Absorption Distortion

Chapter 36

Present Day;

Payton walked Nancy and Malcolm towards his office in his quarters. He took up an entire floor with his quarters, as Sarah always wanted lots of room to expand in the event she had children. The Elder couple just never had a chance. Malcolm held onto Nancy's hand firmly as they walked behind the long white robe of Payton. She looked at him with apprehension and he smiled reassuringly back at her which put her at ease. She had never encountered a one on one with an Elder but she was thankful Malcolm was there with her. They moved into his office, and sat down behind a desk as Payton made his way around to the other side. It was a little dim in the office and Payton didn't make any effort to change the atmosphere. In a way, he felt it went with the mood of the conversation. Malcolm put one arm around Nancy's waist as she sat slightly more forward, curious at what he was going to say. He sat down on his big desk chair and scooted forward, putting his elbows on the table and bringing his hands together looking at them both from above them.

"Thanks for coming with me today," He acknowledged, with only Malcolm giving a quick nod back. "I wanted to discuss a few things, specifically the relationship between Nick and Luna," Malcolm looked at Nancy, worried she might get her back up whenever her son was mentioned but she seemed calm. "What do you want to know?" Malcolm replied on her behalf. "It's not so much what I want to know, as to, what I believe we all already know," He paused, dropping his hands. "I feel this is a delicate situation however as Nick is you're son," He pointed to Nancy as he said it, "And I want you to be aware that I believe I am doing this in the best interest of not only him, but the people of Distortion," "Do what exactly?" Malcolm questioned suspiciously. He was weary why Nancy wasn't already asking him a million questions but he was curious as to where Payton was going with this conversation himself. "After today's training session, it's clear to me that Luna is clearly becoming a danger to Distortion. We rely so heavily on her due to her multi-abilities, but I've conferred with the Elders and we believe its best that they need to be separated immediately if we are to succeed in defeating Professor Eville and his gang members. I fear that during this process if Nick is caught in the cross fire, he'll put himself, Luna or us all in danger. Last thing we would want is Luna in her emotional state to not be in control of her abilities. As you are both their assigned guardians while in Distortion, I assume its best to confer with you first rather than just taking action," Payton didn't think twice lying if it meant his own personal gain, although he would never admit to that, not even to Sarah. He just wanted to make sure Luna was prepared to give her all and not give up all her powers if Eville held Nick in a compromising position. "As much as I agree with you Elder Payton, and with all due respect, don't you think we are putting all our eggs in one basket?" Malcolm challenged, feeling the hand of Nancy grip tighter against him. Payton let out a light exhale, "Well, wouldn't it be better to ensure that was the strongest basket we used?" He rebutted. Nancy coughed, clearing her throat and speaking up, "I saw how nervous Nick was about Luna in the training chamber," she looked up at Malcolm and looked into his eyes as she continued, "I couldn't bare the thought of losing him again. I agree with you, we should separate them," Payton had a slight smile on his face, "Excellent, we can start as early as now," He moved the chair back to rise from the desk but Malcolm put his hand out, "Wait," he turned to Nancy, "Wait, how do we do this? We can't keep them away from each other? They aren't just going to stop talking to each other..." "We can keep Luna here, you'll have Nick at your place. Perhaps its best that we limit the visits to the Main Chambers as much as possible," Payton concluded. Nancy nodded in agreement, although she felt horrible for being selfish to keep her son closer to her. "I'll inform the other Elders," Payton stood up, and escorted Nancy and Malcolm back to the elevator. It wasn't until they were both in the elevator that Malcolm reignited the discussion, "Do you think this was the right decision?" "I was already considering the option.." she admitted, feeling shameful at her choice. "Does that make me a bad mother?" She looked up at him and he could see the concern in her eyes. "I think you need to do what feels right to you. He will hate it and I'm not sure how they will handle being apart from each other that long, but we'll work through it," he gave her a faint smile and wiped the falling tear from her face. She leaned into his chest and he wrap his arm around her as he added, "As a family," she smiled at the concept. She was being self-centered when she made these arrangements, but to her, it was a necessary sacrifice as in the long run she would have her son with her.