Viper's Bite: The Other Rogers

23.

About a half hour later, a freshly showered and changed Loki as well as Sally found Tony in the main living room with Thor, Nat, Bucky, Steve, Sam and Wanda. Everyone had varying levels of shock and confusion on their face when they took in both of the newcomers appearance. 

"Loki's room is closer to here and I still have a broken door. I forgot clothes so I am borrowing some. Stop acting like children. What seems to be the concern Stark?"

Nat and Wanda gave Sally a wide smile while Sam nodded at her. Tony snapped out of his stupor and Thor looked ready to fall over laughing. Steve looked impassive while Bucky only seemed to be glaring at Loki more. Sally moved to sit with the girls in hopes of diffusing some of the tension between the boys. 

Loki smirked while looking directly at Bucky. "I could always change her into one of my favorite outfits on her of this one is unsatisfactory."

Sally caught Loki's eye and gave a verbal reminder that she knew exactly how to repay that move if he tried it. Loki gave her a genuine smile and sat next to his brother while half listening to the others start the meeting.

Steve noticed Bucky getting angrier every time Loki or Sally spoke and had to quietly remind him often that none of this would help anyone and how he needed to get some control. Tony watched the two super soldiers at the other end of the table closely as it seemed they were getting more and more upset. 

"I need everyone to focus. There is some new info coming to us through eyepatch and the rest of Shield. We need to be prepared for the possibility that some new bad guy wants to take over the world. Any relation?" 

Tony hadn't meant to direct the question towards the Asgardians and super soldiers but realized too late that he had. Bucky scooted his seat out and walked away with a single glare directed to the table. Loki did the same thing, going in a different direction. Steve and Thor both stood and began yelling at Tony while he stood tall, too proud to admit his error. 

Meanwhile, Sally sat and thought about how they were given almost no information but expected to make it work. She considered who she might know who was capable of the type of attack that occurred in the secret headquarters for the agency that no longer existed. It had to be someone who could blend in. There were only a handful that she knew could pull it off in a top secret spy agency. Nat, herself, and three others. Two of which walked out of the meeting moments before. 

Turning to Tony and standing gently, she quieted the two shouting men with a look. "I might have an idea as to who this new threat could be but they would be working for someone else. Can I ask to try and reach out to find them before you start the shoot first, ask questions later order you tend to give?"

Tony nodded while the two protective brothers both seemed to deflate as they took in her scared frustration. The entire room wanted answers but all she said was two names. "Nat, Wanda." With a nod the three women walked out and into another part of the tower. 

"Nat, Wandz, I think I know who could do this but she wouldn't do it for herself."

"Who are you thinking? We might be thinking the same thing." Nat had her own suspicions but didn't want to voice her thoughts yet. 

Wanda sat on the sofa in Nat's room and eyed the other two patiently waiting for one of them to tell her what she was missing. Nat and Sally both seemed to ne pacing the length of the room muttering broken sentences that the other would finish as they went.

"Last place seen was-"

"That little town outside Budapest. It has been-"

"Years, I know. What happened after Soldat and I-"

"Abandoned us? Sorry, that's unfair but, we completed the training. We were-"

"Sterilized? Yeah, I know they do that, I am sorry you suffered like that."

Both seemed to pause and embrace before facing a quiet Wanda. 

"Sorry Wandz. We think it might be someone I specifically trained." Sally seemed rather embarrassed as she explained. Wanda turned to Nat, "Who is she to you, this woman that Sally trained?"

"My sister. Yelena, or the Crimson Widow."

Wanda was silent for a moment processing the fact that Nat had a sister that Steve's sister had trained and was potentially the newest enemy to Shield and the Avengers. She really didn't understand how she hadn't known prior, let alone both women being s calm as they were about the situation. "Am I the only one freaking out? How did I not know? Why are you both so calm? Where is she? How do we find her? Do you think she was manipulated?"

"Paid is more likely. She is one of the best assassins out there. Not to mention, this is us freaking out. Nat and I are both trained to not freak out, remember?"

Nat tilted her head looking at Sally. "Gee, I wonder how she became one of the best assassins."

"Your sarcasm hasn't lost its touch there Nat."

"Shut up, I learned it from you."

"I would call bullshit except that I know Soldat was straightforward and blunt back then."

"Why do you call him Soldat and not Bucky?"

Nat and Sally turned to Wanda, trying to explain. "The best way to explain is that Soldat isn't the same as Bucky. Think of Banner and Hulk, they are connected and share space but they aren't the same person. Bucky is the self aware, free thinking, friend of Steve that we all have heard/read about. Soldat, or the Winter Soldier, is the ghost that most of those in our world were taught to fear and treat as the boogeyman. I don't like mixing them. Bucky needs to come to terms with all of that before I force them to be one and the same."

Wanda nodded and Nat looked at Sally with new eyes. "You love him."

Sally looked away and changed the subject. What is the plan here. We need to get into contact with Yelena and fast.

The three women sat together and looked into what contacts they all had and from where. Who was trustworthy and who wasn't. 

"There is one guy I met when I went for some, uh, specialized testing, I guess we can call it that. I met him there. The guy running the facility fucked the guy over a lot. I might be able to get us a meeting with him since I have a lead on the guy who ran the facility. We should try other avenues first though, he isn't exactly trustworthy."

The other two nodded and they continued to run through their contacts.