Avengers (2012) #37

An advance team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents deploys into Rome from one of two helicarriers hovering above. They have entered Italian airspace without government authorization, so the team works fast when they hit the ground. The agents set up an energy drill that carves a hole in the pavement, which Hawkeye drops through into the Immortal City beneath Rome. Clint reports that the Illuminati are long gone, but something catches his eye as a voice echoes around him. Clint says there is something his commander, Steve Rogers, needs to see.

Later, Maria Hill and Commander Rogers walk through the Immortal City while S.H.I.E.L.D. forensics agents and War Machine drones sweep the area. Hill tells Rogers they’re using everything from DNA tracers to psychic scans to pick up the Illuminati’s trail. She says they’ve confirmed at least five distinct DNA signatures in the city, including Mr. Fantastic, but Rogers cuts her off - after what their former friends have done, they don’t deserve the codenames they used when they were heroes.

At that moment, Hill shows Steve what Hawkeye found - a solid holographic projection playing on a loop of Beast and the Hulk discussing the nature of fate over a game of chess. On a hunch, Steve moves a piece on the chessboard - Hulk’s queen to knight four. The recording suddenly breaks its loop and Beast speaks directly to Steve. Hank says he knows his former allies well enough to guess that Steve would be the one to move the chess piece, and that he would likely bring Maria Hill, Hawkeye, Sam Wilson, and Susan Richards along with him. Beast and Hulk both then taunt Steve that if he hopes to catch the Illuminati, he’s going to have to stop being so predictable. Irate, Rogers demands everyone clear out. Alone with the projection, Steve picks up a piece of debris and smashes the device to bits.

Later, Rogers finds Susan on the helicarrier, re-watching footage of a recent speech at the U.N. General Assembly in which an ambassador revealed the existence of incursions and that the world’s heroes have known about them for some time. The revelation immediately caused distrust in the heroes among world leaders, who allowed Terrax to speak at the U.N. days later. Terrax vowed that he and the Cabal will not operate in secret like the Illuminati, but they will do what is necessary to keep this Earth alive, and will not sugarcoat the consequences. A week later, the U.N. voted to allow the Cabal to destroy other Earths unhindered, and gave them Wakanda as payment.

As Sue and Steve commiserate over what the Illuminati have let happen, Captain Marvel interrupts with a status report. Readings from the Immortal City showed the presence of Black Panther and Captain Britain, confirming their status as members of the Illuminati. Steve suggests trying to get Captain Britain - and his knowledge of the multiverse - to their side through his sister, Psylocke. But Carol points out that Betsy is protected by the mutant nation; after the day’s unauthorized operation in Italy, S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t have any support from the U.S. government for more international action. Carol also shares that Sunspot now owns A.I.M. and has Hyperion on his side.

Steve then asks Susan to leave the room so he can speak to Carol one on one. Carol asks if he’s learned anything new; Steve tells her he still doesn’t know where her friends Black Widow and Spider-Woman are. Further, he orders her to never give another briefing that fails to include information on the hunt for Reed Richards and Tony Stark. He dismisses Carol, then turns back to the footage of Terrax and vows revenge.

Two days later, Susan secretly meets with Reed in an abandoned subway station. The two hug, and Sue tells her husband that Steve let her into his inner circle earlier than they expected. She gives Reed a drive with Amadeus Cho’s prisoner ID and tracking information so that the Illuminati can extract him the next time they translocate. Reed asks how the kids are. Sue says Franklin feels like he disappointed his father after he couldn’t do something Reed asked him to, and that Val thinks she and the Future Foundation are onto something. Sue has a note for Reed from their daughter, but says she almost burned it after reading what it said.

Sue kisses Reed goodbye, and warns him that they’re running out of time. She also says that while Val is special, she’s not always right, and that Reed should burn the note. As Sue walks away, Reed opens his daughter’s message: it says that Reed can’t win, so he needs to figure out how not to lose.