Chapter 2

Too stunned to say much, the Russos wandered around for a few minutes, fascinated by all the odd props. It was just a distraction, though, as Alex suspected she wasn't the only one trying to figure out what the heck had happened to the Sub Station…if that was still what it was. Alex had to laugh at how tacky the corny magic tricks were. No one was entertained by those anymore. Briefly, she wondered how these people managed to stay in business.

Then again, the Sub Station was constantly in financial trouble. Maybe there was something to be said for quirkiness.

Still, she couldn't get past the totally cliché nature of the items for sale. "Prepare to be amazed, folks!" she remarked, her words coated with sarcasm as she grabbed a trick hat off a shelf. "Nothing in the hat!" She showed the inside, then she added some exaggerated dramatic flair while she pulled out the stuffed rabbit hidden under the false bottom. "Ta da! Applause, really? Oh, you're all too kind."

"Alex, be nice," Jerry warned. "Someone clearly makes a living selling this stuff. And chances are, we're going to need their help. But first we should figure out where…or when…we are."

Her brow wrinkled, Theresa asked, "And when we figure that out…are we going to be able to get home?"

Even though he wanted to placate her with a comforting answer, Jerry decided to be honest. "It really depends on our situation." At her upset look, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "But whatever happens, at least we're together."

"Thank goodness for that," Theresa agreed as she put her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, hey, look what I can do…" Max said. He emerged from one of the aisles, a pack of cards in his hand. He tried to make the deck fan from one hand to the other, but the cards fell to the floor in a pile instead. "…uh, never mind."

Justin laughed. "Great trick, Max! You turned an ordinary deck of cards into a fun game of fifty-two pick up!"

Of course she didn't want to laugh at Justin's joke, but Alex still couldn't suppress the chuckle that emerged. To cover herself, she asked, "Okay, this is fun, but seriously, how do we get out of here?"

"Um, well, anyone see a calendar anywhere?" Jerry suggested. "At least we'll know if we time-traveled."

"It's June 2, 2007. Does that help?"

Startled, the entire Russo family whirled around to find that…Alex had come in from the street. Only, she was three-years-ago Alex.

"Whoa," Alex whispered. Sure, she'd cloned herself before, but this was another Alex she had nothing to do with – that she knew of, anyway. As she crossed the magic shop to the young teen, Alex asked, "Are you…me?"

Equally surprised, the younger clone stared back with wide eyes. "I-I don't know. Is your name Julia Hannigan?"

"Wait, what? No, you're Alex Russo…aren't you?" Alex asked, totally bewildered. She was grateful when her father and older brother rushed to her side.

"Hold on…" Jerry said while he paced in a small circle next to them. "So we time traveled…and we're in an alternate reality? That's not supposed to happen! It's supposed to be one or the other!"

Though still confused, Julia smirked. "Okay, you're in the shop when we're closed, and you're rambling on about magic. You've got to be wizards."

The whole family froze in surprise. "Y-you know about magic?" Justin sputtered.

"Yeah," Julia said, then pulled a wand identical to Alex's out of her boot. "I'm a wizard-in-training. Of course I know about magic."

"Well, isn't that convenient," Alex remarked while her family let out a collective sigh of relief. She pulled out her own wand. "My siblings and I are wizards-in-training too."

Julia's jaw dropped. "You have the same wand? That's so freaky."

His face calculating, Jerry reasoned, "Same faces, same wands…" He looked around. "And the same building. I think the termites definitely made a portal to an alternate Sub Station. Some small things will be similar, but mostly everything will be very different."

"Max!" Theresa's yell interrupted the discussion. The annoyed mother dragged her son over to the others, who snickered when they saw that Max was struggling to get out of trick handcuffs. "I'm sorry, but I turn my back for one minute…"

Alex laughed. "Come on, Mom. It's Max in a magic shop. At least this is better than trying to get him out of that box you use when you saw someone in half."

"She's right," Julia said. "Because with handcuffs, all you have to do is this." She grabbed the handcuffs, and when she let go, Max was free.

While Theresa let out a sigh of relief, Max stared at his wrists in amazement. "Whoa. You've got to show me how to do that."

"Buy the handcuffs and I will," Julia teased.

"Your family has a very nice shop, Julia," Jerry began politely. "But we're hoping to figure out how to get home. Will your parents be able to help us?"

Julia frowned. "Well, my dad isn't really into magic anymore, and my mom's a mortal." The Russos each raised an eyebrow at the all-too-familiar story. "But my grandfather teaches me and my fraternal twin brother magic, so I guess he would know. Come on upstairs, I'll introduce you."

Unsure where she would lead them since the loft stairs weren't visible, Alex and her family warily followed Julia to the door they'd emerged from. However, instead of the lair, the door opened to reveal the same metal staircase the Russos knew. The wall they were passing through must have been put up to hide it.

About to follow Julia, Alex spotted her little brother still playing with the handcuffs. "Max!" she whispered. He dropped them, but Alex stayed behind to make sure he didn't grab any of the other props before he followed his family up the stairs.

As the Russos went up the stairs and entered the loft, again they found themselves staring in awe. All the bright, neon-colors had been replaced with browns, soft greens and blues. Though like the Sub Station, the loft had the same layout – even the furniture was in relatively the same position. However, it certainly wasn't the Russo household anymore.

"Got to say," Alex remarked. "This version is a lot easier on the eyes. I think Mom may have overdone the orange just a bit."

While Theresa gave her an annoyed glance, Alex's remark had attracted the attention of the two people in the kitchen. They both had the same basic features as the Russo parents, but the woman was slimmer and had less curves than Theresa, while the bulky man was all muscle and no fat. Confused at first, their jaws dropped when they spotted their equally surprised alter-egos.

"Julia!" the woman exclaimed. She let go of the blender she had been using and went over to who Alex presumed to be her daughter. "What's going on here?"

Nervous, Julia uneasily began, "I had nothing to do with it, I swear!"

"Oh yeah, she's definitely alter-Alex," Justin muttered. Then he winced when Alex smacked his arm in response.

On Julia's behalf, Jerry quickly explained, "She didn't…Mrs. Hannigan, I'm presuming? Anyway, we're a family of wizards from an alternate reality who kind of…ended up in your magic shop. In our world, it's a sandwich shop we run, and see, there were these magical termites…"

"Oh. Magical termites. Say no more," the man interrupted. He extended a hand for Jerry to shake. "I'm Jerry Hannigan, and this is my wife Terry."

Alex let out a chuckle. "Terry and Jerry. That's cute." She paused. "Oh. So that's why Mom uses her full name."

"Alex, don't be rude," Theresa chided. When the others weren't looking, though, she muttered to her daughter, "But yeah, that's why."

While everyone shook hands in greeting, Terry said, "Wait, so your names are Jerry and Theresa as well?" Her brow wrinkled, she turned to Justin and Alex. "So you're…Jordan and Julia? But you're at least a few years older."

"Yeah, well, the portal apparently threw in some time travel when it transported us here," Justin explained. "We're from exactly three years in the future too."

Terry put a hand to her forehead. "As if this wasn't confusing enough."

"Trust me, I feel that way all the time," Theresa assured her.

"And we're not Julia and Jordan," Alex added. "I'm Alex, this is my older and ever-annoying brother Justin. And that's my younger brother Max."

After he'd nodded in acknowledgement, Max asked, "So yeah…since you guys are the owners of that magic shop downstairs, can I get those handcuffs for free?"

While the rest of his family gave him exasperated looks, Alex asked, "Max, aren't you wondering where alternate you is? Mr. and Mrs. Hannigan only mentioned two kids."

"Yeah, we just have Julia and Jordan, who are fraternal twins," Mr. Hannigan replied. "The only other person in our household is my father."

As if on cue, a balding man in his sixties walked in from the side hallway. Despite the age difference, his features were eerily similar to Max's. "Hello there," he greeted, a wide smile on his face. He glanced at his family. "Who are these people?"

"Magical termites bought them here. They're a wizard family from an alternate reality," Mr. Hannigan explained.

"Oh," the old man said with understanding. Then he looked at the Russos with curiosity. "You know what I always wondered? If you're right handed in one reality, does that mean you'd be left handed in an alternate one?"

"And he's definitely alter-Max," Alex remarked with a chuckle.