JustIce League: The Malignant Uprising

Epilogue IV: The Convincing Game

Vestra always thought that it was so easy to manipulate people. Though, she supposed she hadn't manipulated people until the Jelapose attack. She was the perfect wife and woman that assimilated into society. Everyone took her for granted and exploited her and forced her to live a stereotype she never really wanted for herself.

In a way the Jelapose attack was fate for her. The powers she got liberated her and made her see that manipulation was the only way to survive.

Not only could she manipulate the time stream, but she could also control the way people saw the world. Her powers could control and manipulate energy to the point where she could open a pathway to travel in time, and manipulate the energy around a person to create a temporal rift that made people see things the way Vestra wanted. Mind control.

Who knew that electricity could stimulate a person's cells to the point of changing them completely?

What a gift that was. What a gift to be powerful.

Vestra stood alone in her reverie, standing perfectly still in her little stone room. Her fingers did a kind of dance as she stroked her arms up and down. The musty smell of stone filled her lungs as she embedded herself into her thoughts.

Step one: Let Lyle do the heavy lifting.

Step two: Wait for the League to split.

Step three: Find out who the loyalist was among them.

Step Four: Use that person to trap the others.

Step Five: Gather my re-

Vestra's eyes snapped open as she felt something forceful push against her mind. She sensed that it had something to do with her powers. She focused on the sensation and calculated who was trying to communicate to her through the rift.

Vestra felt the energy of it hum in her head, making her forehead throb. She focused on where the feeling was coming from. Vestra sucked a breath in as she saw what was happening from Bullseye's eyes. The feeling was electric as she saw his location. Her stomach fluttered with excitement.

He wanted her to open the portal back to her.

Perfect, she thought. So he's done what I asked. It all works.

Vestra stood still in her quarters, looking out of the window at her row of planes and supplies and her well protected fortress. She turned to her wall and closed her eyes. She took a slow breath in and raised a hand. A white opening appeared on the side of the wall. Vestra opened her eyes and walked into her portal. The opening shut behind her.

Her footsteps echoed in the space of nothingness. Nothing could be seen but the vast world of white.

Vestra's steps grew faster as she saw a spec of something black and brown in the horizon. Her curiosity peaked when she grew closer to the figure. She was footsteps away when she realized that, on the ground, was a tattered pile of white armor that had rotted away. Vestra bent down to touch the pile of dust that lay strewn out of one of the sleeves.

The powdery substance stuck to her fingers and felt like dry sand. She lifted it to her nose and smelled the dust.

It smelled old, like the pile had been there for at least a hundred years.

She brushed the dust off onto her pants and examined the clothes. Then she remembered the one person she sent in and had no intention of taking out.

Amanda Waller.

At least she got what she deserved. Vestra scoffed and couldn't help but smile. The place she was standing in moved faster in time and it was a God send. Everything was going to work out according to plan. And her plan was going to be better than her once idiot husband's idea. It was going to be better than his puny little life that oppressed her.

She was going to change the world.

And secretly, Vestra hoped that her simple little husband was watching from his fiery grave in Hell. She hoped that he saw her new order that was smarter than any other villain in the history of the world. She wanted to see him drown in resentment for her. Burn with envy and hatred for her achievements. Vestra laughed from her gut. She laughed at all of the great things she would bring to her new order. She cackled a witches laugh. Lyle made her this monster.

He had a way of doing that to the people he loved.

Vestra stood up from her kneel and calmed herself down. Arrogance was okay to have, but never a good thing to show.

Vestra continued to walk into the empty space, focusing on Bullseye's energy. She felt that the closer she got to him, the stronger the pull of his energy was and soon she followed his trail to see two men standing in the void. Simply staring.

Vestra sensed Manhunter's mind trying to read hers. He was on the defensive. She supposed that Arrow had convinced his heart to join, but not his head.

She focused on thickening the energy around her, making a larger barrier for his mind to read through. She made sure her hood hid her face until she could manipulate J'onn's energy in just the right way. He may be a mind reader, but he couldn't control the flow of energy.

Bullseye put his forearm to his chest to greet her. "Vestra, I have done what you have asked."

She swallowed and rolled her shoulders back. "Indeed you have." Vestra took off her gloves and extended her long fingers out to J'onn's hand.

"It's nice to meet you J'onn."

Slowly, hesitantly, J'onn extended his hand to meet hers.

"Likewise," his voice was low.

Vestra felt her chance to control Martian Manhunter when their hands touched. She felt a weak point in his will, a crack. It was something she could use. She focused her powers in on the crack and started to manipulate the energy J'onn was putting out. Her eyes flicked a delicate purple as the energy around him became thick; an almost impenetrable barrier. He would see the world like Bullseye now. Like all of her followers.

She dropped her hand and her eyes went back to normal.

She smiled. "I believe I have a promise to keep to you, J'onn."

J'onn stood silent for a moment. He was puzzled. He didn't know what had happened when he shook hands with Vestra, but he also knew that she was a kind soul. He cleared his throat, eager to have answers. "Yes. Please save, M'gann."

Vestra turned her back to the men and opened an exit into Mount Justice. Vestra stepped out of the void and into the mountain.

The others followed and the portal closed.

Vestra saw the big block of ice in the center of the floor. It was perfectly frozen. It hadn't even melted.

Vestra walked toward the ice and said, "You couldn't unfreeze it because Tempest's powers ran through her blood. So to fix this you need her blood." Vestra grabbed a dagger from her belt and made a cut in her hand. "Luckily for you, I have some. The ice just has to recognize the same signature."

She let her blood drip on the ice.

Manhunter came closer and stood next to Vestra. Bullseye doing the same.

"Thank you," J'onn said.

Vestra smiled under her hood. All it takes now is more manipulation.