#5 New Additions to the Family
"Okay. Is everyone ready?" Hiro asked the four eager and newly reprogrammed mascot robots.
"Yes sir!" the always energetic Noodle Burger Boy answered as he gave a thumbs up.
"I am so excited!" responded the peppy Hyperpotamus as she twirled in midair.
"Crushroom ready to do this!" the strong, fun-gal robot known as Crushroom shouted.
"We're ready. Quit making us wait and just get on with it!" the impatient Hangry Panda barked at Hiro.
"Don't worry. She'll be here any moment," he reassured them. Currently, the five of them were in the garage, waiting for Aunt Cass so Hiro could introduce them to her. Hiro had spent the last week or so making the Mascots' new programming and checking that everything was working. Once he was done, he came to Aunt Cass with the pitch that she could use help around the café. He also mentioned how these robots were in need of a good home since their original owners didn't want them anymore; being ever the compassionate person, Aunt Cass agreed to see them.
The sound of approaching footsteps caused a wave of excitement to ripple through the four robots, making them squirm or giggle with glee. "Okay Hiro, I'm ready to see these special robots you were telling me about," Aunt Cass's voice could be heard saying as she came to the garage. The café owner was wearing her usual jeans, red shoes and black shirt when she saw the five occupants. Hiro stepped forward to make the introductions.
"Hey Aunt Cass. I'd like to present to you: Noodle Burger Boy, Hyperpotamus, Crushroom, and Hangry Panda!" he announced as he gestured to the aforementioned robots.
"Howdy and hello!"
"Hi-ya!"
"Crushroom says hi!"
"Hey."
Aunt Cass didn't say anything at first, but just stared at them pensively. She then clasped her hands together and exclaimed, "Aww, you all look so adorable and sweet too. So Hiro, where did you find them?"
The teen prodigy scratched the back of his head nervously, still astounded that his aunt didn't know these robots from the news. "Well, sadly these bots wound up not being exactly what their original owners were expecting, so they put an adoption offer of sorts up for them. So, I figured you could use the help and they could use a home," Hiro explained, trying his best to bring up plenty of sentiment.
"Ahhh, the poor dears. Well, what do each of you do?" the café owner asked as she faced the Mascots.
Noodle Burger Boy stepped forward to be the first to answer. "I spread happiness and cheer with full flavor!" the titanium robot declared.
"I do fun and deliver it super-fast!" the hovering hippo told her next.
"Crushroom is strong and durable!" the buff fun-gal loudly stated as she flexed.
"I'm used to taking people's orders and making sure they are snappy about it," Hangry Panda bluntly informed Hiro's aunt.
The brunette woman smiled kindly as she said, "It sounds like you are very capable robots to me." She then turned towards her nephew. "Are there any other quirks or past issues I should know about?"
Hiro kept face as his mind quickly raced through all the battles they had with these robots before answering, "I don't think so. I even went through all of their programming myself to be safe. They're just eager to get started and as long as they are kept charged, should be functioning properly." Hiro did secretly hope though Noodle Burger Boy wouldn't still spew pickles if he got upset or Hangry Panda wouldn't eat everything if she got stressed.
Aunt Cass nodded and turned back to the Mascots. "If that's all, then I don't see any reason why you can't have a try helping at the Lucky Cat."
Upon hearing her say that, all four robots went "Yay" as they came together for a group hug. A few seconds later, they turned towards Aunt Cass and Hiro, where they proceeded to make them part of the group hug. Both of the humans smiled, although taken slightly aback and wincing a little at how strong their embrace was.
"Thank you so much! We'll be the best family the food service world has ever seen! Love you mother," Noodle Burger Boy sincerely told the café owner. The other three robots then followed up with saying "Love you mother" too. Aunt Cass admittedly looked surprised at being called "mother," but she didn't say anything and instead patted the tops of their heads to show affection.
Once the mechanical fast-food workers stopped hugging, Aunt Cass started to lead them back to the restaurant with Hiro bringing up the rear. As Hiro watched the reformed Mascots excitedly walk to their new home, he took pride in helping to make this happen and above all, he was glad that he didn't give up on them.
NOTES
Sorry this one is so short, but I hope you found the interaction cute. ^_^ I figured Aunt Cass might be more open to the Mascots as helpers versus Globby since well…yeah, it's probably pretty obvious why; it still is crazy though that she didn't know who Globby or the Mascots were given that they were bound to be on the news multiple times. Also, I hope you enjoyed me adding the "not giving up on them" line. ;) (I know the ending of the show was rushed and 99.9% chance not the ending they wanted, so I've tried to put a little Tadashi into some of these stories to add that wholesomeness back :) ).
The next story will show what Mochi did while he got out of the house in "Muira-horror Wood."