Since the dawn of time, man has established itself over other creatures, through the use of tools.

Invention dawned on mankind. They made hammers, swords, pens. But the most useful tool at their disposal was overlooked for quite some time. The tool right under their noses, was a wonderful invention. It could do anything from fight wars, and build houses, so simple, yet at the same time so complex. It was a tool the gods themselves would wield.

That tool was man.

Eventually, a select few of mankind learned how to use these god-given tools. Alexander the Great. Sun Tzu. Hannibal. Scipio. Ceasar. Vladimir the Impaler. Nichollo Machiavelli. Rommel. Patton.

What set these minds apart from the rest of humanity? By what rule or level were these minds exceptional?

Nobody really knows.

But they do know that there is one word that can be used to describe these men. Whether or not we admire them, even if they try to kill us, there is only one word which can be used to describe their extraordinary ability to use their minds to their full potential, and through the application of which, challenge the gods.

Magnificent.

The location was a school. Artemis could have written a thesis on the man's psychology on that fact alone. Nevertheless, there was more then one car parked outside, and the threat in entering was great.

"I don't like this Artemis." Butler said. "Too many unknowns."

Artemis smiled as he finished his mental summation of the situation. "Never fear Butler. David Xanatos is here. If he is here, then either he was the one who set the bait, and therefore wants something, and therefore will not attempt to kill us, or he was lured here too, and he deems it safe. I will admit, it is a risk, but the bait cannot be passed up."

Butler merely grunted, and began to triple check every weapon hidden on his body. Somebody had sent Artemis a video over his phone. A video of his father, alive but tied to a chair. The hospital called to inform him that his father had been kidnapped mere seconds after. They hadn't even bothered to hide their signal, letting Artemis trace them right to the building. A message had been sent, right after the trace was completed, not to call the police if he wanted to see his father alive.

Whoever was looking for a ransom, had sorely underestimated Artemis.

They walked in through the front door. Every entrance was being filmed anyway, might as well make it look good. Artemis had scanned the whole building from the car with his special new blue box. There were no cameras phones or other devices attached to the internet he wasn't aware of inside.

Of the names they were aware of from Artemis' cube, David Xanatos, Norman Osborn, Lex Luthor, and various other high class criminals.

Artemis showed no signs of hesitation. If they knew about him already, then they knew about him. If they didn't, then they'd underestimate him. It was a simple equation, with no room for doubt.

But he allowed Butler to be the first to push open the double doors of the philosophy classroom.

There, they found themselves looking at equally calm, though less intelligent, criminal masterminds. The Green Goblin and Lex Luthor seemed to be engaged in combat to the death – which Doctor Octopus and Bane seemed to be betting on. Tombstone slumped in a chair and glowering at the stage, like he expected it to come alive and attack him. David Xanatos was idly chatting with what looked like a well dressed Neanderthal. And a figure Artemis didn't recognize in a shadowy half-mask was sitting in the shadows in the back of the room.

Artemis walked up to Xanatos. "Hello David."

"Artemis." The older man nodded. "I'd like you to meet Vandal Savage."

The Neanderthal grunted.

"He's one of the leaders of the Illuminati." Xanatos explained cheerfully.

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I thought that didn't exist?"

"I'll deny it." Xanatos shrugged.

"Do you know why we're here?"

"No." Xanatos admitted. "It's interesting though, isn't it? You had something close to you threatened too, right?"

Artemis nodded. "And every person here is a criminal, known for being smarter than average, yes?"

"So you see it too." Vandal Savage said. "Whoever has done this wants our attention. He wants us to know what he can do."

An explosion rocked the auditorium, as the Green Goblin let loose one of his pumpkin bombs.

"Hey!" Tombstone snapped. "Settle down you two! Or do you want everyone in London to know we're here?"

"He started it." The Green Goblin pointed.

"No I didn't." Luthor said, pointing a gun at the goblin.

"Oh, you're right, I did." A small laser came out of the Green Goblin's fingertips and shot the gun out of his hand. He blew his fingertips like a smoking gun barrel, and laughed as Luthor gripped his hand in pain, then back flipped over towards Artemis. "And who's the new kid? Aren't you up a little past your bedtime?"

Ever since the 'I like lollipops' incident, Artemis Fowl had been careful to think of every unimaginative thing piece of mockery somebody could come up with for him, and then come up with at least five counters to them. "I am up a great deal past my bedtime. And if you keep breathing in my air, you'll wish I wasn't."

There, that sounded suitably intimidating.

The Green Goblin cackled. "Oooh, I like this one!"

"Step off." Butler said politely, standing between the Goblin and Artemis. Butler was willing to let Artemis play 'the incredibly creepy vampire boy' but only up to the point where supervillains began to get in his face and laugh at his scare tactics.

The Green Goblin looked up at Butler. Then looked up again. He whistled. "I don't think I like this one as much. Too serious. I think you're more Tombstone's speed."

The albino looked up briefly, and frowned. "Goblin… I look forward to seeing your head roll one day."

The Green Goblin giggled. "Oh do lighten up Tombstone! We're supervillains! It's our job to antagonize people." He licked his lips. "Don't you just love that word? Antagonize? Who thought to put an ant in front of agony? I mean, have you ever tortured an ant before? It's over too quickly! No fun at all!"

Artemis watched him disdainfully. Why were he and Xanatos here? This seemed to be a strictly Legion Of Doom gathering. All these costumes… Artemis wouldn't dream of switching his fine Italian suits for spandex.

Suddenly, the roof burst open above the stage. A man in an iron suit and a green cape descended, though not through any visible means of suspension. Artemis instantly recognized him. He was the most dangerous man in the world. Even the fairies were hesitant to watch him, as he might catch on at any second.

Victor Von Doom, Monarch of Latvertia.

Artemis admired the entrance.

"Ah, good evening Doom." Lex Luthor spoke up. "So you're the one who wants us all together, eh?"

"Luthor, do not speak to me so informally." Doom hissed. He turned his eyes – surprisingly – to me and Xanatos. "Xanatos, Fowl, why have I been summoned here?"

Xanatos and I shared a look. It was nice to know the king of a country considered us his equals over Luthor. "We don't know." Xanatos said. "I would assume our host is waiting for everybody to be here."

"And everybody is!"

The voice came from being the stage. It was a squeaky, annoying voice. Smug, smarmy. The owner of the voice swaggered out onto the stage.

"Hi there!"

He had the most annoying british accent possible. Professor Higgins would be appalled. He was a little on the paunchy side. Not fat enough to be obese, yet clearly, disgustingly out of shape, a small belly protruding from his otherwise well made jacket. Artemis' estimation of the man would have went up a few notches after noting he was not wearing a costume, except in some ways wearing a suit that was expensive yet purposefully ill-fitting was worse. His face was one of undeniable glee as he entered a room full of some of the most dangerous men in the world.

"Oh, look at your faces." The little British snot said. "You're probably thinking 'who is this bloody sod'? Eh? You're probably thinking 'I fought Superman' or 'I fought Batman' or 'I fought the Justice League' or 'I'm a high ranking member of the Illuminati' even. Well, I'm the most dangerous man in the room right now, so those of you who haven't already gone to hell and come back are in for a real treat."

"You think you're the most dangerous man in the room?" Vandal Savage asked.

"Well, I don't see the Joker anywhere." He looked around. "So, yes."

Savage sneered. "I've eaten blacker hearts then his."

The brit smiled affectionately. "Bet that gave you a bit of the runs."

"Why have you brought us here?" Doom asked. "How dare you attempt to blackmail Doom?"

"That's the wrong question." The strange man was clearly having fun.

"Who are you?"

Artemis turned as the mysterious man in the back leaned forward.

"That's the right question Slade." The man twirled on the spot. "The name's Jim Moriarty. Hullo!"

Artemis looked across the room, and met David Xanatos' eyes. They'd both heard of Jim Moriarty. He stood up. "I've heard enough. I'm leaving now."

"Out of the mouths of babes." Lex Luthor also stood.

"Oh do come on, you two I haven't even gotten to my proposal yet."

"I've heard rumors about you." Artemis said. "I've even followed your exploits, closely. You're very clever, but so am I. I have no need of your services."

"Oh, but you will." Jim giggled. "You so will. I'm just about to tell you why, too, SO SIT DOWN!"

Artemis barely registered that Butler had his gun drawn beside him. Artemis had felt fear once or twice in his life. He was, after all, only a child, and no matter how smart there were some things that it was rational for him to be afraid of. However, he had never been afraid while Butler was standing right behind him. Never. When Moriarty had yelled those last three words, those words were empty. There was no horrible accent. There was no chummy, bumbling foolish man. There wasn't even rage – not true rage. To be angry at somebody, they'd have to have trodden on something you cared about. No… this was emptiness. Evil. And Artemis, after a nanosecond of thought, realized that the fear of this man was even worse because he had Butler at his side. If he was this scared while Butler had his gun drawn, how terrified would he be if he was alone with Moriarty?

"What if I were to shoot you?" Butler asked. "Right here, right now." Artemis was touched, but he knew it wouldn't work.

"Well then you could cherish the look of surprise on my face." Moriarty adopted a look of mock surprise. It should have been comical, that goldfish-like expression. But somehow, it wasn't. "And I'd be surprised Butler, reallyI would, and just a little bit, disappointed,and of course, you wouldn't be able to cherish it for very long."

The projector whirred to life, and images flashed on the screen behind him. The first was Artemis' father. Still tied up, and at gunpoint. Then the screen split, and it became the image of crosshairs looking at Norman Osborn's son. Then the screen split again, and Xanatos' wife came into focus, suspended upside down over a pool of sharks. The screen split again, to Lex Luthor's company secrets, ready to be uploaded to the internet.

The screen split again. And again. Until there was something on it for everyone.

"If I don't leave this building, every threat I've made will be met." Moriarty said. "Of course, I realize that may not appeal to everyone here. In fact, some of you are probably thinking that if you killed me, you could take your losses, as long as you made everybody else take yours. But do you really want to get on the nerves of every single person in this room?"

"You are." Xanatos pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but that was just the stick." Moriarty shrugged. "Here's the carrot. If you want me as an ally, all you have to do is ask, and pay my price. This… all of this?" He waved vaguely at the screen. "Is me showing you a fraction of what I can do. Some of you have already heard rumors and whispers about me."

"I haven't heard anything." Vandal Savage growled.

"Well yes." Moriarty admitted. "Because I heard of the Illuminati first, and then I told them to look the other way for me."

"Why?" Doctor Octopus asked. "Why choose now to reveal yourself if you're so well hidden?"

"Why does anyone do anything?" Moriarty's voice had a tinge of hopelessness in it now. "I'm bored. Everybody comes to me with their little problems. 'Dear Jim, would you fix it for me for my husband to disappear?' 'Dear Jim would you please fix it for me that I'll have a promotion sometime soon?'"

Moriarty snorted. "It's so pedestrian, so mundane. It was fun for a while, but now I have a taste for bigger fish." He said the word fish with an unusual relish. "I've decided I want to kill the Justice League. And the Fantastic Four. And the Teen Titans. And, you know, I realize that I may as well get paid to do those things."

He smiled. "So… if Doom wants to take care of Richards himself when I go after the Fantastic Four… if Slade wants me to spare Robin… if any of you want in on this, all you have to do is pay the price. That's my offer, you've all had my number added to your phones."

Artemis checked his phone. That number hadn't been there before.

"That's it?" Tombstone asked.

"Yes. Those of you who've had relatives kidnapped, will have them returned. Of course, I could kidnap them at any time, but this was only a demonstration."

"Why Xanatos and me?" Artemis asked. "If your goal is superheroes, why include the two of us in this little demonstration?"

"Why does anyone do anything?" Jim smirked, and left. The projector went dark as he made his exit.

Doom hissed. "This has been a waste of Doom's time." He flew out of the hole in the roof.

"I dunno." I thought it was fun!" The Green Goblin left through the roof too. Most of the others left through the front door, some frowning, some smiling. Slade just disappeared.

Artemis himself waited until he was alone with Xanatos. "Did you buy any of that?" He asked.

"No." Xanatos said. "And I don't think we're the only one who didn't buy it. Moriarty's not an idiot, he wouldn't go through all this trouble just for a demonstration."

Artemis nodded. "Take care of yourself David." Then he and Butler left.

It was only when he was back in the safety of his car did Artemis let out a breath of relief, and take out his blue box again. "Cube, present all data from Moriarty's phone."

The cube did as it was asked, and Artemis smiled as he went through Moriarty's emails.

"Outgoing call." The Cube informed him.

"Cube, eavesdrop." Artemis said. "And record."

Jim Moriarty's annoying voice came over the line. "Hullo Sebastion."

"Jim. How did the meeting go?"

"Just as planned. You can kill the hostages now, release the documents, set off the bombs. Oh, and set up a meeting with our Illuminati people, I want it dissolved."

Artemis' eyes widened. He subconsciously noted his hands were tightening around the cube, which was never a good sign.

"Sir?"

"You know how changeable I am Sebastion. I've decided it would be much more interesting if the smartest of the world's most evil were angry at me. It would be so much more fun tearing them apart then just going after the heroes."

"You want every one of them angry at you at once?"

"They'll be angry at me separately. I'm sending them each messages now, saying that another member of the group meeting we just had paid for my services, and apologizing for their loss. It's just business after all. They understand that they would have done the same thing if they'd only paid me first…"

"Cube, locate and intercept call." Artemis said. The locating feature proudly displayed a red dot, a dot Artemis showed to Butler, who drove to intercept the mastermind.

Then in a louder, more authoritative tone, the tone of voice Artemis used especially for frightening people who thought he was 'just a kid', he said: "That would be exceptionally unwise Mr. Moriarty."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by a chuckle. "Well well, if it isn't Mr. Fowl. How on earth did you hack into my phone?"

"Irrelevant." Artemis said. "What is relevant, is the fact that I have recorded this conversation, and will send it to everybody who attended your little display. They will be interested to know you deliberately antagonized them, and while I'm sure some will fight amongst themselves regardless, others…" He let the last sentence trail off.

"Oh, good!" Moriarty sounded like he was genuinely proud of Artemis for threatening him.

"That was my stick. This is the carrot. I am willing to pay you a metric ton of gold in small, unmarked ingots, for the safe return of my father."

That irritating chuckle returned over the line. "Gold Mr. Fowl? You think I have moths in my wallet? I can get money everywhere. This world is chock full of money, and people will spend it on the silliest things. I'm bored Mr. Fowl. You can pay me in excitement or not at all. Your threat was better, but I started recording this conversation the moment you interrupted. I'm sure my apologies to the others will go much smoother if they here you're…"

Moriarty stopped, and Artemis heard his own voice being played back to him, on a grainy hand-held recording device, which could probably not be hacked by his cube. "…willing to pay you a metric ton of gold in small, unmarked ingots…"

Artemis frowned. Now his blackmail would be useless. If he warned the others, Moriarty would simply make it look like Artemis was the one who had paid for Moriarty to get rid of the other's bargaining chips.

Artemis leaned into the cube. "I have access to your phone, and therefore your computer. I have the details of every crime you've ever committed. I will send them to the police unless you release my father."

"Oh, yawn. Even if you could go to the police without revealing how you're such a good hacker, all that would get me is some free publicity while my clients go to jail. Artemis, you overheard me ordering the dissolution of the Illuminati… DO BETTER!"

Artemis gasped and sat back as Butler swerved through traffic. That voice again. He glanced at the street signs, and then at the cube, and realized he was getting closer to Moriarty. All he needed to do was stall for a moment longer.

"Very well, I shall do better." His voice was the temperature of liquid nitrogen. "If you do not release my father, then I will ignore you. I will let everybody else deal with you. Bane, the Green Goblin, Lex Luthor… I am a child, I do know my superheroes and supervillains. I know that one of them will kill you. I wouldn't have to lift a finger. But if you release him, I will join the others in their mad rush to destroy you."

"Hmmmm, tempting. How about this?" Moriarty's voice took on a tone of childlike glee. "We'll make a race of it. I'll keep your father a live and safe. And if you manage to outsmart me, then I'll give you your father back. But if any of the other supervillains I'm about to cheese off find me first, and presumably kill me, you'll never see your father again."

There was a sound on one end of the phone. The sound of a helicopter. Butler was speeding up. Artemis was feeling sick.

"Either way, whatever game you think your playing will end with you dead."

"Going through all this and not dying does sound slightly impossible, I'll admit. But I'll tell you one thing; it doesn't sound boring at all."

The car turned into the parking lot of an empty warehouse by the docks. A helicopter was just taking off. Jim was just getting in. He turned and waved at them, then chucked his phone into the ocean.

"Butler…" Butler was already out of the car and pointing his sig saur at the chopper. Before he could fire a shot, a bullet penetrated his shoulder. He fell back and Moriarty waved goodbye again. The pilot of the helicopter lowered his gun, the hole in the windshield not hampering his ability to take off.

Butler got back in the car. "That was Sebastian Moran." Butler growled. "The best shot in the world that's not a supervillain or a mutant."

A hand reached out of the helicopter as it flew over them, and a phone dropped out, shattering on the pavement. Just as Artemis consoled himself that they could still trace Sebastion's phone, another phone fell out and shattered on the ground.

Artemis nodded and took out the car's first aid kit. He considered hacking into the Justice League's satellite and shooting him out of the sky, but then he'd never find out where his father was. No, he realized, he would simply track that helicopter. "Well Butler, it looks like we won't be going home any time soon. We'd better call mother, let her know what we're up to. I don't believe she'd say no to us rescuing father."

Moriarty had sorely underestimated Artemis.

A/N: So, I used to have a story called Magnificent. It was my attempt at updating a story in realtime. It was a failure. But I loved it, and I had fans who loved it, so here it is again, now in the format of an actual story. A story where all of my favorite criminal masterminds, evil geniuses and guile heroes come into conflict. Now, with a voiceover beginning, just like X-men! Who will come out on top!

Artemis Fowl is the hero of his own series. David Xanatos is from Gargoyles. Moriarty is from BBC's SHERLOCK. Tombstone, Green Goblin, and Doctor Octopus, are from The Spectacular Spider-man. Lex Luthor and Vandal Savage are from Justice League Unlimited. Bane is from Dark Knight Rising (I know I haven't seen it yet, but he sure looks like he'll be a member of the Magnificent, simply because Chris Nolan's directing his movie, so he's not going to be a hulking brute. Therefore, since he's not just a brute, there is only one other character type he could be). And Slade is from Teen Titans.