Re: Outside the Champagne room.
Behind his lowered visor, he burst out laughing at the spaceman suggestion – he couldn’t help it. He’d thought the exact same thing when he first tried on the costume at home and glanced in the mirror. “Excellent guess! You’ve won the evening’s prize, friend.”
In one black-gloved hand he held a nightstick (presumably permitted because it was a relatively lightweight replica and he had no intention of using it as a real weapon), and now he rapped the butt against the ballistic plastic shield at his side. “If you’ve got an eye for detail, you might notice my shield. Absolutely fabulous for battering my way through a swarm of Martians without having to mess up my hair.”