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NOTHING COULD HAVE PREPARED Estela for what she saw when the Porsche rolled to a stop in front of the convent.
She immediately got out of the car, fumbling with her seatbelt a little and almost tripped on invisible black ice as she stared, lips parted, at the damage on the left wing of the building. A massive portion of it was missing, its remains lay on the ground in huge piles of charred and smoking wood panels. Remnants of smoke defiled the air, mixing with the water that a dozen or so firemen were spraying.
Estela forced herself to jog closer, eyes wide and unblinking despite the sting of the cold air. She heard two pairs of footsteps follow after her.
"She must've lost control," Dick said.
"Maybe she's still here," said Kory, before jogging the opposite direction after seeing a nun by the ambulance.
Dick and Estela followed in suit, the latter still glancing back at the building, trying to imagine what must have caused it—what triggered Rachel? She recalled their conversation in Washington. It felt like ages ago but she still remembered the question she had asked the girl; the one about her powers being tied to her emotions.
What the fuck happened for her to unleash all that?
The three found themselves facing the back of an ambulance. A paramedic was tending to a seated nun who had an emergency blanket over her shoulders, with multiple crimson cuts scattered across her face. With a jolt, Estela realized it was Sister Catherine.
"Hey, where's Rachel?" Dick asked. "Is she okay?"
"She left," the nun replied shortly, a tremor in her tone. "Ran."
"What?" Estela asked, a hard edge setting in her tone. "Why?"
"What happened?" Kory placed a hand on Sister Catherine's lap, voice much gentler than the rest of the company she was with, pulling her lips into a small frown.
"We just wanted to keep her here—keep her safe, that's all," Sister Catherine told her tearfully, holding on to Kory's hand like a beggar being blessed by the Saints. "Where no one could hurt her and she couldn't hurt anyone."
Estela had an inkling of a feeling that she was telling the truth. Yet uncomfortable feeling creeping along her gut still wasn't convinced otherwise.
"Why did she run?" Estela asked again.
Instead of replying, the nun only whipped her bulging eyes to Estela and Dick. Her face paled as she told them, "There's no stopping it now."
"Stopping what?" Dick demanded, eager to get the barest of answers.
"There's no stopping it now," she repeated to herself as the paramedics took her inside the ambulance. "Oh, God. God, forgive me."
Dick clenched his jaw and turned away, marching back to the Porsche as a mixture of worry and anger clouded his thoughts. He and Estela had just gotten Rachel back, after endless hours of sitting behind the wheel and stifling their hunger with so little food, but now he started to feel as if their efforts had only gone to waste.
Or that they hadn't been enough.
"Why did you leave her here?" Kory's voice called out to him accusingly.
He rounded up on her. "In a convent full of nuns?" he asked incredulously. "Yeah, seemed real dangerous. You know, you're the one who stole my car and drove off."
"Yeah," Kory retorted, "I thought you could handle her for a few minutes, but I should've known better considering you ditched her in DC."
"I didn't mean to ditch her, okay? I was trying to—"
"You just couldn't handle her, so you left her with your friends. It's pathetic."
"Can the two of you shut the fuck up?" Estela growled lowly, suddenly appearing beside them with her dark eyes flashing. "Find Rachel first, argue later, capiche?"
She marched ahead before any of them could retaliate and continued to say, "Rachel told me that her powers tie in with her emotions sometimes. Whatever happened while we were gone. . .it was probably bad. No one's at fault here; we didn't know that this would happen."
"She's getting more powerful," said Kory.
"Yeah, but she's still a kid," Dick retaliated. "Alone and scared and on the run."
"Let's hope she doesn't accidentally kill anyone while she's out there," mumbled Estela before shutting the car door behind her with a slam.
A SOLID PLAN HAD BEEN formulated by the former sidekicks in a series of suggestions and completing each other's sentences, much like how their routine was back in the old days.
But as much as Estela's heart wanted to bathe in reminiscing, there were important things to consider where her logic was concerned.
The sun had already started to set when Dick parked on the curb of Covington's police department. It shrouded the earth with a bright yellow glow, making it look like an early sunrise in the spring. Estela almost forgot that the giant star existed, having been surrounded by the blue and grey clouds of winter all throughout her time in Ohio.
"She must be scared out of her mind," Dick muttered to himself worriedly.
Kory, who Estela let sit on the front seat because of her long frame, unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the car door.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Dick exclaimed. "You're not coming."
"What?" she protested. "Why?"
"You're not exactly the definition of 'blending in'."
"I've blended in just fine," said Kory irately.
Estela couldn't help her snort. "How do you think we found you?"
"I've got the badge," Dick continued. "I can find out if anyone's seen Rachel faster without you. Not to mention, you're wanted by the police. This is a police station."
Kory let out a bitter sound. "Hurry up."
Dick turned to Estela next and said, "You're not coming, too." Then he was gone before she could slap him.
"He seriously needs to calm his shit."
"Tell me about it," muttered Kory.
Estela huffed as she watched through the window, eyes trailing after him walking through the entrance until they landed on a black and blue vending machine just situated outside. She mentally cheered and opened the car console box, fingers searching for the familiar coldness of pennies and quarters.
Kory abruptly leaned away and watched her with confusion.
"You want anything?" Estela merely asked her.
"No, thanks."
She shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll be right back." Estela opened the car door and stepped out, inhaling the freshness of the air as she made her way towards the vending machine with a handful of coins in her palms.
Meanwhile, Dick nodded his thanks to the officers at the reception and snatched Rachel's picture back, a name and location already ingrained in his mind. As he exited the police department, he made to dash to his car, until realizing that one person wasn't in the backseat and spotting an all too familiar figure in his peripheral.
Dick strided to the vending machine, blinking and appalled. "I leave you alone for one second and here you are, buying candy."
"I was craving something," said Estela, slightly grumbling at his accusatory tone. She inserted two quarters through the coin slot and punched in the code for the red packet of Skittles.
The two of them watched with mild boredom as the spring rack moved slowly, mechanical whirs and groans filling the silence as Estela waited patiently—only for it to get stuck.
A scowl formed on her face. "Seriously?" she scoffed before tapping the glass. The packet didn't budge. Estela huffed and shook the machine slightly, hit the glass a few more times, and even went as far as to kick it.
"Come on!" she groaned loudly, catching the attention of some of the officers off-duty.
Dick just smiled at them shortly as he awkwardly stood beside her, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, as Estela's aggression towards the vending machine grew stronger.
"Stel, stop it," he mumbled to her. But she only ignored him.
Estela banged the glass again, not caring if she was on the verge of making a scene. She only wanted her damn candy, but even that wasn't a bare minimum of kindness the universe wanted to offer. The more she tried to get the candy out, the frustrations she'd been containing for the past hour was slowly starting to seep out of her pores.
"Stel—"
A growl left her mouth as she slammed her palms on the glass with force, and then flinched right after when she saw a sheet of white ice form under it.
Dick's eyes widened as he scrambled closer to her, slowly taking Estela's wrist away and using his shoulder to block the evidence, hissing when he felt the cold's sting through his layers of clothes.
"Woah, woah, easy," he said quickly, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Hey. You okay? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she told him harshly, meeting his concerned eyes with a glare that softened into nothingness.
"I'm sorry—I—" Estela cut herself off with a sigh.
"What's wrong?" He squeezed her shoulders encouragingly, feeling them relax under his palms.
She sighed again. "We promised her, Dick. We promised that no one was gonna get her but they did. Then we finally get her back, and—and now we just keep losing her. . ."
"Hey," he said earnestly. "We managed to find her before and we're gonna do it again, okay?"
"Maybe Kory was right. Maybe it is our faults: we shouldn't have left her alone—"
"Stel, we can't just sit around and blame ourselves right now. You said it yourself. Are you gonna do that, or are you gonna help me find Rachel?"
Slowly, Estela nodded, allowing the words to tranquilize her nerves. "I'm sorry. I just—" then she let out a small scoff, "Wow, I never thought I'd become like some mother hen along the way but here we are."
Dick snickered and placed his cold hands back into his pockets. "Never pegged you as the motherly type either."
A thud sounded inside the vending machine. Estela bent down and peered into the opening, the guilt and worry momentarily disappearing as she let out a small laugh and fished out the bag of Skittles.
"Well, what do you know?"
IT WAS TOO DARK TO SEE WHERE Dick exactly parked the car, but Estela could still make out the small house in the middle of the clearing that faced the open road.
The warm glow of lights outside the porch was the only indication that someone was home, and served as the only source of light as soon as Dick turned the engine off.
The three of them stepped out of the car silently, Estela's ears rang with every loud bark the chained dog made. She did a quick scan of their surroundings, noting the tall pine trees that stretched for what looked like miles behind the cottage. Kory and Dick took the lead, leaving her to stand behind as he ratted his knuckles against the wooden door.
There really wasn't much information the police had provided Dick back in the station. He merely relayed the same message to the ladies, along with the two pieces of information that included a name and an address.
Estela didn't know what to expect when Dick had told them about the hunter who supposedly had seen Rachel and a green tiger. She just hoped that they would get the information they needed and be on their way. But if it were to happen that they suddenly find Rachel inside, it was a completely different story—one that was based on whether she was gagged and tied up, or sitting with a cup of warm coffee in her hands.
Finally, a man opened the door, took one look at them and snapped, "What do you want?"
Rude, much? she thought as her eyes observed him disdainfully. Despite sporting a shaven brown beard, his oval face made him look younger then Estela expected; she guessed he was probably as old as they were.
"Need to talk to you about the girl you saw in the forest," Dick said, already flashing his badge to him.
"What?"
"Did she say something? Did you see where she went?" he asked impatiently.
The man scoffed. "You know, I already talked to the cops, so you can fuck off." He went to slam the door on their faces, barely covering about an inch of empty space when Dick leapt up and blocked it with a loud thud, startling both Kory and Estela.
"Hey! You can't do that!" the man protested.
"I'm gonna need you to answer my questions," muttered Dick lowly.
"You better back off!" The man reached for his shotgun and cocked it, the clicking sound alerting the three adults into defense.
Estela's eyes widened, mouth opening to tell the hunter off. Not even a split second later, Dick had shoved him backwards with force, and the shotgun clattered to the ground.
"Dick!" Estela exclaimed in alarm as she watched him march inside, Kory following in suit without even pausing for a second thought.
She stared after them with disbelief etched on her face. Snapping away from her stupor, Estela rushed after and pushed her way past the magenta-haired woman, stopping in the middle of the corridor to see Dick hovered over the hunter, hands gripping the lapels of his jacket.
"Did you see where the girl went?" he asked dangerously. "Answer me!"
"You're a psycho!" the man hissed at him.
Dick threw him against the coffee table. The man grunted loudly, a pained sound being lost to the rattling of bottles and bowls on the table. Dick's eyes flickered, his attention now focused on an empty beer bottle. Then before he knew what was happening, he grabbed it and raised his arm midair.
Estela's eyes widened, already knowing what was about to happen.
"Dick!" she screamed firmly but it was too late. The bottle went flying, smashing into pieces as it hit the man's head.
He grabbed the man's jacket again, ignoring the way his hands pushed at Dick's chest to stop; or the fact that his face was red and scrunched with anger; or Estela's protests that entered one ear and exited the other.
"Did you hurt her?" he seethed, feeling the familiar mania of anger rise up to take control of his fists.
"Did you touch her?" he screamed as his knuckles connected to the man's cheekbones with a sickening crack.
Estela swore she felt her heart lurch to her throat. "Dick, stop it!"
But he didn't stop—he just kept going on and on, and Estela had no choice but to watch as he beat the man bruised and bloody all because her she was too damn starstruck at the scene before her. Not in a good way, too.
"Kory, do something," she said fiercely.
But Kory's attention was caught elsewhere, in a place that neither Estela or Dick noticed beforehand.
"Dick," she said firmly; another punch was her reply.
"Dick! Dick, stop!" she yelled again and stepped forwards, catching his arm with an iron grip.
And for a second everything was quiet. Estela no longer heard the sound of fist against bone and flesh, but something else entirely that rattled her to the core.
"Daddy?"
All of their heads turned to the left, seeing a little boy, no older than seven, standing by the door.
Dick immediately pulled away and blinked himself back into reality, watching almost trance-like as the little boy rushed over to the hunter and embraced him tightly.
Estela's nostrils flared as she looked away from the scene, feeling nothing but anger settle in when she saw Dick rush out of the house.
"I would never hurt no girl!" the man seethed at her and Kory through a mouthful of blood, all pouring from his broken nose. "No kid. The only place out there is the old Caulder house."
"Where?" asked Kory
"It's out on Danny street. But it's all locked up, ain't no one in there."
Estela couldn't take it anymore. She was too busy watching Dick's back disappear into the distance, his figure almost blending in with the dark. Besides, the longer she stood inside the house with the broken man and his innocent kid, she knew that her anger was imminent to explode.
She looked at them once. "I'm sorry."
It was all she could offer, partly on Dick's behalf. But why? Maybe because they hadn't been trained that way; maybe because Estela couldn't afford to see an innocent, helpless man get beaten up. Sure, he had acted like an asshole as soon as he opened the door, but that didn't mean he deserved it.
Her chest was heaving as she marched towards Dick, blood pounding through her ears with her hands slightly shaking. And for a split second, Estela realized that a part of her was scared—terrified—to have seen what she just saw because what the fuck was that?
She pushed away the racing thoughts as she neared him. If Dick knew that Estela was there, he didn't show it.
What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? What are you gonna—?
Estela didn't let herself think it any further when she finally reaching. She twisted to face him and instinctively shoved his chest back.
"What the fuck, Richard?" she seethed, eyes so bugged with shock and anger.
Dick stumbled back and merely looked up to match her glare through his lashes. He should have apologized; he shouldn't have done it; he should have been patient—there were a lot of things he should and shouldn't have done. But when you were in the moment, the consequences wouldn't show up until later. When you were in the moment, you didn't really care.
All Dick had felt was selfish fury and vexation as he threw those punches. Guilt came much later, and right now as he fixed Estela with a hard gaze, he didn't really feel anything at all.
"Get out of my way, Estela," he said lowly.
"What the fuck was that, Dick?" she said loudly, not caring about the dog that was still barking, or that Kory was now a few feet away from them, or that the hunter could probably hear her.
A muscle ticked in his jaw; Estela chose to continue.
"Look, you may have some shit going on that you refuse to tell me, but that doesn't mean you fucking go around punching the nearest person and putting it all on them!" she cried angrily. "For fucks sake, Dick, that shit was out of line."
It was all clicking to her now. When he first told her how he changed, the way he fought those guys in Washington, and now his stunt with the hunter. Estela didn't need to see ask him to know that Dick wasn't fighting for justice anymore.
Everything she needed to say had already been said, all her cards lay on the table for him to contemplate. Yet her mind was a jumbled mess of black scribbles and red exclamation marks, and no words came together for a proper sentence. Not knowing what to say next, she held his glare and placed her palm out.
"Give me your keys."
"What—?"
"Give me your fucking keys."
He stared at her for a short moment before ultimately fishing the car keys from his pocket with a scoff and placing it on her hand.
"Get in the back," she told him flatly before walking away.
Dick almost wondered if he heard her correctly. "Estela—"
"Now, Dick." Then she disappeared inside the car without another glance.
Kory folded her arms as she slowly sauntered over to him, brows raised in their signature arch when she looked at Dick in the face.
"Tough," she said.
And then she, too, disappeared inside the car, leaving Dick alone in the cold as the car door slammed to a shut.
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dear readers !
i am so sorry for the late chapter but here she is! finally 😭
a little filler chapter full of dick and estela moments and kory being the badass bitch she is <3 also ANGST ‼️ because i'm a whore for that shit
and any armys following me ... did you guys watch the bangbangcon today? i already miss it :< best 8 hours of my life
pls don't forget to vote and comment!
— seph <3
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© cherrymalfoys