Secret Avengers (2010 series) #1

On a trip to Dubai, Senior Vice-President Bromley of Roxxon attracts a pair of gorgeous female companions and takes them back to his hotel suite. When he tries to get a kiss from the blonde, she explodes furiously, slamming him into a wall. The two lovelies, revealed to be Valkyrie and Black Widow, contact their team leader and prepare for battle. A squadron of Roxxon security guards burst into the room, intent on securing the "package" and killing the women. The heroines are more than a match for the soldiers—then Steve Rogers crashes through the window, takes out the guards removing a large box, and the three make their getaway in a waiting jet with their prize. What they don’t know is that the incident was witnessed by a pair of armored men with Chinese dragon insignia who were on the same mission, and are preparing to follow them….

Aboard the jet, Steve and Beast examine the recovered artifact and discover it is not the Serpent Crown that they expected but a similar device—one that seems to be alive. Steve heads to the cockpit where Sharon Carter compliments him on his easy adaptation to running a shadow ops team. They share a kiss….

At Roxxon corporate headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, a pair of guards are surprised by two more Secret Avengers—Moon Knight and the new Ant-Man—who tap into the company’s databanks and transmit to the jet. Steve and Jim "War Machine" Rhodes watch as Beast examines the company’s secret files and discovers that Roxxon has shut down their mining operation on Mars and erased all details of the employees from the records. Steve decides to have someone check it out (Rhodey: "You have someone on this team who can just check out Mars for us?" "Of course I do…."). Meanwhile the sinister armored men are still following them….

Two nights later, Steve assembles the entire team and explains the need to visit Mars. A Kree warship has been adapted for the trip, to be piloted by Rhodey. The reason? Steve has lost contact with their agent on Mars….

Flashback several hours: Nova is on the recon mission to Mars when he is fired upon by ground forces. His in-helmet computer Worldmind estimates the weapons are millions of years old though the attackers are human. Nova drills into a mountain and Worldmind directs him to an artificial cavern. Breaking though the wall, he discovers some sort of ancient shrine. Unable to help himself, he discards his helmet and mounts the stairs, reaching for the Serpent Crown at the top….

Now, Steve contacts Sharon back on Earth to assure her all is going well. After she signs off, Sharon hears a noise behind her…and is knocked cold by Nick Fury, who has come to claim the Crown for the Shadow Council….