September 1946: Miss Patriot, with her super-hearing, overhears a pair of crooks plotting to sell stolen penicillin on the black market. She burst in and captures them, but when one of the hoods asks her where the Patriot is, she is taken aback….
Jeff Mace, the former Patriot, is now Captain America, leader of the All-Winners Squad, engaged in battle with a team of Russian super-powered agents to rescue physicist Klaus Fuchs. The Red Guardian spars verbally with Cap until Bucky intercedes. Whizzer carries Fuchs to safety and the commie heroes escape through a portal opened by the Night Witch. After the battle, Cap learns that the whole attack was a set up: Fuchs was a Soviet spy, passing atomic secrets to his masters, and the Red team was sent to "kidnap" him to safety. Bucky also reveals that the suspicious Red Guardian was trying to trick him into giving away that he was not the original Captain America. Namor point out it should be obvious because Jeff cannot measure up to Steve Rogers in any way as Captain America, expressing a great deal of contempt for the pretender. Jeff, tired of being kept in the dark, thinks he could do a better job if he knew more of his predecessor’s history. In New York he contacts FBI Agent Betsy Ross who fills him in on the Super-Soldier Project and the origin of the first Captain America, expressing confidence that Jeff can do anything he puts his mind to. They are interrupted by the arrival of Miss Patriot (Mary Morgan) who recognized Jeff by his voice when he spoke on the radio as Captain America. She chats lightly with him to learn if he is romantically involved with Miss America, and casually mentions that they would make a great team if there is ever the need for a new Bucky…. Jeff recoils at this suggestion, still rattled by the danger involved, and Mary leaves, upset that her attempts to flirt were misinterpreted as scheming. It is only after she has gone, that the other heroes tell him the real news Mary had: it seems their old pal news photographer Jack Casey has died, a suicide because of his blue ticket discharge from the service (implying he was homosexual). Against the advice of his comrades, Jeff insists on attending Casey’s funeral…but he shows up in his Patriot outfit to give a brief eulogy. The public backlash effectively ends the career of the Patriot and, by extension, that of Miss Patriot. In a ceremony, Jeff has the Human Torch incinerate the Patriot costume. When Namor sneers that his sacrifice changed nothing, Jeff punches him….
In the months that follow, Captain America and Bucky battle various threats to liberty and justice and the All-Winners move into their new quarters in the newly-constructed Baxter Building. At the site, they celebrate Jeff’s birthday, which Mary overhears from her office at the Daily Bugle. That night, Cap and Bucky are on the trail of jewel thieves and when the teammates are separated, Bucky is shot down. As Cap cradles his wounded friend in his arms, he detects the scent of lavender—Miss Patriot’s favored perfume….