Work Text:
The rays of the midday sun reflected off the undulating steel sheets that were woven into a single futuristic structure. The architecture of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas impress you with its boldness. Its design is as complex and incomprehensible as the structure of the brain itself. All the interweaving of windows and walls, at first glance, seems incomprehensible chaos, but in fact the building consists of two parts. The research center is located in one wing, while the other is dedicated to the rehabilitation center. Both wings are connected by an open courtyard with a summer garden.
Today, an international scientific and practical conference on neurobiology, to which the entire Fowl family flew from Ireland, was held in one of the most advanced research centers. In truth, though, this conference was especially valuable to only one member of the family. Eighteen-year-old Artemis Fowl was about to present some of the results of his research on the human brain. His parents considered it a great opportunity to spend a vacation in Las Vegas with the whole family and visit some attractions.
Artemis Senior and the twins stopped on the first floor of the Research Center, intently studying the exhibits of the museum dedicated to the structure of the brain. Two floors above, Artemis's flawless performance was coming to an end. Angeline Fowl, sitting in a huge and completely packed room, proudly looked at her son, who answered all the provocative questions of scientists and doctors with such dexterity and grace. The heated discussion continued for a long forty-five minutes after the end of his presentation. And when all the questions were over, there was a deafening round of applause, which finally confirmed the absolute success of the evening. It was time for the lunch break.
Angeline Fowl was walking toward her son through the crowd, but stopped when she saw the three scientists surrounding Artemis. When the young genius had finished a quick conversation with two of them, it was the third person's turn. A lovely young woman with a very remarkable intellect asked a lot of questions, which Artemis was happy to answer at first.
" … thus, dopamine neurons in a brain region known as the substantia nigra pars compacta can alter the perception of time."
"Incredible. I would like to repeat your experiment in order to be sure in the results. Would you like to join me for a сup of coffee and continue the research?" The girl took a step closer, and Artemis resisted the urge to take at least two steps back.
"Research on the effects of caffeine on the brain is not in my area of interest. But I will wait for the results of your experiment concerning perception of time. Send it to my e-mail. I'm sure you already know the address," said Artemis, finally moving away from the girl.
He was very clearly aware of the irritated look that followed him to the last step, without even turning around.
“Everything went perfectly, sir."
"Except for the last ten minutes."
"You're eighteen now, Artemis. I think you should start getting used to the attention of the opposite sex," said Butler barely restraining a smile.
His bodyguard was right, as always. A young and obscenely rich genius, and a very good-looking one at that, should start to begin to get used to it. The boy barely had time to open his mouth to say something witty when he found himself in the arms of his mother.
"Arty, honey, that was amazing, I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you, mother, I'm glad you liked it," came the typical low-key answer.
"Now we can go down and go to the aquarium."
"I just need a few more minutes and I'll be downstairs."
A few minutes later Angeline Fowl disappeared behind the huge glass doors, going down to the first floor to find the rest of the family, while Artemis was going to meet another one professor.
Meanwhile, Butler carefully examined the huge hall teeming with people. His gaze fell on the wall, where daylight filtered in from the large windows, reflecting off the light-gray walls and dark tiles. It is difficult to focus on vision when the rays of the sun fall directly into the eyes, but Butler was an unusual person. His skills and talents would be the envy of any military member of both the human race and the Fairy People. There was something about the way the light flickered in the window that bothered the bodyguard. When the slight tremor in the air caused by his gaze flickered away, there was no doubt in Butler's mind as to the origin of this anomaly. In a split second, the bodyguard was in front of his patron, shielding him with his huge bear-like body from any danger, and with one hand holding his beloved and slightly modified SIG Sauer, pointing it in the direction of danger.
A moment later, a grenade appeared out of the air and hit the ground, blinding everyone in the room. The bodyguard, being familiar with the arsenal of the Lower Elements Police, knew very well what is it, and unlike Artemis, he managed to close his eyes. The flash lasted almost three seconds. When the Butler was finally able to open his eyes, he saw people lying around the hall in an unconscious or semi-conscious state. White spots blurred before his eyes and made it difficult to see the representative of the Fairy People, who appeared twenty feet away with a weapon pointed directly at the bodyguard. Through the raised visor of his helmet, he could see the face of a pixie.
"He took off the shield to aim," a thought flashed in the bodyguard’s head.
Without giving the enemy a chance, Butler fired. Struck by a strong electric shock, the target fell to the black stone tiles. The SIG Sauer, specially modified by Artemis, now did not hit enemies with bullets, but eliminate enemies in more humane ways.
The bodyguard took a few seconds to scan the room for other threats and, finding none, looked at his patron. The Butler was sure that the pixie was aiming at him, not Artemis, to remove the threat. But he was mistaken, seeing how the boy writhed and moaned, clinging awkwardly to his neck. The bodyguard immediately pushed his hand away and pulled out of his skin something resembling both a cartridge and a dart.
"This isn’t good. It could be anything. We need urgent help." He pulled out his phone and dialed Foaly.
"Butler?"
"We have a problem. There is a pixie and he shot at Artemis with something, can you tell what it is?" The bodyguard turned on the video call and showed a strange cartridge. The centaur stared intently at the bullet as the man turned it over in his huge hands like a small pea.
"It's a tranquilizer. Your patron's life is not in danger. If you pulled it out quickly, then it may not even fully work. It seems that he needed Artemis alive. And what's with the pixie? What happened?"
"I noticed him a minute ago, and it seems to have made him act faster than planned. First he threw a light grenade, and then shot Artemis. Now pixie is lying unconscious. I will hold and hide him until your guys come, some people are already starting to come to their senses."
"'I'm already sending a squad to pick you up, so let me know if anything happens again," Foaly said, tapping the keyboard furiously, and disconnected.
Artemis woke up on a bed in a small modern room at the medical institute and saw the bodyguard standing next to him.
"How are you feeling?"
"I've been worse. I was shot with something." Artemis glanced at the window, estimating that it must have been a very short time since he'd lost consciousness.
"Foaly said that it is a tranquilizer. The Recon is already putting things in order."
"Where are parents?"
"I had to tell your mother that you were being held up, and then you got sick and I took you to the ward. She had been here recently and was now joining the others."
"Good."
"She didn't need to worry again" Artemis thought
"Who shot us?"
"The pixie. Presumably one of Opal koboi's followers."
"Is Holly here? "
"No. Although Foaly just in case sent her to check you. She will be here soon."
"I suppose I'd better go downstairs and tell my family that I'm fine." Artemis got up briskly from the bed and immediately regretted it. The floor and the walls in front of his eyes began to dance like drunken dwarves and only the firm hand of Butler didn’t let the genius kiss the floor.
"You were given a tranquilizer shot made by the Fairy People, you should consult Foaly about its properties and side effects."
Artemis nodded. "You're right, old friend. I should call him."
A few minutes later, a perfectly clear image of the centaur appeared on the Mud Man's ultra-modern phone.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Foaly couldn't resist a friendly jibe.
"For your information, it will soon be evening in Las Vegas, o noble steed."
"I see you're getting better," the centaur snorted. "But I wouldn't be happy if I were you. Your condition is far from stable. Mostly you will want to sleep, although its intoxicating effects may be enough to cause hallucinations. "
"Wonderful" said Artemis, rubbing his temples. "Anything else?"
"Holly will be here soon. I said it wasn't necessary, but she insisted."
Artemis suppressed a smile. "You can't be too careful."
The centaur snorted again. "And in my opinion, someone just didn’t see her favorite Mud Boy for a long time."
"What do we known about the attacker?"
"Pin Round. One of the gang of Koboi‘s follower, was previously tried twice. We’ll interrogate him soon, see if he can lead us to his associates."
"Clear. Have you already mind-wiped everybody? "
"Yes. You can continue to sleep in peace. I've got to get back to work. " Foaly said, stifling a yawn.
"Okay. We'll get in touch later."
Artemis switched off the communicator and lay back. He looked at the screen of his smartphone and smiled when he saw the coordinates of a small red dot on the map.
"Tell mother that I'm fine, old friend. Holly will look after me. She will be here any minute."
"Are you sure you're all right, sir?"
"Slight dizziness. It's no big deal."
"What is the date of independence of Monaco?"
"January 8, 1297. Seriously, Butler. You should have also asked me the capital of France."
Artemis hardly had time to finish the sentence when, in an instant, a weapon appeared in the hands of the bodyguard aimed at an open window.
"Easy, buddy, it's me."
A slender silhouette of a red-haired elf appeared in the window, taking off her helmet.
"You can't be too careful."
"You're right. Good to see you, Big Man."
Holly wrapped her arms around the man's huge neck.
"Mutually, captain. Will you babysit Artemis while I calm his parents?"
The genius lying on the bed was trying not to roll his eyes, and he seemed to mumble something about coming of age.
"You can rely on me," said the elf with a wink and sat down on the bed.
As Butler disappeared through the door, she looked at the half-asleep Mud Boy. "Can't you get into trouble just a little less often? A month ago, we barely had time to cancel the launch of ballistic missiles when Myles hacked into a US military base. "
"My brother made this one, not me."
"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Holly rolled her eyes.
"Besides, you'd be bored without me," the genius grinned contentedly.
"Oh, yes, the LEP have so little trouble," Holly couldn't help but smile.
"I missed you," Artemis said after a short pause.
Suddenly the atmosphere in the room was very different. She sighed heavily and put one hand on his forehead.
"We talked on the communicator five hours ago."
"I haven't seen you for a month."
He took the elf’s hand from his forehead and squeezed it.
"Someone has reprogrammed our system, and for some reason I am on the list of today's aboveground missions in America, instead of Trouble. Do you know who it could be? "
"I have no idea."
She stared intently at the man, trying to see all the emotions in the infinite depth of the mesmerizing blue eyes, and easily succumbing to an emotional impulse, she hugged him. Artemis sat up and hugged the elf, too. It had been more than two and a half years since he had returned to the world of the living, and Holly still sometimes needed to be physically sure of that.
"I missed you too." Her grip on Artemis tightened.
"You know, I did some research" Artemis said letting the elf out of his arms.
Holly rolled her eyes. "You said you missed me, and now you're turning the conversation to your research. Should I have expected something different?"
"I got DNA samples from some people and found a very small percentage of elven genes. You know that a small percentage of humans still have hypnosis and psychic abilities. And since Mud Mans lost their magic many thousands of years ago, this is nothing more than a manifestation of the blood of the Fairy People still flowing through their veins."
"This has been known for a long time," Holly snorted.
"Yes, I was interested to see how well these genes took root. No deviations, except for superpowers quite common for the Fairy People, were not found in them."
"Arty…"
"Don’t worry, no one hears us. My phone creates enough noise that can be attributed to excessive seismic activity."
Holly let out a sigh of relief and awkwardly tucked a strand of slightly grown hair behind her ear.
"Unfortunately, I have no opportunity to study the first generation of hybrids, but their healthy offspring, which has survived to this day, speaks volumes eloquently."
"Earlier people used to have magic. And they lived much longer," the elf muttered casually.
"I had magic once, too."
"Magic you stole from me," Holly said gently hitting the man on the shoulder. "And you remember exactly how it ended."
"True, but if you understand the reason for the disappearance of human magic or find a way to return it…" Artemis shook his head. "In any case, this is just a thought, we always have Number One on our side."
"It's all ... so complicated, Arty."
"Isn't that what we do best? I'm the first person to discover the Fairy People in ten thousand years, and we've managed to save the demon race and just a few times the entire world. In addition to the fact, that I returned from the dead. Holly, look at me" He placed a hand on her cheek, gazing into her painfully familiar heterochromic eyes. "Do you really think there's something in this world that you and I can't handle together?"
The elf's mind was full of thoughts, but there was no "No" among them.
"You are pushing your luck, Fowl."
"Trust me, I'm a genius."
This smug vampire smile often caused two completely opposite desires in Holly. Hit Mud Boy or kiss him? Today, she chose the second one.
The kiss lasted a long time, moving from gentle touches to more passionate impulses. After long days of separation, the man and the elf were together again. Every touch intoxicated more than any tranquilizer, and the frantic rhythm of the heart drowned out the rest of the world.
"Arty, you're drugged," the elf said, gently wrapping her hands around his face.
"I just can't use my intellect one hundred percent right now."
He nuzzled her neck and felt his favorite smell of grass and citrus fill lungs. The elf's hand gently brushed his perfectly smooth black hair. Her sensitive, pointed ears felt Mud Boy's hot breath. Holly smiled and turned her head, meeting the man's neck with her nose. Artemis tightened his grip on the elf and held her close, but after a few seconds, he felt a rebuff. Holly moved away from him at arm's length, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Butler will be here soon."
"He'll find out sooner or later. And he should have figured it out long ago. Otherwise, what kind of bodyguard is he?"
"What if your mother comes in?"
"Then I'll have to introduce my girlfriend earlier than planned."
Holly blushed. It was hard to imagine how Angeline would react to this. Will she be disappointed in her son, or will she be happy? How will the rest of his family react? How can they even handle it? The only thing that cheered her up now was Artemis's confidence. He always knows what to do. He always has a plan. No matter how improbable or impossible they might seem, his plans always worked. So now Holly just decided to trust him. Because if anyone can do something impossible, then it's definitely Artemis Fowl.
At this time, Butler approached the door slowly, but he was in no hurry to open it. The bodyguard knew how rare it was for his friends to be alone, although even without it, this unusual friendship grew stronger every year. After Artemis ' resurrection, their adventures were not over, of course. The dilapidated world threw up new dangers both from humans and from Fairy People. And as you know, where the epicenter of any disaster, there is Artemis Fowl. And where Artemis Fowl is, there are his loyal friends rushing to help.
He didn't hear any voices outside the door. Most likely, the tranquilizer had finally taken effect on Artemis and he had fallen asleep. To make sure that patron was safe, he quietly opened the door, afraid to disturb his sleep. After going through so many adventures with Artemis Fowl, there was little to surprise Butler, but the picture of his kissing friends made him feel numb for a few seconds, although this didn't prevent him from reflexively closing the door. It was a little louder than it should be, though.
Naturally, Holly was the first to react. She moved away from the man who instinctively continued to reach for the elf.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Holly bit her lip. "I hope it was Butler and not someone else."
In response, Artemis muttered something slurred, pulling the elf back to him.
"I think it's dangerous to stay like this any longer. The LEP has already left. It would be strange if I stayed here much longer than they did."
"Tell them I needed a little help."
"In five days I will rise to the surface for the Ritual. Then we'll have more time. And we will continue our conversation. Try not to get involved in anything dangerous while I'm gone."
They couldn't stop smiling at each other. And Holly reached out again to kiss him goodbye. When Artemis opened his eyes, the image of the elf gradually faded into the air before him, like a ghost, and translucent haze flew out of the window. The light, pleasant tingling on his lips and the blue sparks that flickered from the kiss reminded Artemis that everything was real. It wasn't a trick of the imagination from tranquilizer.
"Despite being shot by a distraught pixie, this was a really good day," Artemis thought with satisfaction.
A loud knock on the door brought the genius down to earth.
"Butler"
The bodyguard opened the door.
"Your mother will soon…"
"Arty, you're awake," Angeline Fowl said, looking concerned. "Are you feeling better? What happened? "
"Nothing serious. A slight malaise. Probably overworked, preparing for the performance."
His disheveled hair, a rumpled shirt and his slightly pink cheeks alerted Angeline.
"Butler, could you get me a glass of water, please?"
"Yes, ma'am."
As the bodyguard disappeared through the door, the woman looked at Artemis again with concern.
"You promised me no secrets, Arty. Tell me what happened."
Artemis realized that he didn't look very presentable, and that he had to explain it somehow.
"I was attacked, but the intruder was already caught."
"Was he captured by the police?"
"Of course, mother. Butler will sort it out. You don't have to worry."
Angeline's gaze restlessly scanned Artemis. "Has Holly been here?"
"What makes you think so?" Artemis asked, raising his left eyebrow.
"I think I saw a few blue sparks. Was your face injured?" Angeline put one hand on son's cheek.
"Yes, ahem ... But now I am completely healthy," Artemis said trying not to blush. "Father and the twins must have been waiting. We should continue this day as planned."
"Was it someone of the Fairy People," Angeline asked warily.
Before her son could respond, she continued.
"Many people complained of feeling ill. Besides, they don't seem to remember the last half hour very well."
Under such a gaze of his mother, Artemis couldn’t bring himself to lie.
"Yes, it was a pixie. But as I said, he was captured and is being taken for questioning. Now we can spend the weekend in peace."
"This is unlikely," Angeline thought. "My son will find danger where it would not seem possible."
"All right, Arty. I'll tell the others you'll be down soon."
Angeline got out of bed and slowly going to the door, turned around.
"Yes, and try to hide that red spot on your neck. Timmy might misunderstand your excuse for not feeling well."
When Butler returned to the room and saw Artemis's completely red face, he at first thought that his patron was really ill.
"Sir?"
"I need powder, Butler, or a very plausible story about how I fell and hit my neck on something small and round."
"Judging by the bite marks, this something small and round was also with teeth," the bodyguard couldn't help but smile.
"D'arvit."