Alternate Reality

Summary: The Russos are transported to a different reality, where the Waverly Sub Station is a magic shop...owned by their alternate selves.

A/N: When Todd J. Greenwald first came up with Wizards of Waverly Place, he called it The Amazing Hannigans. Through the power of ebay, I got a copy of the original pilot he wrote. The show was VERY different, so I decided to write a story based on that original script. Really, it was practically a whole other show. Some of it will be my fabrication, but I will try to stick to the characters and situation I could grasp from the script.

With that, please enjoy my little sort-of crossover experiment.

Chapter 1

Her arms crossed on the desk, Alex barely kept herself from falling asleep while her father talked. Though she'd never say it aloud, she was jealous of Justin for finishing magic training when she still had a long way to go. Magic class wasn't nearly as bearable now that he wasn't a student with them any more. Instead, he'd appointed himself the position of teacher's assistant. This consisted of him casting spells as demonstration, and annoyingly enough, catching his siblings every time their eyes closed.

Which he was about to do if she didn't wake herself up. As his mouth opened to call her out, she snapped her eyes wide open and said, "I'm up!" She then smirked. "Hah, beat you to it."

"Alex, pay attention," Jerry said, and gave her a warning look. His gaze shifted to his youngest son, who was about to fall off the side of the desk in his sleep. "You too, Max."

"Huh?" He straightened himself up and looked around in confusion. When he saw his father staring at him, he sputtered, "Uh…forty-two?"

Jerry gave him an exasperated look. "I wasn't asking a question."

"Oh." He shrugged. "One of these days, the answer has to be forty-two."

Irritated, Jerry said, "All right you two, let's recap. What have I been talking about this whole lesson?"

Alex shared a bewildered glance with her equally confused younger brother. "That's an excellent question, Dad. So I'm going to do what I usually do when I don't know the answer to an excellent question." She then leaned over and looked at the person sitting on the couch. "Harper?"

With a reluctant sigh, Harper said, "Spells that alter surface texture. Can I go now?"

"Come on Harper, you always say how you want to be more like a Russo. And Russo kids attend magic class," Alex insisted. Harper had made it her mission to become a full Russo the second she moved in. Bored with class, she'd used the excuse to convince Harper to sit in. Alex wasn't sure what that would do, but she figured that having her best friend there had to automatically make the situation more tolerable.

However, it seemed that Harper wouldn't buy the excuse for long. "Alex, I'm all for learning new things, but…magic kind of freaks me out, in case you haven't noticed."

"But we haven't even done anything yet. Dad's just been going on and on and on…" Alex trailed off when she noticed her father getting angrier. "Well, it's true."

Jerry stepped aside and gestured toward the area in front of the desk. "If you're so eager, why don't you cast the spell I mentioned before you woke yourself up? If you can remember it, that is."

Put on the spot, Alex froze. Justin now wore a smirk of his own. "What's the matter, Alex? Stage fright?" he teased.

"You're supposed to be the teacher's assistant. Teasing me isn't 'assisting' anyone," Alex retorted as she came around the desk. She stood there unsure for a good half a minute before she gave her best friend a desperate glance. "Harper?"

"'Slip, slip, slip…'" Harper said as a hint.

"Oh, right." The spell came to her in an instant. She must have heard it on her way to dreamland. Alex smiled as she took out her wand…then smiled wider when she discreetly noticed that Justin was standing on an area rug. "'Slip, slip, slip and slide, stand on this rug, you'll go for a ride.'"

Before Justin could notice, she pointed her wand towards it. The rug turned slick in a second, and Justin yelped with fright as he frantically grabbed on to the bookcase behind him. "Alex!" he shouted while he tried to keep from falling on the floor.

Unable to help themselves, Alex and Max burst out laughing. Even Harper was having a hard time maintaining a straight face.

Jerry glared at her. "Not funny, Alex. Reverse it now."

"Fine," she grumbled as she waved her wand…and paused. "Wait, now how did that spell go again?"

His grip tight on the bookcase shelf, Justin sputtered, "A-Are you kidding me, Alex? 'Before my brother…'"

"Oh yes, that is it," Alex said as she slowly pointed her wand again. "Before my brother and the floor collide, toughen that rug, end the ride."

The rug's abrupt return to normal made Justin lose his balance, though his grip on the bookcase prevented him from falling over. "I could have fallen," he spat at her. "And gotten hurt! Bet you wouldn't be laughing as hard then!"

"You're right. I'd be laughing harder," Alex said with a chuckle. She couldn't help it – Justin's fury was hilarious.

Jerry held out his hands between them. "That's enough. Justin is right, Alex. I know you were joking around, but he really could've been hurt."

At his insistent look, Alex muttered, "Fine. Sorry, Justin."

About to retort, Justin was cut off when Theresa walked into the room. She glanced around, then looked at Harper. "There you are! What are you doing in here, Harper? I need help with customers!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Russo! I'm on it!" Harper exclaimed as she happily went back to work.

When she was gone, Theresa turned back to her family. "Okay, so what did Alex do…"

She trailed off when a substance that looked like thick brown goop oozed into the lair under the door to the wizard world. Max jumped off his seat, and Alex backed up. Even Justin was alarmed and bewildered. "Dad…what is that?"

"Mr. Teacher's Assistant doesn't know? Color me shocked," Alex deadpanned.

Fortunately for her, Jerry was too distracted by their problem to notice his daughter's attitude. "Uh oh…" he said, his eyes wide as he stared at the goop. Instead of oozing further into the room, it disappeared into the floor.

"Well, whatever it is disappeared. That's good, right?" Max asked.

Jerry shook his head. "The opposite, actually. They're wizard world termites. They band together and form that goop to infest magical households."

"'Infest'? Jerry, what's this thing going to do to us?" Theresa demanded.

"Not us, the building. Like termites, they're going to get into the building's frame. But instead of weakening the structure, they alter it," Jerry explained.

"Alter…how? Like the spell we just learned?" Alex asked. "That's not so bad…"

Jerry sighed. "I wish. Their magical properties cause the building to become enchanted, which means anything can happen to it. Black holes, time portals, doors to alternate realities...we should probably move out for the next day or so. That's usually how long it takes for them to run their course and go back to the wizard world."

"Good idea. We can stay with my mother," Theresa said.

"Or at a hotel," Jerry said. At his wife's narrowed eyes, he added, "Just a suggestion." He then turned to Alex and Justin. "Before we do anything else, though, you two need to block the door. Wizard world termites tend to come in swarms."

"What spell do we use?" Alex asked, her wand held at the ready.

After a second of thought, Justin snapped his fingers. "How about that spell you and Stevie used? The one that made that plastic wall?"

"Right," Alex agreed. They each made a fist, which they pressed against the other's and with their free hands, pointed their wands at the portal door. In front of it, a wall of colorful, plastic bricks instantly appeared.

"Good job you two. That ought to do it," Jerry said. "Let's get out of…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the lights flickered between normal and the same brown as the goop. Then a low rumble sounded, and sure enough, the building shook as if enduring an earthquake. The Russos ran to and held on to each other as loose knickknacks began flying off shelves. Alex shrieked and clung on to her family as tight as she could.

After what seemed like an hour, but could only have been less than five minutes, it all stopped. "Is everyone okay?" Jerry asked as they broke apart. "Anyone hurt?" When they all indicated that they weren't, he headed for the door. "Come on, I'm sure there's chaos out there. Maybe we can tell customers there was a small explosion…"

The first one to the door, Theresa called, "Uh, Jerry? I don't think we have to worry about customers."

"What?" Jerry sighed. "Did Harper scare them off again?" The brunette's severely lacking waitress skills tended to have that effect on patrons.

But instead of a reply, Theresa numbly came back in from the entryway, all traces of color drained from her face. Panicked, the rest of the Russos ran to see the damage.

Alex and Justin were the first to peek into the Sub Station kitchen…or, what used to be the Sub Station kitchen. The dividing wall had vanished, and the counter with the register had been pushed back against the wall where there used to be a sink attached. The Sub Station itself had been instantly transformed into a colorful magic shop, filled to the brim with rack after rack of cliché magic show props. The merchandise abruptly stopped at a bunch round tables covered in black table cloths, paired with dark, comfy chairs. These faced a small stage, which took the place of the missing subway car. Instead of the subway motif, the shop walls were now exposed brick, and above the counter was a sign that read "Hannigan Magic EST. 1907."

As the shell-shocked Russos made their way into strange place, Alex managed to remark, "Guys, I don't think we're in the Sub Station anymore." At the others' looks, she explained, "Well, someone had to say it."