Criminal Masterminds
Summary: Gendo left Shinji with a teacher. If only he had known what he was doing. Now, Gendo had a bigger problem to deal with: someone who can and will outthink him. Crossover.
Timeline Update:
2067: Tokyo-2 constructed and becomes Japan's new capitol.
2071: Fairy Riot. Fowl Manor destroyed once more. Fowls relocate to Tokyo-2.
2072: Fowl Manor II built.
2076: Gendo Rokubungi born.
2077: Yui Ikari born.
2079: Artemis Fowl II assists LEP stop a man named Lorenz Keel from exposing the Lower Elements. Keel is crushed under his lab and dies.
2090: Artemis Fowl II becomes a Professor at Tokyo-2 University.
Chapter 4: Marked for Death
In a hidden area, several monoliths bearing numbers and the words Audio Only appeared as an emergency meeting for the group know as SEELE began.
"Surely there is no reason to think this will affect our scenario," one said.
"Do not be so foolish," said another. "I may not like Ikari, but we still need him. If some of those charges go through, he will be removed by the UN."
"But we control the UN. We can have those charges omitted."
"Which will put us out in the open and expose everything we have done to the public," SEELE 01 said, silencing all argument. "It is even worse than that. Ikari's opponent is none other than Artemis Fowl the Second."
A large bout of laughter echoed through the room, a very uncommon occurrence, as this organization had almost no sense of humor, or any other emotional aspect one would associate with human nature.
"Forgive us for our doubt," said SEELE 07, "But surely the man is dead by now."
"Indeed," SEELE 10 agreed. "After all, if he were alive, he would be…"
"117 years old," SEELE 01 interrupted, causing a somber silence. "Make no mistake, it is he."
"How?" someone demanded.
SEELE 01's frustration was evident in his voice as he replied, "If I knew the answer to that question, I would not be so wary of him."
"Surely one man cannot stand against us," another said.
"You don't know Artemis Fowl like I do," SEELE 01 answered. "His legal contacts outmatch both our legal and illegal contacts. While he hasn't been involved in anything illegal since he was 17, he still holds an ear to the criminal world. If he wanted to, he could seize control of the entire world and become its dictator with the resources he has. We've been running on borrowed time when it comes to how long it will be till he discovers our organization."
"If he is so dangerous, why don't we just remove him?" someone else asked.
There was silence for a while, and then SEELE 01 said, "It would indeed prevent him from interfering with our scenario. Are we in agreement?" The voiced around the room gave their answers. "Make it so."
About 10 miles from Tokyo-3 was a large plot of land filled with trees. In the center of those trees was a mansion built in 2072 by an Irish businessman who owned the land, and had constructed a castle-like wall (complete with battlements) around the parameter. Those who asked the owner why were told that he enjoyed his privacy. While Tokyo-3 was under construction, sons of the workers who lived in Tokyo-2 would often dare each other to cross the wall.
Those who did never attempted a second time.
It soon became clear that those who had interest in the mansion that bore the plaque Fowl Manor II that the owner had placed it in such an out-of-the-way location to avoid others who would attempt to bother him. The well known Biologist who taught at Tokyo-2 University was a man who guarded his secrets well. Most decided to leave him alone. Those who bothered to ask why he was over 100 – mostly nosey investigators from the UN – were told that a near deadly chemistry experiment had altered his cellular structure, a curse in his mind. The UN had requested several times for him to replicate the experiment, only to be told that it was wholly and truly impossible, and that all data about the experiment was destroyed to prevent the deaths of others.
The energy, he told the UN, would have caused Second Impact several years earlier had the experiment failed completely.
So the UN simply left the occupants of Fowl Manor alone. Artemis Fowl continued to teach, and lived peacefully in his well built home, that he himself had designed. You would have to be very crazy, or very stupid to try and enter it.
Artemis had even taken the liberty of adding one more piece of protection that not even the UN knew about on his home. Working with Holly and Nº1, and after extensive study, he placed a powerful hex on his home immediately after it was completed. Anyone who entered it, fairy or human, would become violently sick. The magic would also instantly alert Artemis and Holly about an intruder.
This became a well proven fact when the Fowls returned home with a quickly recovering Shinji and Rei. Three men, obviously assassins, were on the inside of the outer wall, lying unconscious in their own vomit. Artemis Fowl's lips thinned in annoyance as the four looked at the three.
"Holly," he finally said, "Take Shinji and Rei inside. I'd rather they not see this."
Shinji instantly began moving towards the Manor's front door. He knew that Sensei was slow to anger, but today had been very trying on the older man's patience. After obtaining a warrant to investigate Ayanami's apartment, they had immediately gone there with her. The massive number of hazards in her apartment allowed Artemis to not only convict Gendo of Child Abuse, but also prove him incapable of being Rei Ayanami's guardian.
Within 24 hours, Gendo Ikari had lost custody of Shinji and Rei, as well as any rights pertaining to their well being and future outside of NERV's need for them as pilots. Gendo had practically skated over the charges of Illegal Child Warfare Involvement and Abuse of Military Power, but the judge – Shinji wanted to give her a hug for what she did – had ordered an investigation of NERV funds to ensure Gendo wasn't being a War Profiteer. She had also made Artemis and Holly Fowl the official guardians of Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami, as well as ensuring that Gendo had paid Shinji his ten million.
Still the Commander's pitiful attempts at defending himself outside of what he needed to keep NERV, as well as the state of Ayanami's apartment, had quickly angered Artemis Fowl II. Shinji remembered well the last time his Sensei had been that angry.
They still had two doors to replace from that incident, and that had just been from the latest group of teenagers trying to climb the wall and steal items from the Manor, using entire bottles of drugs to keep them from being nauseous.
Shinji did not envy the three assassins.
Removing his sunglasses, Artemis drew on his magic and shook an assassin awake, before the assassin could comprehend what was happening, Artemis activated his spell, whispering, "What do you fear?"
The assassin screamed as he saw the monster hovering above him, snarling, red eyed, and with steam pouring from four snake-like nostrils. "Who do you work for?" the monster growled. He shook his head, but it only made the monster angry. "Tell Me!"
Aware of the urine running down his leg, the assassin answered, "Lorenz Keel hired us to kill Artemis Fowl the Second."
"Lorenz Keel is dead!" the monster growled angrily. "Who do you work for?"
The assassin fainted from fear, and Artemis sighed, releasing the magic as his eyes lost their blue glow. The nightmare mesmer required eye contact to work, and the assassins were too weak to stay awake. He grabbed each one and carried them outside of his home's boundaries, roughly tossing them down the nearby hill. Before he got rid of them, he made sure to photograph their ID cards, as well as taking the liberty to relieve them of 4,000 yen of cash they were carrying. He had had to walk through their vomit to pick them up, and his shoes now needed replacing.
Stepping into Fowl Manor, Artemis removed his shoes and put them into the nearest incinerator chute. Thanks to some fairy technology, it would be broken down and recycled latter. Switching his suit for a simpler outfit (dress pants, slippers, and a polo shirt) he made dinner for his family. Rei became surprised when she noticed there was no meat in the dish. She didn't know that the Fowls disliked meat as well.
Rei had to admit that she was somewhat uncomfortable with the changes that had occurred suddenly. However, such changes did not concern her purpose to piloting Eva, so she adjusted easily. Her new bedroom that Holly had shown her was twice the size of her old apartment, and felt somewhat empty with her meager belongings.
But it was sufficient for her needs.
Excusing herself after she was finished, she went to her room to prepare for bed. She had her own private bathroom, and decided that a shower was probably in order first. She squeaked in surprise at the warm water, and was soon finding it hard to not cry in joy, for that was what she was feeling. She had never experienced a warm shower before, nor the new emotion that was running through her. It made her feel good.
For a half an hour -- far longer than she should have taken, in her opinion – Rei enjoyed the warm spray that both relaxed and rejuvenated her. Drying off, she heard a new sound that she didn't recognize. It was playing some sort of music. Still toweling her hair, she left her room and entered the room next to hers where the sound came from. It turned out to be Shinji's room, and she realized that the sound came from the instrument he was playing. She had to look at it for a little bit before realizing that it was a cello. She also noticed that Shinji was playing with his eyes closed, meaning he had the piece memorized.
Presently, he stopped. "What do you want, Ayanami?" he asked.
"I heard you play, and it sounded nice," she answered. "Why are you keeping your eyes closed?"
"Because when you were coming in, I noticed you were unclothed, and it is improper for me to see you that way," he answered.
Realizing the truth of his words, Rei returned to her own room a little hastily, feeling a new emotion as her face turned very red.
What is it that I feel? she wondered, before dropping the towel and crawling under the covers to sleep.
Holly huffed in annoyance. Artemis was pacing on the balcony again, hands clasped behind him. She could almost hear the gears in his head grinding against each other. Sitting up on the edge of their bed, she stared at him for a while. He wore silk pajama pants, the same forest green color that her nightgown was, but nothing else. She liked it that way, but she'd rather have him in bed with her than pacing like a maniac. Finally, she said, "Artemis, you can talk to me."
"I know," he answered. "But I don't know if you can help."
"Why?" she asked. "Does it have something to do with the assassins?"
Artemis looked at her, nodding as he said one word, "Keel."
Fear gripped Holly as she remembered the madman's face, specifically when she used her fingers to squash his eyes like grapes when he tried to kill her. There was a man she didn't want to see again. "But he's dead," she said. "We found his body."
"Apparently, no one told the assassins," Artemis muttered. "Perhaps someone is using his name. It also disturbs me that the Geofront seems to be half fairy architecture."
"That bothers me too," she replied. "Frond had several Geofront fortresses. Perhaps NERV is built inside of one."
"If only Foaly was still around. He would know these things," he sighed.
"The only way we're going to get someone as smart as you is if we make one ourselves," Holly grinned, pulling off her nightgown. "We have a window of opportunity this month."
Artemis let his eyes wander over her before joining her underneath the sheets, "I am the luckiest man in the world."
Holly chuckled, "You will be in a few minutes."
Unfortunately, their luck was running out as every bounty hunter in Japan received the same message in the next hour:
Artemis Fowl II – 200,000,000 – Dead.