Disclaimer: I do not own the movie Suicide Squad or any of the characters. I only own my OC.

A/N: Glad you guys liked the last chapter! Harley and Estelle finally met! And Harley already wants to be best friends with her. Estelle of course isn't going to want to, but obviously throughout the story, that's going to change. Anyways, hope this chapter does justice as well! Estelle is continuing to meet more Task Force X members.

*Edited February 19th, 2020*


"There is no such thing as a weird human being. It's just that some people require more understanding than others." ― Tom Robbins


Chapter 7: He's human, is he not?

"So how old are you anyways?"

Estelle held in the annoyed huff she wanted to let out.

Ever since they left Waller to go where Rick was, Griggs had been non-stop trying to talk to her. Or should she say, trying to 'flirt' with her. It absolutely repulsed Estelle with how crude he was being towards her. She knew that not all guys were like him. Throughout the years she'd met some pretty decent guys. But Griggs was definitely not close to being a decent guy. It astounded her by how he was able to even have this type of job. Perhaps the prison system was corrupted in some way. Either way, it shocked her by how he had such a high job within the security ranks of the prison.

"You definitely have to be over eighteen." Griggs' annoying voice once again entered her ears. "There's no other way you'd be here. So what? Twenty? Twenty-one?" At that last guess, Estelle couldn't help but let out a huff. Not long afterwards she heard him let out a laugh. Estelle didn't have to fully look at him to know he had a smirk on his face. "Oh, so twenty-one, huh? A few years younger than me, but that's not a real deal breaker. Besides, girls like older men." This time Estelle stopped her walking, she turned towards his direction, and gave him a fiery glare. But all that did was cause him to throw her a wink.

Estelle felt the palm of her hands start to warm up. She could literally feel the bundled up energy inside her body start to spread. This low-life of a man was starting to test her patience. Oh, how much she wanted to blast him. Or at least kick him where it hurts the most. That alone would teach him how to speak to a woman. Except she knew she couldn't go cosmic on his ass. If she did, she'd then have to deal with Waller about how she hurt a "prison guard." And who knows how Waller would respond towards her misconduct...she still had Lilly under her watch. If she acted out, Waller would throw away the deal they had for Lilly's heart surgery. Or worse...Waller could end up hurting Lilly. Estelle had no doubt that Waller was capable of doing that and more. So with a deep breath, Estelle collected herself and turned away from Griggs. She began to walk forward again, towards the direction they had been going in.

She distinctly heard Griggs release another laugh. Probably laughing at her lack of response, but oh boy was he lucky. If they had been somewhere else, with no Waller under their watch, Estelle would have beaten the crap out of him. Now thinking about it, Estelle probably wouldn't have used her powers on him. Just her fists would have been enough. She would have made her dad proud with how she was able to teach this low-life man some manners. She had done it before and it had proved effective results. Especially when she first started off in college. When she had met her now ex-girlfriend, Jasmine. Estelle sure taught the guys who had been messing with her a lesson. Never mess with a girl, especially when she's not interested. They were down on the floor within the first minute. She would have felt bad if they hadn't been jerks. So Estelle knew she wouldn't have felt bad if she kicked Griggs' ass. Unfortunately...she couldn't. She'd just have to deal with his ever so annoying presence.

"So, Estelle." Griggs said, once again his voice filled the air. He licked his lips. "That's an interesting name...maybe a little too serious, like hotness said."

Estelle couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows. She gave him a glance as they kept walking. "Hotness?" She repeated with uncertainty.

"Yeah, you know the one hundred and eightteen pounds of insanity you just met." Griggs sneered at her. "She's hot as hell, but man is she bat shit crazy. A whole lot of pretty in a whole lot of crazy, as I like to say."

Hearing him say this made Estelle glare hard at him again. Sure Harley Quinn was a prisoner, and who knows how many offensive acts she had done, but for some reason hearing Griggs talk so masochistically towards her made Estelle feel anger. She shook her head in disbelief and looked away. Continuing with her walking, she again thought about how in the world he was a guard to a high secured prison. However, the next words that came out of Griggs' mouth made her stop abruptly.

"The name Stella on the other hand―"

"If you so much value the one and only part that makes you a male, I'd stop talking." Estelle lowly hissed at him. She knew she shouldn't have threatened him, but he called her by the name only the people close to her could address her as. Perhaps she overreacted a bit, but she didn't physically harm him. Estelle saw that as a positive thing towards her restraint. Besides, it was better than having her punch the lights out of him.

In response to this, Griggs simply smirked. "Feisty." He said in a suggestive tone of voice. "I like a girl who's feisty. See I knew you had a temper on you."

Estelle scrunched up her face and scoffed. His reply made her want to throw a trash can at him. One made out of metal. Like she said before, when she first met him, she knew he was a total scumbag.

Luckily Estelle no longer had to deal with his presence alone, since they had finally made it to their destination. At least she thought it was their destination. Estelle hadn't really given much thought to her surroundings, on behalf of her trying to control her powers from unleashing, and on trying to ignore Griggs' flirting. But now that she had more clarity, Estelle realized that they were probably down underground somehow. The hall they were in would have been in complete darkness if it had not been for the small lights above them. They made one last turn, Griggs opened the gated door, and stepped to the side. Estelle frowned at this.

"Ladies first." Griggs stated with a grin.

Estelle contemplated her actions, but then bravely stepped forward and walked through the door.

It was even more slightly dark in there and she was ever glad that she had on her blue hooded jacket. The temperature was cold, too cold for her liking. Estelle began wondering why in the world Rick was down here, and if this was just a way for Griggs to get her alone. She was already figuring out a way to escape if this was indeed a trap, when she finally saw Rick at the end of the dark hall. A amount of relief filled through her when she saw him.

The oncoming noise of footsteps caught Rick's attention. He turned around wanting to see who it was and he furrowed his eyebrows in concern once he did.

There making her way towards him was Estelle. Griggs was there as well, but he was a few feet back. Rick knew the reason why. The prison officer might talk a good game but inside he was afraid of the prisoners residing here. Especially the one that resided down here. It was obvious by how he was lingering back. The Colonel's attention turned towards the young adult once she was closer to him. "What are you doing here?" He firmly asked her.

Estelle took notice of his tone. Already knowing he was in his Colonel state. His stance and clothing showed that. She crossed her arms and let out a huff. "Waller." Was all she said to him.

It was enough of an answer for Rick. He let out a sigh. He should have suspected that Waller had sent her. Although he was glad she was no longer near Harley Quinn, being there with him wasn't exactly an improvement. Not to mention because Griggs had walked her down. Rick's gaze became hard as he looked at Griggs. After a few seconds of hard glaring, he looked towards her. His hard stance faltered a bit. "You good?" He asked in discreet concern.

No matter how professional he was trying to play it, Estelle was able to figure him out. She found his concern for her to be heartwarming. She turned to give Griggs a quick scowl before facing Rick again. She allowed a small smile to appear on her face. "Yeah, I'm good." She said as she uncrossed her arms.

Content with her response, Rick nodded his head. His attention went back to why he was here. He gave Estelle a serious look. "Stay close to me and don't put your hands anywhere near the bars."

Estelle was about to say what bars when she turned to the side and saw what he was talking about.

It was a jail cell, that was made obvious. But this jail cell looked as if it were made to lock up some type of animal. Surely they hadn't locked up a human being down here. The conditions here were hardly anywhere near decent.

Appalled by the look of the area, Estelle looked at both Rick and Griggs. "You can't seriously have a person locked down here?" Her question was more directed towards Griggs than Rick but it was the Colonel who spoke first.

"It was the inmate's request to be put down here." Rick said solemnly.

At this Estelle frowned. Maybe the inmate requested to be put down here but not for the indecent jail cell.

"Besides, I wouldn't even call him a person, let alone a human being." Griggs interjected with a sneer.

Estelle was about to retort something back to him, when she heard a loud growl come from the jail cell. Her blue eyes went back to the cell and that's when she finally saw the inmate. It was hard to tell his appearance at first, but the closer he got to the cell the more obvious it was to make him out.

Scales. Actual reptilian scales. Eyes that glowed back at her could be seen.

It shocked her at first. Not scared or repulsed, but she just genuinely felt surprised.

Estelle's shock went away when realization finally hit her.

This was Waylon Jones. Killer Croc.

The man who Rick said had a crocodilian appearance due to a rare genetic condition. She had a hard time believing that but now here she was face to face with him.

Evolution at its finest...or worst?

To Estelle the whole thing might have just depended on how one's opinions came to wrap around that question. Although she knew society probably thought the worst of him, because of his appearance. The world probably made him feel like an outsider, and that's maybe the reason he retaliated and ended up here. Turning to the life of crime, because there was nowhere else for him to go.

The more she stared at him, the more this thought grew into her mind. Estelle took a step closer to the jail cell. An action that made Rick grab onto her arm, full with caution. In an attempt to stop her, but she ignored it and kept her stance. She focused on the inmate, Waylon Jones. Who just like her was staring as well.

"Wow, girlie, I'd back away if I were you. K.C. here is a biter." Griggs commented snidely, from where he was standing a few feet back.

At this, Estelle heard Waylon let out another growl, and she saw how he was glaring at Griggs.

"Best not to mess with a wild animal like him." Griggs added.

That was the last straw. Estelle turned to face Griggs. Her stare was completely hard. "He's human, isn't he? Does he not bleed? Think for himself? What about feelings?" She asked ardently. When there was no witty reply from Griggs, she gave him a 'that's what I thought look'. When she spoke again, her voice lowered a bit, but remained stern. "That in my eyes means he's human. So start treating him with some human decency."

Griggs opened his mouth to tell her off, but he stopped when he saw how sternly Rick Flag was staring at him. He quickly shut his mouth and lowered his gaze onto the ground.

Estelle, who hadn't noticed the exchange, looked back towards the jail cell. This time she noticed how Waylon's gaze on her was less intense than before. He narrowed his eyes at her and then tilted his head. "You're not scared, are you?" He asked, and Estelle heard how deep his actual voice was.

Estelle kept her facial expression placid. She slowly shook her head. "No, I guess not." She answered him, her voice was calm and collected.

Killer Croc, or Waylon Jones, as that was the name he was given from birth, sniffed the air taking in the girl's scent. She in no way smelled like the guards that regularly came to keep him in check or to feed him. He knew she wasn't from here, and that somewhat bemused him. Although it was the way she held herself, not showing any once of fear towards him that really made an impression. Her lack of fear was strangely refreshing. He let out a growl, this time it was much lower and softer. He gave her a short nod, before turning around and letting the darkness that his cell had envelop him.

Once he was out of sight, Rick again grabbed onto Estelle's arm. This time she let him pull her back. He didn't say anything but his expression said enough. She gave him a sheepish look, but she herself didn't say anything.

The silence ended when Rick ordered Griggs to take them to meet up with Waller. Apparently they now had to analyze the remaining inmates together.

Once they were in a better lit hallway, Rick pulled Estelle to the side, away from Griggs.

"I thought I told you to stay close to me." He said, his southern accent coming through.

Estelle sighed at his lecturing tone of voice. "I know, it's just that..." she drawled, unable to finish her sentence.

"Look..." Rick started off, his voice becoming less firm. "I get it. You feel sympathy, but you have to remember he's a criminal. That they are all criminals. You gotta keep your guard up around them."

Estelle kept quiet, but after a few seconds of silence, she nodded her head.

"Okay." Rick said as he glanced over his shoulder. "Come on, we're meeting with Waller now. We still gotta analyze El Diablo and Deadshot." He said before walking back towards Griggs.

Estelle digested Rick's words. What he said should have been absurd to her, but he was right. She felt sympathy, no matter how much she didn't want to. They were criminals, there was a reason as to why they got locked up. But the way the guards (specifically Griggs) treated their inmates was inexcusable. She reached for the butterfly necklace that she had on and gently touched it. She let out an aghast sigh before following right behind Rick Flag's footsteps.


After finally making their way to the top of the prison, Estelle, Rick, and Griggs (who, much to her misfortune, was still with them) reunited back with Waller. This was of course something Estelle disfavored. A lot. She didn't like being anywhere near the older woman. She'd much rather prefer Waylon's company. As strange as that seems, Estelle would have liked it more if she was around him instead of Waller.

Hell, the twenty-one year old would have maybe even preferred to be near Harley Quinn. Well...maybe being a stressed out word. After all, the blonde did leave quite an impression on her. Mainly puzzlement. Estelle found what the Queen of Gotham said to her, about wanting to be best friends, to be incredibly odd. Not to mention, it was totally an unexpected thing to say. Then again this was Harley Quinn. So, Estelle should have already known to expect the unexpected from her. One thing she knew for sure, was that her first meeting with the blonde prisoner had definitely been bizarre.

Now another thing that was bizarre was Waller's indifferent attitude when meeting with her again. Waller had an apathetic demeanor. Estelle had come to realize that the U.S. government agent only showed genuine interest whenever something benefited her. Although Estelle still found it odd when she didn't make any mention of what happened between her and Harley Quinn. The brief conversation they had was not at all brought up. Estelle thought for sure she was going to say something. The older woman did after all look mildly attentive with the conversation they had.

But to her surprise, Amanda Waller said nothing. Once meeting with her, Estelle didn't even bring up anything related to Harley Quinn. And that just made Estelle more suspicious and nervous towards the older woman.

Even now as they made their way where Chato Santana, aka El Diablo was locked up, the twenty-one year old made sure to stay closer towards Rick than her. Although she also made sure not to be close to Griggs either. But that was more because she heavily disliked the prison guard.

It was somewhat raining harder now as they came up to a large locked gate. Estelle shivered and pulled her blue hooded jacket more tightly against her body. She adjusted the hood that was over her head, making sure it was fully covering her hair. The last she needed was to have unruly hair. Yes, her hair didn't frizz up or anything, and she didn't really care much about her physical appearance, but she didn't want to look the boisterous part. Especially not in front of Rick. She wanted to look more put together and adult like. In simpler terms, Estelle didn't want to look like a crazed twenty-one year old just because of the damn weather.

"Open that gate!" Estelle suddenly heard Griggs order up to the guard that was in charge of the locks. After he said that not even five seconds passed before the gate was opened.

Stepping through the gate left Estelle feeling greatly surprised. She saw that inside there was no jail cell, but instead there looked to be a large wide circular like contraption. And just like with Waylon Jones, Estelle was left wondering if Chato Santana was really in there. If so, why? This supposed jail cell was hardly anything near adequate. At least inside Waylon's cell, Estelle saw what looked like a mattress. Sure it was old and torn, but at least he had a place to sleep. She hardly doubted there was a mattress inside where Chato was residing. Just like with Harley, he probably had to sleep without one.

This of course only added more exasperation within Estelle. She didn't want to feel this way. Like Rick had said to her, she couldn't let her guard down. These were criminals they were dealing with. She couldn't feel sympathy for them.

But as much as she didn't want to, fighting the empathy she was having for them was getting more difficult for her. Damn it. Maybe it had to do with the fact that her dad might have ended up in prison that made her feel this way. Granted he probably wouldn't have gone to a highly secured prison like this one. But if he had continued on with the disastrous life he once had, he would have gotten locked up. And just the thought of him being treated like these prisoners made her feel a heavy amount of discontent.

"Yo, esé." Griggs yelled, making Estelle frown at the way he said that. He was clearly being disrespectful. She had hoped he wouldn't continue on with his sneering, but the closer they got to the circular contraption, the more vocal he got. "Hola, amigo! Put that burrito down. You got visitors, man." He announced as he loudly banged on the small window that was in the front.

What happened next made Estelle cringe.

Waller had pulled out an iPad am dead then harshly plastered it against the window.

Estelle knew what video she was showing. It was a video of him burning down several inmates. She herself had seen the video when they were making their way here. She didn't like watching it and just thinking about it was awful. All those men...dead within seconds.

Chato Santana's powers were indeed hazardous. He was a dangerous metahuman.

And even though she didn't agree with his jail cell, she was still expecting to see a viscous looking man behind the window. Like in the video. But once Waller removed the iPad, Estelle was left surprised.

There inside the contraption was not the same man from the video. Yes, physically it was the same man. But the way he held himself was not the same. He didn't look viscous and there was no air of arrogance surrounding him like in the video. No...he looked more grim and contrite with himself. He appeared to have genuine guilt.

Estelle was taken back by this. And out of more curiosity, she stepped closer towards the window.

El Diablo noticed the young looking girl that was to the side. He saw she was coming closer to the window. He frowned slightly, greatly confused by her presence. Then again he was surprised that anyone other than the guards were here. But this girl was too young to be here. He saw how she was looking at him, almost in a curious way. And once again this left him in a loop of bemusement. But compared to the other two, she looked to be the least judgmental. He then looked at the woman who had shown him the video. The video that reminded him of who he used to be. He shook his head at her, complete somberness filled his expression. "That ain't me."

Estelle right away noticed how his voice also sounded as remorseful as he looked.

Waller just gave him an incredulous look. "That wasn't you?"

El Diablo once again shook his head. "Nah, they say it's me, but that ain't me. That guy's gone. He's dead."

"And yet, here you are." Waller harshly retorted back to him.

Rick was quick to act. "Ma'am." He said putting a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to get attention. It worked and Waller looked at him. "Let me try to talk to him."

Now in comparison to her, Estelle heard Rick speak more calmly. And much to her surprise, Waller actually let him take over the conversation.

The Colonel looked into the window and Estelle saw how he gave Chato an earnest expression. "You want to die in here buddy?" He asked him. "You got a real shot of walking the block again." He ardently explained to him. "Have a nice cold beer, nice meal, woman."

Something Rick said must have hit an emotional nerve, because Estelle saw how Chato's somberness grew more. "Look man, you ain't the first to ask and you ain't gonna be the last."

"Ask what?" Rick questioned him.

El Diablo let out an aghast sigh. "I'm a man, okay? I ain't no weapon." He said, completely solemn. "I'ma die in peace before I raise my fists again. I've caused enough harm." He said this and then raised his hands. Fire came out of them forming the word Bye.

Estelle thought the act itself and what he said to them was poetic and melancholic.

Whatever sort of nervousness she had for Chato Santana was immediately gone after that. The pyrokinetic metahuman held genuine remorse for his past actions. He was no longer that dangerous man that she saw in the video. He was now a collected and changed man. He was owning up to his mistakes and that made Estelle feel respect for him.

However, it was that regretful look he had on that really did it for her.

In a way it reminded her of the one her dad used to have.


The introduction to Chato Santana hadn't fully left Estelle's mind. Just like with meeting Harley and Waylon, the pyrokinetic man left an impact on Estelle. Maybe more so than the other two. Perhaps it just had to do with the remorse he had. The remorse that in a way reminded Estelle of her own dad. One thing Estelle knew for sure was that Chato Santana certainly was not the person she thought she was going to meet.

So who knows...maybe the next inmate would be the same.

Well, maybe not exactly the same, but she was still curious about him.

Floyd Lawton, who went by the name Deadshot. The name he went by when he did his...uh, job. If what he did was even considered a job. He was a trained assassin after all. And apparently he got paid a lot.

But Estelle wondered...what was his back story?

Guess she'd have to wait and see.

The anticipation she had just grew more when she was informed that the guards were going to bring him outside to them.

Of course uneasiness was an understandable feeling to have. Especially since they had a table full of all sorts of guns displayed right in front of them. When Waller said that they were gonna have him show his "skills" Estelle wanted to full on retort something back to Waller. But she smartly kept quiet. If anything did go wrong, she could always protect herself. Rick too. But despite her metahuman powers, she still gave Rick a small worried look his way.

"So, we're just gonna let him use these guns? Roam free?" She asked him. Her voice was low though since Waller was close to them.

Rick gave her a small barely noticeable nod. "Don't worry, we have things under control." He muttered back to her.

The Colonel's reassurance did allow her to feel a bit more relaxed. Especially towards his well being. Her nerves went up a bit once she heard oncoming footsteps.

Estelle was now mentally preparing herself. Except whatever composure she had faltered as soon as her blue eyes landed on the heavily escorted inmate.

At first she thought her mind was playing a trick on her. That she was just imagining things, but after a few seconds of just analyzing him she knew this was real. A semi-old memory began to play in her head and after it was over she let out a low gasp.

This was Floyd Lawton?

Deadshot?

Estelle's eyes widened, half from shock and the other half from a small feeling of awe. Awe because life sure had a funny way of reuniting people you've only met once in your life together again. Only this was seriously an unusual and unexpected way.

Once he got closer, Estelle became slightly tense.

This feeling only intensified when Deadshot finally became aware of her presence. He looked directly at her and once he took in her form, she noticed that recollection began to slowly fill his eyes as well.


A/N: So yeah I'm gonna be a terrible person and end the chapter here. Anyways, how do you think Estelle knows Deadshot? Take a guess. Y'all are gonna have to wait until the next chapter. Don't worry, I'll explain their meeting of each other in a flashback.