Disclaimer: I do not own Suicide Squad or any other characters. I only own my OC.
"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." ― Anaïs Nin
Chapter 9: Reunited and it feels so good
Estelle was inwardly relieved that Rick and Amanda did not question her with what went down between Deadshot and her. Although she was a bit puzzled at first. She could understand why Rick wouldn't ask her questions. Perhaps the Colonel was just too focused with his task in hand. But Waller? Estelle expected her to practically interrogate her. Then again, the twenty-one year old expected the working government woman to do the same thing when she interacted with Harley Quinn, and yet the older woman did not question her whatsoever.
It was odd...but Estelle was willing to let that go for now.
Estelle and them were then finally able to leave after they met and questioned all the Belle Reve inmates that qualified to be in Task Force X. The twenty-one year old was glad to know that they wouldn't be staying at the prison, but at a fancy hotel close by. Which at first, she was happy, and even excited about. She'd never stayed at a fancy hotel before. Her excitement, however, went away when she learned that they would be staying on the twenty-third floor. Which meant she had to take the damn elevator.
Elevator.
Estelle's eyes widened when Rick told her this just as they arrived at the hotel. She could tell the Colonel was trying to be sensitive with the topic. He must have figured out her dislike towards elevators back when they had been at her apartment. She was grateful that he was at least being patient with her. Unlike Waller. June had been bemused by her behavior, but Waller was more harsh. The older woman just gave her a curt look when Estelle wouldn't enter the elevator right away. The twenty-one year old wanted to protest. She didn't care if she looked like a child. She hated elevators. She'd rather take the stairs like how she did at her apartment building.
Unfortunately, the hotel wasn't like her apartment building. This was a hotel, and her room was on the twenty-third floor, not the fourth. Her decision was finally made up when Waller loudly called out her name. Estelle was about to rebuke something back, but stopped when she saw the hard look Waller was now throwing at her. The twenty-one year old's stubbornness faltered and she slowly entered the elevator. Rick had been kind enough to give her more room for herself and Estelle nodded her head towards him, once again grateful.
Throughout the whole elevator ride, Estelle's heart pounded quickly thanks to her anxiousness. Every once in a while Rick turned to look at her, and she guessed he kept doing that to make sure she was doing okay. Which she wasn't, but she still thought he was being nice. She would have said something, but she was too focused on her panicking. The twenty-third floor? More like the one hundredth floor. It felt like they were taking forever! It wasn't until Estelle gently grabbed the butterfly necklace Lilly gave to her, that she started to somewhat calm down.
A few hours later had passed, and it was now way into the night. Estelle was finally in her hotel room. No longer having to endure the damn elevator or Waller's presence. At least night right now. She knew she'd have to see Waller again, and that she'd have to go into the elevator in order to leave, but she chose to ignore those small details for now.
Estelle sighed as she ran a hand through her now wet hair. Thanks to the shower she had just taken, she now felt refreshed. That was exactly what she wanted after being out in the rain. She was no longer wearing the clothes she had earlier, but instead had changed into black shorts and a plain purple night sleep shirt. Although she brought extra clothes she still wanted to wash the clothes she had on earlier, which was what she did. Mainly because she wanted to wear her lucky rainbow socks again. Maybe when she'd wear them again, they'd actually work.
She put her old clothes back into her bag before she sat down on the hotel bed. Her blue eyes were now carefully looking at all the files that were on her bed. The files that Rick had given to her before he went to his own room next door. Although Rick had told her about the criminals that they would be working with, Estelle wanted to read their files. Just to be more familiar with them. Maybe if she had done that from the beginning it would have prepared her when meeting Deadshot. The shock she had when seeing him again would have been way less noticeable.
Estelle quickly reread his file, not finding anything new from what she already knew about him. She did the same when reading Killer Croc's, or as she preferred to call him, Waylon. As well with Chato Santana's. Her attention grew when she read George "Digger" Harkness, or as she found out on his file, he preferred to be called Captain Boomerang. Her blue eyes widened in realization.
No wonder his name sounded familiar to her! This was the guy Barry told her about! The one he captured during a bank robbery. She remembered how excited and amused Barry sounded when he told her over the phone.
"You wouldn't believe what I saw Stella. This guy I caught was carrying around a stuffed unicorn inside his jacket. A grown man! If it weren't for how crucial it was to turn him in, I think I would have laughed till I passed out."
Estelle really couldn't blame Barry for his amused comment. She would have wanted to laugh too. In fact, that's what she wanted to do right now, but she managed to control herself. A smile escaped her when she looked at Captain Boomerang's photo. Now that she knew about his unicorn fetish his photo no longer seemed threatening. Her smile vanished when she set aside Captain Boomerang's file and focused on the last file that was left.
Harley Quinn's.
For some unknown reason, Estelle decided to leave her file for last. Which was muddling since her file was the one Estelle was the most curious and interested in reading. She took a deep breath before she started to read Harley Quinn's file.
Name: Harleen Frances Quinzel
Aliases: Harley Quinn
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6
Weight: 118
DOB: 07/20/1990
Age: 26 years old
Charge and Description: Armed Robbery, Grand Theft Auto, Kidnapping, Breaking and Entering, Assaulting a Police Officer.
Other info important to note: Quinzel has a love obsession with a previous patient from Arkham Asylum, known now as the Joker, and sometimes referred to as the 'The Clown Prince of Crime.' Despite her mental downfall it is best not to underestimate her. Quinzel is still quite highly manipulative due to her ex-psychiatrist skills. Best kept in solitary.
Estelle blinked a few times, slack-jawed.
Harley Quinn had been a psychiatrist? Now that was something she did not know. The twenty-one year old of course knew about her loyalty towards the Joker, but everyone in Gotham knew about that. It was still shocking to find out that Harley had been his therapist. Let alone that she'd fallen in love with him while he was under her care. She was supposed to change him, but apparently he had been the one to have changed her. That was definitely some twisted romantic crap right there...if one could even call it romantic. But as she had said to Rick before, love is an odd thing.
But could you really call what Harley and the Joker had love?
Estelle sighed at such a complicated question. She knew what love was. She'd seen love between her parents and she'd even experienced love herself. Back when she'd been in college with Jasmine...but that didn't exactly end well, now did it? And her parents didn't get happy ever after either and they loved each other dearly. Which just left Estelle with a bigger question...
Does anyone who's ever experienced love ever get a happy ending?
A sudden noise next door caught Estelle's attention. She momentarily forgot the question and of Harley Quinn's file. She rose from the bed and made her way towards the wall. She put her ear against it and waited. She didn't have to wait long to hear the same noise from before. It sounded like a thump and it made caution rise within her. She would have ran towards the room, but then she remembered something. The noise was coming from Rick's room and she knew for sure he wasn't in there alone. June was sharing the room with him. And out of embarrassment Estelle froze. She pondered. What if they were doing something intimate and she just ran in there? Talk about awkward.
Estelle shuddered just at the thought of it.
Whatever hesitation she had before though faltered when she heard a louder thump. This time she couldn't settle for the whole "what if" embarrassing excuse. She just knew something was wrong. Estelle let out a huff. "Ah, screw it." She uttered before making her ways towards her hotel bedroom door. She was ready to knock on Rick's door to see if everything was alright.
Suddenly she froze when a silk sounding voice entered her ears.
"Don't child. Stay...everything is as it should be."
Estelle closed her eyes and the voice grew louder, bewitching her to do as it said. A soft touch to her cheek was the last thing she needed as reassurance.
"Go back to bed and sleep. Everything is fine, nothing to worry over."
And just like that the metahuman stayed in her hotel room, seemingly forgetting to check on the strange noises she heard coming from Rick's room.
She didn't notice the pair of glowing eyes that hid in the shadows of her room.
Estelle had never felt so out of place before.
Never had she been in such a busy, overwhelming environment. It also didn't help that she was still in a daze like state, but being rudely woken up this morning was to blame for that. Or actually Rick was to blame for that. The Colonel had awoken her up early in the morning, disrupting her from her slumber.
The funny thing was that she didn't remember going to sleep last night. It also didn't feel like she got any sleep. She didn't feel any new energy flowing through her, but perhaps she was too anxious right now to feel it. Riding the elevator back down certainly caused her anxiousness to rise, but now it was because of where she was at.
Midway City Airport, Evacuation Zone.
To say Estelle was thrown off when Rick told her of where they were going would be an understatement. When she asked him why he said it was classified information, but that it was urgent for them to go there because they were finally going to commence with Task Force X.
Obviously that whole 'classified' bit intrigued Estelle. Just what kind of unexpected threat were they dealing with? She wanted to ask Rick, but that whole "Colonel" type of attitude stopped her from asking him. Whatever the threat was, she'd soon find out. They were going to try to stop it, by using Task Force X, but because of that she couldn't help but worry. For not only herself, but for the others involved as well.
One of the upsides of being in the overcrowded airport was that Waller wasn't there. That somehow made things a whole lot better. Estelle didn't have to deal with her presence anymore...for now anyways. June wasn't with them either, but to be frank Estelle didn't actually think the timid woman would be joining them when going out. She didn't seem like the fighting type.
Estelle expected to see the mousy woman when leaving the hotel, but she didn't. When she asked Rick where she was, the Colonel just firmly said she needed to stay behind to do some extra case work. After that Estelle decided not to push the colonel for any more questions regarding June.
Now things were taking a rather interesting and uneasy turn. After arriving in Midway City, Estelle was able to figure out that the city had been under attack and a lot of people had been hurt. Hence why she saw a lot of people getting treated right there in the airport. When she saw the injuries on all those people something within her grew. A sense of determination. She knew that whatever was causing such a horrible mess needed to be stopped.
Her walking around said airport had made a lot of heads turn. Especially when they saw her walking around with Colonel Flag. Estelle was expecting that. Even before now, most of the time wherever she went she was seen as the defenseless type of girl. She blamed her feminine features for such judgement. Or maybe it was because she wasn't wearing any protective gear. She was just wearing her regular type of outfit. Dark skinny jeans, a Gun's N' Roses t-shirt, her blue hoodie jacket, and her converse with her rainbow socks underneath. Although her not wearing protective gear was because she refused to wear them. She didn't need them. But even if she had gear on, she probably would have still been stared at.
GQ Edwards, the young soldier who she met on the helicopter ride, was a perfect example. She right away saw the shock on his face when Rick told him she would be helping them with this mission. The momentary shock he showed was enough to know that he thought she wasn't capable of helping them out. How wrong he was there.
Rick, her, and the other soldiers who had been following them finally came to a stop. Estelle took the opportunity to gaze around the area they were now at. They were in the middle of the airport, away from the civilians. Which made perfect sense because that was where they were bringing the Task Force X members. Estelle's anticipation didn't last long because soon enough heavily armed soldiers started to bring in said Belle Reve prisoners.
All of them were locked, secured, and lined up. Well not all of them. Only Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Chato Santana, and Waylon, were here. They were still missing two members. Estelle noticed they were still being thoroughly watched by everyone that was around them. Which made sense. The soldiers looked ready to act if anything were to actually happen.
From beside her, Estelle felt Rick straightened himself. "Unlock 'em." The colonel firmly ordered.
Estelle closely watched as each of the members got unlocked from their restrictions. They all used the time to stretch and move around. Estelle used this time to quickly look each of them over. Her gaze, however, got stuck on Deadshot for a few more seconds than she wanted. The older man was giving her an unreadable expression while doing so. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement. She composed herself and looked away from him, not wanting Rick to notice the little exchange. She let her gaze land on the Queen of Gotham herself.
"Hi boys!" Harley greeted with an enthusiastic smile. Her eyes brightened more when she saw Stella. "And girl. Didn't think I'd forget about you now, did yah, Stella?" She giggled when saw how irked the blue eyed beauty looked thanks to that nickname.
Upon release, Harley once again stretched her hands over her head. She gave Stella a wink before looking at the rest of the people around them. "Harley Quinn, how do you do?" There was a moment of silence before she made a thinking face. "What was that? I should kill everyone and escape?" She right away saw the confused faces on everyone. She smiled once more and tapped her head. "Sorry, it's the voices." She giggled uncontrollably. "I'm kidding." She turned somewhat serious with a smile still on her face. "That's not what they really said."
Talk about complex. Estelle thought to herself as she stared at platinum blonde in puzzlement. The sound of several heavy footsteps caught Estelle's attention. She turned her attention away from Harley and looked towards her right. She frowned when she saw a moving zipped up bag that was on the ground. Was someone seriously in there?
Rick came closer towards the moving bag. "What do we got here? Twelve pounds of shit in a ten pound sack." The Colonel said with a bored voice. "Welcome to the party, Captain Boomerang."
Estelle quirked an eyebrow. They put Captain Boomerang in a bag? A part of her thought that was just plain wrong and rude, but another part of her, the more childish part, thought it was just funny. And what added to the humor was what she was able to remember about him. This was the same guy who Barry said carried around a stuffed animal of a unicorn with him. What amused thoughts she had ended within the next ten seconds when the bag was unzipped. A burly shaped man came out of the bag, full on swinging at the soldiers that were near him.
Instead of moving out of the way, Estelle moved closer towards him, ready to stop his nonsense.
Rick saw this and acted quickly. He got there before her and restrained the Aussie, pushing him against the pole that was behind them. "Hey, hey, hey." Captain Boomerang though continued to protest. "What's going on man?" He asked.
"Calm down." Rick ordered with a stern look.
"Hey." Captain Boomerang defended. "One minute I'm playing Mahjong with me nana, and then this red streak hits me outta nowhere!"
That was his excuse? Psh. If only Barry could hear this. Estelle let out a small laugh at that thought. Captain Boomerang heard this. As if finally noticing the young girl, he narrowed his eyes. "Ay, you think that's funny?"
Not at all bothered with the way he was looking at her, Estelle simply shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah." She easily answered, making Harley laugh from where she was at. The platinum blonde was finding the interaction between Stella and Aussie to be quite entertaining.
"Why you..." Captain Boomerang drawled trying to make his way towards her.
Rick wasn't having any of that. "Back up!" He curtly ordered making the Aussie stop his movements.
"She started it!" Captain Boomerang childishly rebuked.
"Shut up!" Rick yelled right at him.
"Fine." Captain Boomerang replied with an eye roll. He then gave her a side glance. Mild appreciation crossed his face once he fully took in her form. "You're lucky you're a beaut."
Estelle immediately glared at him. Rick did not like his comment either. He tightened his hold on the Aussie. "You stop talking to her." He said with a hard voice. "And stop spewing crap. You know the truth. You were caught robbing a diamond exchange."
Captain Boomerang gasped, appalled. "I was not!"
Before he was able to say anything else, Captain Boomerang was escorted to stand where all the others were standing. Knowing it would bother her, the Aussie made sure to give her a lingering stare. In return, Estelle's glare on him intensified. She saw Harley making a hissing face at him when he passed by her, and then turned to give her a wink. Estelle found that odd...but kind of adorable.
The sound of an oncoming car caught everyone's attention.
Out came a man, and Estelle already knew who he was. This was Slipknot, although he had a small file compared to everyone else, Estelle still read it. The twenty-one year old saw how Rick was shaking his head at the oncoming man. The Colonel looked completely done with everyone and everything. "Here comes Slipknot. The man who can climb anything. Wonderful." He said sarcastically.
"Have a good time, scumbag." Said the woman who had gotten Slipknot out of the car. After she said this though, Slipknot punched her hard enough that she fell on the ground.
"Oh." Deadshot said as he watched the scene play out in front of him.
Once restrained, Slipknot noticed everyone's stares. "She had a mouth." He simply said as he was escorted to stand by the rest of the squad. Harley let out an amused laugh at his blunt answer.
Estelle, however, did not find that funny. When she heard him say this anger went through her. To her that was just not cool. Not at all.
"Listen up!" Rick shouted, catching hers and the felons attention. "In your necks, is that injection you got. It's a nanite explosive. It's the size of a rice grain, but it's as powerful as a hand grenade. You disobey me, you die. You try to escape, you die. You otherwise irritate or vex me, and guess what?" He asked rhetorically. "You die."
Harley quickly raised her hand. "I'm known to be quite vexing. I'm just forewarning you." She chirped at him.
"Lady, shut up!" Rick yelled at her.
Estelle saw Harley pout before she lowered her hand down. She then crossed both of her arms over her chest childishly.
"This is the deal." Rick continued speaking. "You're going somewhere very bad to do something that'll get you killed. But until that happens..." He drawled and shrugged his shoulders. "You're my problem."
"So was that like a pep talk?" Deadshot asked.
"Yeah." Rick replied back in a short tone. "That was a pep talk. There's your shit." He gestured to the crates that were next to them. "Grab what you need for a fight. We're wheels up in ten."
"You might wanna work on your team motivation thing." Deadshot suggested sarcastically. "You heard of Phil Jackson?"
Estelle watched the scene, curious to see how it would play out.
Despite being annoyed by him, Rick gave him a nod. "Yeah."
"He's like the golden standard. Okay?" Deadshot held up his fingers to make a triangle. "Triangle bitch, study."
She tried, she really did, but Estelle couldn't help the small smile that escaped her.
"See." Deadshot pointed to where Estelle was at. "College thinks I'm funny. Learn to crack a smile, soldier boy."
Before Rick or even Estelle were able to retort anything back, an excited squeal filled the air. Alarmed everyone turned towards where the squeal came from, not at all surprised that it had come from Harley Quinn. What surprised them was how excited looking she was and how it was only directed towards Estelle.
"Stella!" Harley shouted in joy as she hurriedly made her way to her. "Gah, I missed yah, bestie!" Estelle's blue eyes widened as she saw her coming her way. She tried to move away from her but she wasn't fast enough. The Queen of Gotham got her just in time to wrap her arms around her waist, hugging her tightly as they both fell to the ground.
A/N: So I'm gonna end it there. You're welcome. ;)
