So that everyone knows, there have been some slight changes to the previous chapters that set us back a little on the timeline. A problem with the matter of electricity was brought to my attention, so I am making some slight changes that bring standard energy systems back into the mix.

Reviewer 47: I have become incredibly paranoid and am now constantly on the lookout for assassins, so thanks for that.

Preciossa: Thank you! I'm trying!

u2shay - Thanks! Hopefully the writing will start to pick up steam and it'll take less time to update. *fingers crossed* Oh, the information that I know about electricity are limited to high school classes (which were a while ago... O_o). Lol. I just rewatched The Avengers the other day, though, and they said something to the effect of Stark Tower being part of a new sustainable energy source that could last roughly a year. I just took that idea and ran with it. :-) I've rewritten the last few chapters to correct this technical error.

Chapter Three. Sound of Criticism. [February 2012 CE]

There are no judgments so harsh as those of the erring, the inexperienced, and the young.
- Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

"Excuse me?"

"In the event-

"I heard what you said, Thor. I'm just in shock that you would think that you could make those kinds of plans for me."

"What is there to be shocked about, Jane? Your safety is important."

"The safety of the planet is important, Thor! You can't just go around making these kinds of decisions without consulting anyone first!"

"I am Crown Prince of Asgard! I have every right to make these types of decisions!"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a citizen of Earth, so your authority doesn't extend to me!"

"How long do you think this is going to go on?" Tony asked, looking at Bruce.

Bruce shrugged. "However long it takes for him to realize that he won't win."

"Then, gentlemen, we shall be here a long while yet." Loki grinned, leaning back in his seat with his fingers laced behind his head and his legs stretched out in front of him.

Several hours later, Thor found the three men still patiently waiting for the chaos to die down, and Tony took Thor's apology for the property damage in stride. Thankfully, the damage was limited to the furnishings in the room.

"Well, at least you have an exit plan, dude."

Jane poured the rest of the bottle of wine into her glass. If nothing else, Tony had an impressive hoard of the alcohol. Living in the home of a genius, billionaire hedonist had its benefits. At least when said genius, billionaire hedonist was not around to give everyone headaches.

"It's not about having an 'exit plan,' Darcy. It's about the fact that he's made this plan for me."

"Well, could you have made a better plan?"

"That's not the point!"

"Sure, it is." Darcy looked at her over the rim of her glass. "You should be grateful that there's someone looking out for you."

Jane gave an unladylike huff into her wine glass before taking another swig. "What about the other seven billion people in the world?"

"Well, of the seven billion people in the world, you're obviously his favorite!"

"Ok, Darcy. Thank you for the fresh perspective." She wondered how much wine it would take for her to be as nonchalant about the entire situation as Darcy.

"You're welcome. That's what I'm here for."

Darcy reclined on the little sofa in Jane's sitting area. All things considered, they weren't necessarily "toughing it," thanks to Tony's love of opulence. The "bedrooms" they'd all ended up with were more like apartments unto themselves, complete with small kitchens and living rooms.

"Well, if that's what you're here for…"

"You know, this could really be awesomeness of biblical proportions. You're ranked way high up there." Darcy's eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers, pointing at Jane. "Dude! You know what this makes you, right?"

"Unbelievably unlucky?"

"Nope! You're like Noah!"

Jane leaned back against the sofa she was sitting on and covered her eyes with the crook her free arm. Maybe, if she asked nicely, Darcy would share whatever drugs she was on.

"I am nothing like Noah, Darcy." How did she get herself into these conversations? Oh, right.

"You're just like Noah. Minus the white robe and the staff, of course-"

"Darcy, this conversation is taking a turn toward the ridiculous."

"-and the ark..."

"Yes, we've definitely stepped into the realm of ridiculousness." Jane downed the rest of the wine in her glass and got up to get a fresh bottle of wine from the fridge.

"Hey! You should ask Thor if you can take an ark with you!"

"I'm not asking him that." She pulled the cork out of a new bottle and filled the glass dangerously close to the rim.

"Living on the edge over there, Jane?"

"Desperate times, desperate measures, right?"

"That's what I'm saying! So, why not ask if you can take an ark? It only makes sense to-"

"Because I'm not going."

"-ask... What? Jane, if all hell breaks loose and there's no other choice-"

"There's always a choice." Jane eyeballed the label on the wine bottle. 1978 Cote-Rotie. Shrugging, she carried the bottle back with her and set it on the coffee table.

"Yeah, the choice where you get the hell out of Dodge if things get too bad."

"No, the other choice. You know? The one where you fight to the last man standing? Where you stick to your guns because it's the right thing to do?"

Darcy scoffed. "For someone so smart, Jane, you have absolutely no common sense."

"I have plenty of common sense!"

"No, if you had common sense, you would realize that this is not the personal attack that you're taking it as. You would accept this as the great honor that it is. A prince, a god in our histories, cares enough about you to make sure that you're safe even though you have rebuked his romantic advances." Darcy waved her now empty glass around for emphasis. "You are being rude for acting like it's some sort of personal slight!"

"It's not his decision to make!"

"Would you have made this particular decision without him?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, then, there you go." Darcy shrugged and refilled her glass. "Look, you said that the plan is only a backup plan, right?"

Jane nodded.

"Well, then, if you really don't want to go, make sure that it doesn't get to that point. If it does, he's given you an exit plan because he's got, oh, I don't know, thousands of years of experience in these types of situations?"

Jane glared. "Just because he's probably right doesn't mean that I have to be thrilled about it."

"You should be appropriately grateful that someone was thinking about you."

Jane stared down into the wine glass in her hand, trying to suss out the meaning of the universe within the liquid. Technically, if one believed in Quantum theory, it actually might.

Tada! It's not as long as I wanted it to be, but I'm working on character development at the moment, which meant not alot of descriptions. Whatcha think?