Take Heart

Drifter whistled as Yetta set the heart on his table. For once, she had been the one to land the final blow on the Primeval during a Gambit match, and the heart was hers to give to Drifter. Not that she entirely knew why he wanted it. "Well done, Sister," he praised. "Took you a while! Still proud of ya."

Yetta shook Hive blood off of her body, not that the Drifter had any right to complain about the mess. His area was always cluttered. "Amazing what happens when the other team doesn't get a chance to send us blockers." The left over adrenaline gave her voice a bit of a bite, one she tried to suppress. It wasn't his fault people could be unfair sometimes.

He laughed, hands raised in mock surrender. "Hey now Sister. I don't decide how you kids play the game, I just make the rules and decide what you fight." He slid a new gun over to Yetta, a copy of one she already had. "If I made the rules tighter, it would kill the fun. Then who'd give me entertainment?"

Yetta picked up the rifle, checking the chamber, weighing it in her hand. It was better than its copy. "Oh, like you don't get enough entertainment from watching us throw ourselves off the tower?"

He chuckled. "I'm all the way at the bottom, kid. Basement Man, like Saint calls me. But watching you fight for your lives is, admittedly, fun. You kids get creative." He adjusted something, tightening a screw on his current project. "However, if you're wanting a break from Gambit for a bit, I've got a job for ya."

. . .

Yetta ran through the Dreaming City, slashing at a wizard, Just in Case glinting in the light. Once again, she had woken up in the middle of a fight, the hive wizard already badly hurt. As the enemy disintegrated, she looked around. This part of the city was new to her, not that she spent much time here. Tucking the sword away, she started walking, looking for other guardians. If she could get directions, that'd be just fine. 

Of course, that required her to stop going in circles. "I told you to take a left at that fork instead," Jason ever so kindly pointed out. "Now we're back where we started!"

"*Thank you*, Jason." Yetta rolled her eyes a bit. "There's gotta be somebody nearby. Can't you just…transmat me to the nearest person?"

"Considering I don't know who the nearest person is, no. I can't."

"Call Carman then."

"Considering that Carman's off world, on a mission, and too far away for me to reach? Yeah sure, I'll call her. You'll be there in a jiffy. And by jiffy I mean give me a couple hours."

"Shit. I forgot about that." Yetta plopped herself on the ground. "How'd I even get here, anyways?"

"What, you don't remember?" Jason floated beside her, before settling on the ground as well.

"Another memory lapse." Voices up ahead made her snap her head up. "Guardians!" she cheered. Standing up, she chased after the voices.

. . .

Yetta was 99% certain these titans were her friends, for now. She walked after then, happily bouncing with every step as they led her out of the gardens. Jason hung close, strangely silent. His eye never left the titans, watching warily. "Jason, what's wrong?" Yetta had slowed down. She could feel Jason's caution through their bond, and it made her sick to her stomach.

"I don't trust these guys," Jason whispered. "I know them. They used to kill Crow for fun when he was first revived." Yetta had slowed to a complete stop, now. Her eyes flickered to the titans, hand landing on her sword. "Don't do anything, Yetta. It's not worth it."

She sighed heavily, taking her hand off of Just in Case. The sword was her trusty meelee choice, and it would be so…easy to catch them off guard. But this wasn't Gambit. Or the Crucible, and she couldn't imagine Carman's disappointment if she killed them here and now. She took a breath, and jogged up beside them. "So, I hear you used to go after the hunter vanguard for funsies?"

Distantly, she could hear the "oh no," from Jason as he flew up beside her. 'What are you doing?' He had popped in her head.

'Making it look like self defense. If I just bait them enough…'

"What's it to you?" One of the titans, a human named Chavil, turned to look at her.

"Just wondering why. I mean, he *is* my boss, technically speaking." Yetta smiled innocently. Jason caught on to what she was doing. Playing dumb. 

"You wouldn't understand. How the Young Wolf can stand him, I don't know. She knows what he did. She just can't finish the job *she* started."

"The Young Wolf? The great, and mighty Young Wolf? Not finishing a job? I find that hard to believe." Yetta's skin prickled. Were they seriously about to start insulting Carman to her face?

"What else can you expect? She kills the gods, we're left picking up the messes. Wouldn't kill her to leave some glory for the rest of us." The other titan slapped his shoulder.

"Maybe it would," she laughed. "She's always so standoffish, maybe it genuinely would. Then we wouldn't have anybody in our way anymore!"

Yetta's hand tightened on the sword at her side. Jason thunked her in the head. 'Don't,' he warned her.

'I just might.'

"Be glad you don't have her as a mentor, kid. I hear nobody knows who her student is, well, save for the vanguard, maybe Drifter. Not that any of them will tell us."

Yetta raised an eyebrow behind her helmet. Drifter kept her idenity secret? Nobody know who she was? Yeah, right. Like she's not wide open with how she clings around Carman. "And what, again, is your beef with Crow?" The innocence had dropped from her voice.

The titans ignored the slight venom in her voice. "You wouldn't understand. Just know he's a bad person, who deserved every death. He still deserves it, but the vanguard made it very clear he won't be touched."

"Good." Yetta's barbed voice surprised even her. The titans turned, and Yetta drew her sword. "'Cause that's my vanguard you're talking about. So either you explain, or we can turn this in to the Crucible, and I'll let us sort it out there." The sword flipped in her hand, and with the other she drew her knife. "Unless you want to sort it out here-"

"She doesn't mean that. She's just got a short temper!" Jason rushed to her defense, floating in front of her. "We can find our way from here, and you won't have to deal with us after today." He nudged Yetta to the side, repeatedly smacking her shoulder to get her to move. She glared at the titans as she walked, sheathing the sword and the knife.