Dot couldn’t believe what she was seeing… it was like someone doing a painting, only the painting was appearing in the air. First of all a single black feather appeared. It kind of twitched up and down – almost as if it was looking round to see if anyone was watching.

Then, just below the feather, a bird’s claw… followed by the leg it was attached to. Then, another claw and another leg. Then, a pair of bright red stripey woollen legwarmers appeared on each leg.

“Bon!” whispered Adrienne, her bushy red tail quivering with excitement. “Ver’ good! It is our friend, sans doute!” (which is French for “No doubt about it!” … oh, you knew that? Sorry…!)

It wasn’t very “bon” for Wizzy though. Dot felt a real pang in her heart as she watched her best friend looking more and more frightened. His tail was tucked right down between his legs and he was trying to get as far away as he could from the strange thing happening in front of him. Only, he didn’t seem able to move very far at all.

“Couldn’t we have told Wizzie what we’re doing?” whispered Dot angrily to Adrienne.

“Non – no!” whispered Adrienne back. “ Because then ‘e might give us away – and ze Baron would disappear again!”

The tip of a red beak appeared now, with some more feathers above it.

“Welcome Monsieur le Baron!” whispered Adrienne. “Now – we ‘ave you – just a few moments more…”

“Why can’t poor Wiz move away?” whispered Dot, more worried than ever. “He looks so scared!”

Adrienne shook her head. “Blackshanks ‘as him in an energy lock” she replied. “Just like we are inside our Invisibility Capsule – Wizard is trapped too! It’s something zese Information Inverters do – just to be nasty! Peste to them, I say!”

Dot felt herself go hot and cold with anger as she watched poor Wizzie trying to move. He could, a bit – but not far: it was as if every time he tried to get away, he bounced off a sort of invisible cage all round him.

“I’ll GET you for this, Baron whatever your name is!” she said under her breath, with gritted teeth.

Now the Baron was almost complete. Just as Dot thought, he was like a crow – a big black, glossy crow. Only, not many crows have a belt round their waist with a mini-disc player on it. And even fewer have yellow waistcoats with ‘Information Inverters – Internet Busters!’ written on them in sparkly letters. Baron Blackshanks had all that and more: apart from the belt and the waistcoat (and his stripey legwarmers), he also had one of those eyeshades tennis players wear on his head, and a pair of mirror sunglasses.

He was also listening to Eminem. Very loud! And dancing around too.

“!em morf YAWA teG” barked Wizzie bravely, dashing forward – and bouncing off the wall of the energy lock yet again.

“CRAAACK!” sneered the Baron Blackshanks. “Who’s a silly doggy then?” He had a nasty whining voice which reminded Dot of one of the most annoying people she’d ever met – a man in the Coms’ local dry cleaners called Wallis Sigbert, who always made an enormous fuss about when you were supposed to have picked up your cleaning. Luckily he’d gone to live in New Zealand a year ago, or else she was sure her Dad would have hung him up on the ‘clothes for collection’ rail, with one of his own hangers through his jacket!

Dot looked at Adrienne. “Let’s GET him!” she whispered. Mr Mouse burrowed down inside her T-shirt again, with a squeak.

“Mais oui!” said Adrienne. “We do just zat – right now!”