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"What the hell happened here?!" Peter yelled out as he landed on the roof, releasing Jake.

"You again?!" Steve cried before knocking a soldier down with his shield, making him black out completely.

"Guys, it's okay, I swear, I'll explain it all-""Not right now, Jake!" Tony interrupted, grabbing a soldier with his metal hand.

"Jake, got any useful spell for this?" Peter asked quietly, knowing Jake needed to tell the rest on his terms. He quickly shot a web and pulled a guy off the roof in one, swift motion.

"Peter, I told you, I'm not a hero! I can't do anything!" Jake cried, watching in horror as the fight went on around him.

"Jake, you might not think so, but right now, I need you to be a hero!" Peter encouraged, still fighting; "So please, do something. Heroes together, that was the promise!"

"P-Peter! I'm scared!" Jake finally admitted, sinking to his knees. Peter sighed, but none the less made his way over there through the mess of fighting.

"Jake," he said, sitting down on his knees; "I'm sorry, but you need to pull yourself together. This is your chance. Heroes together!" he repeated.

"Peter, I'm not a hero," Jake argued.

"Not if you're just gonna sit there like that!" Peter agreed, having no idea how much he'd come to regret that later.

That's all the time he had before he was forced to fight.

The Avengers didn't trust him, they didn't even know him, but they knew that this kid, this out of nowhere hero, was helping them fight a fight they otherwise would have lost.

So they accepted it, and thought alongside them, protecting the civilian; 'Spider-man'.

Until they were done, and they finally turned to Jake, who kept backing away, crying.

"Jake, what's going on?" Steve demanded.

"Jake, it's okay," Peter assured him.

"And who the hell are you? Where did you find Jake's web shooters?" Tony turned to Peter.

"Language," Cap noted.

"MY web shooters," Peter corrected; "Listen, it's a long story, but the important bits are, I'm Spider-man, this is Jake, he's a civilian, and he's on your side, just like me."

"None of this makes any sense," Natasha commented.

"It doesn't need to for you, you just need to accept it. You lost your memory of me, got it replaced with memories of Jake, but its no ones fault and the only thing we can do from here is moving on," Peter continued quickly.

"Guys," Jake muttered behind them, not being heard.

"Guys!" he repeated, a little louder this time. He looked between them as he tried again.

"Guys!"

Of instinct, he jumped in the middle.

And the bullet hit him.

The last standing soldier's last bullet his Jake in his chest, and he fell to the ground as the group silenced.

"Jake!" Peter yelled loudly, grabbing his wanna-be before could hit the ground.

"Jake," he repeated before realising what was happening and quieting his voice; "You're okay."

"Am... Am... I a hero, yet?" he breathed out, his voice raspy.

"You always were," Peter admitted, tears dripping from his cheeks. Jake shook his head with a smile.

"You're the hero, Pete."

"Heroes together?" Peter offered, holding Jake's head as he felt it get heavier as Jake had less energy to hold it up.

"Heroes together," Jake agreed before breathing out one last time and leaving Peter to hold his limp body, rocking back and forth as the Avengers stood around them.

"Why did you take the blame?" Tony asked. Peter looked up for a second before letting his gaze turn back to the grey stone.

"I didn't."

"No, but you said it was no one's fault. You knew we were gonna find out eventually, why lie?" he pressed on, crouching down next to Peter.

"I didn't know you were gonna find out," Peter admitted; "The spell broke when Jake died. I wasn't counting on that."

"So you were ready to give up your spot as Spider-man? As an Avenger?" Tony questioned. Peter shrugged.

"Never. But it was just memories. We could make new ones. Jake, he... He was gonna make it right. He was gonna be a hero..." Tears filled Peter's eyes as he started to sob.

"I never really knew the kid... Nothing but the fact that he tried to steal your life, but..." Tony sighed; "If you say he was, then I trust you."

Tony comfortingly rubbed a hand on Peter's back as he let the kid cry, sitting in front of the grave.

Jake Santo

2001-2018

"The real hero is the man

who fights

even though he is scared"

-George S. Patton Jr.