A/N: I had a bit of a debate with myself over where I wanted Kyd to live but I finally settled for the city I know the most about. (I am such a fangirl... seriously)

"Hey, Kyd."

Nelson? What was he doing in Kyd's mind? Or dream? Or whatever this blackness that was engulfing him was? Kyd looked around but couldn't spot the elderly man at all. It was disconcerting at the very least. The last thing Kyd remembered was hitting the ground after being hit in the stomach harder than he ever had before. Was he still unconscious? Well, that would explain the darkness, he supposed.

"Ya know, Kyd, you really do have a bit of talent. Too bad Klarion got his claws on you first." Kyd could only stare at the nothingness in response to that. "But now you've got all that chaos magic in you to deal with. Pity. Doesn't help that Klarion decided to curse your voice away. You've got to learn to run without walking first."

Kyd frowned at the metaphor. It was true but that didn't mean Nelson had to point it out. Usually, to learn a spell, a sorcerer would use it vocally until they really understood it inside and out. Only once they knew all the quirks of the spell would they try casting it non-verbally. Kyd didn't have that ability to ease into his spells. He had to wield them as is, which tended to cause almost as much chaos and destruction as Klarion did intentionally. How do you know that Master cursed my voice? Kyd asked mentally. If this was his mind then Nelson should be able to pick up on his mental voice without a problem.

"I was Dr. Fate for years, Kyd. I know a curse when I see one."

Why are you here? Haven't you ever heard of privacy?

"Call it professional curiosity," Nelson replied from the nothingness. "To cast any spells without formal training is pretty impressive, Kyd. Especially without your voice. And you cast no less than three spells earlier. Your teleportation could definitely use work… so could your control, but I guess that's no surprise considering who's been mentoring you so far."

So, what? You want to replace Master Klarion or something?

"Not like it's much to replace," Nelson said dryly. "Klarion hasn't really taught you anything. And you know he doesn't really care much about you. He left you to get captured after the fight with Nabu. He just disappeared with that cat familiar of his and left you and Abra Kadabra to get sent to jail. Which, they've already sent word to, by the way."

Kyd frowned and looked off to the side though he had a feeling that wasn't very helpful considering in a mental plane like this Nelson could be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "Don't pout, Kyd."

I'm not pouting.

"Of course you're not," Nelson said with a chuckle. "Listen, Kyd, I can't make you listen to me, but I'd like to help you."

I don't need help. Kyd insisted, folding his arms over his chest stubbornly. He wasn't some idiot that couldn't figure anything out himself. No matter what Klarion said, he wasn't entirely inept.

Kyd got the distinct expression that Nelson was somewhat exasperated. "Alright, Kyd. I'm not going to argue with you. But know I'll be popping in front time to time if you change your mind. I would like to help you with my spare time. Me and Nabu don't have much to do here in the helmet until someone puts it on."

My mind isn't changing.

"Alright, alright. Don't get all defensive. You should probably try and wake up, though. Last thing you want is to be brought into jail unconscious. You definitely won't be finding the best people where you're going. I wouldn't trust 'em."

That comment caused Kyd Wykkyd to jerk awake instantly. He found he was no longer in the tower but sitting on the ground in the apparently empty lot that the tower inhabited. His hands were tied in front of him, his feet were tied at his ankles, and several coils of rope were tight around his torso, which was seriously aching from the punch he'd gotten earlier. He could feel Abra Kadabra at his back, probably equally bound. "The second one's awake," someone said from off to the side.

Kyd looked over to see the blonde girl was standing there with the black haired boy that looked entirely too muscle bound. Kyd blinked in confusion that the girl could tell until he realized his mask had been removed. His eyes widened in surprise before quickly narrowing again in annoyance. He realized he should have known they'd unmask him but he still wasn't happy about it.

The other members of the teenage group were standing nearby and came over at the blonde's mention of Kyd being awake. "So, who're you anyway?" The redhead asked, leaning closer to where Kyd was tied up. Kyd noticed he had Fate's Helmet under one arm. "I've never seen you with Abra Kadabra before."

Kyd, of course, didn't answer verbally. He attempted a few simple hand signs but they didn't seem to notice. Not to mention he couldn't sign very well with his hands bound together like they were. They frowned at his apparent lack of response. "Okay, what about where that kid with the weird cat was heading?" the black haired boy asked a moment later.

"Yeah, he's the only one that got away. He's gotta have a hideout somewhere. Where is it?" the redhead asked before Kyd even had a chance to try and respond. Not that they apparently noticed that he was mute.

It was rather annoying to be unable to respond at all, though he probably wouldn't have given very helpful answers anyway. "He doesn't look like he's going to talk; maybe you should read his mind, Megan," the blonde girl said after a minute, turning to face the green girl. Kyd definitely didn't like the sound of that. Messing with someone's mind was always something to be wary of. Too much damage could be done far too easily with psionic abilities.

Kyd pulled at the ropes around him, testing how difficult they'd be to get out of. Luckily, the group seemed to be debating the pros and cons to letting the green one, Megan, read Kyd's mind and weren't paying terribly close attention. Kyd kept his face schooled to show nothing as he fought with the ropes. They weren't giving way though. One or more of these teens were apparently pretty good at tying knots. But, it was still just rope. There were other ways to get out of this situation that were still open to Kyd. Going to jail was not high on his list of things he wanted to do.

Going slowly, so that he wouldn't be noticed, Kyd shifted his hand to grab hold of one of the ropes around him. Summoning his black fire, Kyd started to burn through the ropes. They were just about burned clean through when the black haired boy's head suddenly whipped around. "Hey!"

Kyd reacted instantly, flaring his power to turn the remaining ropes to ash. The redheaded boy dashed forward, his hand grabbing hold of Kyd's cape, just as Kyd teleported. The fabric tore as Kyd teleported away. The mute had teleported without too much concern for where he ended up so he reappeared several feet away in the middle of the air. Unprepared for not being on the ground, he started to fall before he teleported again. The second time he was able to lock his eyes to a nearby rooftop and reappeared there.

He turned to see the teens pursuing him and quickly teleported again. Abra Kadabra was still on the ground with the blonde girl but Kyd Wykkyd didn't care. He hadn't liked the man anyway and he certainly wasn't worth the risk of getting caught again to help out. Besides, with the redhead running up the side of the building, the black haired boy jumping way too far, and the girl Megan closing in, there simply wasn't time. Kyd teleported as fast as he could over and over again to put as much distance between himself and them as was possible. But they were very fast. Just as fast as him, probably a bit more so, actually. The only thing that was keeping him ahead of them was the fact that they couldn't tell where he'd reappear for certain. They could only guess. "Come on, Dude! You're only making things harder on yourself!" the redhead yelled as he flung himself across a gap while barely breaking his stride.

Kyd continued to teleport as he scoured his brain for a spell that would help. Suddenly, he reappeared in front of the girl and came to a screeching stop. His eyes widened in surprise. How had she done that? The answer came to him as the other two caught up. She'd read his mind. His eyes narrowed and he unleashed the first spell that popped into his head. Black energy exploded outwards like a huge star, sending them all flying backwards with cries of pain and surprise. He wasted no time in gathering his energy and slamming it back down against the rooftop. A cloud of pitch black exploded outwards; hiding the entire roof from view. Only once he was hidden entirely did he again teleport. Though, this time he dug deep for a different kind of teleport that would take him much further.

There was a strange feeling of compression around him and the air practically screamed in protest but he disappeared from the rooftop. He reappeared a moment later in a dilapidated two room church in the middle of a less than middle class neighborhood. The building was slotted for being destroyed but that had been pushed back yet again so he knew he was still safe for a while yet. So long as no other gangs or villains decide that his makeshift hideout was more desirable than his he would stay safe for a while yet. Luckily, there was nothing that would make the church terribly interesting to any of the other groups that would need a hideout. It wasn't even in a particularly convenient place, which was the entire point for Kyd. He didn't want to be easy to find. There was only one person who knew about the church and that was his Master Klarion. Not that Klarion ever came around but still.

Kyd made his way to the back room of the church as he pulled his cowl and ripped cloak off. He dropped the parts of the costume on his bed as he passed by to go to the heavy desk that he used as his chest of drawers. There were several dozens of candles on the top of it and he quickly lit them before the few others that were scattered around for light. Once the room was as lit as it was going to be from the candles, Kyd pulled his grey top off and glanced down at himself. He frowned at the dark bruise that covered his abdomen. He hoped there was no serious damage there. It did still ache but it could be that it was just a deep muscle bruise.

He touched the skin at the edge of the bruise experimentally and was glad that it didn't feel too terrible. It hurt, of course, but he could deal with the amount of pain it was causing. With a sigh, Kyd fell back against his bed and stared up at the sky. He could just see a few slivers of it through the boarded up window above his bed. At least it was a clear night. He really rather not have to deal with the hundreds of leaks that came through the ceiling when it rained.

A dark figure zipped across the sky and Kyd shook his head before rolling over. Luckily, he'd managed to keep his head down enough to not be noticed by any 'heroes'. With the exception of this time, he supposed. Still, those teens weren't the heroes he'd always taken care to avoid. The green girl was clearly not human and the redhead was clearly a speedster. But both were too young to be the heroes that were constantly on the news. Kyd narrowed his eyes as he thought.

The black one with the blonde hair. He'd seemed fairly familiar for some reason. It took a few moments to place him, but Kyd eventually did. He mentally cursed as he recalled that the boy looked exactly like Aqualad. Aquaman's little sidekick. And if he was Aqualad that meant that the speedster was most likely Kid Flash. Kyd wasn't familiar with the two girls but if they were hanging around with Aqualad and Kid Flash there was a painfully high chance they had connections to other heroes. The Martian Manhunter came to mind instantly for the green girl. Kyd had no idea who could be tied to the blonde though. The only blonde female he'd made a point to avoid so far had been Black Canary but the teenager hadn't shown off any high pitched screeching. Then there was the black haired boy. The bright red S symbol on his shirt had narrowed him down to just one possibility. Superman would definitely be one of the worst to somehow run across. Kyd was glad he'd run into what seemed like a less potent version.

Kyd supposed it didn't much matter though. He would make a point of not crossing paths with those teens again. It was for the best. Especially since they'd gone and looked under his mask. Luckily, he didn't think he was in too much danger of being found out. As far as he knew, none of the heroes that were currently tied (albeit second-handedly) to him were in this particular city. Kyd rolled over and glanced out of the window again.

There was a familiar light in the sky and Kyd could hear sirens in the distance.

Now, if Robin had been with them. That would have been a real problem.

Gotham's teenage crime fighter would have a chance of seeing Kyd on the street and recognizing him. None of the others would since The Bat didn't let any other heroes into the city unless it was the rare instance where they were chasing their own villains. As long as Kyd didn't do anything stupid and obeyed the laws in Gotham, he was as near to untouchable as was possible to get without being lucky like Count Vertigo and having Diplomatic Immunity.

True, if the Dynamic Duo did figure out who he worked for, he was dead meat but he would do his utmost best to ensure that they didn't find that out. He was no Joker who didn't care about self-preservation. Nor was he the Cluemaster who thought nobody was smarter than he was. And he definitely wasn't the Riddler who would leave puzzles all over the place and downright dare the best detective in the world to figure it out. No. Kyd was far more sensible than any of that. He had no desire whatsoever to go to Arkham. No matter how well padded the rooms were. He was perfectly content to live in obscurity.

Kyd Wykkyd stared up at the Bat Signal in the sky and idly wondered who was causing problems tonight. If it was serious enough for the Bat Signal to be turned on it was probably one of the big baddies in the city. That didn't really narrow it down though…

Kyd was fairly certain that the Penguin, Two Face, Riddler, and Joker were all already out of custody but that didn't mean that the signal wasn't on because someone like Clayface or Mr. Freeze didn't break out of Arkham. Or even if someone new decided to pop up that the GCPD couldn't handle. Kyd shook his head and turned his attention to something more worthy of his time. He reached over towards the crate that served as his side table but was brought up short by the pain in his side. He winced and shifted so that he wasn't stretching as far. It was going to be a pain to remember he couldn't just stretch out until his bruise healed.

He grabbed a nearby book and propped it open in his lap. His studies were pretty much never ending but he was sure that it would be worth it to learn what he could. Maybe he could undo the curse on his voice himself if he learned enough. It wasn't as if he didn't have the time to study. Klarion probably wouldn't be coming to see if he managed to escape for a couple of weeks at least. Possibly even longer if he didn't have any need for a barely trained sorcerer for a while; which, considering Klarion could do most anything on his own because he was so powerful, was a distinct possibility. Kyd ran a hand through his dark hair before pushing those thoughts out of his head to focus on the book in front of him.

A siren screamed down the street, jarring Kyd's concentration. It was followed by the sound of rapid fire from a semi or full automatic something or other. Kyd scowled at the nearby window. Maybe he should move to Bludhaven…