Totally Spies! X Martin Mystery

Lavish but hideous

A desert in Alaxia, midday.
"Are you sure this is the right way, Martin?" Diana asked, riding on the camel behind her step brother. "Martin!"
Martin looked up from the map and frowned.
"Seriously, why are you using an actual Map?!" Diana cried. "Martin! GPS on phones exist for a reason!"
"Yeah, but there's no service here," Martin said, looking at his phone. "No service, no GPS, remember?"
Diana rolled her eyes and activated her U-Watch. She opened the map and made her camel go faster.
"I'll lead the way," Diana said, leading the way. "Martin's no use."
Martin scowled and followed Diana.
"If we don't make it, Di's giving Java a pedicure," Martin smirked. "And you're scrubbing between his toes."
Diana gagged, images of the last time she had to deal with the caveman's foot flashing into her mind. She smirked at a sudden idea.
"But if we do make it, you're giving him a pedicure," Diana countered. "And a foot massage with that. What do you think, Jav?"
Java laughed eagerly while Martin paled.
"Yeah, but only if we make it," Martin said, confident that she was leading them the wrong way. "Bet ya a nickel we're being led straight into a swamp."
Diana ignored him and led the way. They soon saw a large building with a dome-like roof. Diana laughed in triumph.
"Java, prepare yourself for a pedicure," Diana said with a smirk. "Come on guys, this is the place."
They rode there and the guards instantly stopped them. The three agents showed them their ID cards and only then were they escorted to the throne room.
The place was built with exquisite architecture, marble floors and crystal chandeliers hanging from the golden ceilings. Walls decorated with rich tapestries and portraits of the past rulers of the kingdom.
"Hey, this place rocks!" Martin awed, taking pictures of everything he saw. "Hey Jav! Duck a little."
And he ended up taking selfies with his friends, mainly the cavemen. Even Diana agreed to have one with him too.
"Wait, Martin!" Diana ran to one of the beautiful tapestries. She adjusted her hair and straightened her shirt. "Can you take a picture of me?"
Martin rolled his eyes but did anyways. Then he handed her the camera and stood there instead. "One of me too."
And then they asked Java to take pictures of both of them together. They helped him too. They were so engrossed with the pictures that they didn't realise the guards patiently waiting for them to finish.
They sheepishly followed them to the King's throne.

"Your Majesty!" Diana bowed. Martin was standing still, gaping at the king. Diana pulled him down to bow too. Java mirrored their movement. "We are the agents from The Centre."
"Good, it's about time you came," the king said, motioning for them to stand. "I'm King Rafiki. Please, there's something really mysterious going on in this castle. My wife and I can't take it anymore!"
"We'll do our best, Your Majesty," Diana said humbly. "And I assure you, we'll be able to crack this, right Martin?"
She turned to where Martin was, and saw him drooling at Rafiki's buffet table at the side. Diana yelped and ran towards him, dragging him back to the king.
"Your Majesty, this is my stepbrother, Martin," Diana said, holding his arm with a sheepish grin. She turned to Java, who was trying his best to smother a loud laugh, and beckoned him to come over. "And this is Java."
The king asked one of the guards to usher them to a room.
Room was an understatement.
As soon as Martin opened the door, a large king sized bed greeted his eyes.
"Whoa..." the three of them gaped.
There were two more beds there and a living area, complete with a television. A fridge stood next to a small dining table with four glasses and a flask of water, together with a bowl of fruits.
"This is awesome!" Martin cried, swooning over everything he saw. "Hey, this is like our own palace dorm!"
"But where bathroom?" Java asked, looking around. "Me need toilet..."
There was a passage at the end, behind the first bed, and Diana went to explore. To her surprise, she came to a room with sleek white dressers with gold frames were arranged. There was a door in the end, and inside there was a toilet and a sink, with the bathtub and shower on one side.
"Cool..." Diana mumbled.
To her surprise, the bathtub had a built-in jacuzzi.
It was more like a studio apartment than a bedroom.

"How do I look?" Clover posed in front of her friends. She sported a red v-neck evening gown with a slit down her left leg. "Model material or not?"
"You look amazing!" Alex cheered, clapping. "Your hair is gorgeous!"
"Thank you!" Clover said, going over to the vanity table in the hotel room. Her stilettos clacked with every step. "Alright, now for accessories..."
She went with a gold and red necklace and a few bracelets on her wrist. She carried her Ultra X-Powder in a hidden pocket within her dress.
"Seriously, are you done?" Sam asked, swinging her legs off the bed. "You're taking forever, Clover!"
Clover pouted and stuck her tongue out at her.
"Fine, I'm done," Clover said, marching to the door. "Come on..."
Her friends followed her out, grinning.
The event was right downstairs, in that very hotel. The spies parted ways, with Sam staying at the front, taking pictures of the runway, while Clover and Alex went backstage.
"Okay, so this is it!" Alex exclaimed, smiling at Clover. "The event's clothes are right behind this curtain!"
Alex pulled the curtain open and the girls gasped.
The clothes weren't the beautifully chic dresses that they imagined, but a set of strange, very aesthetically displeasing
clothes.
"Eww nast!" Clover exclaimed. "Al, I can't wear any of this..."
"Oh Clover, but you have to!" Alex said, rummaging in the closet for the best-looking of the lot. She pulled out a pink hourglass-shaped tule dress. "Here, this one isn't too bad."
Clover scowled and grabbed it. She went to the dressing room and painstakingly tried to put it on. She groaned and stepped out. Alex gasped and held back a chuckle.
The dress was made to look too big for the wearer, exaggerating the figure. It went up to the neck, and Clover could hardly bend her head down, even a little.
"I look hideous!" Clover spat, scowling. "Alex!"
"I haven't got a choice, Clover," Alex reasoned. "But hey, this is the best of the lot!"
"Let me decide that," Clover said, shoving her brunette friend aside. She dug in the closet and groaned. The dresses looked way worse than the one she wore now. "That's it. I went from trés chique to trés not!"
The other models came in and shrieked at the dresses they were supposed to wear. The fashion designer came in, wearing an equally ugly dress.
He was an odd fella with pink hair covering one eye. He pulled Clover, seeing that she was the only one that finished dressing.
"Ragazza, you need to go now!" The man said, pushing her towards the runway. "Go!"
Clover looked over at Alex, who had been busily helping the other models get ready with their clothing. She couldn't do anything besides give her a stiff nod as if to say good luck. Clover sighed and stepped onto the stage in the hideous dress.