The Viper

Chapter 12

Present Day

A knock at Sam's door, snapped him out of his thoughts, after he returned from his run. He carefully set down his bottle of orange juice and walked over to the door. He opened the blinds and his eyes widened at the sight on the other side of the screen door. He saw Steve and the redhead he saw pick up Steve to head on a mission look tired and disheveled, along with a brunette who looked dazed and spaced out. All three were covered in ash and soot.

"Hey man." Sam said casually.

"I'm sorry about this." Steve began. "But we need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Natasha explained.

Serena remained silent.

"Not everyone." Sam said ushering the trio inside and closing the blinds behind them.

Sam showed Serena and Natasha to one of his spare bedrooms, along with Steve in another one. After Natasha had showered, Serena decided to shower as well. She felt disgusted, with everything she was wearing, along with her overall mental thoughts as well.

After Steve showered in one of the other bathrooms, he walked into the bedroom to see Natasha sitting on it, zoning out.

"You alright?" He asked as he sat down across from her.

She nodded. "I thought I was doing the right thing when I joined SHIELD...now I just think I traded the KGB for HYDRA."

"It's not your fault, you didn't know." Steve explained.

"I know." She said with a nod before gesturing to the bathroom. "I'm worried about her."

Steve glanced at the floor. "So am I."

"Do you want me to check on her?" Natasha asked standing up and Steve gave a small nod.

Natasha walked to the door and softly knocked a couple of times.

"Serena? Are you ok?" Natasha asked softly.

No answer.

Natasha knocked again.

"Ser, it's ok, it's just Steve and I." Natasha explained.

Still, no answer.

Natasha sighed. "I don't think she wants to talk."

Steve sighed. "I know...she's going through a lot."

"I made breakfast." Sam said as he came into the room. "If you guys eat that sort of thing."

Little did they know that Serena, was sitting on the floor of the shower, letting the water run over her, with her knees pulled close. She stared at the wall, letting the past events flood her mind.

Fury.

SHIELD.

HYDRA.

Renata.

Her father.

She didn't know what to think. She didn't think she was made out for this, and all she wanted was to drown in her misery. After a while, she knew she had to face those outside the door, so after she cleaned herself, and changed into a spare sports bra and leggings, puller her wet hair back into a sleek high ponytail and opened the door. Thankfully no one was there. She carefully treaded down the stairs, but as soon as she came halfway down the stairs, all the talking she heard ceased. A slight frown formed on her face as she made it to the foot of the stairs. 3 sets of eyes were on her...all looking concerned.

"You must be Serena." The unfamiliar man said warmly with a wave and a small smile. "I'm Sam."

"Hi." She said quietly as she walked into the kitchen.