Last chapter. I'm sorry this took so long and I'm sorry that it might feel a little rushed but I tried getting back to how the books are actually written and not putting the ton of detail in that I do from time to time, whereas Artemis is normally written without it.

In any case I wanted to be able to finish it and tie up all the 'behind the scenes' actions.

Chapter 14: Mine Trumps Yours

Spiro dearly wanted to shoot the boy. It was solve all his problems, even if it would set the research back what would likely be years. He didn't care. His finger went to the trigger and he stared the teen down.

"You know you're only alive because I need you."

"I'm alive because you haven't beaten me. If I die, my secrets go with me. You will never find out how I've healed so quickly or how I escaped the police last we met. If you let me meet with those who are now infiltrating your research facility, I could show you."

"Do you think I'm stupid or something? Who's insulting whose intelligence now?" Spiro took a few steps closer, prepared more so to pull the trigger. Arty was intelligent, he'd give him that, but the boy wasn't smart. A wolfish grin spread across his face. "And as for your research, I don't care. You're the one who's come to the wrong conclusion, little Arty."

There was a moment of true doubt there. Artemis wasn't good at reading people some of the time. Emotions, mental state, a million outside factors had to be taken into consideration. The statistics of trajectory of a paper plane in a twister were at his fingertips but he couldn't hold the conscience of one man in his hand.

Even if he was wrong he was in trouble so Artemis played through. He didn't let Spiro see that he had shaken him.

There were a few tense seconds before the gun was lowered with a shrug. "As long as we catch our intruders, I'm sure that even I can find a use for them. Nero, watch young Arty for me, will you?"

If it was possible to move without sound, the displacement of clothes to movement, Spiro's bodyguard pulled it off. Artemis found himself retrained and being dragged away into the adjacent room. He hadn't been in this direction before. It was clearly a hallway though where it lead he couldn't tell.

No communication, rough guesswork, and the ability of his friends was all he had to count on. Money didn't hurt either but for that to even come up everything else would have to play out just as he planned.

…

Butler and Holy fought off very few guards when they finally broke into what seemed to be an underground building. The windows in the rooms even reflected a false light and scenery that seemed to move about, showing off a forest with digital trees moving in a non-existent breeze.

There were security features here and there but they were all bypassed by literally blowing through them. Both experience combatants knew that, since they were found out, everything else was based on how fast they could move before their enemy.

The problem was there were a lot of rooms and doors that went multiple directions. The place was far larger than either of them had considered and, as of yet, they hadn't come across any electronic equipment that they could hack into.

Butler took the lead, Holy playing the invisible force behind him. Most of the people here had nothing to fight back with, most simply raising their hands where they were and letting the duo pass unrestrained.

"Something's wrong. We just blew a hole in this place, literally. We should have dozens of guards on us."

Butler couldn't see it but he felt Holly nod behind him. "We have no choice but to keep going. This is our only lead and there has to be something, somewhere in here, that has more power than a cell phone."

Then the power died.

Butler didn't waste time cursing to himself. He was trained for any given situation and he knew Holly would be able to see better than him. He nodded her forward, feeling the slight breeze in his face and shimmer as she came into existence. He needed something to follow and, this way, even if there were inferred cameras somewhere, any pictures of her would be indistinct.

The explosives they set off now and then to get into another part of the building were all the light that was prevalent, even though a backup generator should have kicked in already. If this was their host idea of defense, it wasn't his strong suit.

Room after room they went through until, to both of their surprise, they came to one that was lit. Inside stood Jon Spiro, tall and proud, clapping his hands.

Holly hid behind Butler while the smoke from the last explosive dissipated, putting the little bit of magical effort into becoming all but invisible.

"Well done." Spiro stopped clapping, looking at Butler. "I knew you'd be one of the few trying your hardest to get him. I'm surprised you found the place so fast. What did you use? Sonar? Even that should have been fooled."

Butler took a few steps into the room, seeing only a cowering man mostly hidden behind a worktable. "You know why I'm here."

"I do. And you know I have no plans on letting you have your way. I have everything I need and you're a nuisance at best. You wouldn't want little Arty to meet with an unfortunate end now because you tried to get in my way, would you?"

Butler was hoping that, at the point he would have run into this man, Artemis would have already been with him and be there to come up with some genius plan or- at least- a distraction. Butler didn't even know where Artemis was right now so he had no chips to bargain with.

"Figuring out how pointless all of this, aren't you? You're not bad, really. I could offer you enough money to let you live out the rest of your days in luxury, but I know you're not a smart man. Money can't buy your loyalty and I've come to respect that in my hired help these days. Arty is with a friend of mine right now. If I give the order, he could kill him and I win."

"If he dies you won't be far behind."

Spiro drew out a gun from his jacket and pointed it at the bodyguard. At one time it wouldn't have fazed him but Butler knew Artemis didn't have much hope with only Holly to find him and try and get him back out. She could be caught and the fate of her people, truly, wasn't worth the life of one person. Butler liked to think that was a rational thought but Artemis wasn't just any life. It was Artemis.

"It would be sad to lose the both of you. You could both be of such great help to me. Little Arty already has. I suppose treating you both as guests instead of a prisoner isn't so far out of the question. I keep him alive and you work for me. How about that? I don't see you walking out the way you came and it's a fair proposition."

Butler's eyebrows furrowed. Artemis was a prisoner here then. Or at least somewhere if Jon was so confident in the fact he still had him. When it came to people of his personality, he wasn't one to have his valuables far from reach.

And it wasn't a bad proposition either, like he said. It was one Butler was almost willing to take to, if it would help Artemis.

Not that the teen needed any help as Butler saw the door behind Spiro open with Artemis leaning against the frame with a smile that spoke of victory. It was just that kind of smirk that, at the same time it infuriated friend and foe a like, it left no doubt at what the outcome would be.

"Threatening my employee, Jon?"

Spiro turned so fast it almost look liked his head separated from his body. His eyes went into the dark room adjacent to the one they were in but he saw no outline of his very-hard-to-acquire new hire as of the last several months.

His eyes went to the boy instead, knowing he had no weapons or anyway to have overpowered the other. Outsmarted maybe, but not when it came to the position he'd been in. That man had been no fool.

"What did you do?"

"Mr. Nero is indisposed of at the current time though you should be able to contact him in a few hours from now after you are both arrested and imprisoned, hopefully well this time, for the crime of my kidnapping and what I would have to assume are a vast number of other crimes."

Spiro's hand tightened on the gun. He wasn't going to lose. He wasn't going to lose to this boy again. A smirk tugged at his lips before he moved his hand a little to show off his accessory. "I still have this. You might be able to hide behind that door frame, which is why I have to guess you haven't come out, but what about him?"

Butler hadn't needed more than Spiro's attention on Artemis to try and step closer. The gun was pointed back at his direction after, the man's eyes back on him. "He's a much easier target."

"You won't be able to hit him." Artemis's confidence didn't waver. "I have been away from my home and research, Butler has not. He would not have been foolish to come without a few useful tools. Even if you shoot him he will be just fine. I'd worry about you in that case, Jon. I don't think he'll be too happy with you."

There were questions there. Spiro hesitated. He had no idea how young Arty had pulled off all that he had. He'd come here without anything, which made sense now that he thought about it since it would have ended up in his own hands. He should have demanded Arty bring whatever it was that let him heal so fast, that let him change his own body like that.

That didn't pertain to his bodyguard. It would make too much sense for him to have whatever useful invention or salve or whatever it was that Artemis had come up with.

While these thoughts crossed his mind for a few seconds, Butler took another step forward as if to back up Artemis's statement. There was a key here. Something that still made Spiro the smarter one, the better to handle this. He wasn't going to lose control of the situation.

He pointed the gun at Travis who was only partially in view. He could still shoot before he could hide and even then the table wouldn't protect him much.

"Arty, you forget. I'm not weak like you are. I can take the lives of as many as I want until I get you. Keep you. You're all I care about. I'm sure at this point you could replicate his research now that you've seen it. Tell me you don't care about his life. Now, we were doing something before we were interrupted. How about you get back to work?"

Artemis's smile fell a little. The confidence he'd been showing off faded with it as his finger twitched at his side. "You'd be setting your own research back."

"And it would be worth it. If I don't have you it can't go forward anyway. I'll keep up that previous deal though. No more playroom time for you as long as you do what you're told and your servant does as well. I need you for your mind. You'd still be alive and I could get you comforts from time to time. It's better than being dead, or having others dead in your place."

Artemis stood there as if thinking about it before taking a step back into the darkness of the other room. "Do whatever you want. It will be on you conscience, not mine."

Spiro found that very hard to believe. Even if family was one thing, he hadn't killed his duplicate the last time. He grinned more as he took a step towards the quivering scientist. "How about I give you three seconds to make me believe that."

"I do not need any. What you do is what you do. It has no influence on me. If you want to kill him then kill him. I was appreciative of his help. It will set your time frame back."

Artemis was trying to trick him. Spiro knew there had to be a trick somewhere here. The kid had never been this willing to see himself hurt, but that had been self preservation and his brother was family. His brother. Right. He'd kill Travis to prove his point that he was willing and then he'd put the younger Fowl's life up for grabs. This was his victory. His.

Spiro pulled back on the trigger.

"What the-?" He looked at the gun as it remained silent in his hand. Butler rushed him, not thinking twice about it, and shoved the frail looking Travis as far away as he could. Artemis watched on, nodding his approval as his eyes began to close. Something was wrong. He'd have to go see Foaly to figure out what it was.

Now that Butler wasn't being held back, he punched Spiro as hard as he could in the face. The American passed out after the impact. Butler was tempted to hit him again but Holly's light touch on his arms stopped him. He dropped Spiro and gave her a look that said he wouldn't do anything further. She'd been close by, ready to knock out the man herself but afraid he'd fire off a shot before she had the chance to.

Holly though, was angry. She started on Artemis across the room, coming into sight as she did and hovering so that she could talk to him face to face.

"How could you walk away like that?! Spiro was ready to kill him! If the gun hadn't jammed, he would have died!"

Artemis blinked, not understanding why he was being screamed at. He'd done nothing wrong.

"Holly, I-"

"You what?! Wanted to save your own life? Artemis, I thought you were-"

"Thank you!" Travis broke into the argument, taking one of Artemis's hands and bowing repeatedly to him before deciding that wasn't enough and stealing the Irish teen away from Holly into a tear-filled hug. "Thank you so much!"

"Don't worry about it." Artemis smiled, letting himself fall into Travis's hold, if only temporarily. He dearly wanted to rest.

"What are you thanking him for?" Holly couldn't help but ask the man. They would have to mindwipe him anyway, so speaking to him wouldn't hurt.

"Oh, here. I thought you might want it back." Travis held out a clenched fist and Artemis opened one of his palms. In it landed something that looked like a butterfly, blue florescent wings gleaming. "You really are amazing."

"It was nothing. Little thing won't work for more than ten minutes. Its life went to good use." Artemis pocketed the small object, spotting the confused looks from everyone except Travis. "Oh yes, I don't think I ever showed you my own nanobots. My work helped me to create this, not spy. I thought I'd have it brought along. Never know when it will come in handy. Here," Artemis held out his hand, showing off the small black touch pad. "This is how I controlled it. I could fly it where I wanted to, its chemistry allows it to grow up to three times its size, and it's completely untraceable. It stopped the gun, not luck. I never rel on luck. Jon has me bet with the life expectancy. I never did figure out how he worked that out."

Travis shook his head. "An accident. There were fifteen subjects that lived and we were never able to recreate the exact circumstances."

"Good. At least I know my-" Artemis was cut off by a yawn. "house is clean. Now to get the other survivors that are still in the lab or see if he was spying on anyone else. When we have time that is. For now, I believe Foaly should head up here so that we can take care of this mess."

"Don't I get a thank you?"

Holly looked into the dark room where she heard a voice she couldn't have heard. It wasn't possible. She'd left him down in Haven when she'd left.

"Yes, thank you Mulch. I couldn't have done it without you." Artemis reached up and took the fairy transmitter off of his throat where it had been since before he had arrived here. He was thankful that when Spiro had first grabbed him that he hadn't seen it. "Though I rather oppose one way conversation when planning."

"That's not thanking me. You should do what this mudman here did." Mulch stepped out of the other room, pointing a finger at Travis. "I never get appreciated for my work, and I did most of it too."

"Your talk too much. You know dumb people do that when they don't know what to say."

"Myles," Artemis chided as his dark haired little brother stepped in from the other room. "Manners."

"You had Myles too?" Holly wasn't understanding this. She didn't know why Mulch had taken the boy when he'd been with them too. Or how he had. Or how he had gotten her at all, though it seemed that Artemis had been in contact with him this whole time.

"This isn't 'too'." Mulched reached back into the other room, the blond, wavy-haired boy looking back and forth for a while before running to Artemis and hugging his leg. "This is 'too.' Kid's been with me this whole time, or most of it anyway. I had to wait for Artemis to try and help me track him down through a tap in the feed and whatever he noticed on some video feed he was getting over here. Of course right after I did that I had to get her fast or you would have bite the dust."

"You were swift and I did thank you already. You could not have walked in at a better time."

Mulch seemed to accept the praise as it came to him. With Artemis, that was as close as he was going to get. "You two didn't help." He pointed a stubby finger at Holly and Butler. "You don't let a kid wander around when he can just get grabbed up again and make my life harder, and if you do, at least listen to him. It took you guys so long to get here I didn't think there'd be a distraction for me to enter."

"Wait, wait, wait." Butler came over to them, making sure Spiro was tied up and had no more weapon on him. "Artemis, just how much of this did you plan?"

The Irish teen met his eyes and a small smile fell back into place, though he looked weary enough to fall over at any second. "All of it. Whatever Spiro did I had no control over but there was a back up plan for any situation. In this case none were needed. He did exactly as he thought he would and Mulch was kind enough to bring my little experiment for whatever purpose I happened to need it for."

"You know, I shouldn't be surprised anymore."

"No, you should not."

Butler sighed and, with much protest, grabbed up Myles. "Lets go and leave the rest of this to Foaly and the police."

Fowl Manor

…

Foaly had didn't bother doing more than copying all the data that Spiro had and wiping what was left that had anything to do with his own technology. He made sure to be thorough because he hated thieves.

One thief was currently sitting in front of him in a bed as he ran tests on him. Most of them came back normal but there was a few that didn't, and it was clear enough to him what was going on and what had likely gone wrong at the hospital.

"Good news, physically you should recover in the next few weeks. You're mind took a pretty good thrashing but, all in all, you're lucky to come out as well as you are now."

"Thank you for the update on that but my normal doctor has already given me that information." Artemis tried really hard not to touch is wrist where Foaly had put some sort of device that was reading electromagnetic waves. He didn't like anything restraining him like that, even if Holly had healed the damage down to his wrists.

"I said good news. Now you're in for the weird news. I can't call it bad because I don't think it is but I'll be somewhat troublesome for you. It likely has a lot to do with puberty too."

Artemis raised an eyebrow at the centaur. "We are talking about the head aches and my blood type somehow having changed, as I have examined it myself, are we not?"

"Of course. It's your fault you know though. You were the one that decided to take some fairy magic for yourself and cause all this."

Holly was sitting at his side, not sure if she forgave Artemis for doing everything behind her back but she could understand it. Her and Butler were a necessity, but that only lay in them not knowing what was going on. That and Artemis passing out only minutes after Spiro was taken down had her worrying. "But we already know he took magic."

"Exactly. Mudmen can't use it. You've healed him and Butler more than a few times not. It's not like they retain any of the magic. To take it, he had to change his own chemistry, make it more like ours."

Artemis was a curious case indeed.

Foaly sighed. "See Holly, that's the thing. Humans aren't like us. Their genetic makeup might have been similar at one time but they can't store magic like we can. If Artemis has been unconsciously fighting off whatever's been in him, even if he- or his body- knew how to correctly use healing magic, he keeps tapping himself dry. Probably why you've had a headache, mudboy. We don't like running on empty either and, since you made it a part of yourself, you share some of the same withdrawals."

Artemis waved his fingers softly before his tired eyes. "Why then, if I do still have the power of the folks like you, can I not perform what you can?" He had only been able to make sparks once before and he hadn't been able to since.

"Because, simpleton, your body took the magic but didn't know how to use it. So it converted it. I have no idea what kind of things you could pull off with whatever mutation you created."

There was a fascination in Foaly's words that was almost a hunger and made Holly sigh. "I supposed that means Artemis is going to be taking a few trips to your lab in the near future."

"If he wouldn't mind," Foaly added, almost as if to make him seem less interested.

"I need to know what changes my body has undergone if I'm going to live a normal life. If there's something as threatening as my blood type no longer existing, and I should one day need it, I need to develop some synthetic that… could…" For once, Artemis was too tired to think. "I won't be able to live with these headaches either. I need to find some way to suppress whatever magic I am using, if that is what is bringing them on."

"Later Artemis. Even geniuses need to rest and you look like you couldn't take on a pixy with both arms broken and their wings tied behind their back."

Artemis chuckled. "I would not have bet on it."

"Just give him some juice Holly. We can test that theory right now."

Holly looked over. Artemis had been healed but that was as far as she had gone. She took a few steps tentatively over to him. "I'm running really low too so you're only getting half of what I have left." Letting the blue sparks dance along and into Artemis's skin, Holly looked the teen in the eye to see if it had made any difference. If not Foaly was going to get his horsey butt kicked while she went and performed the ritual for him having her run so low.

Holly felt when the magic disappeared, but the energy didn't. Artemis frowned, putting a hand to his head as it obviously hurt. Then a glass beaker across the room slide off the desk and broke for no reason.

Foaly went over to it, shaking the desk to make sure it wasn't loose. Nothing else on the table had moved.

"Well now Fowl, it looks like you turned into mental energy. I didn't even think there were humans that could still do that, even with the reports across your mudmen televisions on these phenomenon."

The pain in his head was slightly less but Artemis was undoubtedly still hurting too badly to think much on that. So, fairy magic in human's turned into psychic energy. He hadn't believed those occult stories either, and considered most who claimed them to be fairies themselves who would, say, come out of hiding to find a missing kid.

"This has to stop."

"Agreed. I can give you something to take. There are ways we know of how to dampen our own magic. I don't have much myself so it's not something I have to worry about. It should get rid of those headaches of yours and puberty will take care of the rest. Your body will learn to get along without a feed to it, and while it's changing is the best time to do it."

"That sounds great." Artemis laid his head down on the bed that barely fit him anymore. Soon he wouldn't be able to fit at all and, if he could, it would be too humorous for those around him for Artemis to want to.

"You know, most of this information I had before you even came here. It seems you ran tests on yourself. I also brought back your friend." Foaly went over to the table and brought over the beetle. He smiled to himself, happy for once in one of his somewhat recent accomplishments. "I already made my own and, guess what, they're much better."

Artemis smiled with his eyes closed. A hand on his forehead blocked out the overhead light. Foaly would of course find any opportunity to brag. Holly was fine and Butler forgave him. Both his brothers were back home and Spiro was with the secret police force of Italy. As a result of ill thinking at the time, he now had powers that hurt to use, which meant he would be taking that medicine and letting his body return to the way it had been before that one act of thievery.

All in all it was a pretty good week or two, aside from dodging questions from his parents. He still had to hope that he'd have some time to rest before someone else came out of the shadows to come after him.

He made a lot of enemies. Artemis knew he had to start watching his back.