I’m not sure what happened here, but I can guess: The Young Avengers series was hugely popular, but ended with issue #12 for some kind of editorial reason. Marvel then decided to dip a toe in the waters and see if it could sell more YA books. What’s odd is that the special came out after issue #12 but takes place smack dab in the middle of the Young Avengers run.
Weird.
Anyway, the issue is a series of vignettes told to Luke Cage by Jessica Jones, who has become the supervisor of the kids.
Basic summaries: Cassie Lang laments how her life has never been normal due to her father having been Ant-Man. Similarly, Patriot struggled with the legacy of his dad being black Captain America. Hulkling and Wiccan talk about being bullied by normal kids.
For Wiccan, redemption came when he met his hero, Scarlet Witch.
She sees his magical abilities and encourages him to use them to face up to bullies.
Kate was misunderstood by her parents and then (seemingly) was raped in a park after dark, which inspired her to learn to fight.
All of the kids are highly motivated to serve on a team of like-minded fellows.
Jessica had been asked by Captain America to get the kids to stop acting like superheroes, but their stories inspired the opposite reaction.
As far as these kinds of “primer” issues go, this one is a lot of fun and great to read. Since each story talks a little bit about each member, we get a superstar artist roster drawing them. All are written by YA creator Allan Heinberg.