Part 3

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!!!

And thank you Todd Greenwald and David Henrie for talking to me today! Anyone who doesn't have Twitter should sign up and follow anyone affiliated w/WOWP 'cause they respond to their fans and sometimes do live camera feeds where they talk to us! To reiterate: David freakin' Henrie actually spoke to me, live, on camera!!!! (That's the kid that plays Justin in case you didn't know!)

Oh, and I don't own anything affiliated with Wizards of Waverly Place. Don't sue me!

Justin is laying on the couch in the living room covered in thick blankets, his skin pale blue and his lips just a slightly darker blue shade. Theresa puts a steaming towel on his forehead while Alex and Max stand aside, looking worried. Jerry is sitting beside Justin on the edge of the couch.

"This isn't working," Jerry mumbles as he watches the steam on the towel quickly disappear.

"What's wrong with him?" Alex asks.

He shakes his head. "I don't know – it's definitely a spell of some form. If I didn't know any better, I'd think-" He suddenly looks up at Alex. "Alex, you said you saw the bee that stung Justin this morning?"

"Yeah, it was in his hand. But I thought you said it didn't sting him."

"I think I may have been wrong. Where is it?"

"I don't know, he probably dropped it on the patio."

Jerry hustles over to the patio, flings open the door, and bends over, scooping up the dead bee. "Oh no," he says as he looks closely at it.

Theresa walks over to him. "Jerry, what is it?"

He moves further into the room and waves Alex and Max over to him. Opening his hand, he holds the bee up to the lamplight. "Look at the wings," he instructs.

Max's eyes light up, "They're blue! Cool!"

Jerry scowls at him. "No, not cool-" he starts, then tilts his a little to the side. "Well, I guess technically it is cool, but not in the same sense of the word..."

"Jerry," Theresa prods him along.

"Uh, what I mean is, this bee makes things cool. It's a Breezer Bee, and it's very rare. In fact, they've almost been entirely wiped out, and for good reason. They're difficult to use and they are very dangerous."

Alex looks back at Justin, then back at her dad. "Well, how do we make Justin uncool? – Oh, if this were a better time I'd so make a joke about that."

Jerry shakes his head. "We can't – that's what makes these so dangerous. See, the bee has to be summoned by three wizards who then direct it to a specific target. Once it stings that target, the stinger actually melts into the person's bloodstream, disappearing without a trace. Then, it slowly begins freezing the person from the inside, putting them into something like a cryogenic sleep. The only way to completely reverse the effect is to destroy the three pieces of the bee-shaped charm that the summoners have to wear around their necks."

"So…Justin's just gonna stay like this until we destroy the pieces?" Alex asks.

Jerry thinks for a second, then wags his finger at her. "Not necessarily. He isn't completely frozen, yet. If we can get his body to warm up before he starts icing over, we may be able to fight back against the bee's power until we can figure out what to do."

"But, Dad," Max interjects, "the blankets aren't working."

Alex speaks before Jerry can. "No, but magic might." She walks over to Justin and holds her hands over him. "Please work," she begs before casting her spell. "With a Breezer Bee I must compete; Warm up Justin with the right amount of heat."

A soft red glow emits from her hands and pours over Justin. Color quickly begins returning to his cheeks and lips, and within a few seconds, he slowly blinks his eyes open.

"Justin!" Alex cries with relief, throwing her arms around him.

"Alex?" he groans, "What happened?"

Jerry, Theresa, and Max crowd around the couch, wide grins on their faces. Justin starts to sit up, but everyone shouts "No!" at the same time and they all push him back down. He looks at them, confused.

Jerry begins to explain, again. "Justin, you need to stay under the blankets and keep yourself warm. You've been stung by a Breezer Bee, which-"

Justin's eyes grow wide, "A Breezer Bee! I should have known…See, I told you I wasn't lying."

Theresa puts a hand to his shoulder. "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry we didn't believe you."

"It's okay, Mom, there's no way you could've known." He looks questioningly at his dad. "I thought Breezers were virtually extinct?"

"Well, they are, and highly illegal, and – how do know about Breezers, anyway?"

Alex rolls her eyes. "Because he knows everything about everything. You're talking to a teenager who thinks staying up past his bedtime to read a book is living on the edge."

"Right, good point," Jerry agrees, but after seeing the cross look on Justin's face, he quickly tries to redeem himself. "Uh, and you should be following your brother's example. Reading is a good thing." He pats Justin's leg, who grins up at Alex satisfactorily.

She crosses her arms. "Oh, sure, rub it in. Maybe next time I'll just let you become a Justinsickle."

Understanding fills Justin's face. "Ohhh, you used magic to warm me up, didn't you?"

She shrugs. "Yeah, well, blue wasn't a good color for you."

"Thanks, Alex," he says sincerely.

"We'll just say you owe me one," she grins.

"Riiight," Justin nods, then turns his attention back to his dad. "So, what about the black lightning? And the sand? I don't remember reading anything about that."

Jerry frowns, hesitating before he speaks. "I didn't think I'd ever have to mention it…It's even more rare than the Breezers…" He looks down at his hands. Justin shifts up into a sitting position and this time, no one stops him as their attention is focused on Jerry.

"Dad, I have to know," Justin gently coaxes.

"It's tainted magic," Jerry finally continues. "It's created when a spell has an unexpected adverse effect on a wizard's body due to preexisting harmful physical conditions."

Max raises his hand and questions, "Pre-exiting what?"

"Preexisting conditions," Jerry corrects. "Basically, what it means is that since Justin has such a strong physical allergen to normal bees, a magic bee would create an equally strong reaction to his magical abilities. It tainted his magic."

"So what does that mean?" Alex asks.

"What it means is that Justin can't use his magic until we can clear the taint out of his system."

"Well, what'll happen if he keeps using it?" Max asks.

Justin answers him. "I keep getting zapped by painful magical lightning and black sand blasts into my face, knocking me instantly unconscious."

Alex looks at him quizzically. "You weren't 'instantly unconscious.' You stood there blinking like an idiot for a few seconds before you went down…unless you were passed out on your feet."

Jerry interrupts the conversation. "You're both right, actually. Taint isn't just magic that doesn't work right. It, it acts more like a virus attacking its host, or in this case, the wizard that created it. It stays dormant in the system until you cast a spell, and once your magic is released, the taint awakens and morphs into the black sand. That sand then returns to its host, allowing it to…uh…well to 'feed.' However, it can only 'feed' as long as the host is physically awake, so it will keep the body awake for a short time while the mind is essentially sleeping. So, Justin, you were both awake and asleep for the few seconds that you were still standing."

Max crinkles up his nose, "Black sand is feeding on Justin's brain? That's kind of…gross."

Justin's eyes grow wide. "My brain? It's eating my brain? But, I'm the smart one of the family! Who's gonna get Alex out of trouble when she screws up? Max?"

Everyone looks at Max and doubtful looks spread on their faces. "I should feel resentment," he says, then shrugs, "but I just can't when I know he's right. We're all doomed."

Jerry shakes his head rapidly, dismissing the conversation. "No, no, the taint isn't feeding off Justin's brain."

"Whew, that's a relief," Justin sighs. "So what's it eating, then? My powers?"

"Worse," Jerry explains, "It's eating your life energy. Every time that black sand absorbs back into your body, it's eating away time off your lifespan…"

A/N: You always gotta have an information chapter. Thank you teacher Jerry! Now for the actiony stuff...