Viper's Bite: The Other Rogers

37.

"Mr. Loki, she has been through a lot but there is an alien inside her trying to heal her as we speak. I think we should get her to the tower and let her rest. Maybe Dr. Banner can help her and I know many of the others have to be worrying about her. Please?"

Both gods looked at the small group in front of them. "Who are you two?"

Yelena scoffed but told them that she was one of Sally's students in the red room. She was also Natasha's sister. Eddie explained that he was Peter's cousin and really wouldn't overstay his welcome, he just needed to wait until Venom was done healing Sally.

As the two new additions answered Thor, Loki was assessing Sally. Her mind seemed to be blocked off by a dome of black goo. No matter what Loki did, it felt like a physical shield separating him from his friend's consciousness. His expression must have given something away because Thor and Peter both moved closer to him. Peter was still holding Sally and trying not to appear as freaked out as he felt. Sally couldn't die like this. All of the taunting Devlin and Ultron did made it obvious that Sally had been through quite a bit. He just wanted her to get back to the tower where she would hopefully be safe and able to recover. Maybe they would even be able to help her recover faster and see what was going on with her. All he could do was hope. 

Thor lifted the woman from Peter only to have the boy move closer and begin to brush hair from her face. "Be careful with her Mr. Thor. She saved me while I was there. She had agreed to stay with them so long as I went free without additional injuries. She, she was willing to die for me Mr. Thor. Please don't let anything else happen to her, please?"

The God of Thunder nodded at the boy and asked of anyone had a way back to the tower. He could take everyone, one by one, to the tower but that would take time and possibly risk some being recaptured. Loki was moving closer to Thor as he addressed the rest of the group. The woman was talking about possibly knowing a guy and seeing about reaching out. As she stepped away to do that, Loki held Sally's hand. She had always been selfless and allowed him to be the selfish one in their friendship. Even facing off against Odin all those years ago to prove Loki's innocence in a silly matter. Nobody had ever stood up for Loki quite like the woman had. Freya was always in their corner as well as Thor but, an outsider, anyone from Asgard who didn't hold the label of family? None of them ever had. She did though, Sally had. 

Yelena rejoined the group and said that her contact would be there the following day but that Sally would be returning with her. She refused to have her out of her sight again. Yelena had heard rumors about Viper and The Winter Soldier. She needed to ensure that most were simply rumors before she let the other woman disappear again. Deciding that Loki would be the best person to get a room, the group followed along and pooled resources to pay for the night. They paid a little extra to have the front desk look the other way as there were six of them squeezing into a single room with two queen size beds and a pullout sofa. 

Upon entering the room, Thor laid Sally on the bed, Loki wasted no time using magic to change into comfy clothes and climbed up onto the same bed. Scooting up so that the headboard became a backrest, the God of Mischief pulled the super soldier up and onto his lap. All Loki wanted to do was soothe Sally's and ensure she remained safe. The guilt crept in as the realization hit that Loki had been trying to get Lady Sif to fall in love while Sally was suffering. 

Thor watched the emotions flit over his brother's face. He didn't know what to say though. Sif was now married to the head of staff back at home and Sally was a mess with an alien healing her injuries from the inside. 

"Wait, what alien is helping Tiny?" Thor's abrupt question drew everyone's attention to him and eventually to Eddie. 

"His name is Venom. He doesn't always do things the right way but he strives to be a hero. His biggest dietary necessity is something only found in brains. Human being the best. Don't ask me to explain it all right now. Just know that if we get into a fight and he eats a person's head, it isn't just because he got carried away. He actually needs to eat them from time to time. I try not to let it happen too often."

Peter spoke up, asking how long Eddie had had an alien in his body. It turned into a private conversation that they moved to the sofa, opting for Eddie to take the pullout and Peter would take the floor. Both felt they had a lot to catch up on and weren't sure how much they could actually share with their cousin. 

Yelena moved to the bed occupied by Loki and Sally, she asked if it was okay for her to lay her head on Sally because she was her happy place. Over the last two weeks, they had reconnected and all Yelena wanted was to have her back. Sally felt like her sister and Yelena felt helpless as she laid beside her. Thor took the other bed and rolled to face the three on the other queen size. He watched the way Loki's eyes shone more than they ever had with Sif. The way that Sally was cradled against him, even as another person laid with the woman. Thor began to question how Loki was going to handle Sally being with Bucky again. That was until Yelena brought up Sam Wilson. She wanted to know more about him and the type of person he was. When the brother's asked her why, she explained that Sally had been dating him for months. She wasn't sure how real it had been or all just a cover but either way, some of the things the pair had to do to convince her bosses, she was sure there was some chemistry there. Loki and Thor stared at one another. Bucky and Sally had been going through a rough patch but were working through it, what happened? The question lingered in both of their minds as they explained Sam being a military vet and a good man. That he was a good friend of Steve Rogers. It was then that Yelena started laughing loudly as she turned to brush her friend's cheek. "Oh you really need to get away from that type Sally. Either find the right one or move to a new category. I don't know much about dating but such a small sample pool can't be a good thing." 

Eventually, everyone drifted off to sleep. It was short lived when Eddie woke up the entire room with a groan followed by a shout. Sally also jumped away from him. "Venom, I will melt you if you do something like that again." Sally wasn't even kidding at this point. Taking a deep breath, she turned away from Eddie and Venom. "That was rude, thank you Venom for saving me. I just have had so many of my choices taken from me so please don't take the choice to choose who I kiss from me too, okay?" Eddie told her that Venom said he understood and that it wouldn't happen again. 

Yelena broke the awkward silence by telling them their ride was close. She wanted to know if Eddie and Venom were joining them too or going their own way. Peter gave Eddie his best sad eyes that begged him to come back with them, he agreed but said he wouldn't promise to stay. It was enough for Peter and Sally smiled at his excitement. She glanced at Eddie who gave her a sympathetic nod. She knew that Venom had told him about what he had learned about Sally and all she could do was keep her head up. She was alive and so long as the secret remained between the three of them, they would be fine. Looking sideways, Sally's eyes widened at the raised eyebrow from Loki. Sighing heavily, she let her head drop. "Later, Lokes, not now."

Loki nodded as they all looked up to see a helicopter circling them before landing before them. A young woman stepping out and leaving the area was all any of them needed to see to know they were not going to meet her. Sally smirked at Yelena. "Widow, hmm?"

"How do you always know?"

"Takes one to know one." Sally winked and moved into her seat. 

Everyone quickly got seated, Thor and Loki on either side of Sally, and Peter directly across from her, as Yelena and Eddie took the front to fly the bird. Before long, they were in the air and on their way to the Avengers Tower. Sally hoped everyone wasn't too angry at her for Peter being dragged into it. Peter didn't blame her but she blamed herself.

"You aren't alone Tiny."

"Never again Sunshine. I messed up and it will never happen again. You almost died because I got too caught up in my own selfish needs. I am sorry that I didn't respond when you asked for help before."

Sally held both of their hands and reassured them that she was okay and the world continues to turn.