Debbie felt her heart split in two as she gazed into her son's pleading eyes. Derek looked so small and scared in a way she'd never seen him before and there was nothing she could do about it. Even if she did try to help then Nicole would simply zap her and do whatever she wanted anyway.

"There's no winning move." She thought sadly. She wanted more than anything to protect her son but she also had Lisa and Steve to consider. They were small and fragile and if something happened to her then they would all be worse off. She looked toward Nicole and back to her baby boy and whispered, "I'm sorry."

She turned her back and gathered Lisa and her husband in each hand.

"Debbie? What are you doing? Help Derek." Steve demanded.

She ignored him.

"Mom! You have to do something?" Lisa cried out.

"Be quiet." She spoke sadly.

She now had to face her son who looked completely devastated that his mother wasn't coming to help him. She could only imagine what he felt in this moment. To him this must look like the ultimate act of betrayal, of abandonment. She didn't want to leave him behind, but she had to take care of everyone that she could. One of the hardest lessons she had to learn as a nurse was that you can't save everyone.

She walked past the smirking amazons, her heartbroken son, his miniature girlfriend, and entered the hallway. The door slammed shut behind him but the sound of the lock clicking into place was equivalent to that of a shotgun blast. She just left Derek to the wolves and now had to live with the guilt and the shame that came with her choice.

"How could you just leave Derek like that?" Lisa cried. Her sadness was palpable.

"Even if you couldn't win, you could've at least done something." Steve said with disappointment clear in his voice.

"Like what?" She asked, her vision blurring as she walked down the hall. "If she zaps me too then what'll happen to all of us?"

That question hung in the air for the longest time as she walked down the stairs. If Nicole didn't trust her anymore and shrank her then the chances are they would all wind up in the care of one of her friends. Power had so easily gone to their heads and they were almost guaranteed to be cruel. Just looked at what Bianca was doing to Derek when they first came downstairs.

"I'm a terrible mother." She cried as she reached the living room.

She placed her two family members down gently on the coffee table before taking a seat on the couch. Both Steve and Lisa watched as the giantess curled into herself and cried. She'd sacrificed her son to protect the two of them and was feeling the full weight of her decision.

"Derek will hate you forever." A cruel voice whispered in her ear.

What mother abandons their child at the sight of danger?

"Debbie..." Steve tried to call out.

"Mom..." Lisa also tried.

There was nothing they could do. Debbie was inconsolable.
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November 12
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