Captain America, weighed down by his
armor, crashes down into an alley while chasing Nefarious. The Native
American mystic Black Crow helps him up—and informs him that he has
had a vision that Cap will die in 24 hours. The hero decides to leave
Nefarious to the Avengers while he wraps up personal business.
Returning to his Brooklyn Heights HQ he calls a meeting of his staff.
After retrieving some papers from his room, pausing briefly to brood
over Sharon Carter, he tells his crew that he is about to die and he
presents them with the documents that will allow them to continue his
emergency hotline....
Wondering if he has ever made a
difference in a villains' life, Cap visits Crossbones in prison,
warning him about the Red Skull's latest scheme and wanting to know
if there is any redeeming good in the bad guy's heart. Crossbones
laughs in his face and Cap departs....
Looking up other friends, Cap sees that
Bernie Rosenthal is busy in court; a call to Sam Wilson finds the
Falcon burdened with his own troubles. Cap stops by the hospital to
see Arnie Roth and his childhood pal dies while he is in the room. A
visit to young fan Hiram Riddley is even worse; Hiram has lost all
faith in his hero after his mother was shot by a carjacker and left
comatose....
Cap heads to Avengers Mansion to be
told by Jarvis that all of the other Avengers are out. Soon Peggy
Carter informs him that he has a visitor. It's Batroc the Leaper and
he is trapped by one of the Mansion's defenses. Batroc wants Cap's
help in tracking down the serial killer of heroes; Cap is able to
tell him the case has been solved (last issue). Batroc knows there is
something wrong with Cap and reaches out to him. Cap invites him in
and they talk for hours, Cap revealing his despair that he hasn't
changed anything. Cap goes upstairs to bed and when Jarvis comes in
to wake him, Cap seems to be dead. He summons the Avengers and they
discover that his armor is empty, the window is now open, and there
is a bird flying away. No one knows what this means....