Placement Test: Breakdown

[quotemyname]

Eddie felt the bile building up in his throat. He knew there were people like that out there and it made him sick. As his feelings of rage began to build..."I would...!" The song on his iPod changed...

"No...I'll let this answer for me. I would lock him up..." He projected the music so that Archer could hear.

I could be mean

I could be angry

You know I could be just like you

I could be fake

I could be stupid

You know I could be just like you

You thought you were standing beside me

You were only in my way

You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you...

"...And I would be there when he gets out."

[Avenger Assembled]

Archer nodded, thinking about that one. "That one's interesting. How about this. Let's say that Dr. Stratos has seized control of the top of the Pyramid Plaza." As he spoke, this time the simulation around them shifted to match his words, transforming the Doom Room into a simulation of the incredibly tall triple skyscrapers in downtown Freedom. Dr. Stratos himself stood by a massive death-ray, laughing manically as lightning bolts played across his fingers. "And you're fighting him." Eddie got to see a version of himself in a generic "caped" costume fighting Stratos, the two trading cartoon punches before Stratos turned from the fight to deliberately blast the side of one of the nearby buildings at his full power, shattering oceans of glass and steel and making the whole tower visibly shudder. "If you stop and help evacuate the building, Stratos will have time to build his weather ray and hold the world hostage to his mad schemes. But if you don't help evacuate the building, it may collapse, killing thousands in front of your eyes. What do you think is the right decision, Eddie?"

[quotemyname]

Eddie simply shook his head. "There isn't one." He said frowning.

Eddie looked down. "Not with my powers at least...Someone else may be able to levitate the building, or keep the people safe somehow while continuing to fight Dr. Stratos... But I can do anything like that." Eddie gazed up at the scene with a certain longing...

"I shouldn't even bother answering, it's such a loaded question. But if you must know, I would save those people...If I could. The way I see it, if he holds the world hostage, we can always negotiate with him. But if those people are going to die, they are going to die right now." Eddie shrugged before continuing. "Who's to say that him having control over the world - even if it is shortly - wouldn't cause more damage...more loss of life? Certainly not me. I don't have powers of precognition, so there is no way that I would know...I would just do my best to minimize the damage at the current time. I would have to hope that I could come up with some plan later to deal with Stratos. Because I know that if I didn't help save those people and the building did collapse..." He looked up at Mr. Archer with a mixed look of pleading and defiance, "I would always regret it."

Another song began to quitely play over the scene, although this time, it's eerie notes were projected out of Eddie unbidden.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Sometimes having an answer is the right solution to a question, Eddie, even if you're not sure what your answer is going to be." The rest of the questions were surprisingly low-key given all the action that had come before in the test, just the man and boy sitting around talking about ethics and superheroes. When they were done, Archer shook Eddie's hand with a firm grip. "Well, I think we're done here. Congratulations, Eddie. I look forward to working with you in the future." He smiled.

[quotemyname]

"Thanks, Mr. Archer," Eddie smiled, "This was actually really fun!" he exclaimed

Glad that the test was over, he made some small talk with his soon to be teacher (or at least of the teaching staff) as they were on their way out. "You know, I think I have a better idea of why I came to this school now..."