3 DAYS EARLIER
Artemis Fowl the second was asleep when Butler knocked on his bedroom door.
"Artemis," the bodyguard said. "Wake up."
Artemis sat up drowsily, finding himself still in bed, and immediately managed to recall his alarm should have gone off so he would have enough time to prepare for his plane trip.
"What time is it?" he asked urgently.
"It's 3:30 in the morning," Butler replied. "Get dressed."
Artemis silently did as instructed, but could not help but wonder why his bodyguard and oldest friend would insist on waking him an hour and a half early. In fact, he rather resented it.
"Holly wants to talk to you," Butler said. Artemis tiptoed down the stairs to the ground floor.
"Holly?" Artemis whispered, fearful of waking his parents. "Did it really have to be this early?"
"I'm sorry, Artemis," Holly blushed. "But I need your help."
"What seems to be the trouble?" Artemis sat down, taking a seat on the couch across from the elf.
"Foaly's technology detected an artifact of great value to us," Holly said. "A diadem, I think you would call it, with some magical stones Foaly says could be very useful to us."
"And you want me to steal it for you," Artemis finished.
Holly bit her lip. "Well, the thing is, Artemis, it's under high security inside a building—which you know we can't enter—and right now there's a political uproar over fairy rights to use the mesmer. Root's ordered us to hold off on it."
"And I want it," Foaly added, speaking into Holly's earpiece. "Really, really bad."
"Foaly believes it would be vital to something he's working on right now," Holly said.
"How did it get into a high-security building in the first place?" Butler asked.
"It was lost many years ago," Holly explained. "We think maybe some of your archaeologists found it and are keeping it there for study. They wouldn't realize it's magical, of course, but they could damage or lose it. We want to protect it, and make sure it's safe."
Artemis nodded, although he did not look entirely convinced, as of yet. Holly grimaced as Foaly muttered another few sentences in her ear, but she managed to force out the words.
"We'd be willing to pay you."
"How much?" Artemis asked.
Holly said a number with a satisfactory number of zeroes.
"Very well," Artemis said. "Tell me everything you know."
NOW
Doctor Maximilian Nero would have looked out the window if he could, but on those the Higher Institute of Villainous Education was unusually short. Instead, he looked to the black marble wall of his office, his eyes running over the faces of his successful students captured in newspaper clippings and old security footage.
"I'm running out of patience with those six," Nero murmured. "I'd really rather not let them off the island at this time."
"Come on, Max," Diabolus Darkdoom pleaded. "A little fresh air will be good for them. Besides, you know we need them and between the two of us and Raven we'll have them secured."
"I'll buy that we need them," Nero sighed. "But you can't make me like it."
"I don't fancy a road trip through France with the lot of them either, but to make this work I'm going to need your full support," Darkdoom said seriously. "Do I have it?"
"Yes," Nero replied tonelessly. He eyed the editorials forming in his mind, dismissed them, and let them sink back into the murky chaos that lived there.
Darkdoom waited a moment, then said, "All right. Shall we call them in?"
Nero nodded and quickly sent a message to Raven via his Blackbox. "They'll arrive shortly."
The sea of students parted before Raven with immediate cooperation, offering a direct path to the six students she wished to speak with.
"You all," she said. At once the six she referred to looked over. Expressions of surprise and determination spattered across the students' faces, but one was of utter despair.
"You just had to come during lunchtime," Franz Argentblum moaned. "I will be starving!"
Raven stared at him, unimpressed. To be honest, it wouldn't hurt Franz to go without a few lunches, but few were brave enough to tell him so.
"Out of the line," Raven instructed firmly. "You're with me."
They finally managed to drag Franz to Plotting Room Two when they had provided him with what he called a "light snack," consisting of three grilled cheese sandwiches and two pre-packaged fruit cups.
Now, these six students in question were what might be best termed as "legends in the making." They received an education similar to their peers in some respects, attending all the same classes H.I.V.E. had to offer. Then again, their own unique abilities provided them with a chance to engage in "extracurricular activities" few others would ever sample.
Among these students was Laura Brand, the blossoming computer technician, and her roommate, Shelby Trinity, who could make observers question whether she was indeed of flesh and blood when it came to her stealth abilities. Devouring his snack was Franz Argentblum, the large but kind moneyman of the group. Beside him walked Nigel Darkdoom, a cautious boy with a passion for biology. Wing Fanchu and Otto Malpense walked ahead of them. The former of the two was deeply muscled and well-trained, in fact Raven's own pupil. Otto was almost Wing's opposite, with spiky white hair to contrast Wing's long, black ponytail, but his real differences were hidden in his mind. There lived an organic computer which allowed him to interface with other machines. You could say they were "different."
These were the six, Raven sighed to herself. Always these six.
"What do you think we're in for this time?" Shelby asked, elbowing Otto.
"No idea," Otto said, cautiously observing Raven.
"Do you think we're in trouble?" Nigel asked worriedly.
"Well I didn't do anything against the rules," Shelby said, defiance spicing her words. As an afterthought, she added, "Recently."
"I suspect we will find out soon," Wing commented. They paused as Raven opened the door to Plotting Room Two and did a quick head count as they filed in.
"Hello, Nigel," Darkdoom said warmly.
"Hi Dad," Nigel mumbled, a little shocked to find his father at H.I.V.E. again. The two were remarkably similar, with the same bald heads and identical blue eyes. Darkdoom, however, was tall and handsome, while Nigel still felt the runt of the litter so to speak, and had never heard anyone call him handsome before.
"All of you, sit down," Nero said, calling his students' meandering to order. "We have something urgent to discuss."
At once the students seated themselves around the table, but Raven remained standing near the wall as a determined observer. Nero nodded to Darkdoom.
"Very well," Darkdoom said. "Have any of you heard of the Museum before?"
The students shook their heads no.
"I'm not surprised," Darkdoom said. "The reign of organized evil has a far reach—and while you know this is a school to produce the next generation of villains, there has also been a Museum created documenting the exploits of those who came before us. Only recently did we become aware of its existence—"
"So it's not sanctioned by G.L.O.V.E., you mean?" Otto asked, frowning.
"Exactly," Nero said. "To summarize, it is a museum run by an unknown benefactor who is an obvious admirer of our work but has not, apparently, moved beyond "historian" in terms of his or her role."
"It took us a while to gain access," Darkdoom nodded. "But once we got a better idea of what's inside the museum we realized some of the displays contain, ah, sensitive material that could prove dangerous for G.L.O.V.E. should the exhibits be opened publicly. In fact, some of the goods in there are not artifacts but materials presumed scavenged from previous sites."
"Okay," Shelby said, already guessing where the conversation was leading. "You want us to get into this museum, destroy the evidence, and get back out?"
"Not to put too fine a point on it, yes," Nero replied.
"Isn't this a big job for six H.I.V.E. students?" Nigel asked. "This seems like it would be better handled by G.L.O.V.E. operatives."
Darkdoom cleared his throat. "G.L.O.V.E. has other concerns at the moment," he said. "The idea is not exactly to dismantle it—only utilizing sabotage to secure G.L.O.V.E.'s safety. We would rather keep this quiet at the moment, and who better to recruit than children who will be so preoccupied with their schoolwork over the next few years it will be impossible for them to spread the information?"
"It is your choice, Nigel," Nero added. "This is a time when we are making a request, not forcing you to do anything."
Otto looked around the table.
"I think I speak for all of us, Doctor," he said, looking Nero straight in the eye. "Now that you've told us it'll be hard to keep us from going."
Nero nodded. "Very well. Raven, please equip the students and escort them to the dock. We leave in thirty minutes."
The students rose, filing out after Raven, leaving Nero and Darkdoom alone again.
"That wasn't so bad," Darkdoom said.
Nero massaged his temples. "Trust me, it's about to get worse."
"Wheels up in ten minutes," Raven called behind her. "I want all of you onboard the Shroud now. Wing, Laura, you go over the equipment checklist. The rest of you—buckle up!"
The six students dashed up the ramp, Wing and Laura picking up their clipboards and beginning to go over the crates stacked in the back of the Shroud. The others sat. Franz buckled up, and looked hopefully to Laura.
"I am hoping there might be in-flight snacks on your list, ja?" he asked Laura, his face utterly hopeful.
"I wouldn't count on it," Laura replied grimly. Franz groaned.
"I am sure I will be starving to death here," he said to himself. "Eventually."
"Well, look on the bright side," Shelby said.
"What is being the bright side?" Franz asked suspiciously.
"The rest of us will have in-flight entertainment."
Franz moaned.
"Stop your sniveling," Raven said. A flight technician helped her pull a crate of food onboard. "You aren't going to starve."
Franz's eyes lit up like fireworks.
"Woah there," Otto said. "You're going to break your seatbelt."
Raven began handing out lunches, making sure Franz received his meal first. Within a few minutes, Darkdoom and Nero were onboard.
"Problems?" Nero asked, spotting the expression on Raven's face.
"Yours," Raven said, thrusting the responsibility of babysitting into his hands. She darted up into the pilot's seat, and started up the Shroud.
They were off.