Young Avengers Presents Mini Issue 1

"Patriot"

Elijah Bradley is suspended from school after fighting with a student who called him unpatriotic after he read out his class report on the Tuskegee Experiment. As he arrives home, he sees a man who resembles Bucky exiting his grandparents home. Apparently the man had come to speak to Eli's grandfather, the black Captain America, who fought against the Nazi's after going AWOL during World War II, only to be court-martialed and imprisoned until the 1960's.

Determined to find out if the stranger was actually Bucky or not, Eli and Kate Bishop visit their teammate Billy Kaplan to locate the hero. They then enter a portal that Billy opens up and appear outside of an apparently abandoned warehouse where Eli spots the same motorcycle he saw earlier that day. They enter the warehouse and find Bucky battling a group of Modoc Squad members. Bucky reveals that this used to be an A.I.M. hideout, but has apparently been abandoned with only the sentries remaining behind. After the raid, he then jumps on his motorcycle and leaves the two young heroes behind, but not before Bishop places a tracking device on his motorcycle.

An hour later Eli tracks Bucky down at Captain America's old Brooklyn apartment. Bucky had found the tracking device and was thus waiting for Eli to show up. The two heroes then discuss what it means to wear a costume that symbolizes America and how America is more of an ideal than it is the current government or society. Bucky goes on to tell Eli that he believes that Jeffrey Mace, the original Patriot, would be proud to know that Eli is carrying on his mantle. The story ends with Bucky telling Eli stories about Mace.

FUN FACT: The sign Billy's bedroom door "Speak Friend and Enter" is a reference from The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.