Prologue

Captain America: the most legendary hero in all of our history. He started out as a young artist in New York City, but because there was no match for his courageous heart, he was given the opportunity to be more. He fought countless battles and villains in the name of the Allied Forces against insurmountable odds. He was willing to sacrifice his life for the cause, but such great selflessness could never be quelled; fate had other plans. After seventy years of cryogenic sleep, he woke up in another world. His old life was gone, but his heart remained as did his will to fight for the good. So the Captain of old returned and became our captain once more in the time of our greatest need. He stayed in this world making friends and forming a team of the mightiest heroes known to us. Their exploits became just as widely known as the World War II hero, and their membership set the gold standard for heroes. Soon, word spread across the known realms of a team who challenged the gambit of evil and has yet to be defeated. Not much is known about what Cap did when he wasn't leading the charge, but one thing is clear. He made a life here.

Eighteen years after his awakening, he is still fighting for his country and with him stands Crusader. Tall, strong, passionate, every bit like her father, Crusader borrows her father's shield in the pursuit of justice and keeping the world safe from those who would mean it harm. Kicking butt and taking names has become a family affair, and to this day, Crusader is regarded as one of Captain America's greatest successes; the second-generation hero; the second generation soldier; the prodigy of Captain America.

There's just one problem. Crusader doesn't exist.

She's a fictional, comic book hero, modeled after the image of Captain America. The public doesn't know that there isn't such a hero alive-sometimes major news outlets will get anonymous tips about Crusader's deeds, but it's fake-most likely planted by Shield. Crusader is a clever ploy; a smoke screen to hide the identity of Evelyn Sarah Rogers, the only living child of Steve Rogers...me.