Disclaimer: I do not own the movie Suicide Squad or any of the characters. I only own my OC.
A/N: Wow guys, the alerts I have been getting on this story are amazing! Over 100 followers already? With only one chapter?! You guys are the best! I really mean that. Anyways, here's chapter two. Hope you guys enjoy it, cause I sure did. I giggled and awed several times when writing it.
FYI this chapter solely focuses more with Estelle and her younger sister Lilly. Since I wanted you guys to have more info on Estelle and her life. With the exception of Barry Allen/Flash, since he is once again mentioned in this chapter. Don't worry though the Suicide Squad stuff will come soon, and our darling metahuman will get to meet our precious Harley Quinn, as well as the other Suicide Squad members.
Also sorry, but I've been watching too much Shameless recently that my inner Fiona sort of came out in this chapter. But I'm sure you guys will like the humor and the seriousness this chapter has to offer. BTW Estelle's face-claim is Alexandra Daddario and for her younger sister Lilly it's Raffey Cassidy.
Also do not own the show, Rick and Morty, or any of the other shows or music that are mentioned in this chapter as well.
*Edited* 02/20/2020
"An older sister is a friend and a defender—a listener, conspirator, a counselor and a sharer of delights. And sorrows too." — Pam Brown
Chapter 2: Big sis, little sis
It was the ridiculous song of Goodbye Moonmen from the Rick and Morty show that woke Estelle up from her sleep. She slowly started to stir around, letting out a groan, as the song continued to play.
Opening her eyes, Estelle let out a big yawn. Now that Estelle was awake she knew that she had to get up and investigate. She pushed her covers off and stretched her arms over her head as she stood up. She let out a gasp once she saw what time it was.
The clock on her nightstand said 1:35 AM.
What in the world...?!
The young adult was slack jawed by how late it was.
How was that possible? The last thing Estelle remembered was reluctantly falling asleep on her bed. It's not exactly like she needed the sleep though.
Estelle hardly slept ever since the incident that happened at her old University. Sleep was optional and the young adult only slept when she wanted or felt the absolute need to, since she was filled with energy. And not just metaphorically speaking...she was actually filled with energy. But like all energy matters, she eventually wore down and needed rest to recharge. That happened to be today.
Honestly, she really should have seen that coming. After all, she'd gone a couple of weeks now with no sleep whatsoever and had been working non-stop at the old diner she was employed at in Gotham.
Estelle's tiredness took over after she finished her thirteen hour shift at the diner. After she left work the young adult went back to the small apartment where she and her little sister lived. Once there, Estelle immediately made dinner for the both of them. It was then after dinner was over that she managed to convince herself to regain her energy by catching up with some sleep. A quick nap would be alright.
After all, Estele was dead exhausted from dining tables, interacting with extremely rude customers, and washing dishes. But the fair question was did she really fall asleep for that long? She slept for about seven hours straight, and the funny thing about that was that she was still tired. Wow.
"Shut the fuck up about Moonmen!"
Hearing the character of Rick cursing made Estelle get back on track on why she woke up in the first place. She exited her small bedroom and made her way to the living room where she heard the TV noise coming from. She already knew who was there sitting on the couch watching that ridiculous (but funny) TV show.
Her twelve year old sister, Lilly.
Estelle sighed softly, but couldn't help the small fond smile that reached her lips as she watched her little sister. The young adult leaned against the living room's wall entrance and continued to gaze at her younger sister.
It sometimes amazed Estelle with how much Lilly and her had slightly different but similar features. People didn't tend to notice the differences between them unless they paid close attention. Like how Estelle was right now. As she watched her little sister merrily continue watching Rick and Morty without a care in the world.
Much like herself, Lilly had dark brown hair. Except Lilly's was a tad shade lighter. Her little sister also had bluish green eyes and not a deep blue color like Estelle's. One of the more noticeable differences was that Lilly had specks of light freckles covering her nose and upper cheeks. That was a feature Lilly gained from their mother Lydia. Kind of like Estelle who gained her pure blue eye color from their father James. Lilly's eye color, however, was a mixture of both their parents.
That was something Estelle wished she had. A trait that was both from her mother and father. But sadly she mostly took from her father's side. Which of course wasn't a bad thing, but she just wished she had some sort of remembrance towards her mother...since she and her father were now gone.
Not wanting to dwell on the sorrowful thoughts that were of her dead parents, Estelle quickly shook her head and instead focused on her little sister.
Right now Estelle could see how happy and slightly healthier Lilly looked. It was different from how she looked earlier. Well, only by a little bit but it was better than nothing. She saw that Lilly was wearing her R2D2 pajamas. The one she had given to her for Christmas. Her hair was also up in a loose ponytail.
In contrast to her little sister, Estelle was still wearing her work clothes. The diner's old navy blue waitress dress, with the exception of her shoes. She had taken them off before falling asleep. Her long dark brown hair was down but slightly tangled due to her rambunctious sleeping. But man, she was still tired...working full time at the diner really did a number on her. Not to mention, running her energy until low was not a smart move to do. So with tiredness in mind, and with the inappropriate show her little sister was currently watching, Estelle decided to make her presence known.
"Lilly bug, what do you think you're doing?" Estelle asked her in slight amusement, still managing to hold that parental tone. Although it was kind of side tracked since she used the affectionate nickname of Lilly bug. Estelle was the only one that got to call her by that nickname.
Lilly, who was a little bit startled by her older sister's voice, kept her cool and turned to face her. She saw how her older sister was leaning against the living room entrance giving her a parental look. So in return she gave her older sister a bashful smile. "Just catching up on some cartoons is all."
"Hmm." Estelle hummed, not at all taking her answer seriously. "In the middle of the night?" She asked her facetiously as she crossed her arms.
Lilly shrugged her shoulders. "Well, the best cartoons are always on late." She said with a lighthearted tone, in hopes of trying to drag on the conversion so that they wouldn't hit the real topic. Unfortunately, they did anyway.
Estelle gave her a chastising look. "Lilly, you know better than to stay up late. And you shouldn't be watching Adult Swim shows." She said seriously. Like a mother lecturing their own kid. "And you shouldn't have let me sleep for so long. Why didn't you wake me up?" She asked her, even though deep down she was grateful that she got some sleep.
Lilly stayed quiet for a few seconds, but when she spoke up she looked sheepish. "Because you were so tired and I wanted you to get some rest. I know how you sometimes need more rest in order to function." She told her whole heartedly. A smile started to form on Estelle's face by hearing her sister say this, but as soon as the kindhearted moment started, it was over. "And come on, Stella." Lilly whined using her own nickname on her. "Just let me finish watching this episode. Please, it's almost over." She begged her, focusing back on the silly, but inappropriate TV show.
Estelle almost gave in, especially by how nice her confession was and with the puppy dog look her little sister was giving her, but then she remembered the time and how tomorrow (well, actually today) was going to be a busy day for them. So she shook her head.
"I really appreciate you letting me sleep in, but you know you can't Lilly."
Lilly huffed childishly. "That's not fair. When we were living with Barry the two of you would always watch Rick and Morty together. And even then you still wouldn't let me watch it with you guys." She said, giving her a pout.
Lilly mentioning her male best friend Barry made a smile appear on Estelle's face. She quickly tried to lessen this on account of her trying to be more adult like her little sister. But of course her response back to her was anything but parental. Estelle had been Lilly's guardian for the past two years, but she still at times had trouble being strict with her. "I let you watch The Regular Show with us." She said as if that were a good response.
Lilly didn't look amused. "Everybody my age watches The Regular Show. And besides, it's not as entertaining as Rick and Morty."
"Well, it's better than nothing. Besides, there is a good reason for me not letting you watch certain things." Estelle told her in a simple, yet humor filled scolding type of tone. "Now come on, it's time for bed." She said as she walked over and turned off the TV. She then turned to face her. "It's way past your bedtime missy, and you have school tomorrow—actually today, since it's technically Monday. Not to mention, I have work in the morning and you have a doctors appointment after school."
Lilly stayed put on the couch but shifted her feet. "Do I have to go? I already know what they're gonna say anyways."
Estelle frowned and sat down next to her. "What do you mean you already know what they're gonna say?" She asked her.
"They're just gonna say the medication I've been taking hasn't been helping me...just like last time." Lilly said desolately as she looked down at her feet.
Estelle felt a lump on her throat by how sad her little sister sounded, but she quickly swallowed it.
"Hey, come on now, Lilly bug. You don't know that." She said trying to be optimistic and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "For all we know this medication has been helping you. Cause you've been feeling better haven't you?"
Lilly shrugged sadly, and then looked back towards her. "Could be my mind playing with me since it's something I really want to happen. Like with patients who take a pill not knowing it's a placebo. They believe something is happening to them because they believe or want it to actually happen."
Estelle felt complete wretchedness by what her little sister was saying. Although Lilly sounded so factual, the way she said all those words made tears pool in her blue eyes. It was like Lilly had given up with her treatment towards her heart condition. It was devastating hearing such words come from a twelve year old girl...even more from her little sister. The same little sister she'd been taking care of by herself for the past two years, ever since their parents had died in that awful car accident. The same little sister who had the misfortune of being diagnosed with Sinus node dysfunction.
In simplest terms that meant her heart sinus node wasn't working correctly. Making her heart beat go abnormally slow. The only way to help end this awful heart condition was with either prescribed medication by the doctor or surgery. The problem was that none of the medication prescribed to Lilly ever fully worked on her. The medicine either caused more damage or only worked for a short time period.
Estelle would have gladly accepted the surgery for her sister, but the sad part was that they could not afford it. It was one of the many reasons why Estelle worked full time. Because she was earning the money for the surgery. Which was another problem...because the surgery cost a lot of money...and Estelle wasn't even at the halfway mark towards the surgery's payment.
So that meant for the meantime they had to stick with the medications the doctors kept prescribing for Lilly. This most recent medication seemed like it had been helping her out a little...but the other past medications had been like that as well, before they went to the doctor and found out they hadn't been helping out...but still Estelle had to be the positive one in this situation. She had to offer her little sister comfort.
"I know you think that...but we gotta stay positive here, Lilly bug. Okay?" She said bringing her into a side hug, comforting her once more. "Let's just go to the doctor tomorrow, and then afterwards we can go get some ice cream. How's that sound? Hmm?"
Lilly sniffled a bit before lifting herself from her sister's shoulder. "Pinkie promise?" She said sticking out her pinkie.
Estelle held back her tears. "Pinkie promise." She said before wrapping her pinkie around hers.
Her little sister, although nine years younger than her, and already in her pre-teen years, coming close to being a full on teenager, still at times seemed way younger than her actual age. Maybe it was because of her heart diagnosis that made her more vulnerable. Of course to Estelle, Lilly would always be her younger kid sister. She'd always be looking after and taking care of her because she was the responsible one. Lilly was her only family left. Estelle needed to make sure nothing bad would ever happen to her...that she would get to have a good life. A happy and healthy life...one where she would get to live a long time. That's all Estelle wanted for her little sister.
Lilly deserved to have a good and long life. She was a remarkable girl. She wasn't a mindless pre-teen like most of the girls her age were. She was also very loyal and knew how to keep things to herself, like how her older sister had certain unique powers.
Although it was definitely different, Lilly never outed her sister to anyone. Along with that she was very insightful as well. That was a trait both Estelle and her parents (when they had been alive) noticed right away when she was around the age of two, once she started to repeat the alphabet backwards. Her little sister had ambition and she was filled with so much knowledge. Lilly was someone special the world needed. Except she wasn't the only one to inherit the smart gene in the Carter family.
Estelle was quite the genius herself. The young blue eyed adult easily went through high school and then went straight to college on a full scholarship due to her expertise towards physics—specifically on energy matters. That was how she got into the University of Washington and became a lab assistant on the special project the school was working on.
It was about energy matter conversion. Of course during that time she had been nineteen years old. Back when she had been...normal. It was at that age when everything changed for Estelle. Starting with her parents passing away in a terrible car crash. That resulted in her gaining custody over barely ten year old sister at the time. Which wasn't a burden in any way, but she did have to dedicate her time to Lilly because of her sudden heart diagnosis. That meant Estelle had to quit school, but before she did something incredible happened to her...an event that would forever impact her life. Both good and bad.
The event that forever changed her life was the night of the explosion at the school. The very same explosion that caused her to have these...powers.
Estelle of course didn't like to dwell on how she got her powers...she never used them anyways.
Well, that's a lie...she's used them...from time to time.
But never out in public.
Well, okay that's another lie because she did use them before. It was for a good reason though.
It was when she and Lilly were living in Central City. That was a hard time for Estelle because she was barely managing to put a roof over their heads. Of course things only got worse when Lilly got a bad case of the stomach flu. As Estelle now knows, having stomach problems along with heart problems never went well. That's why Estelle went to the liquor store in the middle of night to buy her sister flu medicine. It was all she could afford at the time...sadly.
Low and behold, it was that same liquor store she went to that caused her to use her...powers.
The reason why was because the store was being robbed and if she hadn't done anything the store owner would have been robbed or worse...shot. So of course she used her powers. Also, if she hadn't done anything then she wouldn't have gotten to meet Barry Allen. Awkward but funny, smart and cute (in a dorky way) Barry Allen. Another person who had strange powers as well.
To say Estelle was shocked by that discovery would be a huge understatement. Before him she never met anyone who had powers. Of course there was Superman...but she never met him in person, and much to her disappointment he was now dead. For months now. So technically Barry was the only person she knew who had powers.
His powers were different from hers. He was fast. Like lightning fast. So meeting him was...it was definitely something else. Despite the shock, Barry became a close personal friend to her. He kept her secret and she kept his secret. Hell, they helped each other out by practicing their powers. But besides that they needed to be close.
There was no one else like them out there in the world...well, no one that they were aware of anyways. Not that Estelle wanted to find out. She was fine being left in the dark, because she did not want to be affiliated with other people who had...powers. She had a sister to take care of and raise. Barry was the only exception because he was her friend.
She honestly owed Barry a lot. If it wasn't for him, she and Lilly would have been living in the streets in those first few months in Central City. He let her and Lilly live with him for almost a full year actually. In his apartment/lab/hide out. It was a pretty snazzy place and they spent a lot of time there just hanging out. Watching movies, TV shows, playing with the amounts of computers he had in there. Lilly especially loved playing video games with him.
Barry enjoyed both their company. Estelle remembered him saying that he saw Lilly like a little sister, and that he saw Estelle as a close friend. Since he didn't really have many friends. Not that Estelle was judging, since she too didn't have a lot of friends either. Not anymore. Besides, she liked spending time with Barry. The same could be said about Barry towards them. In fact, he liked them so much that he even let them sit in his second favorite chair. Which sounded silly to Estelle at the time, but she eventually understood the meaning behind that.
Life with Barry was great but as much of a good friend he was to her, she knew that she couldn't stay with him forever. Estelle was a stubborn and independent young woman. She had a little sister to take care of and raise. So once she settled down and got a job, she waited until she had enough money for her and Lilly to go on their own and they moved to Gotham.
Now one might think that it was insane to move to Gotham of all places. She had a reason for that. It was the city where she had a better chance to pay for Lilly's heart surgery. True it was still really expensive...but it was the least expensive from all the other cities out there.
Sadly that meant saying goodbye to Barry. The young adult was sad hearing the news because he had gotten quite close to her and Lilly. He felt like he was losing the only friends he had but he fully supported Estelle. Plus he let her know that he was always there if she needed help. Especially when it came towards Lilly's health. She still kept in contact with Barry from time to time. A phone call here and there. She always liked to talk to her forensic friend living in Central City. He was quite the character and she really liked hearing the stories he would tell her. Especially since it was about how he stopped crime in his city.
Other than Barry and her little sister Lilly, no one else knew about her powers. That was how she wanted to keep it. Estelle didn't want to worry about other things besides her little sister. Getting her healthy and taking care of was her top priority, and it would always be.
With all this in mind, Estelle let go of her little sister's pinkie. "Okay, let's go to bed now before it gets way too late and neither one of us is going to want to get up." She said, cracking a small smile, trying to ease the sad tension the living room had.
Luckily it worked a little, and Lilly returned a small smile.
The two of them walked back to their bedrooms. Lilly's was right next door to Estelle's. The young girl waited outside her bedroom door until her older sister turned off the living room light. Once Estelle was close to her, Lilly gave her a goodnight hug.
"Night, Stella."
Estelle returned the hug.
"Goodnight, Lilly bug, sweet dreams. See you in the morning." She said to her before ending the hug and going back into her own room, with Lilly doing the same. She waited until she heard Lilly's bedroom door close before she did the same with hers. Estelle quickly changed out of her work clothes and into her pajamas. Which consisted of shorts and an old University of Washington T-shirt. Changed and ready to sleep, Estelle got under her covers and happily welcomed sleep to take over. Ready to gain all her energy back into her system.
Of course before she fully went to sleep, Estelle reminded herself not to wake up late...although she had a funny feeling she would.
