NOTE: This story-arc takes place before the events of Avengers #17

Commission on Superhuman Activities
Washington, D.C.

Under special order of the President, the CSA was formed to monitor the activities of American citizens who possess superhuman abilities. From their office in the nation’s capitol, they do just that and their actions have sometimes brought them into conflict with the superpowered community.

One who has clashed with the CSA is Jack Monroe. In the fifties, he and the man who would become the Grand Director were chosen to replace Captain America and Bucky. The pair were given the Super Soldier Serum, but failed to undergo the Vita-Rays to stabilize their transformation. The result was mental deterioration and soon, the pair were both driven insane. At the height of the Red Scare, they went after anyone they believed to be communists and would viciously attack them. It was not long before the government stepped in and stripped them of their roles and placed them in suspended animation.

It wasn’t until decades later that Monroe was revived. Despite his mental state, he tried to get his life together and became partners with Steve Rogers, the real Captain America. Monroe eventually struck out on his own, adopting Rogers’ one-time identity of Nomad.

Eventually, Monroe was captured by the CSA and brainwashed into serving as Scourge and went after the Thunderbolts. Now, Nomad is once again on his own. And he plans on striking back at those who have wronged him. Starting with the CSA.

Their offices in Washington, D.C. were somewhat well-guarded. Perhaps too well-guarded for their purposes. But not to the point where they were above infiltration. Especially against someone with the proper training.

Nomad stood on the roof of a nearby building, armed with a sniper rifle. There was a sentry on the roof. The instant the sentry stepped into the crosshairs, Nomad pulled the trigger and the guard went down, courtesy of a hard air bullet. Using Pym Particles, Nomad quickly shrank the rifle down to miniature size and slid it inside one of his gauntlets.

He surveyed the area. The mask he wore over his eyes was not to conceal his identity, but rather possessed special lenses. Night-vision gave him a clear view of his surroundings. Once he was sure the area was clear, Nomad leapt from his post to the CSA’s building, aided by Leap Frog’s spring-coil boots. He landed effortlessly without so much as a groan.

Once inside the offices, Nomad activated the stealth cloak on his holographic projector. He walked past the janitorial staff without any notice. His goal was one room in particular, located in the basement of the building. Rather than risk taking the elevator, Nomad chose the stairs and deactivated the cloak once inside the stairwell.

At the very bottom of the stairwell, Nomad slowly opened the door leading out to a small corridor. He moved slowly and quietly, and reactivated the cloak again once he took notice of the surveillance cameras pointed right at a glass door labeled RECORDS.

Monroe produced a small disc-shaped object from his gauntlet and threw it at the ground. The second it hit, it unleashed a shortwave electromagnetic pulse. Nomad moved to the door of the records room. He drew one of his battle staves from its holster on his leg and used it to shatter the glass.

Nomad began searching through the file cabinets, pulling out different folders and tossing them aside. Most of them were simply status reports on various superhumans, especially villains. There were quite a few related to the Thunderbolts. Nomad had no interest in these.

Finally, he located the folder he came for. He smiled once he laid eyes upon it and instantly shrank it down to size with the Pym Particles he was equipped with. In his mind, he laughed at the irony of the situation. He could not have broken into the CSA without the aid of the technology the CSA outfitted him with during his period as Scourge.

The pulse faded and the power cycled back on in the building. The surveillance cameras activated just as Nomad stepped out of the records room. He looked right into the lens and smiled.

SENTINELS OF LIBERTY

Part I: Breaking and Entering

By Dino Pollard

Central Park

Steve Rogers sat on a bench with one foot resting on his opposite leg. A sketchpad was held carefully with one arm while his free hand penciled the view before him.

“Enjoying the downtime?”

Steve smiled but didn’t bother looking at his old friend, just continued his artwork. “I am. You’d be surprised how long it’s been since I had a chance to sit and sketch.”

Nick Fury sat on the bench beside Steve. “Kinda strange, ain’t it?”

“What’s that?” asked Steve.

“Here you are, Captain America, sitting on a park bench and nobody even gives you a second glance,” said Fury. Steve chuckled. Fury referred to the fact that Steve had unmasked himself on national television recently.

“Not really that strange,” said Steve. “I doubt anyone was even looking at my face when I took off my mask. People see a regular guy in a park, they don’t assume he’s Captain America.”

“Point taken,” said Fury.

“You didn’t come here to talk about secret identities,” said Steve. “What’s on your mind, Nick?”

“We got a situation, could use your help,” said Fury.

Steve allowed his drawing hand a chance to rest and looked at his old war buddy. “What kind of situation?”

“Somebody hit the Commission’s offices last night, stole some files,” said Fury.

“What files?”

“Files on Operation: REBIRTH.”

Steve paused when he heard those words. Operation: REBIRTH was the codename for the Super Soldier Project that transformed him into Captain America.

“There’s more to it than that, but I ain’t comfortable discussing it here,” said Fury.

Steve picked up the large knapsack which sat by the side of the bench. He slid his sketchpad and pencil inside and zipped it up. Slinging it over a shoulder as he stood, he said, “let’s go.”

“You got your gear?” asked Fury.

Steve shook the bag.

“I got my car parked right over there,” said Fury, motioning towards the street with his thumb. He stood and led the way to a sleek, black convertible with Steve following. The two war heroes climbed inside the vehicle and Fury wasted no time gunning the engine and pulling into oncoming traffic.

“In a bit of a hurry?” asked Steve.

“You know my motto, Rogers,” said Fury. “Live fast, die never.”

“Not if you keep up this behavior,” said Steve.

“Quit being such a pansy,” said Fury. He weaved between lanes, avoiding cars left and right in order to maintain a constant speed. “Whoever heard of a Living Legend with carsickness?”

“Are you even legally allowed to drive?” asked Steve.

“Nope.” Fury raced down a side street. He glanced around quickly with his single eye and when he was satisfied that no one was in sight, he activated a switch on the dashboard. The car’s wheels shifted down and the anti-gravity units in them activated, causing the car to rocket off into the air. “But rank’s got its privileges.”

Steve finally allowed himself a chance to relax in the passenger seat. As Fury piloted the car through the clouds, Steve could see their destination come into view. It was a floating fortress called the Helicarrier and the organization which occupied it owed allegiance to no single country, answering to the United Nations. Strategic Hazard Intervention and Espionage Logistics Directorate or S.H.I.E.L.D.

On Fury’s approach, a hangar door opened in the Helicarrier and he landed the car inside just as the door began to close. “Suit up and meet in the operations room,” he said. Steve nodded and let himself out of the car.

Captain America stepped out of the empty barrack where he stored his things. Now he was fully in-costume, with his familiar shield made of a vibranium-steel alloy strapped to his back.

“Long time, no see.”

He smiled at the tall, blonde woman who leaned against the wall. She smiled back at him. Sharon Carter, also known as Agent 13. The two have been friends for years and once upon a time they were something more to each other.

“How’ve you been?” asked Captain America.

“Keeping busy,” said Sharon. “From the reports I see, you’ve been doing the same. You’ve had some interesting times lately.”

“Something tells me I have a few more trials to go through,” said Captain America. The pair started to walk down the corridor. “You know what this is all about?”

“Not really sure,” said Sharon. “Fury’s been pretty tight-lipped about what exactly was stolen and who was involved. To tell you the truth? I think he’s being kept in the dark, too.”

They came to the operations room and the door slid open for them. Fury stood at the end of a table, arms crossed and a lit cigar in his mouth. “’Bout time you two got here,” he said.

There was another man in the room, with short red hair and tinted glasses, seated at the table. Captain America instantly recognized him as a man he had more than a few unpleasant dealings with.

“You both know Henry Peter Gyrich with the CSA,” said Fury.

“Unfortunately,” said Captain America. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.

“Been a long time, Captain,” said Gyrich.

“Not long enough, I’m afraid,” said Captain America.

Sharon cleared her throat and took a seat across from Gyrich. She turned her chair to face Fury. “So what’s this all about?”

“Last night, the offices of the Commission on Superhuman Activities were broken into,” said Gyrich. “The thief went straight for the records room and stole our files on Operation: REBIRTH.”

“I know that much already, what else is this about?” asked Captain America.

“The files he stole were classified military documents,” said Gyrich.

“What about security?” asked Sharon.

“He killed one guard on his way in and seriously injured two more on the way out,” said Gyrich. “He’s well-trained and outfitted with state-of-the-art technology. Plus, he has a few… additional enhancements.”

“What kind of enhancements?” asked Captain America.

“Show them the tape,” said Gyrich.

Fury bent over the console before him and pressed a button. A monitor screen turned on and showed a black and white video feed of the records room in the CSA’s building.

“This was taken by the surveillance camera outside the records room,” said Gyrich. “As you can see, everything is normal, until…”

On cue, the screen suddenly turned black and when the image came back, the glass doors were shattered. A young man stepped through the broken door and looked up at the camera. He smiled and then walked out of its line of sight. Fury paused the video and rewound it. He paused again on the man’s face.

Gyrich turned his attention back to Captain America. “Look familiar?”

“Jack Monroe,” he said.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” asked Gyrich.

“What’s that?” asked Sharon.

“We’re looking at a period when Captain America isn’t really trusted by the higher-ups in national defense. Since you’re the leader of the Avengers, that pretty much makes you the ruler of a sovereign nation—a nation that recently attacked this country’s capitol, which I view as an act of war.”

“Extenuatin’ circumstances, Gyrich,” said Fury. “Keep in mind you’re onboard the Helicarrier as a guest. One word from me and I’ll have you thrown over the edge, got it?”

“I’m just stating the facts, Colonel,” said Gyrich. “Another fact is that during all this time, your former sidekick breaks into the Commission’s office and steals our records on your creation. All seems very coincidental.”

“You’re pushin’ it…” said Fury.

“No, it’s okay Nick,” said Captain America. He looked at Gyrich. “You want to accuse me of something? Then accuse me.”

“I’m not making any accusations,” said Gyrich.

“Could’ve fooled me…” said Sharon.

Gyrich ignored her comment. “All I’m doing is stating the facts.”

“Then how about a few more facts?” asked Captain America. “For starters, how about the fact that Jack was also a participant in Operation: REBIRTH? How about the fact that the last time anyone saw him, it was when you brainwashed him to play the role of Scourge? And I’ll bet my shield the technology he used when he broke into your offices was the same technology you provided him with. If anything, Jack’s probably getting revenge on you for what you did to him.”

Gyrich shifted beneath Captain America’s cold stare. “Nevertheless, Nomad stole classified documents from a government building. That makes him a fugitive and the Commission wants him arrested and those documents returned.”

“Please,” said Fury.

“What?” asked Gyrich.

“A ‘please’ would be nice,” said Fury.

“This isn’t a request, Fury,” said Gyrich.

“You’re outta your goddamn mind if you think it’s anything other than a request,” said Fury. “Let’s get one thing straight, Gyrich—S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t work for you, the Commission, or the government. We answer only to the U.N. We’ve been pretty damn accommodating as of late, but after the Latveria mess, I’m gonna be a lot more hard-assed about this.”

“This is above politics, Fury,” said Gyrich. “Those documents contain secrets of the Super Soldier Serum. That’s not something you want getting out. Nomad’s insane, there’s no telling what he’ll do with the information in those documents.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right,” said Captain America. “Jack’s stayed off the map for a while and whenever he’s shown up, he’s been unpredictable. Those documents need to be secured. And more importantly, I want to know why he stole them in the first place.”