The entranced Pamela answered, “to be a magical girl… I admired the Constellation Collaborative since… I was a little girl… I’d wanted to… have cool magic battles… while looking pretty.”
I had to smile at that. I mean, she wasn’t a bombshell, but she did look kind of cute in her own way.
“Are you gonna do what I think you’re gonna do?” Tom asked.
“Well, why not?” I said.
I heard Wallace mumbling something under his breath about “several reasons,” but it seemed like he didn’t want to push things anymore right now.
I thought about what to do with a magical girl theme. I didn’t watch them, but I’d seen my sister watch a couple episodes of them here and there. They usually needed some sort of trinket and catch phrase to turn into their magic forms, which would fit perfectly as a hypnotic trigger. Add in a pretty dress, some kind of magical ability (hopefully the coin could pull that off) and she’d be good to go. And wasn’t there that one, way back, where the whole team was themed around endangered animals? That could make for a little extra fun for me…
“You’ve found yourself in this forest in your mind’s eye,” I said, “because the Earth has called on you to be one of its champions. You’re going to become a magical girl, just like you’ve wanted for so long.”
Even under trance, Pamela smiled wide.
“You have around your neck, a little circular golden amulet, with an amethyst in its center.”
I blinked as the amulet I’d described, string and all, seemed to grow out from the back of Pamela’s neck. Right, I’d forgotten how that’d worked with Melvina clothing change. I might want to try something different when it comes time for Pamela’s clothing change, I wouldn’t want to leave her regular clothes hanging there over her new outfit. Hopefully that amulet isn’t actually a part of her body. I’d forgotten to test that with Melvina’s clothes. Could get awkward if it was. MAybe there’d be a better way to fix it, but I focused on hypnosis again for now.
“When you are wearing that amulet and say ‘Earth’s creatures, lend me your strength,’ it will start to glow, and a magical aura will come from your body, changing it, and any clothing you’re wearing, in the way I’m about to describe. In fact, while you’re in this magical forest, it’s already starting to happen. Already, the gem is glowing, covering your body in light, as any clothes you’re wearing start to turn a deep purple, the threads magically weaving together to become a dazzling dress with a knee-length skirt.”
As I said that, the gem actually did start to glow. Pamela’s whole body slowly rose up, spinning as the clothes she wore changed just like I was describing. I continued on, adding a little something to spice it up…
“The spirit of the endangered Rhim Gazelle will come to your aid, changing you and lending you her strength. You’ll find your body getting subtly stronger and more durable in this form, and your looks will change to match. You’ll grow sandy-colored fur over most of your body, with a patch of white on the front. Your shoes will be reshaped by your aura into a little purple tiara, and moved up to your head while your toes harden into cloven hooves, the rest of each foot growing longer and thinner.”
I watched giddily as the fur and hooves appeared just as I said it would. Shirly and Wallace both gasped. Guess even though they’d seen Tom change yesterday, they were still caught off guard.
“Your jaws will grow longer, your nose pressing forward with it, turning dark and wet as it does, giving you a gazell’s snout. Your ears will grow longer and longer, coming to points at the end, and be able to flick around easily. Finally, you’ll grow a pair of long, thin horns, rising straight out the back of your skull, a line spiraling down each like a drill. This form of yours is beautiful, and a gift to be cherished.”
“A gift… to be cherished…” She nodded, smiling.
“The speed, grace, and beauty of the gazelle will all be yours. Even in your dress, you’ll easily be able to outrun any normal human, perform incredible leaps, and deliver powerful kicks to anyone that would try to harm the innocent. You’ll also find, deep down, a more confident, outgoing part of yourself, coming to the surface in this form. You’ll balance this confidence with kindness and compassion like any good magical girl should, but you’ll find it easier to be brave, and act when timing is everything. And even when you’re back in your normal form, this part of you can still speak up when you really want it to, helping you find the courage to approach other people.”
She seemed to stand up straighter, even under the trance.
“Speaking of your normal form, when you want to return to it, simply say the words ‘return to Earth’ and the same aura will turn you back, shifting your clothing to what it had been before the change, and giving you your human body back. Now, find yourself slowly leaving this magical forest, and coming back to the waking world, your inner voice returning to your head as you hear other people’s voices again.”
Pamela slowly blinked, and shook her head as she came to. She looked down at her body and gasped. “It was real?” Then she looked up, and remembered the other teenagers in front of her, including the stunned-looking Wallace and Shirly.
“Oh my, you caught me at bad time, didn’t you?” She laughed softly. “I hope that little light show didn’t scare you. I wasn’t expecting it either, I’ll admit.”
She looked at me and Tom, and our lack of surprise, with some suspicion. “Wait a second… Your hypnosis… that has something to do with my sudden change, doesn’t it?”
Oh shoot! I’d hypnotized her to think it was all coming from her during the change, but I’d forgotten to make her forget I’d hypnotized her at all. I instinctively started to raise the coin again, but she caught my hand.
“Heh heh, no need to freak out. I’m not mad at you. Your hypnosis did help me feel more connected to Earth, and comfortable with myself, than I can remember in a while. And I’d never really thought about how beautiful gazelles could be.”
With a swift, smooth motion, she slipped her letter into my hand, then seemed to almost slide down the hall. “I hate to drop this new form so soon, but I feel like people’d probably freak out seeing me out in the open like this, and while I’d be fine with letting them think what they want, I want to have a little privacy on my way home. Feel free to drop by some time. 2904 6th street.” With a sigh, she uttered “Return to Earth,” her human form coming back, but looking slightly more sure of herself than before. She waved goodbye, and went out of sight.
“...So,” shirly said, “any reason you added the whole… gazelle thing to that? Besides your furry thing, I mean?”
“Uh, no…” I scratched the back of my head. “That’s pretty much the only reason.”
“What are we gonna do with you?” She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Hey, I could hypnotize you next if you’re not careful,” I joked.
“You know,” Tom said, “I don’t know if we really have enough crime in this city to give your new magical girl evil to fight.”
“Don’t give him ideas of making bad guys for her to fight,” Wallace mumbled.
“Come on, I wouldn’t do that.”
Shirly looked down the hall Pamela had left through. “I mean, you did kind of give superpowers to a stranger just because she was the first girl to admit to having a crush on you…”
“...Well, of course it sounds bad if you say it like THAT!”