The Artemis Complex

AN: My first foray into the Artemis Fowl fandom. I haven't read the books in at least a year, so please forgive any discrepancies in facts or personalities.


Prologue…

Artemis spends a lot of time holed up in his room, alone. He's never been a very sociable person, but sometimes his family wishes he were. If not for Butler, no longer Artemis's guard but still kept around because he's the last link between Artemis and the rest of the Fowls, he would often forget to come out for meals, entirely.

Artemis was always thin and pale, but now he looks papery and gaunt. He's seventeen, just finished with his late puberty and unpredictable growth spurts. He's no longer a small boy- almost as tall as his old friend, Butler, though his voice is still fractionally higher than that of most men. From even more lack of sun- Artemis keeps the drapes to his windows tied shut- his neatly combed, once-dark hair is now a mahogany-brown. Both colored eyes are lighter than before, and his glare is just as chilling as it has always been.

He's almost finished with St. Bartleby's, only one more year left, and he hopes his parents don't try to send him to college, too. He's already got two PhDs, and he's about fed up with imbeciles. He's grown confident in his years of seclusion and occasional chats with Foaly and Holly, soaking up the latest news from Haven. They say they've got a room for him reserved in Haven for when he's ready to come and stay for a while (not forever, they warn, but Artemis has a sneaking suspicion no-one would say anything if he didn't set a date of departure). He can't wait, only one more year at St. Bartleby's and he's through.

He doesn't want to think about what it will do to his parents, the twin siblings who barely know him, when he packs his bags and leaves with little explanation. He obviously can't tell them he's going to Haven to stay with a fairy and a centaur. He puts it off, knowing his genius mind can think up a reasonable smokescreen for his actions when the time comes. As for the family business- no longer criminal, and Artemis doesn't know if that makes him relieved, or frustrated- it will be left to the twins, which Butler mentions as having potential, but only in passing, because he thinks Artemis doesn't care.

Maybe that's true, maybe it isn't, Artemis isn't sure. Butler and his parents, with the twins in tow, go with him and Juliet to the boarding school. Artemis returns his father's nod, and stiffens in his mother's hug. The twins giggle and wave, dashing forward to hug his legs when Angeline tells them to hug their big brother bye-bye. They get back in the car, and Butler drives them away. Juliet is still with Artemis.

She will be posing as an exchange student from America, and her schedule is suspiciously identical to Artemis's (she is his body guard now, after all) but the school was more than happy to oblige when the Fowl's poured just a tad more money into their hands. She hefts Artemis's bags, as well as her own.

St. Bartleby's will miss Artemis, because it will be a few years before his siblings are old enough to attend, and that means a large chunk of incoming revenue will disappear in the meanwhile.

Artemis doesn't care, because this is his last year at the accursed school with its stupid teachers, lazy students, and pestering counselors posing as official psychologists, and he can't wait to be finished.


Please R&R.

Flames will be used to burn down Bartleby's.