"...so, that's what Unovan theatre is like. I will say, it has significantly more... spectacle than anything I have experienced back home."
Rei weaved through a mass of patrons pouring out from Nimbasa's historic Butternut Street Theatre - all of them looking impeccably-dressed next to her blue flannel and worn-out black jeans. She may have been used to high-density urban environments such as this, but these kinds of crowds... they still gave the sensation of being bogged down in the Great Marsh.
The nagging feeling that she didn't belong in this one only drove that point home more.
As her grip on one of Zee's arms tightened, prompting the cybernetic Pokemon to drone out a displeased beep, she peered through the sea of blazers and cocktail dresses for some sort of reprieve - and she found it in the form of an alleyway down the block. With a few barely-murmured "excuse me"s and some more awkward shuffling through the crowd, Rei and Zee eventually managed to slip into that alley, breaking off from the bustle of Butternut Street.
"...finally." Rei let herself lean against one of the brick walls stretching several stories into the sky on either side of her. Shutting her eyes, she took a few deep, rhythmic breaths, allowing herself a moment to... decompress.
Once that had been dealt with, she opened her eyes again - and found herself having something of a staring contest with Zee. If her own facial expressions were difficult to read, then Zee was the Mona Lisa... but judging by the way he'd tilted his head and the inflections of his beeping, he seemed to be concerned about her.
"Don't worry, Zee... I am fine." As her lips cracked the slightest of smiles, Rei reached out to gently pat the Porygon-Z on the head. "Tell me... what did you think of the show? I understand it may be... difficult for you to relate to some of its themes, but..."
Zee, of course, could only respond to her with a complex string of beeps - every attempt Rei had made at a voice module up to that point had unfortunately been futile. Whether it was through patterns she'd memorized over the years or simply having known Zee for almost a decade, though... she could still understand what he wanted to say, if vaguely. That was more than enough.
Then again, given his mannerisms, it should've been obvious to anyone that he'd had a splendid time.
"Good to hear. I admit, I was... rather skeptical in regards to how carefully a musical could handle such serious topics, but... it pleasantly surprised me."
Perhaps, as far-fetched as it may have seemed just a few days ago, there were many more of these pleasant surprises in store for Rei during her stay in Unova. Things with Asuka were already going better than she'd ever anticipated, after all.
She just wished the threat of Plasma hadn't ingrained itself in the back of her mind... after that conversation earlier, her fears were only seeming more and more irrational.
That was something she could worry about later; for now, the most important thing would be getting back to the Langley household, preferably before midnight. "Mm... I should let Soryu know we are on our way." She pulled out her phone, opened up her messenger...
...and realized that Asuka had never actually given her number to her. No matter; the subway station they'd arrived at was only a few blocks away. They'd be back soon enough.
After quickly going over the map - out the other side of the alley, down Samson, and up 6th Avenue until she hit the station - she tucked her phone back into her flannel's pocket and began her trek. Zee, in lieu of simply returning to his ball, hovered along close behind... if nothing else, it made her a little less wary of roaming Nimbasa's unfamiliar streets alone. Only a little, though.
Rei maintained a brisk pace leaving the alleyway, giving the shuttered shops of Samson Street - seemingly all jewelers, including one for Pokemon - little more than a single glance. The ones she saw on 6th didn't fare much better in terms of catching her interest, either, though one restaurant did seem to be open. Perhaps she could ask Asuka if there were any in the city she'd recommend...
...if I asked her to visit one with me, would she?
...most likely not.
It was a shame, too. Rei didn't want to experience Unova on her own, but... who else was there to do so with? She'd never been the "go out and meet new people" type, and everything she'd heard about Unovan high schools made her wish September would never come. That left Asuka... and Rei couldn't shake the feeling that her presence was merely being tolerated by the redhead.
If that was the best she was going to do, what was the point of even coming here?
Rei came to a stop at the corner of 6th and Chestnut - not that she had much of a choice, given the red light. Traffic seemed just as heavy as when she came, so her only option was to wait it out beneath the flickering amber glow of the streetlamp... which, of course, wasn't an ideal situation for avoiding being alone with one's thoughts.
Zee soon floated into view, once again looking about as concerned as he could muster. "Again, Zee, I... I will be alright. I am merely... outside my comfort zone. It happens." He responded with a melancholy, yet understanding beep.
It wouldn't be too much longer until the streetlight turned back to green and Rei continued on. Once they'd crossed Chestnut, her and Zee would find themselves towered over on one side by a multi-story concrete parking garage, even more darkened jewelry stores dotting the sidewalk beneath it. Down the street, meanwhile, the 6th & Market subway station was finally coming into view... just a few hundred more feet and they'd be on their way back.
Rei took hold of each ear of her wireless headphones, which had hung around her neck since she'd stepped into the theatre, and lifted them onto her head. Once they were switched on, she once again turned on her phone, looking for something to listen to on the train. After all, music was one of her favorite methods of destressing... even if most of her favorite genres, such as electro-industrial, made it somewhat difficult to believe.
Not until she looked up to check her surroundings did she realize that Zee was nowhere to be found.
"Zee, where are you?" she called out, her heartbeat quickening as she pulled her headphones right back down. This type of situation wasn't unheard of, but for him to wander off so late at night...
Rei looked in practically every direction before ultimately spotting Zee's familiar yellow eyes peering back at her from one of the parking garage's entrances. She was... less than pleased, but Zee being quite the hide-and-seek enthusiast, it at least seemed like he was only having some harmless fun. A gentle scolding and they'd continue on their way.
As she approached the Virtual Pokemon, though, Rei began to hear faint voices echoing from inside the garage. Making anything out was nigh-impossible for her at first, but as for Zee... his idle animation had begun skipping. He didn't seem to like what he was hearing.
When one of the men abruptly began raising his voice, she understood why.
She couldn't make out what he was yelling about, but the mere fact that there was yelling told her something was wrong. Soon, she heard a second distinct voice. Then a third.
Then, something that sounded like a blast of energy.
"We need to get up there. Come on." Rei marched deeper into the parking garage, spinning her messenger bag around to make sure each of her remaining Pokemon were on hand. Zee remained close by, his motions remaining jittery as the voices grew closer.
By the time they'd ascended to the third level, Rei could finally decipher what they were saying. "So what, you just sic your Pokemon on other people who disagree with you, is that it?" one of them snidely hissed. "Well, lotta good that did ya. Now look at 'em, you traumatized the fuckin' thing."
"Enough of the pointless blathering," a second, irritable voice interjected, "it's not like he's going to respond. Just get that thing back in its ball so we can leave."
Rei continued to follow the voices to their source, the situation becoming a little less foggy with each back-and-forth... which, really, was both a blessing and a curse. A "traumatized" Pokemon whose trainer was "unable to respond" could only mean a few things. She dreaded every possible outcome.
Her and Zee turned one final corner, only to immediately retreat behind the cover of a silver SUV when they got a glimpse of the scene.
Rei's heart pounded like a bass drum. Why here? Why now?
She carefully pulled herself back up just enough to peer through the vehicle's windows. What she saw would confirm her worst fears; four figures - each one clad entirely in black with their faces obscured, and backed up by a Liepard and Xatu - looming over a lone Beheeyem. The extraterrestrial Pokemon looked distraught.
Off to the side sat a man in a business suit, staring blankly ahead, seemingly only propped up by the front bumper of a Lexus.
Immediately, Rei put two and two together.
Just as one of the shadowy figures raised a gloved, Ultra Ball-gripping hand, she leaped back into view. "Back off."
All eyes were on her in a matter of moments - at least, the group in black and the Beheeyem's were. "Y'know, kid, you really shouldn't be out this late," responded one of the men, bemused. "This doesn't concern you. Go home."
If only that were an option. Rei stood firm, with Zee soon making his own presence known. "What did you do to that Beheeyem's trainer? And the Beheeyem... what do you plan on doing with them?"
The group huddled together to exchange some words, while Rei tentatively reached for one of her Poke Balls. The Beheeyem, meanwhile, attempted to shuffle themselves away from their masked tormentors - unsuccessfully, as the Liepard sprung ahead to block their path. Normally quite the elegant creature, this particular feline sported patchy, matted fur... not very difficult to imagine why.
One of the group's members - presumably their leader - eventually broke from the huddle, while the other three turned their backs and began to leave. "Liepard, Xatu, subdue them," she barked out, causing Rei's stomach to drop in an instant. "The girl's coming with us, too, got that?"
The hostile Liepard wasted no time upon receiving the command, lunging towards Zee with intentions of a vicious Night Slash no doubt running through its head. "Zee, move! " Rei cried out, her voice growing significantly louder than it had been all night - and fortunately, just as the Liepard took a wild swing, Zee responded with a quick backwards dash out of harm's way.
Zee offered up an instant receipt in the form of his signature Tri Attack, a veritable shotgun blast of energy beams. As a result of his haste to get the attack off, however, his aim took a hit, and all three beams sailed past the Liepard.
Rei found it somewhat difficult to focus on the duel playing out in front of her - after all, she had little doubt that Zee could take on such a fragile and erratic adversary with ease. The bulk of her concern was directed towards Beheeyem... and more specifically, the Xatu menacingly watching over them as the rest of that masked gang walked off with their Ultra Ball.
That they thought they had the right to do something like that, especially after whatever horrid thing they'd done to Beheeyem's trainer... it made her stomach churn.
She knew she had to get that ball back. All she needed was an opening.
"Zee. Listen to me." Once Zee had fired off a second Tri Attack - this time managing to make contact, with one of the beams striking the Liepard's side - he fell back, allowing Rei to covertly explain her strategy. "You are up against a Dark-type and a Psychic-type... I need you to convert to a suitable type and handle both of them on your own. I will work on retrieving Beheeyem's ball... understood?"
Zee's confirmatory beeps were all Rei needed to hear, and she dashed off as quickly as she could to take cover behind another vehicle. From there, she watched on as he began the Conversion process - something he'd performed often enough that it now only took him a few seconds. A progress bar briefly manifested beside the Virtual Pokemon's head, quickly filling up as his eyes shifted from their default highlighter yellow to a sickly chartreuse shade. Bug. Perfect.
The process had been quick, but not quick enough for Zee to avoid another of the Liepard's furious Night Slashes. Fortunately, he shook the attack off quickly, first lifting an arm to block a follow-up strike before launching a trippy pulse of light from the tip of his beak into the Dark-type's face. The Signal Beam rocketed the Liepard backwards like a cannon, which opened up the opportunity for Zee to get a second one off - though this time, it would be directed at the Xatu.
Having spent most of the confrontation keeping an eye on Beheeyem, the Xatu was caught off-guard by the sudden attack, and only through furiously flapping its wings did it save itself from dropping onto the pavement. This, of course, led to retaliation in the form of an Air Cutter - one that Zee would nullify by throwing up a well-timed Protect forcefield.
With the only hostile Pokemon in her path now occupied, Rei ignored her pounding heart as best as she could and sprung into action. After quickly rummaging through her bag, she began to move, weaving through the gauntlet of parked cars in pursuit of the masked gang.
She didn't manage to avoid detection, though; just before she could reach them, Rei heard their leader cry out, "Hey! Dumbasses! The girl's coming for the ball!" That was bad enough. Having the other three immediately spin around to catch her in their sights didn't make things any better.
Two of the masked men promptly charged at her - but by some miracle, or perhaps just due to her diminutive frame, Rei managed to avoid their grasp. That left her staring up at the last of the thieves, Beheeyem's ball firmly in his grasp... and he was a mountain of a man, at least a foot taller than her and no doubt more than twice her weight.
That didn't stop Rei from straight-up punching the ball out of his hand and snatching it before it rolled away. Not having any actual time to dwell on the size discrepancy proved pretty beneficial.
Now in possession of the Ultra Ball, Rei attempted to make her getaway - and with Zee busy singing the fur off of the Liepard's back with repeated beam attacks, it seemed like he'd be able to fend off the thieves rather easily. Of course, that relied on her hanging on to Beheeyem's ball. Far from a cakewalk for a runty teenager up against four hardened criminals.
Sure enough, it wasn't much longer until reality set in. Rei felt one of them roughly grasp at her flannel's collar, bringing her to a dead stop in an instant. She tried to cry out, but a hand clamped over her mouth rendered her silent, and no amount of flailing her arms would break the hulking thief's hold on her.
One of the two men who'd blitzed her soon marched over, wordlessly plucking Beheeyem's ball out of her hand with little effort. The thieves' leader then approached Rei, smirking sadistically beneath her mask. "Yeah, that plan wasn't going to take you very far... but hey, look on the bright side. Now you get to learn how much someone'll pay Plasma to save you."
Plasma... this is Team Plasma. The revelation made Rei's blood run cold. One after another, all of her fears about Unova were coming to fruition - and now, not even a week after her arrival, she found herself in the clutches of a terrorist group. She didn't even want to begin to think of what awaited her in their captivity... or what would happen when her family got the ransom note. Would Mr. Langley even do anything? Would Asuka?
All she could do was hope her plan had worked.
"So hey, whaddya wanna do 'bout the Pory-Z? Should we bring out that Hypnotoxic thing, or- GAAHH, FUCK! "
After swiftly swinging her leg back and into the groin of the Plasma grunt restraining her, Rei managed to worm her way out of his grasp and immediately began to close the gap between herself and the one who'd taken Beheeyem's ball. He turned to her once she got close enough, his face twisted into the same scowl it had seemed to be in for the entire confrontation.
Without a word, Rei held out her hand. Without hesitation, the grunt placed the Ultra Ball into it.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" hissed the grunts' leader from across the garage, understandably dumbfounded. "So she hoofed Mace in the jewels, so what?! She weighs like seventy pounds! Take that fucking ball back right now and drag her over here so-"
"Hey, uh... Chief? Who're you screaming at?"
Rei could practically feel the knife sliding through their leader's ribcage the moment the grunt who handed her the ball spoke up. The reason being, of course, that he - along with the other one who'd tried and failed to take Rei down - had just approached her and... Mace, apparently, from behind. Meaning, there were two of him standing there in the parking garage. Meaning, one of them was a fake.
As if on cue, the one standing beside Rei began to melt - and as his form deteriorated more and more, so too did his complexion. All the while, Rei took in the sight of the gang of Plasma grunts watching on in horror as the decoy morphed back into its original state... a small, gelatinous purple blob with beady eyes. "Y-you're shittin' me," one of them stammered out.
"Zee... are you almost finished?" Slipping the Ultra Ball into her bag, Rei looked back to see how Zee was holding up. She did so just in time to watch him unleash an emphatic, overcharged Zap Cannon that sent Plasma's Xatu plummeting out of the air upon impact; their Liepard, meanwhile, looked like it had been out cold for a few minutes already.
Things already weren't looking great for the Plasma grunts, but the faint blaring of police sirens seemed to be the tipping point - after some panicked murmuring among themselves, they recalled their Pokemon to their balls and took off into the shadows.
Rei wasn't particularly happy about the whole ordeal either, but this outcome definitely beat out being thrown in the back of a van.
"...I cannot possibly thank you enough, Ditto. You as well, Zee. If we had failed, then..." She stopped herself; there was no point in dreading something that couldn't happen anymore. Instead, Rei held out her arms, and Zee happily floated into her embrace; Ditto's diminutive stature meant they had to settle for giving one of their trainer's ankles a hug.
Of course, just because they'd fended off Plasma didn't mean their business there was finished. Rei promptly turned her attention towards the unmoving businessman, his glassy eyes still staring off into space. Fearing the worst seemed like a pretty safe assumption... except... he didn't appear to be injured. At all.
Rei held a hand up to keep Zee and Ditto from following her as she approached the man, then crouched down next to him as she zipped open her bag. "Sir, can you... hear me?" she gently asked. No response. Not even an acknowledgement of her existence.
She asked again. Nothing. Then a third time. Still nothing. Then she waved a hand in front of his face. He didn't even flinch. Then, with a defeated sigh, she checked his pulse.
Normal.
"...what did they do to you?"
None of this made sense... for all intents and purposes, this man was in perfect physical health. What could've caused this? If Plasma were responsible... how?
Suddenly, Rei felt a gentle tap on her shoulder; once she turned her head, her eyes met the Beheeyem's forlorn green gaze. "Is this your trainer?" was her first question; just as she'd suspected, Beheeyem responded with a single nod. "I see. Then... if possible... would you mind explaining to me what happened?"
Beheeyem nodded again, then lifted an arm; fortunately, Rei had a decent enough grasp of Morse code to translate the ensuing flashing from their multicolored digits. "...Simple Beam?"
Once again, Beheeyem nodded... then hung their head. That explained at least part of the situation... she'd heard the horror stories of the potential effects Simple Beam could have on humans.
Rei just wasn't sure if Plasma's Xatu - it would've had to have been Xatu - even knew Simple Beam. After all, wasn't that a move Beheeyem themselves were more closely associated with...?
"Was it a Simple Beam... performed by you?" Another nod.
Wait. Xatu. Magic Bounce.
"Beheeyem..." Nothing she thought of saying to comfort the Psychic-type felt right. Kind words weren't going to reverse what Plasma had done. And to think they could just run off like they did without a second thought...
Everything Rei had heard about them seemed to be underselling it. Plasma... they were on another level of cruelty. She may have fended them off this time, but who was to say she'd be able to do it again? And if she failed... what would become of her?
She shook her head. It's not worth dwelling on. Put it behind you.
Right now, she just wanted to go home. The closest thing she had to one in Nimbasa, at least.
Just as she opened her mouth to leave Beheeyem with some parting words, though, the extraterrestrial Pokemon raised their arm, once again rhythmically flashing their digits in a Morse message. And this one, significantly longer than the first, spelled out...
"...thank you for saving me. If possible, may I... join you and your friends?"
The first thing Rei did was look over towards the businessman, still as unresponsive as he'd been when she first arrived. She knew police would arrive at the scene soon, but... leaving him in that vegetative state didn't sit right with her. There was always the chance he would recover, after all.
When her gaze turned back towards Beheeyem, though... the look in their eyes spelled things out clearly. They would know better than anyone else that holding out hope for a miracle wasn't worth it. And as tragic as that sounded, they... seemed willing to face the truth and begin again.
Rei looked towards Zee, who nodded his head. Ditto responded with a similar gesture.
Then, with a deep breath, Rei extended her hand towards Beheeyem. "If that is what you wish, then... I have no reason to decline. Welcome, Beheeyem."
"...y'know, shouldn't she have been back home by now?"
Admittedly, keeping track of time wasn't one of Asuka's strong suits. Doubly so when she was playing a video game. Even still... an uneasy feeling had crept into her. It was getting really late, but Rei had yet to return.
The redhead opened up her console's menu to check the time. " Scheiße, it's almost 1:30... I knew that thing was gonna run late, but..."
She probably just got lost. After all, new city, new region... this was all still uncharted territory to Rei. It wouldn't surprise Asuka to learn she'd taken a few wrong turns on her way back. Yeah. Yeah, that must've been it.
Didn't she say she'd be home by 11, though? Just how lost could she have gotten? And if something unexpected had happened... especially considering the recent reports of Plasma targeting trainers around Nimbasa...
Calling her was probably a good idea. Knew I should've given her my number.
With a sigh, Asuka set her controller down and rose from the couch, phone in hand. She opened up her contacts, scrolled down, and... yep, she hadn't put Rei's number in there either. Figures that she'd have to go find it. Dad put her papers and everything in his office, didn't he?
And so, with a hint of concern in her step, Asuka left the living room and began making her way towards her father's office.
At least Asuka had been kind enough to give her a house key.
Eager to escape the muggy, humid air outside, Rei gladly twisted the key and opened the door to the Langley household. Figuring Asuka had gone to sleep, she made no effort to announce her return... though if nothing else, it was surprisingly considerate of her to leave the lights on in the foyer.
After setting down the messenger bag containing her Pokemon (including her newest addition), Rei bent down to untie her shoelaces. Once she looked back up, she and Asuka simultaneously screamed.
"R-Rei, at least tell me when you get home!" Asuka stammered, reeling from the shock of two blood-red eyes staring back at her in the dimly-lit hall. "Christ... a-at least you're actually home, I guess."
Rei regained her composure... surprisingly quickly, considering how timid she frequently came across as. "My apologies... I had imagined you would've already gone to sleep by now. I did not want to... wake you, were that the case." Surprisingly considerate, too.
"Actually, I was waiting around for you to get back. Took your sweet time, huh? What were you even doing, did ya get lost?" Whatever it was, at least she's fine.
Rei debated for a moment whether or not to relay the altercation with Plasma to Asuka. As much as she didn't want her - and Mr. Langley, by extension - worrying too much about her wellbeing, it was... probably best not to start keeping secrets.
"Well... no, I didn't get lost, but... I heard a commotion coming from a parking garage Zee and I were passing by, so we went to look at it. Long story short, I... ended up in a confrontation with some, um... members of Team Plasma."
"Y-you got involved with Plasma?! " a bewildered Asuka bellowed in response; Rei answered with a simple nod. "And... you got home without a scratch." Rei nodded again. "That's... that's unbelievable. As in, I don't believe it."
Admittedly, Asuka's doubt was warranted; Rei could still hardly believe how well things had gone herself. The only thing she could really think of to change the redhead's mind was giving her all the details. "If you don't mind... I could tell you the entire story."
Asuka scoffed. "Yeah, I'd love to hear it. Come to the living room."
Rei explained everything, from when Zee first realized something was wrong to what happened after Plasma had fled. It sounded ridiculous to imagine her, of all people, managing to fend off a group of grunts like that, but... considering how detailed the information was, Asuka found it hard to not believe it.
"...and before we turned to leave, Beheeyem spelled out that... they wanted to join my team out of gratitude. So... I let them come along." Rei opened up her bag and pulled out an Ultra Ball, gently lobbing it onto the living room rug... and sure enough, out popped the extraterrestrial Pokemon.
Beheeyem gave Asuka a small wave, and she responded in kind with a smile. "Well, hey, uns auf Sie! My name's Asuka... Rei's staying with me for a while."
Once the redhead glanced back at Rei, though, she did so with a stunned look on her face. "So... you're not bullshitting, then. You actually went up against four Plasma grunts and you actually won. "
"I believe Zee and Ditto gave me more than a little help, but... more or less, yes." Retelling the entire ordeal to Asuka definitely instilled Rei with a bit more pride in her feat. Well, aside from the "nearly being kidnapped" part. That she would've preferred to forget.
Regardless... Asuka seemed impressed with her. That was a first.
"Hah! And here I thought you would've turned into a sniveling mess in that sorta situation." Asuka usually didn't enjoy being proven wrong, but this was different. Turned out Rei wasn't just some reclusive pushover... at least, not when push came to shove. "You versus Plasma, and you won... way to go, Wonder Girl."
After giving Rei a friendly (maybe too friendly?) pat on the back, Asuka turned back towards the television and picked up her controller. "Oh yeah, before I forget... you remember that tournament I was training for earlier, the Monotype Shootout? I'm gonna be leaving for that on Tuesday morning... my cousin Erin's comin' over to watch the house since Dad ran off. Should be about a week."
"...is there a reason I cannot watch the house myself?"
Yeah, Erin knows that Mom's catatonic, for starters. Asuka chose her words carefully. "It's... not that I don't trust you. It's just that I'd prefer having someone who's actually, like... related to me handle that kinda stuff. Hey, besides, this way I'm not dumping all the chores onto you."
After returning Beheeyem to their ball, Rei sat silently for a moment, her eyes turning to the screen as Asuka picked up where she'd left off and jumped into another mission. She dwelled on not only her host's house sitting arrangements, but her new nickname as well. Wonder Girl. There were worse things to be dubbed, she supposed.
"Where exactly... is this tournament again, if I may ask?"
"It's up in Striaton, why?"
"Considering someone else is coming to watch the house... would it be alright if I... came with you to it?" After all, there was lots to see in Striaton... and if Asuka's father wasn't about to offer his support, Rei figured someone had to.
Asuka, meanwhile, was kinda hoping Rei wouldn't say that.
"Rei, listen, as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, I've had the lodging arrangements and everything set in stone for a while... bringing you along wouldn't be that simple. I mean, hell, I didn't even know Dad was gonna bail on me until he left for the airport yesterday." And speaking of him... she already had enough distractions on her plate. Having Rei tag along would just be one more.
But, of course, that didn't do enough to deter her. "I know it's sudden, but... this would be a fantastic opportunity to learn more about Unovan culture," Rei persisted. "Please? Plus, I would... be very interested in witnessing one of your battles."
Okay, fine. Maybe having one cheerleader wouldn't hurt. " Alles klar... yeah, you can come. I'll deal with the hotel and everything. Just... give me enough space to focus on why I'm there, yeah?"
"Of course. And... um..." As Rei hesitated, Asuka cocked an eyebrow, pausing her game to face her... turned out, Wonder Girl could smile. "...thank you. I greatly appreciate it."
In turn, Asuka - putting aside her fear of how much this added wrinkle would affect things - responded with a smile of her own. "Don't mention it."