Chapter Three: The Costume

"All right," said Holly, the minute she got back from the store. "Let's get this going. Here." She tossed him a bag. "Now, don't peek until you have it on. Let's see…how can I…ah-hah!" She reached into a pocket and brought out a little bottle. Then she carefully dripped it onto the full-length mirror that Artemis' mother had insisted on putting in his room, despite his protests that it took up too much space that could instead be used for technology. (She had also put in a huge oak wardrobe, which annoyed him very much, since it had no use except to sit there and look pretty.)

"I hope," said Artemis, "that…liquid is not permanent."

"No," Holly told him. "It's just one of Foaly's inventions. Mostly used for making water so it will reflect something other than what it normally would. Not used often, but you never know when you might need it."

"What exactly is it?"

"It's Reflect-Undo. Now," she said, "let's see. Um…come here, Artemis." Artemis came and stood in front of the mirror. Holly moved away. "Just stand there until I say it's okay," she instructed him. Artemis sighed, but stood. Holly counted under her breath. "4…3…2…1…okay, time's up. Now change." She left.

Artemis sighed. Perhaps there was a way to outsmart this mirror device. He examined it. Just then there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" he called. Holly stuck her head in.

"Oh, by the way," she said. "In case you're wondering, I used something else of Foaly's to change the appearance of the clothes, so you can't see them."

Artemis groaned. She had thought of everything, hadn't she? He made sure the door was closed and began to change. In a minute or two, he had the clothes, which looked like his usual Armani suit (although he was quite sure that was not what they were), on. He opened the door and got Holly, who was in the hall amusing herself by looking at pictures. "You were cute as a baby," she said, gesturing to one of them, which showed the family together. Artemis' cheeks got just a tiny tinge of pink in them, but he motioned her into the room.

"All right, so will you let me see this costume now?" he asked.

"No, not yet. I want to do a few things first. Close your eyes."

He closed them. After a second, he felt something sliding onto his feet. Shoes, he reasoned. Yet they felt…strange. Too big, somehow. Then, a minute later, he felt something cool on his face. Great, he thought. She's painting my face.

Finally, she stepped away and looked at her handiwork, although of course Artemis didn't know that, since his eyes were still closed. "Perfect!" she exclaimed. "Now, keep your eyes closed for another minute while I alter the clothes and the mirror." She did so. Artemis could hear her moving across the room and doing something to the mirror, and then she came over and pushed a button on his back. "There," she said. "Okay, now I'm going to lead you to the mirror. Stand up." He stood up. She pushed him gently, and he stumbled forward until Holly told him to stop. "Okay, are you ready?" she said. He nodded. "All right. Open your eyes."

Artemis did, and was immediately shocked and horrified.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"