Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Artemis Fowl Series, be it characters or plot, I do not own it, so please do not sue me. ;;

Review Replies:

PinkExplosion: Thanks! Atomic Bombs sure can be interesting, can't they?

Me, obviously: HAHA! You didn't like the scientists, I take it?

aperfectattitude: Thanks again, I hope you like intense. It will happen often enough.

Sgarecool321: Heh, gave me a heart attack there. ;

venusgal100: A somewhat answer to your question is enclosed in this chapter (although I like the lack of cookies cause better :-p ). Please don't kill me anybody, I love everyone, really!

Chapter Three

Tragic Promotion

New York City: USA

Sensation. Sensation was the first thing Holly Short was aware of. Itchy ears from being in a helmet too long, and a very sore back from being hunched over. Holly slowly opened her eyes to reveal she was face to face with the ground. She slowly straightened, wincing at the muscles pulling in her back, and attempting to recall exactly what she had been doing. Suddenly the recent events flooded back into her mind as she realized she was still clutching the rad-blanket. She glanced around wildly and her panicked gaze came to rest on the still figure beside her partially underneath the blanket.

"Artemis, Artemis, wake up you," she gave him a small shake, "Are you okay?" she asked absently and peaked her helmeted head out from underneath the blanket. Artemis groaned and attempted to maneuver into a sitting position but immediately stopped with a startled hiss.

"Yes," he said hesitantly looking over his shoulder, "But there is a rather large piece of glass impaled in my leg," he gingerly straightened and Holly turned back towards him. Deeming that the worst was over, Holly swept the blanket over her shoulders and moved towards Artemis' bloody leg.

"Hold still," she ordered, "this is going to hurt," she added; although she could not see Artemis' face through the dusty visor of his helmet, she knew from the stiffening of his body that he was dreading it. She made it as quick as possible. She grabbed hold of the seven inch skewer of glass and instantaneously pulled it out. She felt Artemis shake as he withheld a jump and a scream through clenched teeth. Holly ripped the leg of Artemis' suit wider until she could place her hands around the wound in his thigh. "Heal," she breathed and blue sparks of magic danced from her fingers and into the ragged wound. As the flesh began to come together she had to arch an eyebrow at the evidence of some muscle in his legs. She looked up at him oddly.

"What?" he quipped, somewhat uncomfortably.

"I'm trying to figure out how you got muscle," she laughed and Artemis jerked his leg out from her grasp, thankfully she was practically done anyway.

"I did some jockeying alright?" he retorted, "I had to fulfill a physical education requirement to graduate and it was the best option," he explained rather quietly and Holly could not help but smirk beneath her own helmet at his obvious discomfort at admitting having done some physical work. There was an awkward silence in which neither of the two said anything. Artemis finally broke it, looking around and up. "Is it over?"

"I think so," Holly replied, joining him in glancing about. There was little evidence that a city had once stood in this desolate wasteland.

"Yes, I suppose that is to be expected. The enemy jets probably fled as soon as the carrier dropped its bomb," Artemis added matter-of-factly.

"I can't believe that they A-bombed this place twice in two days," Holly shook her head and Artemis looked to the charred ground.

"They knew we were coming," he stated quietly and Holly stared back at him.

"What?"

"The Protectorate's entire Science Division was en route to their base in Utah. The enemy must have known we would stop off to look once we heard about the bombing," a cold chuckle echoed from his helmet. "We were the last ones here. Everyone else had camped or landed or staked out or whatever on the outskirts of the destruction. We were the only ones stupid enough to land in the city," Artemis laughed again. "Some geniuses we are," he added cruelly. Holly stared at him.

"Did you hit your head?" she asked after a moment. Artemis jerked upright and stared back at her. "Come on, we'd better get out of this place before somebody realizes they missed one of their targets," she said and stood up, brushing dust, ash and debris from her suit.

"Right," Artemis slowly got up, testing his leg and straightening his clunky, battered suit. He stopped in middle of brushing himself off. "Holly?" he asked and the fairy, who had been scouting the area, returning to him. "How did we survive?" his confused voice sounded quite odd. Holly smiled and threw the rad-blanket at him. He caught it rather bunglingly.

"One of Foaly's inventions; indestructible, heat resistant and radiation proof," she explained as Artemis studied it. He held it up at arms length and it proved to only be large enough for about two fairies, no humans, not even a small adult like Artemis.

"Hm, unfortunately for my leg, not quite as perfect an invention as need be," he observed.

"What are you talking about! Of course it's perfect! You're just too big!" Foaly screamed over Holly's communicator. Judging by the fact that Holly had jumped nearly a foot into the air and was covering her ears, Artemis came to an educated guess.

"Hello Foaly," he called. Holly grumbled as she turned off the sound of her helmet.

"We can talk after we get out of this radioactive city, how about that?"

"Ah, that sounds like a very good idea, Captain," Artemis agreed. He rolled up the blanket and stuffed it under his arm as Holly and he began to pick through the debris. They had not gone far when Holly heard voices, and the sound of approaching footsteps. Holly quickly shielded and ducked out of sight, leaving a very startled and confused Artemis.

"You there, halt!" one of the approaching men ordered as he pointed to Artemis with a Beretta 92f 9mm pistol. After the initial what the hell, response running through his mind, Artemis immediately threw his hands up in the air in comprehension. He had just survived an atomic bomb dropping and really did not feel like being shot by one of his own subordinates due to being mistook for an enemy. "State your name and business here," the man ordered. His voice was curt but had still had a hint of an American drawl to it. However, Artemis decided to let the man's utter lack of manners get by this time, considering he was nearing point blank rank and still had his pistol raised.

"Doctor Artemis Fowl of the Protectorate'sFirst Science Board Division;" he replied and shifted onto his uninjured leg anxiously, "And as for my business? I am trying to escape radiation-rich area so that I may live longer," Artemis growled as he saw the realization dawning upon the soldier in his body language. The suited soldier immediately holstered his gun and hurried forwards.

"Hurry then, we've got to get you to medical help right away," the soldier took Artemis' arm and hung it over his shoulder, forcing Artemis to put most of his weight on the suited soldier. Artemis had first begun to protest, but then thought better of it. He favored the leg that had been injured and looked down at the ground as they walked through the wasteland. Now that he actually stopped to think, it was probably a good thing his leg had been injured. It made his survival a little less suspicious, and the fact that he had pulled away before Holly had finished completely healing him helped. The wound was no longer bleeding and was well on its way to closing thanks to Holly, but it was obvious that it had existed and still looked rather serious. Artemis looked over his shoulder to see a faint haze that must have been Holly by the remaining structure of an overturned car. Artemis gave her a discreet, dismissive wave and returned to concentrating on walking, and acting incredibly injured.

Holly hid as she watched the suited soldier practically heave Artemis over his shoulders and carry him to safety. She turned around and took in the desolated surroundings. She decided she had better do the same and reach a safe distance where she could contact Haven in safe seclusion, and maybe even make a trip to Tara to perform the ritual. She had felt her magic run low as she had healed Artemis' leg. She switched on her wings and kicked off the ground, rising to a safe altitude before zooming off.

Artemis groaned as the soldier finally set him down in one of the hundreds of ambulances lining the edge of the city. This was actually why the scientists had landed in the city; they had wanted to avoid the massive amounts of injured, dieing and dead. Artemis closed his eyes to shut out the images of the blackened faces and marred bodies. He said a silent thanks as the emergency medical technicians closed the doors of the ambulance. The ambulance began to sway as it moved slowly over the rugged terrain and the two EMT's began helping Artemis out of the tattered remains of his radiation protection suit. One unhinged his helmet and as he pulled it off Artemis' strange half circle sun glasses fell into his lap. The EMT did not ask and set them with the helmet aside then helped the other unfasten the back of his suit. They skillfully slid him out of his suit without much fuss and Artemis was saddened to see that his Armani suit had suffered considerable damage as well.

One checked his vital signs and asked him various questions as the other began to dab at his forehead. Artemis was surprised to see blood wipe off on the antiseptic pad there too. Then the same EMT began to treat his leg.

"When did this happen?" the EMT asked.

"During the explosion," Artemis answered through labored breath, better make it believable, he thought. "A flying piece of glass hit my leg," he added and the EMT looked up from his leg.

"How did you survive the heat wave?" he asked curiously as he proceeded to swipe the wound mercilessly. Artemis flinched.

"A new invention of mine: a radiation, and fire-proof blanket. I thought it would be a good idea, in case we came across any incredibly high radiation levels," Artemis waved the blanket he held in one of his hands. Both EMT's looked at it interestedly.

"That's amazing," one remarked and returned to drawing blood. Artemis stared at the

"Yes, I… I know."

White Plains Hospital Center, New York: USA

A considerable distance from the remains of New York City, Artemis began to fend off nurses and doctors. He had already submitted to several x-rays, cat-scans, and numerous other examinations and had been treated for all injuries they had come across, down to the last chipped nail. Artemis repositioned himself in the squeaking hospital bed and grimaced at the scratchy hospital gown he had been forced to wear. He glanced out the window and narrowed his eyes at a shimmer in the air.

He reached over to the sparse nightstand and grabbed his sunglasses. He donned them on and sighed. His sunglasses were much like the ones he had created for Butler those many years ago, the ones that saw right through Fairy shields, but these also were equipped with night vision and thermal imagery, and he saw no Fairy through them. He leaned back on the bed just as the door to his private hospital room opened. An aging doctor with thick glasses and a clipboard came, in slightly agitated. Following him was a middle aged man with sparse hair and a dark suit, accompanied by several men with security badges with the letters FBI on them. Artemis rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"The nurses told me you were awake," said the doctor. He walked up to the side of the bed and stuck his hand out with a meek smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said and shook Artemis' reluctant hand, "I'm Doctor Burns, I was the doctor on duty until the… well, the incident, now everyone's on duty, but I've been assigned strictly to take care of you. I assure you, you're in good hands," Doctor Burns tried to explain. Artemis arched an eyebrow, as the man's hands quivered.

"Strictly to me? You should be out there with the rest of the doctors taking care of the patients that really need you," Artemis scolded and the poor doctor took a surprised step back. The man in the dark suit took a step forwards.

"Please, Doctor Fowl, we're only trying to do what's best for you. You were exposed to high doses of radiation and heat; you need to rest, and recover," the man said with an eloquent voice. "You are the only one left, after all," he added. Artemis swallowed.

"You're sure?" Artemis whispered and the man nodded.

"I'm afraid that the area your Science Division was exploring happened to be the very target. No one else survived," the man replied and Artemis' eyebrows furrowed together. He knew who this man was already. The man read Artemis' contorted expression and raised both his hands and his eyebrows. "Please, please sir, you must try to remain calm, we don't want you under anymore stress for the time being; you're very important to us," he soothed. The doctor stepped back up.

"Are your eyes sensitive Doctor Fowl?" Doctor Burns pointed to his sunglasses. Artemis unconsciously reached to make sure they were secure on his face.

"Yes, I'm rather nearsighted and my eyes were ill-adapted to light even before this," Artemis stated and shrugged "A side effect of my studies." The Doctor nodded and scribbled something on his clipboard. Artemis stored this little half-lie in his memory for future use. He was not really nearsighted, but he was used to the dark confines of a laboratory and computer room.

"Ahem," the man in the dark suit brought the attention back to himself, "Allow me to introduce myself," he said and Artemis waved a hand.

"No need. You are Marcus Daily, the President of the United States of America. I supposed I should be honored you have come to visit me," Artemis rose his chin a few centimeters and the American President's smile barely twitched.

"Yes, I," President Daily glanced at his feet, "I wanted to extended my sincerest apologies for letting this incident happen," he pursed his lips and folded his hands. Artemis studied the man. He had been a typical President, from what Artemis knew. The man's father had been a senator and Daily's policies were that of the valiant world crusader.

President Daily, unwittingly, had ignited the fire that drove the Empire. His aggressive speeches and foreign policies had invaded the militaristic rights of those other countries, and they responded with armed resistance upon American bases in the Pacific. Soon, the United States of America's economy was in shambles, and the members of the Empire grew. The United Nations was torn with indecision and in effect, crumbled. Many countries chose to remain neutral, while others rushed their fellow super-power's aide. The United Kingdom had been the first to pledge their support.

"Apologies do not bring people back to life. We just lost ninety two percent of the Protectorate's leading brainpower," Artemis stated coldly.

"I know, and that is why you… why you are so important, Master Fowl," President Daily's voice became more animated.

"Master Fowl?" Artemis repeated. Of course, everyone at Fowl Manor called him that because he was mostly everyone's employer and held a great amount of power, but elsewhere he went by Doctor, or Professor even (he had taught a class in computer programming once).

"Yes, that is one of the new revisions to the Science Division that the Protectorate has created. You have been promoted to Master of the Science Division," President Daily explained.

"Master of the Science Division? There's no one left in the Science Division!" Artemis exclaimed and the President bobbed his head yes and no.

"Well, you're the only one left of the First Science Division, we still have other scientists," President Daily admitted.

"Then why not make another First Division? Just promote other scientists to my level?" Artemis asked.

"Because there's no one else known to be at your level, Master Fowl, that's just it," President Daily's voice rose. "Our governments donated the brightest minds in our respective countries and now they're all dead except you," the President's voice cracked and Artemis blinked.

"You knew one of us?" Artemis asked quietly.

"I… my wife was one of the American scientists," President Daily whispered and Artemis' eyebrows furrowed, imagining himself in the same place as the man standing next to him. "Anyway," President Daily burst out, "We have no one else for you to work with; we can only give you people we think you can make use of," he moved over to the window. "You have complete reign over the Protectorate's Science Division now; you are of an equal rank to most world leaders, for you have the power to stop this war," the President turned on him. "Make a super-weapon, Master Fowl, make something that will make the Empire shake in its boots. You can end this war, I know it, I have faith in you!"

Author's Note: Oh dearie, I think I'm going cross-eyed. . I have never had to do as much research for anything as I have had to do with this fanfiction. There are also a lot of little things that I throw in there. All I can say, is pay attention to some of the details of the early chapters, they'll come back! ;-)