"I'm afraid the situation has become too dire to avoid, Councilor Patheos. It looks like we'll have to pass the law to make it legal. Too many wizards are questioning our authority since we do not do what they like." In the heart of the Wizard World lies the office of the Magic Council. They do not meet often, since it was too dangerous for many old and powerful wizards to be so vulnerably packed in the same room together. Most of the councilors are old, but there are some young wizards on the board as well. They make rules and pass them as law, they decide what action must be taken against rioters, they're like the supreme court of the magic world. Currently, they are discussing what course of action they should take, now that Wizard siblings were knocking on their door and begging them to fix the system so that such couples can have children.
The prophecy of Renaldi's wand was one that every council member was familiar with, but it seems that not every Wizard is ready to accept that change will come, and if they don't pass the law, the destined siblings will become fugitives. They cannot let such a fate befall them since they were destined for greatness but what makes them so unbeatable to begin with is their bond. No magic can change human emotions, not unless it is short term.
"Fine. I say we pass this law, so that siblings may reproduce. The children of such wizards can attend Wiztech and we can hire a new staff that will take care of them. Councilwoman Nice has agreed to step up to the position, so we have a teacher on board." The oldest Council member asks for a show of hands, and after seeing the majority of wizards agree, he stamps his gavel down, declaring a new law that greatly impacts Wizard sibling couples all over the map.
"I don't like this." Teresa sighs as Jerry shows her the newspaper article about the new law in the Wizard World.
"If you think that's bad, check out page 12."
"Now I really don't like this." She nearly gags when she sees the article that says something about how Wizards have to use vinegar to use cleaning spells just like how Wizards need to use fire to cook. She thinks magic is lame like that, since Wizards could just as easily use magic to clean their dishes and fold their laundry.
"The interesting thing about all of this is that it lines up with Alex and Justin perfectly. They could be the siblings that cast the Wizard World into a new era!" Jerry reminds her as she sets the newspaper down, storming off to get some yarn and needles so she can distract herself for a bit. "But it's also a bad thing because if those two decide to go down that path, there will be no coming back. Incest is an ongoing issue since Wizards brought up in the mortal world are more likely to band together within their own families since it was against the rules to tell humans about magic up until a few days ago. That's why they allowed incest marriages. As strange as it is, these relationships are vital or else magic as we know it will fizzle down."
"Why?" Teresa was interested now, as it seems her husband was making claims which strongly suggest he might be in support of a romantic family romance if it ever came to be. Even though she doesn't want to admit it, Justin and Alex are very close. She wouldn't be surprised if they came right out and told them.
"When a full Wizard marries a mortal, what happens?" Teresa frowns, once again as the conversation is directed back to her marriage with Jerry in the first place. He gave up his powers so he could be with her.
"They give up their powers." She says monotonously.
"Exactly!" Jerry rushes over to grab an ancient book of prophecies. "It's different in the case of two Wizards. Whether it be former Wizards or a Wizard and a mortal, their kids will have magic. Until the Wizard competition which decides who gets to keep his or her powers for life."
"So you're saying that if Wizard siblings aren't allowed to reproduce, their magical bloodline dies with that pair unless there are other siblings to pass the power to or they have to give up their powers completely?" Teresa was confused. She thought Wizards couldn't be with non magical creatures unless they gave up their powers. Either way if one of the siblings won the competition, wouldn't they have to give up their family magic forever? Unless they had another sibling. Assuming it is a trio like the Russo family kids.
"Here, let me explain it in a way that you might understand. Assume a Wizard and a mortal get married and have two kids, a girl and a boy. The girl and boy are raised in the mortal world, having no contact with other wizards their age whatsoever. The two grow closer together and their bond gets stronger, until eventually, they fall in love. It makes sense, they were the only two who knew about magic, understood the pressures of being young wizards. So they decide to get married. What about the Wizard competition? Since they couldn't compete due to the odds being 50-50, they both lose their powers. And because they can't have children, their family magic is shut down."
"Oh my god. That's awful." Teresa couldn't imagine that happening to her two eldest children. But they were both wizards. This is so confusing!
"I know what you were going to say, and to answer your question, there have been exceptions to the rule. Some married Wizard siblings have had children and were able to continue if they didn't follow in their parents' footsteps. Others had full wizard powers granted to them like Justin and Alex, although that hasn't happened in a long time. The last time a brother and sister were granted full Wizard powers was way back in the 1940s. But Renaldi's wand was still lodged inside the ball, so it wasn't possible for the prophecy to be fulfilled."
"Wait Jerry, then how is it possible for powerless wizards to live in the Wizard world?"
"There's no rule saying they can't because they're not mortal. They're like me, a former Wizard is still known as a Wizard."
"Oooohhh that makes sense."
"By the way, how did you know that? I thought you hated anything to do with magic." Jerry catches her off guard.
"I read?" She smiles, eyes glowing yellow momentarily as Jerry catches on.
"You're not Teresa, are you?"
"Do not be of strife," She moves her fingers in a circular motion. Jerry backs away from her, eyeing her like a hawk, half concerned and half terrified.
"Teresa, what are you doing?"
"Remember me, for I am your wife." From the top of the staircase, Max witnessed all, as the lady parading around as his mother cast a spell on his father to make him forget the last few minutes.
He ran to his room, making sure to lock the door before calling his sister on the phone. He had to tell Alex.
"Professor Russo, I'm aware that you were made known by the situation from other sources?" Mrs. Joules asks him as he walks down the halls of Wiztech towards the conference room where he can meet with the Wizard Council to discuss the future of children with blood bonds (this is the name used to refer to children born from parents who are related. Mainly used for wizards with sibling parents as opposed to cousins). It was in his best interests as headmaster to make sure this was handled fairly in a way that the school was made safer for these children. Also, if he was ever going to jump ship and decide to side with Alex after all, he would need to get on the good side of the council members.
"Yes, I was. I actually learned from the Wiz-News s about this new law."
"What are your views on the matter?" Justin felt flattered that one of the teachers' expressed interest in what he thought about the matter as opposed to criticizing him about how he was doing his job all wrong.
"Thank you for asking, but my opinion barely matters."
"What are you talking about? Of course it does, you're the one that gets to implement new rules into the school. You get a say in what the Council decides." She reminds him.
"Right. I do, don't I?" Justin feels a bit more confident knowing that. At least now the young wizards won't be scrutinized by the general public.
"Everyone, I would like to call this meeting because as you know, the Wizard World was exposed to mortals. And there's no more hiding because too many people saw magic being performed by a Max Russo." The elder council member pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose as the rest of the people in the room stare at Justin sinks in his chair.
"Wasn't he the only Russo sibling to get his powers stripped?" The first whisper.
"Why did Crumbs let this one keep his powers?" Another whisper.
"Of course Max Russo exposed magic, he's the most incompetent!"
"SILENCE!" The whispers stop abruptly as Justin looks up to see a young woman with dark purple streaks in her black hair walk forward. She looked familiar, but Justin couldn't place his finger on it. "As the oldest council member, I demand you listen to me. Max Russo was not responsible for exposing magic, even though he was present on the scene and it looked like he was performing a spell, he was not. It has been confirmed that there were other wizards that were responsible for performing magic on Waverly Street. So until we track them down, we will have to request that Professor Russo doesn't leave his house for a week. With Justin, I am assigning a few other wizards to keep surveillance around the clock. Including Alex Russo."
"Miss Russo isn't here though—" A woman in the room mentions, earning a glare from the "oldest" council member.
"Be quiet!" Justin gulps as she stamps her staff on the ground. "I know that not many of you know yet. The gravity of the situation is much too intense for just a family of wizards to handle. Until then, it is not safe for a single Wizard to expose their true identity to the world. We are still trying to deal with the mortal world's governments and working on integrating wizards into the human world fully. Whoever exposed us is a smart enemy. Smart enough to leave without a trace but their magic left a thumbprint. While our Wizard agents work on that, I must ask if Justin is up to the task. Professor Russo?"
"Yes, whatever you need." She gives him an unexpected smile as he scrambles out of his chair.
"Are you up to the task, Justin?"
"Of course!" His voice croaks, and he feels blood rushing to his cheeks.
"Good. Now, if you would continue with the new school rules for the students of blood bonds, Mr. Wolfe?"
Alex was down in the dumps. She was in between being heartbroken and being okay. Justin hurt her when he said that he didn't want to continue their crazy relationship but she understood. It's different from anything with Mason. Justin was the first boy that Alex ever knew. He always breaks her heart only to apologize later and make up with her again. It's how their system works. She just doesn't understand why the heck he was so sensitive before. He never gives up, if he believes in something he'll keep trying.
He was willing to go diving in dangerous oceans and go fighting horrific creatures in the Wizard World to find Juliet, and she knows it's just like with Mason. It's not the same. She'll have to swallow her sadness, it's no time to cry. Mason wanted to break up with her because he was cheating on her and he was tired of living the lie that he was still in love with her. He was in love with Juliet, it was clear enough when she saw the glowing heart necklace around her neck.
Alex never wondered why the heart around her neck never glowed like it did before. After the Wizard competition, it didn't glow as bright, and then about two months later, it stopped. She never thought it was because he fell out of love with her.
The betrayal didn't hurt her as much as she thought it would, but when she felt bile rising up in the back of her throat, she begged to differ. She threw up in her bathroom after teleporting back home, and just as she was gargling some mouthwash, Max burst into the bathroom without warning her. She spits out the excess water in the sink.
"Max! You scared me, never do that again. Knock first." She groans as the younger boy closes the door behind them very carefully.
"Shhh. Mom did magic on dad. I don't know what they were fighting about but he started saying some stuff and then she said some incantation and he passed out."
"What? That doesn't even make sense. Even saying those words in the same sentence sounds wrong." Alex shudders before grabbing her toothbrush and squeezing on some toothpaste.
"I'm not lying. I saw it!"
"Maybe you saw it wrong, Max. Think about it, does mom and magic belong in the same sentence? She doesn't even let us do spells in the living room."
"Yeah, you're right. That sounds silly. I don't know what I was thinking, mom and magic? Pfft, yeah right." He chuckles on the way out of the bathroom, leaving Alex to brush her teeth in peace.
"But Evillini also said that a young Wizard bailed her out. Someone with that kind of magic power is capable of anything. Wait, Max!" Alex runs after her little brother as soon as she realizes that he might be right and their mother might actually be some kind of mistress of evil. And not to be confused with their real mother who was probably knocked out cold and shoved in a meat locker or somewhere she couldn't find her.
Alex took a deep breath and cast a locator spell, finding her mother was trapped in a remote island in Hawaii (a jungle actually), having to make friends with a Parrot to keep her company and living alone in the jungle, wearing an outfit made of leaves and vines. Alex was glad she decided to keep her clothes on, since most people in the wild ditch their clothes after two days.
"Mom!" She calls out to her as Teresa gives her a hug, happy that her daughter found her.
"Alex, I'm so glad you found me. Some crazy woman with snake eyes decided to bring me here and she disappeared, leaving me in the middle of nowhere. I didn't even have my phone on me!"
"Thank God for magic. How long have you been stuck here?"
"6 hours." Alex puts her hand on her forehead, tired of her mother's charade already. She looked like she's been in the jungle for three days, with how "adapted" she looked with her leaf clothing and parrot friend.
"I don't have time to explain but this woman stole your place and I think she's trying to get more information. Either way, I have a pretty good idea of who she might be now." Alex was pretty sure her mother described Evillini. Although, she doesn't remember if Evillini had snake eyes or normal looking eyes with just the personality of a snake.
"Oh no, no way that lady is trying to steal my man. That's my place!" Alex liked seeing her mother defending her home even though a parrot is sitting on her shoulder and chirping in between intervals.
"Then let's go home, teach her a lesson, grab on." Alex flashes herself and her mother back to the house.
"You." Teresa glares at the woman as Alex ducks behind the kitchen island, next to the parrot who flew over to her after seeing the Teresa clone.
"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be—"
"Here? In my own house? I'll make you regret throwing me on an island and running away with your tail between your legs, coward!" Teresa glares at the woman as Alex keeps her wand ready in case she decides to fire at her mother.
"Backup, I need backup." The fake Teresa whispers something into her watch as the real Teresa Russo grabs her shoe and swings it at her, knocking her unconscious in a single hit.
"And that's how it's done." Teresa flips her hair over her shoulder as Alex pops up from behind the counter, walking over to her mother's side.
"Wow mom, who knew you could take out a Wizard without powers?" Teresa spins her "weapon" between her fingers, lowering her gaze at Alex as her daughter backs away in fear. "You want a piece of me?" Alex is quick to run upstairs, deciding to look for Max so she could tell him the good news about finding their real mom and bringing her home.
"Max! Good news, I found mom and brought her back and she...Max?" Alex found her younger brother lying face down on his bed, seemingly frozen as Alex walks towards him with uneasy steps.
"What's up, Alex?" She sighs in relief as her little brother sits up, unharmed and healthy. She thought that someone tried to hurt him, since Evillini and some other enemy was out to get her now.
"Gosh, you scared me. Were you sleeping?"
"No, I just had a vision and I blacked out for a couple of minutes." Max explains, stretching his arms over his head and cracking his knuckles.
"How do you know that? Wait, did you just see what happened just now?"
"No. I had a vision of you coming to wake me up when I was lying down, duh." Alex groans as she drags her brother to his feet.
"That's the same thing, Max. You saw a vision of me doing something in the present. That means maybe your Seer abilities are changing too." Alex flashes them into the lair, where she picks up a book just as Justin comes walking through the portal of the Wizard World. Alex is about to make a snarky comment, but she stops herself and decides that figuring out what has changed with Max is more important than her anger with Justin. That and she was feeling a bit salty from how he dumped her when they were spending some quality time together. It's not like he's gone all the time either, but things are different now that he has a job and she feels like he's forgetting about her in the process of moving on.
They were a lot closer back when Alex was 14 and she was developing these strange feelings for him in the first place. Maybe it's always been there and she only realized it now.
"Can I travel to the past too?"
"No! You can only see visions but Seers have many types, there are people who can see glimpses of the past that are important, the future, or people that can pick out whatever they want to see in that moment." Max nods his head, making it clear to Alex that he didn't understand a word of what she just said.
"What-uh...what's going on here?" Justin asks, finally speaking after standing silently in the corner, waiting for Alex to at least acknowledge his presence.
"I saw a vision of the present." Max smirks, feeling like a superhero but still oblivious as ever since he had no clue what that meant.
"Cool, did you know that a shift in visions means that a big event that's supposed to affect us all is gonna happen?"
"And what might that be?" Alex finally speaks to him, turning back with a harsh glare directed at Justin.
"Wizards getting exposed, that kind of thing. And we have a mission." Justin hands Alex a letter stamped with the official seal of the Wizard Council.
"What's this?" She opens it up with a knife as Justin removes his robe and dumps it on the brown couch. "Oh, this isn't good." She starts freaking out internally, making Justin snicker at her reaction.
"Oh yas, we're gonna be working together." Max simply looks between his older siblings in confusion, trying to figure out if peanut butter and jelly is a better combination than peanut butter and chipotle sauce.