Although her own support for The Smiler is not without sharp criticism, she does so because she believes that he is the only candidate who can unseat The Beast, and that she can use her position to promote crucial issues and encourage the population to better themselves. Vita befriends Spider, and the two appear attracted to one another, but the beginnings of a romantic relationship are cut short when Vita is assassinated. A devotional cult which sees her as a martyr springs up after her death, and Spider makes it his personal mission to bring her killer and those who organized the assassination to justice.