[ WP ] You live in a world where every person receives a superpower on their 18th birthday . You eagerly count down the seconds then shriek in horror as you are given a power no one would ever want to be stuck with .

Angelique was having an intense staring competition with the clock above the tv on the opposite end of the room. 10 minutes. Ten minutes to go. At the end of those ten minutes, she would learn what the rest of her life would be like. The seconds seemed to slow and it felt like it took hours for a single moment to pass. 
 
 Angelique's stomach tightened, and she glanced around the room at the party guests. In just ten minutes, it would be 18 years to the second since she was born. And then she would get to be like the rest of her friends and classmates. 
 
 The young girl, with mahogany hair and tan skin, was the youngest in her class, and quite possibly in her grade at school. Naturally, everyone else had already received their powers. 
 
 Some people's powers were limited to small'party tricks', such as changing their appearance, and had no significant effect on their surroundings. Some had abilities that made their life easier, such as hovering a couple inches off the ground, allowing them to easily glide down the street. In more extreme cases, students received potentially dangerous powers that required them to see a psychiatrist at least once a month to make sure they could handle the responsibility, or, if they were lucky, they received potentially life-saving powers and were recruited into the NHA, National Heroes Association. A sort of super-natural police force. So far there had been little more then a handful of those people at Angelique's school that year, although she hoped to possibly be added to that small list. 
 
 Sensing her distress, her friend, Sam, who was lounging on the couch beside her, waved her hand in front of her face, breaking her out of her trance. “ Yoohoo! ” She chirped, giggling. “ Why do n't you take your eyes off the clock for a moment? You're not gon na make time fly any faster that way, ya know. ” 
 
 “ Y-yeah... ok, sure, ” Angelique stammered. 
 
 “ So what kind of cake did you get? ” Sam asked, trying to distract her friend. 
 
 “ Oh, it's red velvet. Nothing too special. ” 
 
 “ Sounds absolutely delicious. ” 
 
 Angelique reflexively glanced back at the clock, which now told her she had 7 minutes left, only have Sam cup her cheek, turning her head and forcing her to look away again. 
 
 “ Did you watch that anime I told you about? ” 
 
 “ A bit. I do n't think it's really my thing. ” 
 
 “ Aww, but it's so awesome! ” 
 
 “ It's kinda creepy, really. Why is there some kind of sexually-charged event every five minutes? ” 
 
 The meaningless chatter continued between the two of them. Every time their conversation seemed to reach a dead end, Sam frantically grabbed at another random topic, like a random song she heard on the radio that she did n't understand, or a piece of local news that did n't really affect anything. Angelique could tell Sam was trying her best to keep her anxiety low, and she was grateful for her efforts. 
 
 But every now and then she would manage she catch a glimpse of the clock, and recalculated the time she had left. 
 
 5 minutes, then 3, 2, 1... 
 
 Angelique watched as the seconds ticked down to the final moment, then closed her eyes. 
 
 The room got quiet. There was only the sound of wind blowing past and the feeling of intense sunlight on her skin. 
 
 Sunlight? That was n't right... even if she was outside, it was a cloudy day, with no sunlight anywhere near her house. 
 
 Angelique opened her eyes and found herself in the middle of a foreign landscape. A flat, dry, wasteland. There was nothing around her except for dust and rocks. No plant or animal life to be seen. 
 
 She looked up into a dark blue sky and shielded her eyes from the bright red sun that beat down on her. 
 
 Within seconds, her skin began to burn, and she struggled to breathe. It only got worse and worse as her skin began to boil in the hot sun. With the last of her breath, she let out a choked scream, and collapsed to the ground. 
 
 -- -- -- -- -- -- - 
 
 No one was ever certain about what happened to Angelique. At the very moment where she should have gained her powers, she seemed to slip into a trance-like state, then her eyes rolled back into her head and she screamed before falling unconscious. 
 
 On the way to the hospital, she began to spasm uncontrollably. Once they got to the ER, the doctors told her parents that she was in a coma. 
 
 Sometimes, when a person gains their power, it's simply too much for them to bear. No one ever gets to know what the power is, and their brain activity is undecipherable. If there's a way to deactivate the power, the victim never seems to have a calm enough moment to find out how to. No drugs or medical procedures can bring them out of their shock. 
 
 A week later, after watching Angelique's body shake and choke with no end in sight, Angelique's parents were forced to make the difficult decision to cut her life support, and watched as her vital functions slowed to a halt, never to start again.
