Published at 29th of October 2026 1:48 pm

Chapter 60 Evidence (AR) + Bystander + Princess Beatrice Artwork

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Arbiter POV:

Yawning, I roll around in my silk sheets as I try to go back to sleep, to no avail. Giving up, I decide its about time to wake up. Checking my phone, I see a notification of a message titled Please Watch sent to my Cape email. This better not be related to the monthly newsletter. Heroes Union squad leaders are given a secure

email that the organization uses to spread information about potential threats, promising recruits, transfers, and accomplishments of the organization and the Capes within it. Before looking at it, I get up and start my espresso machine. Then I go to the bathroom while it works. Washing the last bit of drowsiness from my face, I'm ready to see what dumb thing I've been sent.

The sender is hidden, but it looks like Titania, Sequence, and Phoenix are also part of the thread the message created. I grab my cup of espresso and lie down on my living room couch. Settling in, I sync up my phone to the media system, and the video is projected onto the wall. I press play and take a sip just to see Virtue in the video. What did she do now?

YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME! YOU CANT ESCAPE JUSTICE, Virtue screamed in the video as she lasered Snare in half.

I sit there silently in horror as I watch Virtue brutally murder the Villains' Syndicate members like cattle in a slaughterhouse. Given the location of the massacre, it is a fitting description. Ripping them in half, punching holes through their bodies, it's a macabre show I'm watching. Damn it, I told Sequence this was a gigantic mistake. This isn't like the kid she killed. The Union can't be seen as endorsing this kind of behavior. Heroes don't execute criminals, no matter what they've done. Before the video can restart, I shut my display projector off.

I run to my room and kneel down to grab my hyper weave suit hidden in a chest beneath my bed. Retrieving it, I quickly change into it. Running on adrenaline, I head for my balcony as I adjust the blindfold around my eyes. Taking a step off the railing, I jump, activating my power to fly. Soaring through Quinstin as quickly as I can, I can't get the images from the video out of my head. It's sickening. That girl, that child, is rotten and evil. The name Virtue is a mockery of the truly virtuous. Sequences schemes have gone on long enough. All of his plans end now. I will not allow his plots or the girl's crimes to sully the Heroes' Union any longer.

Landing on the top of the Union headquarters, I type in my code to open the doors. Stepping inside, I greet the two guards on duty, Sigurd and Frankie. I get onto the platform, and it begins lowering, bringing me into the command center for the base. Here, a dozen or so people monitor the citys cameras and alert systems, local and state police channels, and coordinate the response from the Heroes' Union. Countless support members pass me, but the look on my face and my reputation stop any of them from stopping me. I'm not walking; I'm hovering off the ground like a wrathful god, heading for the Heroes' Quarters. Sequence's politicking poison has been allowed for too long.

The sliding metal doors open, and I rush forward down the next hallway to where the meeting hall is. Im angry. Every single irritation or problem I have with the Union is bubbling inside me. Reaching the dark red oak double doors, I yank them open, slamming them against the wall. Inside are Sequence and Titania, and the moment I see them, I see red. I zoom at Sequence, grabbing the Mentalist by the neck of his costume.

WHERE IS SHE? I screamed.

Arbiter, relax, Titania said.

No, I will not sit back while he continues to make decisions that tarnish this organization's name. Sequence, you are unbefitting of being a squad leader; you don't even deserve to be a part of the Union. You are a scheming, fucking leech, and I will no longer allow you to feed on the Heroes' Union, I declared.

I know why you're here; we've both seen the video, but you need to calm down and release your hold on Sequence, Titania said, her voice harder than before.

If you've seen it, then you should be on my side. He went behind our backs and allowed a murderer to join our ranks, to hide here. And now she's gone out and murdered another seven people. We are harboring a serial killer, I shouted. I don't give a rat's ass who the flying fuck her parents are. She's earned a one-way ticket to the Island.

Easy for you to say, Sequence remarked.

What?!

It's easy for you to say you don't care about who her parents are because you deem yourself above every part of the job that isn't active crime fighting, Sequence replied.

Arbiter, release him. I will not ask you again, Titania warned as she stepped closer to me.

Battling Titania is not conducive to my current goal, and it won't help anyone. I release my hold on him, dropping him to the floor. He stumbles, but regains his footing quickly.

Now, where is she? I'm placing her under arrest, and I will see you charged as an accessory to all seven murders. Your hands are just as bloody as hers, and you share the guilt for her heinous actions, I said, pointing at Sequence.

When will you stop the moral grandstanding? Sequence exclaimed.

Its not more grandstanding; its called having integrity. You may have the spine of a jellyfish, but I am built of sterner stuff. Being a hero means knowing right from wrong! There is no middle ground, no gray area; you cant fence-sit when it comes to a child wielding godly powers to act as judge, jury, and executioner. You are a disgrace to the memory of the Supreme Six and all that they strove for, I spat.

Tensions are high, but we cant allow our emotions to rule over judgment. I completely understand why you are upset, and so am I, Titania said.

Then why are you defending him? I asked, interrupting her.

If you had let me finish, you wouldve heard me say that I am just as upset as you, which is why I asked Phoenix to bring Virtue here to us, Titania finished.

Huh. Instantly, the red-hot rage burning inside me is quenched, replaced by embarrassment and shame at my actions. Assuming that Titania had taken his side was a miscalculation and disrespectful to my fellow squad leader. The woman was also blindsided by Sequences antics, and I incorrectly assumed that she would allow a psychotic vigilante to stay among us. Ill need to apologize to her privately later on.

The doors swing open, and Phoenix comes in, with Virtue trailing behind him. The girl, Violet Graves, stretches her arms and fails to stifle a yawn. Her hair is messy, shes still wearing pajamas, and she isnt bound. That means shes come willingly. Does she think that we approve of her actions? That we condone brutally executing Cowls? Or perhaps, does she not know that we have seen what she got up to last night? Either this girl is a calculating sociopath, or the most overconfident idiot Ive ever seen. Titania points to the table, and Virtue takes her seat. The rest of us sit opposite her, the four squad leaders staring down the eighteen-year-old killer.

Violet, do you know why weve called you here? Phoenix asked.

As always, its impossible to judge what the masked Cape is thinking or feeling. The plain black leather mask doesnt give anything away. The calm demeanor theyre presenting, as well as their posture, reminds me of the way a judge presides over court.

I assume you want to speak to me about the incident that happened with Vesuvius? Violet asked. Because she was baiting me into attacking her, so it wasnt my fault that all that property got destroyed.

Ive prosecuted enough cases to recognize that this girl isnt lying; she think were here to talk about that shitshow. She is too dangerous to be let loose. I will personally make sure she goes away for this. There is no amount of money her family can muster to stop it. There is no legal team that will prevent me from getting her a life sentence.

No, we are not here to talk about that. We are here to talk about what you got up to last night, Titania responded.

What are you talking about? I didnt do anything last night. Im not allowed out unless its for patrols or under the supervision of a squad leader, Violet said.

Youre saying you never left here last night? That between the hours of midnight and six am you were here? I questioned.

Im positive I never left, but I dont remember when I fell asleep last night. What is going on here? She asked.

A knock at the door tears my attention away from the criminal as Chase walks in, followed by Arsenal and Legend. I havent seen Legend in a bit, but Titanias right-hand man looks as heroic as he usually does. The Capes bronze and ivory-white costume is pristine and eye-catching, but the man would turn heads even if he wore something more tame. Well over six-five, the mans swimmer's physique can be seen through the hyperweave, and his long dreadlocks sway as he walks. His smile, both reassuring and alluring, sparkles under the lights. Im thankful my blindfold covers my eyes, or Malik would catch me staring. He nods at the four of us, and I feel his eyes linger on me for a moment longer than necessary.

Report, Sequence said.

You were right. It was the McNamara Meat Packing Plant, Arsenal reported. A nod from her squad leader makes her continue. We found the remains of the group known as the Villains Syndicate. Snare, Street Shark, Animal King, Reverso the Clown, HiJack, Rotshot, and a seventh member believed to be the human form of Revenant; along with those, we found the carcass of a Cane Corso that Animal Kings power had been used on, as well as around forty-five mutated rodents. We found evidence of blows caused by excessive superhuman force and a dozen injuries caused by sustained, focused elevated temperatures.

Legend, what do you think? Titania asked.

You told him what he was looking for? Sequence questioned.

I trust him to speak the truth; I have no need to keep him in the dark, she replied coolly.

Hello, it seems like Im the only being kept in the dark, Violet interjected.

Chase, did you perform what I asked of you? Phoenix asked.

Yes, I did, Chase replied.

And?

Buried inside Virtues closet, I found her hyperweave costume covered in dried blood. Along with that, I found several bone shards in the drain of her shower, and a small section of a burned bath towel in her trash. The pink color of the towel piece indicates blood, but without testing, we wont know. As instructed, I left all evidence there, Chase reported.

My respect for my fellow squad leaders rises slightly out of the red zone for preserving the chain of evidence and independent sources. The case was already a slam dunk with the video, but this gets rid of any reasonable doubt. I stand up and fly around the desk to where Virtue is seated as I begin to recite her Miranda rights.

Virtue, aka Violet Graves, per Article 43 of the Neuvohuman Accords, I am using my status as a squad leader of the Heroes Union to place you under arrest for the murder of the Cowls Snare, Revenant, Rotshot, Reverso the Clown, HiJack, Street Shark, and Animal King. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me? I asked.

What the fuck are you talking about? Violet asked angrily. I didnt do that. And why the fuck are you guys going through my room?

I reach for her shoulder with my hand, and she knocks it away. I have to telekinetically keep myself from being blown back. The ringing in my head indicates she just used excessive force. Titania stands up, and Legend conjures a pearlescent dome around everyone, protecting the rest of the base. Sequence turns the monitor on, and the short video of Violets massacre plays. Its like time freezes; everyone looks at the video, and it ends without anyone speaking.

Holy shit, Chase swore.

Wordlessly, Arsenal moves to a more advantageous spot in the room and draws out six swords, one in each hand and four hovering above her shoulders. Violets head whips round, panic plain as day on her face.

Thats not me. I didnt do that. I would remember doing that, Violet said anxiously.

Its your voice; I checked, Sequence responded. And how do you explain the blood on your costume or the other physical evidence found in your room?

It couldve been planted there. Check the cameras; I never left, she argued.

There is no video or audio surveillance in the private quarters, and entering your bathroom requires going through your bedroom, which has a biometric lock on it. You also possess superspeed and flight, rendering you invisible to even high-speed cameras. There is a mountain of evidence saying you did this, Violet, Sequence countered.

Yeah, except I didnt do it. Why dont you believe me? She asked angrily.

Because youve already killed once, I said coldly. If youre as innocent as you argue you are, then stand down and surrender. I can promise you will receive a fair trial. Dont make this any harder on yourself.

THAT WASNT MY FAULT! I SAID I DIDNT FUCKING DO IT! Violet screamed.

Violet, Phoenix began to say.

The evidence isnt real; its fake, m-manufactured. Someone is targeting me. YES! It has to be the man in black. Hes doing this. I-I didnt do this, she stuttered.

I am ordering you to stand down as your squad leader, Phoenix said.

No. Im not going to get blamed for this. If you wont believe me, Ill just have to prove my innocence by finding him, she said to herself.

She pushes her chair back and jumps up, slamming into Legends shield. She grunts in annoyance and starts punching the pearlescent dome. Each hit sends shockwaves through the room; energy ripples from the point of impact. Shes hitting hard, but Maliks shields are nothing to scoff at. I couldnt break one of those, and neither can Titania. It doesnt matter how much she struggles; shes not getting out of here. She shouts in anger and then turns around to stare at Legend, her eyes glowing blue.

NO! I shouted.

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