Juniper had been mentally preparing for this day for quite some time but as she stood in front of the facility she felt as if she was being caught completely off guard. As she walked in some of the staff greeted her with that same curious and eager look. A look she had been receiving since the second meeting in the application process when she had told them about her phobia of Magic. It made more sense after she had signed the NDA and they told her of the opportunity to turn her phobia into a power. Their only caveat was that they could really not say how her powers would manifest. Magical powers, having many forms in folk lore, could mean anything. These scientists also saw an opportunity to possibly break the law of conservation of energy, if magical energy could create something from nothing then there would suddenly be an exception to many of the laws of physics.
Lost in her thoughts, Juniper was already on the operating table. She consciously chose not to take in her surroundings, her eyes staring off into the distance, glazed and despondent. Before she knew it a nurse was prepping her arm for the serum.
"So there's no anesthetic?" Her voice wavered nervously.
The nurse shook her head lightly, "Only if we think you really need it, we find it can disrupt the treatment."
"Ahhh I see, best if we avoid that." Juniper murmured to herself mostly. She felt the prick of the needle in her arm, at first it was like just a needle prick, nothing more. As the seconds ticked on she began to feel warm, similar to what one feels when drunk. This warm feeling became accompanied by a strange energy. It didn't hurt physically but Juniper was very uncomfortable. The staff just continued watching her carefully. The energy began to surge and everything faded to black
Juniper's eyes shot open and she woke with a start, sitting up very quickly. She was not tired, she did not feel foggy. In fact, everything seemed crystal clear, more in focus than ever before. The energy she felt before was still there but now it was quiet, waiting for her to call upon it. The nurses around her looked very frazzled as if they had seen a ghost or, more likely, something much stranger. "Well you have stabilized Miss Baroclette, I think we're all glad to see it too." said a nurse with a once pristine bun that was now quite messy.
"How long was I out, did something happen?" Juniper asked as she slid off the table, causing the nurse to flinch and step back. This shocked Juniper, no one had ever been afraid of her before.
"Miss Baroclette, while you do seem to be in perfect health, the treatment caused quite the ruckus. You were convulsing, we had luckily put you in restraints by that point and you were babbling in a strangely deliberate way. Something more, you whipped up quite a storm, wind and what not. I swear we thought we gave you the Lilapsophobia serum on accident." The nurse rambled, clearly she was unable to regain her cool. The others glared at her, as if to tell her to shut her mouth.
Juniper was feeling uneasy by this point, that eager look from before was different now, it was fearful. She could take being ignored, disproved of but this was new and she wasn't sure she liked it.
"Oh, should I go join the others?" Juniper was unsure of how else she could have responded. The nurse nodded at her and directed her down the correct end of the hall way. With the speed walk of a 80's mom Juniper left.
Upon entering the room with the others Juniper realized she was late, perhaps her whole magical possession show had taken longer than the processes the others went through. As she took in the others, she realized that she had been given the long end of the stick. Of course it was obvious that the people with physical anomalies had probably suffered but she could see in the eyes of those who otherwise looked normal that their internal transformation had been harrowing. Juniper felt like she had missed something but remained silent, she didn't want to interrupt.