Robot mode

But Yutong's robot impersonation opens up a realm of possibilities you'd never imagined before. What if the catalyst for Yu's stage fright is the same as its solution? Nobody's ever heard of a robot having performance anxiety, after all.

"I have an idea that might make this easier," you say. "It's a little crazy, but hear me out."

"Crazier than obtaining ultimate power at some random party?" she teases.

"Well when you put it like that..."

Yu settles down with a breath, sitting next to you on the bed. "I'm listening. But if you want me to picture everyone in their underwear -"

"Nothing like that. Hear me out," you say quickly. "It's your robot act. What if when we go back to the party, you didn't have to be nervous at all?"

Yu's brow furrows. She's curious. You hooked her.

"Robots don't get stage fright. They don't feel fear, or get jitters. They have no emotions at all," you say, excitedly. "What if we make robot mode your secret weapon? You'd be the coolest robot-dancing 4.2 GPA dork around."

"Robots might not have emotions, but I do," says Yutong, uncertain. "I might look like a machine if I do the robot out there, but on the inside I'd be having a panic attack."

"But that's the beauty of it," you interrupt. "Your robot impersonation is mine now, right?"

"Yes, but -"

"And because it belongs to me, my powers are turbo charging it too, yeah? Just like your dancing?"

Yu doesn't answer. Your train of thought caught her off guard. She frowns, processing what you're saying.

"So, let's roll with it. When you do your robot impression the next time, I want you to really get into it. Not just on the outside, but on the inside." You tap her forehead just above her glasses to drive the point in. "I want you in that headspace. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

Her uncertainty grows. "I mean, I do. But... you really think it'll work?"

"Why wouldn't it?" you ask, beamingly. "We just figured out my claims work intrinsically. Why wouldn't that apply to impressions too? Is stand-up comedy the final frontier of the cosmos?"

Yu laughs and shakes her head. "Okay, okay. Give me a second to get into character to see." She takes a deep breath to center herself, and closes her eyes, brow furrowed.

Except, watching her, you know this isn't going to cut it. If Yu needs to calm down before she can go robot, the second she steps foot out of this room, it's game over. She won't be able to get into the right frame of mind before nervousness sets in.

"Maybe we can give you a shortcut," you say, thinking. "Are you willing to take this a step further?"

"A step further? How so?" asks Yutong, instantly dropping her concentration. Like you thought - she'll need help to pull this off.

"What if we installed a 'robot switch'? Like, we designate a trigger word that, when I say it, turns your robot mode on and off," you say. "That way you can seamlessly switch between anti-stage fright mode and back, when you want."

Yu shakes a hand through her hair in thought. "Okay, I get what you were saying about this being a little crazy. Is it really worth all this just so I can wow a few of people at a party?"

"I think you're worth it," you say, feeling a little more daring.

Yu's eyes widen.

You don't think you can ever go totally back to seeing Yu only your dorky friend after tonight. She's too pretty for that.

"But... I guess if it's too much..."

Yu touches your arm. "It's not too much," she rushes out. Her face reddens, and she looks away from your face, hand jerking away from you. "I guess I just don't see myself the way you do. Er, the way all my friends see me. My help might be yours, but for me, it's hard to wrap my head around accepting help from anyone."

You frown.

She attempts to explain. "I know it's different for you, but my family's always treated asking for help like it's this unseemly thing. I mean, I'm okay with helping whoever... just... when I need help, I guess it's hard."

"Yu..." You realize you've been pushing Yu pretty hard out of her comfort zone all tonight. You were just so swept up with your new powers you didn't even think about her.

Yutong lets out a breath. "Listen, Chase... if you think it's worth trying, then I want to give it a shot," she says, twiddling shyly with her thumbs. "What's the trigger word you were thinking?"

You ponder for a moment. Well, if Yu playing the part of a robot is all part of the show, you might as well work that into her trigger, too. "How about when I say 'initialize', you enter robot mode, and when I say 'terminate', you'll snap back to normal? Sound good to you?"

A mix of excitement and trepidation shows in Yu's eyes. She nods. "Mmhm."

Since your power works definitionally, it shouldn't take any more explanation than that to make it true, right? You suppose there's an easy way to find out.

"Initialize."

Instantly, Yutong stands from the bed and freezes. Her eyes lose a bit of their usual warmth, and she stands rigid, poised like a mechanical figurine. Then, with her trademark beep-boop, she speaks in monotone.

"Beep boop. Robot mode activated. Commencing test."

You're genuinely impressed. Yu dropped into the impression instantly. This is the game-changer you were looking for.

"Now, back to normal. Terminate!"

Yutong blinks and returns to her usual self, swaying on her feet. "Wow. That was weird." She holds a hand to her head. "It felt a switch flipped in my brain."

Encouraged, you decide to test the limits. "All right. That was good for a first test, but we need to test your souped up robot mode too. Initialize!"

Yutong shifts back into robot mode, ready for your next command. "Beep boop. Robot mode engaged. Testing protocols active."

Fascinated, you get up and stand so you can see her face and subdued expression a little better. "So? How do you feel, Yu?"

"All systems nominal," Yutong reports flatly, turning rigidly to face you. "In casual terms, I feel fine. However, my reservations about going in front of others like this have not diminished. Even for a robot, this is very embarrassing; my emotion core is overheating."

She's still embarrassed after turning her robot impression up? Even when Yu can do a great robot, she chooses to be the kind of robot that deals with high anxiety. You crack a smile and chuckle. Only Yutong.