Viper's Bite: The Other Rogers

51.

When they arrived and found a very loopy Sally clinging to Thor, everyone looked confused. 

Yelena asked what had happened but everyone in the room was hoping the newcomers in the room could tell them. Steve was concerned but Sam and Loki were laughing and chatting with Sally while Tony interrupted occasionally while trying to help Bruce understand what had happened. 

"LADIES! BUCKY!" Sally's head sprang up from Thor's arm where it had been resting while she was curled up under his arm, into his side. "I feel amazing and weightless! Maybe I should have gotten the name of the drink the guy gave me. I feel like I could dance on clouds and have a conversation with the rain." 

Everyone shared glances before seeing Nat and Yelena suppressing a smile into a smirk. "How high are you right now Sally?"

"Why didn't you share?" 

Pepper and Wanda scoffed at Tony's question but the others looked more concerned. Bruce was the one to voice the question many of them had in their heads. "How much did she get dosed with to actually make her high and not just burn off without side effects, like alcohol?"

Pepper asked Sally directly. "What man gave you the drink? We didn't get offered anything like that at the spa."

"It was at the spa Pep. It was right before I walked into the sauna. I had been late due to the massage stuff. Never ask for a man to massage me again. Mister Grabby and I had to talk to the manager. I thought the drink was some sort of bribe." Sally giggled at the last bit but the others were raising brows at the women again. 

Nat told them that it had been a little awkward but Sally said she had it and they had no reason to think otherwise. She was only a couple minutes behind them. After the sauna, they all showered and headed home. Sally was a little giggly but none of them had wanted to take her good mood from her. 

The room nodded and understood why they wouldn't want to ruin her mood. Bruce asked if he could draw some blood to test and see what she was under the influence of. She nodded enthusiastically and climbed onto Thor's lap to give Bruce better access. Bucky tilted his head but saw that Thor didn't react in any way and so he let it go. It was actually Steve and Yelena who moved her off of Thor and put her between them. Wanda stood behind her, playing with Sally's hair. 

Everyone eyed the three before turning to Thor and seeing him questioning them too. Nat shrugged at Bruce's raised eyebrow and Tony's eyeroll. Bucky and Sam had their own brows furrowed but decided not to ask right now. Loki was laughing in the corner as he watched Sally eyeing Yelena's profile like she was studying for a test.

Yelena finally acknowledged her friend. "Yes?"

"You are really pretty. I like the way your nose does that thing. Your eyes are so round and beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous." Sally was very serious but still smiling with a twinkle in her eye as Yelena blushed and told her she needed to rest. 

"I don't want to sleep alone. It just makes the nightmares worse." The room stiffened as Sally spoke in barely a whisper. She was still smiling but there was a sad tinge to the corner of it and in her eyes. Everyone was surprised she had said anything because it wasn't like her. 

Before anybody could say anything, Loki and Bucky moved towards the bed. "What if we stayed with you?"

"YES! My bestie and boyfriend. Wait, that isn't right. My brother from a different planet and my fiancé!" Sally almost squealed as she threw her arms in the air. Her excitement making the others chuckle at her. Bruce walked Bucky through what to look for and handing Loki the remote that would signal him to come immediately in case they couldn't get Friday to get them fast enough. 

Sally scooted to the side closest to Loki, making Bucky frown until she asked him to join her on the bed. She was asleep quickly after he curled her against him, Loki's hand in her own. They decided to try and get some rest in shifts. Loki pulling a second bed and placing it flush with Sally's so they were all together while he and Bucky talked until Loki fell asleep next to her.

As soon as they walked out of the room, everyone turned to Steve and Yelena. "What was that back there? Not even Bucky was upset about her being around Thor like that." Tony's question made Nat roll her eyes because there were other, more important, topics to discuss but that made the top of his list.

Steve and Yelena glanced at each other before meeting Wanda's eyes. Steve spoke for all of them though. "He didn't see Thor shamelessly flirting with my sister, nor did he see how excited Thor was when Odin tried to order Sally to marry him. Just, seeing her in his lap while she wasn't her usual self like that? I couldn't do it. I know they are now more like siblings but, that one thing got to me."

"If she did that while completely sober and her usual self, I would not have been bothered. I saw how much love he holds for Sally when he and Loki came to help us after the Ultron thing. Just, not when she isn't herself." Yelena finished for Steve. 

Everyone understood at that point and they moved on to the topic of who would try to drug Sally and what the plan might have been because they could have killed her if she had not been a super soldier. Did whoever dosed her know that she was a super soldier and hoping to simply incapacitate her or was the endgame something more nefarious?

In the end, Friday managed to get into the spa's cameras and saw that it was an ex shield agent that dosed her drink. The spa worker had no clue when they took it to Sally. The question became, why was an ex shield agent trying to dose Sally? 

Stark managed to follow the man via street cameras until he went into an alley. They sat and watched the video until a woman finally walked out and went in a different direction from the man when he emerged. 

"Follow the woman." Sam and Yelena suggested while Steve and Nat seemed to be staring hard at the screen. 

"Does that look like-"

"No way! She wouldn't do this. She has no reason to."

"Care to share with the rest of the class?" Tony asked while Pepper sat next to him, holding his hand. Wanda and Thor were sitting with Banner watching cautiously. Sam and Yelena looked annoyed but were trying to keep their mouths shut. 

"It looks like Sharon." Nat finally stated while Steve shook his head and turned away from the room. "She has no reason to harm Sally. If anything, wouldn't she come after you, Nat? You are who I left her for after all." Nat looked confused but narrowed her eyes as she considered something she hoped was wrong.

"What if she had been using you to get to Bucky? She went after him at the party, clung to him. You said she kept asking when you were going to reintroduce them so she could apologize when you were dating. I wonder if Bucky was always the target. It would make Sally a threat to be neutralized. They were apart but Bucky was unable to find. You got together with me while he was gone because Sharon became frustrated easily that Bucky and you weren't talking and kept telling you to reach out and reconcile."

Steve flexed his jaw as he tried not to think of just how true Nat's words were while Yelena and Thor both looked ready to murder. Tony was already looking for some sort of proof of Nat's theory. Pepper helping him every step of the way while Sam crossed his arms and asked what the plan should be if she was actually trying to get Sally out of the way. 

"She doesn't walk away from this one. That is my sister and this isn't the first time she has tried to hurt her. I am done playing. She goes behind bars after today."

"Agreed." Thor stood and held his arm out. Everyone knew what was coming so they simply stood and waited. 

"Sorry, sometimes it takes a moment. Let's figure out what we plan to do with the creature who tried to hurt our Lady Sally."