Reputation
Set after the time Paradox and in a universe where he doesn't get the Atlantis Complex, though I use some reference to that particular book that I thought was too funny to leave out. I also decided to make Artys' school accept girls too, just to make things more interesting
St Bartlebys school for young gentlemen and ladies
Artemis stretched his arms above his head and resisted the urge to yawn. He was sat at the base of one of the many large oak trees that were littered artfully around the boarding school with book in lap. It was a beautifully scorching hot day outside as his Mother had made a point to mention over the phone several times that morning. Angeline had been determined to make the boy genius go outside and get him a tan but Artemis was equally determined to keep his vampire looks. He had promised to go outside in the end and kept to his word.
So after classes had finished for the day Artemis made his way to the large, isolated tree with satchel slung over his shoulder and book in hand. It was Tristan and Isolde. He had decided to read the real book rather than his e book and smirked as he sat down on the grassy ground and thought of Foaly. He'd probably call me a barbarian or something of the likes Artemis mused as his long, delicate fingers brushed some ebony hair from his pale face as he read. The young genius thought it was only right to read such an old book in this form.
Artemis had already read the book before, of course but it was one of his favourites and a few of his own books had taken some inspiration from Tristan and Isolde.
The Irish youth was donned in casual gear. Well it was casual for him. He wore a white, silken shirt with grey cotton trousers and his standard loafers, the shirt had the first three buttons undone and Artemis was for once tieless. Blue eyes scanned the pages as he flipped them (he had been wearing a contact in his now hazel eye so as to avoid awkward questions).
Artemis was fully engrossed in the book and was nearly finished when new shadows appeared, looming over Artemis. Artemis paused in his reading and silently cursed himself for not noticing their presence earlier before sliding his eyes closed closing the book with a snap. He stood calmly before opening his eyes, the piercing blue startling the boy who stood before him. Piers Harling Artemis recognised immediately before scanning the others Sebastian Hyde and Eugene Rutter they were the burly bullies of the school. At least as burly as prep school boys got. Artemis smirked his vampire smirk; he had faced trolls, the mafia, goblins and evil pixies. He wasn't scared of them.
"I 'd heard that you were planning on humiliating me" he mentioned casually as he cast a look at the audience that had gathered almost the entire school he noted "I'm eager to see how that pans out" he paused "I hope you aren't planning on beating me up, that would be boringand my butler would return the favour ten-fold "
Everyone who had heard of Artemis' butler; Butler felt their blood run cold. Eugene barked out a laugh and shook his head as he sneered "Don't worry Fowl, what we have in store for you will be very entertaining" Artemis nearly rolled his eyes when he added "for us at least"
Instead he indicated towards the large screen that had been dragged into plain view, everyone had been looking at it expectantly for a while "I suppose I should watch the screen?"
"I bet you think you're real smart-" started Piers
"A genius actually" Artemis interrupted, intelligence was his only skill, he didn't like it belittled
"Whatever, but you're really just a simple-toon" Piers grinned sharkishly as Artemis' eyes enlarged slightly at the nickname the twins had given him. The grin faded as Artemis gave him a glare that promised a painful death if Myles or Beckett were harmed.
"Let's get on with it, shall we?" Sebastian, the obvious ringleader of the group said testily and pressed play on the button of the small remote in his hand.
On screen were Myles and Beckett.
-D'arvit-
Myles and Beckett build up a tower together, completely oblivious to the camera. Artemis noticed that they're on the beach that Artemis and the rest of his family had visited just a week previously; no it was more than that. Artemis almost smiled when an image of himself appeared on screen. It was old footage shot last week, the twins were in no danger.
"Hey simple-toon" Myles greeted as Artemis sat down next to them, wearing the randomosity shirt and jeans (SKINNY JEANS) his mother had forced him to wear. The camera zoomed out revealing Angeline, Butler and Juliet. His mother looked on approvingly, looking smug as girls in the back-round looked over at Artemis and giggled instead of shrieking in fear and running away.
Artemis himself took no notice of the girls but instead smiled fondly as Myles told him his plans for his next experiment. He hugged professor primate, or rather the exact replica of professor primate close to his chest while Beckett tried to eat a shell, attracting Artemis' attention.
"Are you hungry or curious?" Artemis asked with a raised brow already knowing the answer
"Curr-ee-is" the two year old said with a grin while Myles rolled his eyes
"Simple-toon" He said simply
"Now, now" a voice behind the camera laughed "You shouldn't call your brother a simpleton"
"Apparently he likes it" Artemis said as he looked into the camera "I don't know why you insist on videoing things like this. We're a family of genii we're hardly going to forget"
"It's good to have things to look back on physically, and I'd like to show this to your future wife" Angeline smiled
Artemis groaned but didn't argue any more
"I'm sure you'll remember this day in the future and laugh" Butler smiled
"More like you'll look back and laugh" Artemis scoffed "Randomosity isn't even a word" he scowled down at his shirt.
"Trust me Arty, I'm already laughing" Juliet chimed in with a giggle.
"Thank you, Juliet. Remind me to make fun of you the next time you wear something ridiculous"
"I swear you're more casual with Butler and Juliet than us, sometimes" Artemis the first sighed from behind the camera, there was no malice in his words but the silence was pregnant. It was an unspoken fact that Butler had been like a father to Artemis during the absence of Artemis I and the unasked question had always been whether Arty still saw Butler as a father figure rather than Timmy.
"COOL a jell-fish" Beckett said in awe, breaking the silence
"I think you mean jelly fish" Artemis said distractedly before his eyes widened
"Don't touch it!" He exclaimed and lifted his little brother away from the jelly fish that had washed up, just in time to stop him from poking one of the tentacles.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Butler smiled proudly that Artemis' reflexes had improved, the camera was quickly turned off and the screen went blank to the sounds of Beckett saying "I wanna eat it!" and
Myles saying "I wanna 'speriment on it!" Eagerly too.
Back in the present all eyes were on the boy genius who everyone thought of as cold and heartless. Artemis could practically see the hearts in girls (and some boys eyes) as he glared at the three stooges in front of him. They all thought the new side to Artemis was adorable (and that he looked good in normal clothes)
"What was the point of this exactly?" He demanded with a raised brow
"Everyone's always scared of you, Fowl" Eugene sneered
"Now you're less intimidating, we know you have a heart now" Piers continued
"Get ready for a tough few years, cus I'm gonna make your life hell" Sebastian finished
Artemis was actually taken aback "You're morons" He said, as if he didn't believe it "This is a school for gifted students but really, this has to be the worst thought out plan ever!"
The crowd was listening to every word so the trio tried to look tough
"What do you mean?" Sebastian snarled
"I mean that what you should have done is show me the video and then use it to blackmail me. Now you no power. Also you haven't even taken into account the fact that I'm not ashamed of having a heart" Artemis sighed, obviously disappointed "The only non-idiotic part was how you managed to find and steal the video, how did you do it? I have several guesses but I'd like to know for definite"
"The blonde girl, Juliet gave it to us and said that you aren't as much of a meanie as you want people to think" Piers admitted
"Oh… well that's not very impressive at all" Artemis frowned then he let a small smile curve the sides of his lips up. It wasn't a joyful smile, it was sadistic "And now you have made a very powerful enemy"
Half the crowd fled then and there, the other half stayed, utterly transfixed by the show Artemis was putting on or frozen in fear.
"Did you know" He began coldly "That there are mines under the ground where we are standing?" He asked
"There aren't" Sebastian stated, slightly unnerved but still cocky "They'd have blown up by now"
Artemis actually chuckled "Not the kind of mines you're talking about, these are the mines my family put there" Artemis lied smoothly "They're a special kind of mine that don't kill. They can make your teeth shatter and eardrums burst at the same time. I of course no how to avoid the affects"
Hairs stood up on the back of everybody's' necks
"These mines are set off by a code, a series of words, only I, my mother, father and brothers and also Butler and Juliet know the code" he paused for dramatic effect "Mess with me or my family again and I will end you"
Everyone was still frozen as he walked away with a triumphant smirk. Some days it just felt good being evil.