A/N: That's right, boys and girls. I'm updating two stories today! Boom.


Issue 1: Dog Star

THUD!

"Oooooow." Sirius groaned from where he lay on the floor. "That's the last time I eat any weird thing Harry bought online from some… wait." As he slowly came to his senses, he recalled… something. What was it? A dream who could barely remember… His head pounded, eliciting another groan from the boy. "Too… much… thinking. What happened… yesterday? Oh, right. I got bit by a spider and passed out like a wimp. As if Flash needs any more ammo to shoot me with…"

Still cocooned in his covers, Sirius slowly picked himself up. As he did, there was a knock at the door. "Sirius? Dear, are you alright?"

For some reason, the knock might as well have been a cannon shot to Sirius' ear drums. So startled by the noise, he jumped; literally jumped, straight up – bumping his head on the ceiling! "Ah!" When he landed, he rubbed the spot where his head had smacked, dusting plaster out of his hair. "What the..."

"Sirius! What happened?" the voice called out again. "I'm coming in!" The door swung open, and in came Sirius' mother. Olivia Moore could be regarded as a natural beauty, but the type most men stayed at a distance and stared. Pale complexion, bleached hair, bags under her eyes from days of heavy workload. (It was all natural, she bragged, which most women wouldn't be proud of. Olivia Moore wasn't most women.) A lot of people, even before moving to New York, thought she was a zombie upon first looking at her. Some days, Sirius couldn't blame them, when she shuffled out of bed some days, moaning and wailing around until he got his mom her daily caffeine boost.

"I feel like crap," Sirius groaned, wrapping his blankets tighter around him.

"Here, let me see." Stooping down a little ('Wait, is Mom slightly shorter than usual? We should be eye-level…'), Sirius allowed the pale woman to inspect him. "Well, you seem alright. Good pallor, even temperature…"

"You work with dead guys," Sirius muttered. "Could you use more words that sound less like you're pulling me out of cold storage?"

"Hush," Olivia slapped his shoulder playfully before continuing her inspection. "What's this plaster-like stuff in your hair?"

"Plaster," Sirius said. "I, uh, hit my head on the ceiling."

"Seriously?"

"No, I'm Sirius Moore. You should know that."

The older woman rolled her eyes. "Well, in my amateur medical examiner's opinion, since your humor's intact, I think you'll be fine." Taking his face in both hands, she did a quick once-over of his face, turning it left and right. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say your two-day nap might have improved some things."

Sirius' eyes snapped to her as his brain interpreted that. "Two days!? I was asleep for two days!? And what do you mean 'improved?'"

"I mean puberty gave you early parole. Just get dressed. You've already missed enough school."

"School? But, what about…?"

"Sirius, I'll tell you after you take a shower. You smell like week-old takeout." Satisfied he wasn't dead, Ms. Moore gave her son a quick hug before leaving the room.

Slowly walking out of his room, Sirius looked after her with confusion evident on his face. "What the heck did she mean-!?" Glancing sideways, he saw someone in the bathroom! He stumbled back in shock… and so did the intruder. Pausing, he raised a hand and the stranger mimicked him. "Oh, it's just the mirror – hold on…" Walking forward slowly, Sirius entered the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. "Holy crap…"

He wasn't DiCaprio handsome, but he looked a little different. Acne had cleared up, and his face seemed narrower, like a panther's. Also, now that he focused on his body, his clothes seemed… smaller in some places. His shirt was slightly stretched from his broader chest, back, and shoulders. "No way..." To confirm his disbelief, Sirius lifted up an arm and flexed a little, gawking at the prominent bicep that pulsed at his command. "Whoa. I should get bit by science experiments more often."

After an hour of cleaning, which included spending 30 minutes finding a shirt that didn't feel tight or small (thank God he loved baggy jeans. Although, now, they were just… jeans.), Sirius came into the apartment proper where he noticed his mother was at the kitchen table. She had not noticed him enter though, her main focus on the pile of bills in front of her. "The glamorous life of a single parent…" she muttered as she inspected another pink document.

'Pink means past due,' Sirius noted sourly. 'There's a lot of pink in that pile… Can I help? I can get a part-time job. You shouldn't have to do this alone.' All of this Sirius wanted to say but didn't. He'd asked before, but his mom was adamant he focused on his studies. Her words: It's not time for you to grow up yet. Have a little fun first, before the world forces you to be responsible. You'll know when it's time to stand up and seize your moment. So, swallowing his worry, he knocked lightly on the wall. "Morning. Like, officially."

Without missing a beat, Ms. Moore folded the bills and dropped a place mat on them. Turning in her chair, she smiled at Sirius. "Good morning. Glad to see… why are you wearing sunglasses indoors?"

'Because while my head doesn't hurt anymore, it feels like I walked into a 3D movie and everything's coming at me.' Deciding to not say that, Sirius adjusted his specs and shrugged. "I wanted to feel cool. Missing two days of school, I might be lauded as a badass for playing hooky for so long."

"Language," Olivia threw out with a smile before continuing. "I called the school, and they know it wasn't hooky. Sorry, you'll have to settle for just being 'out sick cool' instead of 'skip school cool.'

"Sigh," Sirius snarked, as he grabbed some cereal, fruit, and pop tarts. "It'll be hard, but I'll cope. Speaking of my 'nap,' what happened? I… don't remember much."

Olivia Moore, chief medical examiner of the NYPD's 56th precinct, had seen a lot of dead bodies, torn apart in nearly every conceivable way. She had seen horrors and mutilations that she wouldn't tell Sirius to this day, but it never seemed to scare her. Now, however, Sirius watched as his mother seemed to grow older and more tired than he'd ever seen her. "I wasn't told much. I got a call from your teacher, told me there'd been an accident. Oscorp, those-!

Olivia snarled, eyes almost looking like they were flashing red in the low light of the sun peaking through the window. Taking a calming, steadying breath, she continued. "Your field trip forms, according to Oscorp, double as NDAs. Nobody, not even the doctors, knew what happened to you. And…" As her voice broke, she took a moment to pause and breathe. "They said that despite you fainting, there hadn't been any head damage from hitting the ground. They couldn't find anything serious, so they just… released you with a doctor's note. Told me if your condition gets worse, to take you to the ER."

"Wait… I went to the hospital? But how did I get home?"

"Thank George for that," Olivia smiled at the thought. "He was already there with Gwen. She rode in the ambulance with you. I was told she nearly strangled the EMT that tried to stop her. If her father hadn't arrived, he might have had to explain why a policeman's daughter was committing murder." The image of Gwen having to be pried off the poor man gave them both a chuckle.

"After you were released, George carried you up the stairs and into your room. You had a fever the whole time, but you wrapped yourself in those covers. I couldn't even move them, your grip was like the locks we use in the morgue." Finally done, Olivia sat there, unable to raise her eyes from the table. "This is so stupid, I don't know why… you're okay, you're here, but-"

"Yeah, I'm here," Sirius cut in, placing his hand over his mother's. "And I'm not going anywhere." Like Dad went unspoken. Both stayed silent for a moment, lost in their memories before Sirius looked at the clock. "Cra- er, crud, I'm gonna miss the train!"

"Go, you've got time!" Olivia stood up, following him to the door. "Hey, how about a movie night this Saturday? Something fun, maybe?"

Sirius grinned at the idea of a nice, quiet movie night at home but paused as a thought occurred. "Actually, maybe we could invite the Stacys? As thanks for… all the help."

Olivia nodded. "Sounds like a plan! I'll get the popcorn, and you get the movie. Oh! Almost forgot!" Olivia handed her son a lunch box that seemed to smoke with ill will. "Made your lunch! Five Alarm Quesadillas, and Jalapeño Rice!"

Sirius gulped nervously but accepted the bag. 'Oh no. Mom's cooking. If it didn't burn the roof of my mouth, I'm sure it'd be delicious…' Instead of saying any of that, the teen politely (and nervously) smiled. "Thanks, Mom. Love you lots." After a quick hug goodbye, Sirius made for the subway, wondering who he could pawn this future colon disaster on before lunch…


'Ah, Midtown High,' Sirius thought as he entered the courtyard. "Just eight hours of sweaty, judgy people all treating you like crap, with only the peace of detention as solace. You think after sleeping for two days, something would change…' He looked around at his peers, crowded into their cliques and talking about their lives and weekend plans. 'But nope. After all this time, nothing changes… well, mostly…'

One Year Ago…

"Well, here we are!" Olivia said as she walked beside Sirius up the sidewalk to the front gate of the building. "Midtown High School! The last hurdle before you step up into the real world! Looks pretty lively, right?" Olivia didn't get a response; when she looked over, Sirius' nose was stuffed into his journal, drawing away at doodles and designs. Olivia nudged him for his full attention. "Hey, sport? Wanna plug in here? This is your first day and all."

Sirius didn't want this. He didn't want to move. To leave his friends. Or Dad to… But when did he ever get what he wanted? They had to leave Seattle, for his sake and his Mom's. She was trying to put their family back together; she was trying to get him to care about anything again. He was tempted to stay silent, curl into himself, and stay there. But… she was trying. Shouldn't he try too? "This… is where Dad went to school, right?"

Olivia's pale cheeks flushed in appreciation, but she kept her tone aloof. "Yeah. Major told me so many stories of his time here. He said the lessons he learned and the friends he made in Midtown went a long way to who he became when we met. He… always wanted to bring us here to see his old neighborhood."

The pair stood silent for a moment, both recounting memories of brighter days with an endlessly affable man. His stories, warm presence, and patience… gifts they never appreciated until… they couldn't anymore. Olivia snapped out of it first and clapped Sirius on the shoulder. "Well, I have to get to my first day of work, and you need to beat the bell. Have a good day, and… please try to look up from the sketchbook, at least once, okay?"

Sirius frowned at the comment unconsciously, his grip on the journal tightening. One barely perceptible nod later, and the 14-year-old walked into the school's courtyard.

Sirius looked around at all his new classmates. Like any school, there were jocks, emos, drama kids, geeks, and nerds roped off into their little groups. Chatting away about nothing important; nothing Sirius could bring himself to care about anyway. Trying to put out all the chatter, he sat down at a random bench and began to sketch.

Going by memory, he began doodling the Space Needle. Smiling, he remembered when his Dad took him up there one afternoon. The view from the top was something out of a dream. 'It'd be amazing… to have a view of that many lights again-'

"Hey, shrimp!" A shadow descended over Sirius; he had a second to look up before he was shoved off the bench and sprawled out over the brickwork. Turning over and looking up, he glared at the big blond creep that pushed him. Some of the courtyard got quieter as they watched the scene in mocking amusement. "Who told you you could sit on our turf? This is the Cool Bench, no freaks allowed!"

"Hm? What's this?" One of the girls, a Hispanic brunette, picked up Sirius' journal. Eyes widening, he got up to grab it, but it was already snatched by the blond creep.

As he began thumbing through it, he laughed derisively. "Hey, nice find, Liz! Look at this doofus' stuff! Guess we got an artist here!"

Sirius stared at the book, heart pounding in his ears as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. This musclebound jackass, holding onto the last thing Dad gave him before-

With a wordless scream, Sirius lashed out, aiming his fist at the smug bastard's face. In another universe, it might have connected, knocked out a tooth, or maybe broken his nose. But, in this reality, the teen was very thin and not much taller than his own mother. In contrast, the jock was well-built, tall, and clearly trying to get a rise from the new kid. All of this did not go through Sirius' head, as his thoughts had stopped on vengeance and acted on that.

Sirius' fist came short, and the jock, with what looked like no effort, just sidestepped and pushed him down again. With another laugh, he dropped the book in front of the fallen teen. "Nice try, fresh meat! Consider this your welcome to Midtown. Just remember who runs this place, and keep outta my way!"

Not even using or paying attention to the bench he was defending before, the teen walked away, taking time to kick the notebook away. His posse followed, not that Sirius noticed as his eyes were locked onto the flying book. As he scrambled after it, the courtyard went back to talking like there wasn't some kid crawling on the ground in the dirt.

'Where is it? Where is it!?' Sirius' scurry led him halfway across the plaza when the bell rang. As the kids began filing in, he lost sight of the journal, only making him panic more. 'No NO! Stupid! Why did I bring it with me!? Why did I pull it out!? This is so lame! I'm finding that damn book and going home! Forget this school! Midtown – hell, all of New York can suck a-!'

A soft cough from above Sirius brought him out of his spiral. Focusing on his surroundings again, he looked up to see three people: a fair-skinned kid with dark wavy hair, a kid who (somehow) looked even wimpier than Sirius, and a blonde girl with a small smile… holding out Sirius' journal! "I take it this is yours? It's a little dirty, but-"

Sirius didn't let her finish, as he shot up and took the book. He turned away for a minute, thumbing through to make sure all the drawings were intact. "Wow, not big on manners, huh?" Wavy Hair muttered. "S'not like you were crawling around for it earlier. Could be a little grateful." Blondie gave him a sudden elbow jab, shutting him up.

Closing the notebook, Sirius turned back to the trio, head slightly bowed. "…Thanks," he muttered, eyes going no higher than the group's knees.

"Thank Peter," Wavy nodded at the boy who was half-hiding behind the group. "If it hadn't hit his head, we wouldn't have noticed it."

Peter shrugged with one shoulder. "I-it was just the right place, right time. C-call it the 'Ol' Parker Luck.'"

"Parker?"

"Right, introductions are in order," the girl took the lead, with the gravitas that screamed leader. "I'm Gwen Stacy. Mr. Too Cool for School is Harry-"

"Sup."

"And this is Peter Parker."

Replacing his glasses, Peter said, "The 'w-welcoming committee was Flash Thompson. The K-king of Midtown."

"And on behalf of everyone with a brain," Gwen added, "we apologize for him. He's trying to accomplish a World Record: living his entire life without ever using his brain. 16 years so far." That one got a chuckle out of everyone before Gwen spoke up again. "So, what's your name, stranger?"

"…Sirius Moore," he answered.

"Sirius?" Pete perked up like a dog who was called to by his owner. "As in Alpha Canis Majoris?"

Harry blinked at Peter's add-in. "The Alpha can what majorly?"

"The Dog Star, Harry," Gwen helped.

"Yeah…" Sirius looked away, trying not to look uncomfortable. "I – nobody's called me that since… well, it's been a while."

While Harry raised an eyebrow at the comment, Gwen smiled in understanding, looking at an uncomfortable Peter from the corner of her eye. "I… think I understand. How about we skip the nicknames for now, then? Need help getting to class?"

With barely a nod, Gwen grabbed his arm and dragged him to the school, Harry following along and talking with Peter about some assignment in class. As Sirius was basically roped into these three's orbit, he didn't realize it, but some of his tension seemed to melt away, as a small smile appeared on his face.


A/N: Let's just get this out of the way: yes, it's that Liv Moore. And if you don't know who that is, that's cool. And if you do, and wonder if she is... I think I will wait to cover that later.