Of course by the time he arrived Vance had almost saved himself. Cap was almost beaming with pride at the job Vance had done today. He had managed to survive a very sticky situation without the use of his powers. Cap made a mental note to do more drills in the future without his powers.

Cap was feeling good. His plan to give guidance to a younger generation of heroes seemed to be paying off. He wished that he didn't have to keep it secret. Vance was a good kid. It wasn't his fault he was born a mutant. At least he was using his power responsibly.

He stopped for a moment to think. The members of Young Justice were good kids too. All of them were. All they needed was a little guidance and a little support. As he stood above his recliner he was suddenly ashamed. He never should have allowed the mutant members to be sent away. He had made a mistake with Young Justice and he hoped that some day he would get the chance to make it up to them.

He pulled the mask off of his face and sat down. He decided to change later. He was going to enjoy as much of his downtime as he could. He leaned back to get comfortable. He had finally shifted into a good position when someone knocked at his door. He reached for his shield and shoved it into the closet. He retrieved a terry cloth bathrobe and pulled it over his costume.

When he opened the door he was shocked. The man who had knocked on his door was Captain America. Had he not been wearing his costume he would have assumed that someone had stolen it. However that obviously wasn't the case. He examined the man more closely. His facial structure, his eyes, his very appearance was identical. If he hadn't been wearing the bathrobe he would have sworn he was looking into a mirror.

"Steve Rogers?" the duplicate asked.

"Yes!" Steve answered warily.

"I'm Captain America and I'm here to arrest you for treason."

"There's only one problem with that," Steve responded.

"What's that?" the duplicate inquired.

"You're not Captain America," Steve replied.

Steve somersaulted backwards bringing his feet into the air and kicking the imposter back into the hallway. He slammed his door and forced the deadbolt closed. He stepped back and removed the bathrobe and pulled the mask back over his face. He reached for his shield and remembered he had shoved it in the closet. He rushed to the closet door but was struck by his front door as the imposter forced his way in.

There goes my security deposit, Steve thought.

Cap knew if he didn't move this outside his home would be trashed. He used the door as a battering ram and forced the imposter back into the hallway, pinning him to the wall. He looked to the glass sliding door that led to his balcony. He ran for it, opened it and stepped onto his balcony. He paused to make certain the imposter saw him before he leapt to the dumpster two stories below.

He hopped out of the dumpster and looked to make sure he was being followed. The imposter crashed through both panes of glass and tripped over the balcony railing. He fell to the alley below missing the dumpster.

Why did I even bother opening the door? Steve thought as pieces of glass fell down around him.

"Why are we here again?" Jimmy asked impatiently from the passenger seat.

"Because I got a tip that a big story was going to go down on this street at this time," Lois answered.

"Nothing ever happens down here," Jimmy complained. "This is one of the most boring sections of town. Even the muggers think its too boring to hang around."

Lois looked at Jimmy obviously un-amused. "I should have called Peter."

Jimmy rolled his eyes and started to respond when the body of Captain America flew down the street and landed on the hood. Jimmy started taking pictures through the broken windshield before Lois had time to react.

The two reporters exited the vehicle. Jimmy continued to take pictures. He paused for a moment when he saw the Captain's assailant. Another Captain America was approaching the car. Jimmy began taking pictures once more.

Lois reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone. "Hello, City Room? This is Lois Lane. Get me a camera team down here and I mean now!"

The Captain on the hood of the car shook his head and rose. A sliver of glass from the broken windshield had cut a slash in his mask and a tuft of blond hair fell out of it. He jumped from the hood of his car and charged the other Captain.

*(see the first two issues)

His mother returned and sat behind her desk. "Now what did you want to talk about dear?"

"I want to know who my father is," Connor answered.

"We've been over this Connor. You don't need to know."

"But I want to know," Connor responded in a firmer tone of voice.

"Look, Honey, he was an older man, much older. The first time I met him he was running around with a silly mask playing superhero. He even saved my life. He was handsome (even with the mask) and very charming. Several years later I was doing some temp work for a government agency. He just happened to work there. He wasn't wearing the mask any longer but there was no way I could ever forget that charm." She paused for a moment as if she were remembering.

"Anyway I invited him to dinner. Since most women didn't do that sort of thing back then, he agreed. We went to dinner and. . ." She paused again to form the proper words. "Let's just say he stayed for breakfast. The next day he was called away on business. . ." Her emphasis on the word business suggested it was something more. ". . . and a week later I was offered a permanent position here."

"When I found out I was pregnant, I decided it would be better if he never knew. So I never told him about you. I think it would be best if you just dropped this."

"Please mom!" Connor pleaded.

"I'm doing this for your own protection."

"Like the boarding school was for my protection. Like the monastery was like my protection," Connor fumed.

"I thought you liked the monastery."

"I do, mom! That's not the point! You do everything to protect me. In case you didn't notice today, I protected you."

"No!" his mother responded standing and pounding her fist on the desk. "You endangered your life for no good reason. That could have been resolved without you. The last thing I want is for my son to put on a silly mask and run around like some sidekick. Why can't you be like other teenagers and watch television?"

She reached into her desk and produced a remote. A panel on the wall rose revealing a television. It flickered to life. She tossed him the remote and headed for the door.

"I need to go have a word with Security. My secretary is right outside if you need anything," his mother replied.

Connor leaned back in the chair and moped.

The music on the radio stopped.

We interrupt our broadcast for this late breaking story. Captain America is apparently fighting Captain America . . .

Vance telekinetically forced the water from his body and slid back into his costume.

Captain America was on the screen. His mask was ripped and blond hair was falling out of the tear.

A thought popped into Connors head. He has the same color hair as me. . . Definitely older. . . Government Agency. . . He could be my father! There's only one way to find out.

Connor dropped the remote and grabbed his backpack. He passed the secretary's desk. "Tell my mother I went back to the hotel," he called as he rushed by her.

Cap couldn't figure it out. For every move he had the imposter had a countermove. The only thing the imposter hadn't done was to throw his shield. The imposter had held onto his shield the entire battle.

An idea formed in Cap's mind. He moved over to the nearest alley. Reporters cleared the path. The imposter followed but didn't move in. He only stayed close enough to keep an eye on Cap. Cap lifted several garbage can lids until he found one to suit his purpose. He stepped back into the street.

Cap swung the lid several times to get a feel for its weight. He tossed it at the imposter. It wasn't as accurate as his shield but it still headed for its mark. The imposter knocked the lid aside easily and tossed his shield at Cap.

Yes! Cap thought. The game's about to change.

Cap moved forward and caught the imposter's shield. He made a maneuver to toss it but it dissolved in his hand. Cap looked to his double and the shield was once again in his possession.

Vance Astro was watching the fight from a rooftop. He had been wondering the entire time which Cap he was supposed to be helping. He couldn't tell them apart. The shield had finally revealed the imposter. He had worked with Cap long enough to know his shield didn't do that.

Vance levitated down to the street at a rapid pace. He released a full telekinetic blast at the imposter. The imposter fell to the ground hard and didn't move.

"Just repaying the favor," Vance said as he levitated to Cap's side.

"Thanks," Cap replied.

While Cap and Vance were focused on each other the imposter rose. He levitated off the ground and charged the two heroes. His uniform's color changed into a kelly green. The imposter released a telekinetic blast at them and Cap and Vance both fell unconscious.

Connor ran into a flying kick. He struck the imposter in the side and he dropped from his levitation. The imposter stood and Connor lowered himself and pivoted in a sweeping motion. The imposter fell backwards.

Connor cursed himself softly as he felt pressure on his knee. I did it wrong again, he thought. As many times as I've done that sweep and I'm still getting it wrong.

Cap woke up in time to see Connor drop the Imposter. "Who are you?" Cap asked.

Before he could answer, the imposter dropped Connor with the same sweep attack. Cap jumped to his aid.

"Stop!" Connor called before he made his move.

Cap stopped and oddly enough the imposter did as well. "What's going on?" Cap asked.

"He's an imitator," Connor answered. "He just copied my sweep."

"So?"

"I did it wrong and so did he," Connor replied. "He isn't capable of an original thought. He can only imitate."

Vance woke up shaking his head. He immediately noticed the new player. "Who's he?"

"Never mind that right now," Cap stated. "Are you strong enough to set up a TK shield?"

"Yes."

"Then do it! Surround us."

Vance erected the TK shield as he was ordered. "Now what?"

"Now we wait," Cap replied.

The imposter stared blankly at the three heroes. He opened up with a telekinetic blast that bounced of the shield harmlessly. He followed by throwing his shield to no avail. Finally he began pounding on the telekinetic wall. He pounded for almost an hour before he gave up. He took a step back and his form changed. He became a gray muscular humanoid with no face and no clothing. A few minutes later the Avengers League arrived and apprehended the doppelganger.

"Where have you guys been?" Cap asked.

"Gyrich sent us on a wild goose chase," Flash replied.

"A.I.M. technology doesn't come cheap," M.O.D.O.K. returned.

"It will come cheaper for me or I'll no longer have use of your services." Luthor slammed the phone into the receiver.

He sat at his desk fuming for a moment before he lifted the phone up once more. "Gyrich!" he growled. "You had better get a leash on your lead dog or you will be sorry."