Masterminds: A Waverly Place Fanfic

Part 2:

Approximately 50 minutes after the mental bang(originating at Variety Court, physical nighttime)…

"What…what's going on?" Justin Russo rubbed his eyes instinctively, making sure there was nothing in them. He gasped in shocking disbelief at the scene he found himself in. Justin found himself looking at the random darkness and glares of space itself, the contrasts seeming to cancel each other out in matters of perception. Justin exclaimed, "how can this be? There's not supposed to be oxygen here!" He took a sniff of the area to check. Justin realized, "and yet there is. Maybe this is all in my head." He then noticed something even stranger. Justin deduced in mixed beliefs, "in that case then…what's an arcade console doing in the middle of nowhere?" Indeed there was, but ironically in white coloring with black controls and a smoke colored screen. It was also the only physical object in Justin's proximity…and no random floating either. Justin reasoned with sighing reluctance, "this may not be real at all, but the only memory if memory at all that I have now is the name Justin and this device may be the answer." He went on to assure himself of his conclusion, "in fact, it seems most likely that I suffered some kind of concussion since I must be at least multiple years old with no recollections. Therefore, exploring within dreams is a way to pick up the pieces because of how much they draw on experiences and desires from within." Justin glanced at the buttons and double set of mini-joysticks, yet there were puzzlingly only 5 buttons with the labels O, A, R, N, and Y. Around one joystick was the letters A-M in a ring, and the other consisting of N-Z, yet no on/off switch. Justin deduced in confusion, "it must be really split…for this symbol to represent so many questions and answers." He glanced around the surroundings for some hint of what to do…"darn it! Guess we're back to the beginning." Justin paused with slight attitude alteration, "or…are we?" He cautiously pressed the N button. The screen to Justin's relief came online.

A computerized voice sounded, "password required." Justin then heard something and turned straight for its direction. He saw in fear a big asteroid, coming at his body a distance away like a boulder tumbling down a hilltop. But, with a comet tail that begun to unnaturally consume the mass.

Justin groaned…"come on! The answer must be in plain sight due to lack of information of oneself." With only one guess that seemed closest to fact, Justin used the joysticks to display his name on the screen.

The screen repeated, "password required." The asteroid was halfway there to Justin's frustration.

Justin figured, "it must have an enter button, or the attempt would be erased by now. Now, which button is it?" He turned his attention back to the buttons nervously…"it can't be the button that turns it on, yet there must be a theme with these buttons for it to be truly logical." Justin already ruled out his own name, because no other button label matches. It was also mixed of consonants and vowels, so no pattern there. Justin assumed, "letters are parts of words, so they must be part of a word or multiple." He tried matching the letters O, A, R, N, and Y together, but no single word came close but yarn. The asteroid's heat was beginning to be felt on Justin's skin, added to his inner heated turmoil of panic. Justin exclaimed in equal reaction, "of course! The only yarn here is strings of space, and the only knot here is the Big Bang itself. This almost total absence of matter merely highlights my missing facts…represented by the simplistic questions of life! Therefore, who, what, where, when, and why are symbolized." His body was feeling inflamed by nearing vaporization as he quickly pressed the O button. To Justin's relief, the arcade console literary shifted him out of range of the asteroid in time. Furthermore, it was transforming into an escape pod before his amazed eyes. The buckled seat branched out from the morphing machine is what carried him to safety as the asteroid unnaturally exploded. The pod was propelled forward by the external acceleration as Justin held onto his armrests in shock. The computer screen had converted into a windshield without wipers and the internal parts had combined into a small rocket engine within this pod. Justin muttered lowly, "now what?" He caught sight of a video game joystick, just in time to steer past a moving asteroid field made up of space fireballs. Justin barely made it through. He concluded with a fulfilled smile, "I'm on my way home." A wormhole had formed around Justin, accelerating the craft into a blur of light. Justin covered his eyes from the bright flash of light.

A more humane voice suggested with an uneasy chuckle, "well, not fully."

Justin asked cautiously, "who are you?"

The voice remarked, "someone who's telling you you can open your eyes now." Justin rubbed his eyes and opened them again. The pod and the light…all gone. In fact, there was only a plane of endless darkness.

Justin inquired, "I don't see you. Where are you?"

The voice insisted, "if I choose to reveal my identity within this disturbing time at a better time, you'll find out."

Justin commented, "then it's not just me trapped in my own body, is it?"

The figure forming its own white outline chuckled in impressive expression…"not exactly the way I'd phrase it, but everyone indeed seems to be stuck in their dreams."

Justin deduced nervously, "then you're not…confined to your brain?"

The figure answered amused, "we're now in it Justin, lying inactive until my soul activates it again."

Justin wondered in growing nervousness, "how is that possible?"

The figure explained vaguely, "few of us have strong enough mental strength to maintain ourselves to a higher degree through whatever keeps us inside our minds."

Justin checked unsure, "couldn't you physically awaken whenever you wanted?"

The figure sadly pointed out, "not even these few could, even if we wanted to."

Justin sighed. He suggested, "then what can we do?"

The figure hinted, "actually, there is a bigger threat from within."

Justin offered worried, "how can I help?"

The figure added in higher spirits, "well, a benefactor group called the Community is forming to counteract an imposing faction called the Identity if you want to contribute to their efforts."

Justin reasoned, "then I want to join."

A smile outlined itself on the figure's face…"you've just met the leader of the Community."

Justin checked in near speechlessness, "then…why…all the mystery…in the first place?"

The figure remarked, "in the realm of minds, anything rarely is predictable."

Justin deduced, "you were testing me, to see if I was Community material."

The figure nodded…"but I had a sense of knowing the answer already, ever since I was the console."

Justin wondered in mixed feeling, "you mean you can…transform?"

The being chuckled…"in this realm, my powers are simply upgraded physicality originating from my already apparent mentality."

Justin concluded in understanding, "so stronger mentality equals stronger dream control because dreams are influenced by thought instead of physique."

The figure replied, "exactly."

Justin inquired, "does that include stronger sense of oneself?"

The figure commented, "good guess. Unfortunately, both the Community and the Identity's main operatives have both qualities. Why else could the Identity be a threat if they couldn't leave their own minds?"

Justin added uneasily, "yeah, I guess that fits. If that's the case, then why are both teams branching out to recruit other individuals?"

The figure pointed out, "even the Identity can't fully manipulate dreams. In fact, neither can I."

Justin argued, "but people with similar abilities can control their own brains."

The figure retorted, "but not other people's brains because they merely anticipate a mind invader's thoughts as a random dream obstacle. Sometimes dreamt obstacles are drawn from our tastes and experiences, and sometimes traces of similar thoughts originated from prior generations enter our thoughts despite no prior knowledge about them."

Justin added, "or even an instinct drawn from familiarity with another."

The figure concluded thoughtfully, "perhaps. The overall idea of recruitment in this case is to strengthen overall dream control for maximum success, for whichever side you're on."

Justin wondered curiously, "then what could contribute to the Community's success chances in my case?"

The figure suggested, "you seem like a good talker. How about active recruiter duty?"

Justin assured the representative with hybrid feeling, "I'd be an honor, but I can't travel from mind to mind."

The figure remarked, "the best thing of being able to fully control your own brain from within is that you can transform your brain into anything you wish…including a material way of mind transportation for yourself."

Justin responded happily, "I'll do my best." The two shook hands in strong accord.