in her manicured hands, hell I've had to deal with trolls who would make even you cry from how scary they are. Better yet, maybe we should call Laura's mum and grandma down here and deal with you."

"And I think we've made our point, I'm going home now to work on homework assignments I've been missing due to being suspended and Trollhunter training." Laura says as she stands up, opening her backpack to let Notenrique jump in before carefully zipping it up and turns to give the angry woman and the principal her sweetest smile. "I'll have my mom call you two later tonight to discuss an agreement, bye!"

"What are you doing, this meeting isn't over!" Mrs. Lang snarls as she reaches to grab Laura's arm but Laura is a lot faster. She whirls around to grab the woman's wrist and twists it.

"Sorry, but I have more important things to do than sit here listen to you threaten me over something I didn't do." The teen says in her too cheerful voice before releasing. "If you want to continue this meeting, my grandfather is waiting outside to pick up where we leave off."