Artemis was quite enjoying his little tour around the SHIELD base. He was greatly amused by the three "Avengers" he had met and wondered if he would meet the other three. Doubtful considering one of them seemed to reside in an entirely separate universe and showed no intention of returning anytime soon and the other two were not very likely to make an appearance on the exact day of the young Fowl's tour.
As Agent Romanoff led the way through yet another "highly advanced" laboratory (Artemis had outdated most of this technology ages ago), the boy heard a crash, a swear, a thump, and another swear. The noises were followed shortly by the appearance of a man of average build with dark curly hair. When the man spotted Romanoff, Artemis, and Butler he coughed awkwardly.
"Sorry, I didn't realise anyone was in here." He said quietly.
"What were you doing, Banner?" Romanoff asked, hands on hips.
"Oh, uh, I just dropped a beaker. Then I tried to get it from under that chair and I bumped my head going back up," He smiled slightly, "I, uh, I got the beaker though."
Artemis' eyes widened as he came to realise who this was. He immediately stepped over to the man and offered his hand to shake.
"I assume you are Dr. Bruce Banner, known for your studies in gamma radiation." The teenager noted, with the closest thing to awe he could muster.
The doctor shook his hand and nodded. "Yes, that's me…" Artemis didn't say anything for a moment, captivated in being in this genius' presence, "And you are…?"
"Oh, I beg your pardon," Artemis said, slightly shocking Butler. Artemis never begged anyone's pardon. "I am Artemis Fowl the second."
"Nice to meet you, kid. I think I've heard your name around a bit. Remind me, what is it that you do?"
Once again, Artemis surprised Butler with his answer. "Oh, just a few trivial projects," Artemis had never referred to his projects as anything less that great, "Might I ask what you are doing at the SHIELD base, Dr. Banner?"
Bruce looked amused. "First of all, I wouldn't call your projects 'trivial'. I heard you were the one responsible for that reusable energy design listed in Invention Magazine last month. Second, I'm at SHIELD running a few tests on a possible super soldier serum that was recovered from a warehouse in New Jersey."
Artemis picked up a beaker filled with glowing blue liquid and wafted the scent of it toward his nose. He swirled the mixture around and stared at it - transfixed. "What is your conclusion?"
"I found it gives the subject Captain America-like qualities for an hour and then wears off. Doesn't matter how large the dose or what kind of subject it's used on. Always one hour on the dot." Bruce answered, touching a holographic screen nearby and playing some footage of a lab rat running and jumping higher than any rat had a right to. After a moment the doctor fast forwarded to the one hour mark and the rat suddenly shrank a little in size and scurried off at normal speeds.
"Fascinating," Artemis muttered, reaching for a stirring utensil, "I wonder if…"
Romanoff cleared her throat before the boy could get the utensil. "Artemis, I'd really prefer if you didn't start taking over Dr. Banner's highly classified experiment."
Bruce blushed slightly and didn't look her in the eye. Artemis put down the beaker and straightened his tie. He cleared his own throat and clapped his hands together awkwardly. "Right. Apologies Agent Romanoff, I just got a bit excited, I suppose."
"So, what are you doing here, Artemis?" Bruce asked taking off his glasses and cleaning them on the hem of his shirt, "You're kind of young for a SHIELD agent, aren't you?"
Artemis laughed like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure yet, Dr. Banner. Currently I'm receiving a tour of this fine base."
"Huh, well let me know when you find out. I'd love to talk with you sometime." Bruce shook the boy's hand again and smiled.
Artemis nodded excitedly. "Marvelous. It would be an honor."
"Come on Arty, we're getting behind schedule." Romanoff sighed. Both she and Artemis left the lab, but Butler stayed behind for a moment.
"Aren't you the man who has… certain anger issues?" The manservant looked the doctor directly in the eye.
Bruce wove his fingers together nervously. "Yeah, if you're putting it nicely."
"I see." Butler made a mental note to keep this man calm at all times and then proceeded to follow his charge out of the room.
Tony Stark snuck into the lab where he knew Bruce was working and looked around. He spotted his fellow scientist and went over to him. Bruce nodded slightly at his friend and continued to examine a blue liquid.
"So, that Fowl kid came in here too I heard. Did he seem a little off to you?"
"Off how, Stark?" Bruce asked, not really paying attention.
"I don't know… evil, perhaps?"
"No, why?"
"Hmm. Just a thought. Do you have any idea who he is, anyway? I asked JARVIS, but apparently the kid managed to put a virus in him too, which is really pissing me off."
"Artemis? His family is Irish and pretty wealthy. I heard rumor they used to be part of a mob ring, but that's quieted down recently. Artemis is brilliant from what I've heard. Kind of like a younger version of you."
Tony put a hand to his Arc Reactor in mock offense. "That's hurtful, Bruce. I am sixty percent sure I'm not that creepy."
Bruce only chuckled and went back to work. Tony huffed impatiently and walked out of the lab, wondering if he could find anything on Fowl in the SHIELD database. Probably. They had records of everyone. He'd just borrow one of their computers for a while and then he should be able to put together a basic background for this kid. Artemis Fowl's secrets wouldn't be secret for long - at least not with Tony Stark around.
A/N: Wow! So many reviews and follows! Thanks so much you guys! It means a lot to me to know you actually want to read this. I hope I'm keeping everybody in character and that it isn't too boring. I'm so sorry for the slow update, but things have been busy. Anyway, I probably won't update for a while longer after this, but I plan on finishing it eventually. :) Thanks again for your lovely reviews!