Being a super hero was not as glamorous as she'd originally imagined it would be. Impatient and reckless as she was, Vanessa had always known that saving lives would be no piece of cake. This had done little to deter her from her dangerous decision. While she was customarily behind in almost all of her classes, Vanessa was not adverse to hard work- it showed in the ways she'd managed to hone her skill with a skateboard and the amount of hours she put in at Big Willy's. It showed in the ways she tried to look after her brother and her father even though she didn't even really know how to look after herself.

Being a hero was a difficult, painful job. It wasn't that she regretted this particular lifestyle choice- of course, she didn't. Vanessa loved helping out. She loved taking action against the mysterious forces that plagued Destiny City. It made her feel useful and it beat the hell out of waiting in her apartment as the fatalities piled up with each passing day. The problem with this was that, with the exception of the ticking psycho in the mall, she hadn't run into any real bad guys. And she frightened as many people as she helped. The purple bruise on her jaw from where Fallon had hit her with a purse was a testament to that.

It was quarter to 11:00 and Super Van, who didn't like being late for curfew and having to deal with her father, was almost home. The road was void of any traffic at this hour, and she scooted down the pavement on her skateboard at an impressive speed. Her red cape billowed out like a sail behind her and she appeared almost to be soaring as she propelled herself forward with practiced pushes of her sneakered feet.

She rolled to a stop in front of her apartment complex and, glancing once over her shoulder to make sure that nobody was watching, slipped quietly into the bushes that grew at the side of the old brick building. Her foot hooked on something soft and surprisingly squishy and two voices cried out in surprise as she tripped.

"Heeeeyyy," Hairy Pete slurred as he sat up, breath rank with whisky, and turned towards the strangely dressed girl who'd landed in the dirt nearby, "What'd you kick me for? I was trying ter sleep."

"Hairy Pete?" Vanessa whispered loudly.

"Vernessa?" Hair Pete sounded surprised. He squinted at her through the leaves. Light from the street lamps sliced through the branches of the little nature plot they occupied and illuminated both their faces. "It is you! What're you dressed up like that fer?"

"Uh…" Vanessa had completely forgotten that she was dressed up as Super Van and, therefore, not supposed to know Hairy Pete. This was another thing that made secretly being a super hero difficult. She wracked her brain for a plausible excuse, and then gave up after a moment. Lying had never been her forte. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Sure thing, kiddo," Hairy Pete said with a breezy wave of his hand, "cross my heart and hope to die."

He crossed his heart. Vanessa smiled, trusting him, and then unloaded the whole story. She settled down in the bushes with Hairy Pete and told her old friend everything; from her decision to become a hero, to refusing to let John Jr help her, to her most recent run-in with a teal-haired girly boy and a hungry dog. Hairy Pete was easily amused, but still a very patient listener and he smiled, teeth either shockingly yellow or missing entirely, at Vanessa while she spoke.

"…and THAT'S why I tripped over you- which I am sorry about, by the way. I keep my normal clothes in a bag in these bushes during the day so that my dad doesn't find out what I'm doing. You know he wouldn't like it."

Hairy Pete nodded. He had not personally met Mr. Rae, but he had heard enough about the man to know that he was a very loving and protective father. If he knew what his daughter was up to, it was likely that he'd quit his job and move the family somewhere safer. Actually, Hairy Pete was honestly astonished that he hadn't yet.

It was not his place to lecture or give advice, and Hairy Pete refused to do so. He suspected that it was a large part of why Vanessa enjoyed talking to him as much as she did- the reckless girl rarely received anything other reprimands, and Hairy Pete simply accepted. He hadn't lived the sort of life that made him comfortable judging the choices of other people.

"I think you're very brave, and admire you for being so strong." he told her, knowing that it was what she needed to hear, and collected the backpack he'd been using as a pillow from the ground, "Is this yours?"

"Yes, that's mine," Vanessa took the bag from him, grateful that he hadn't had time to sell it and the clothes inside while she was gone. "Thanks."

"No problem, kiddo."

"I mean it," Vanessa's throat felt thick with emotion. "Its nice to know somebody thinks I can do it."

"Aaaw, kiddo," Hairy Pete was a little alarmed by the pain in her voice, "don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. I ain't ever known a body as stubborn as you." He paused, hesitated, and then continued, "The streets are dangerous and you should be very careful, but I think its wonderful what you're doing."

"I am careful."

"I believe you."