Jump City — Sunset Over the Boardwalk
Damian was hoping the evening would be quiet.
Instead, he found himself sitting at a small outdoor restaurant table near the ocean…
with Zatanna Zatara on his left…
and Raven on his right.
The waiter could feel the tension just from standing near them.
Damian, meanwhile, was silently wondering:
"How am I supposed to survive this night?
Zatanna Makes the First Move
Zatanna leaned forward, chin resting on her palm, her eyes glinting like she'd found a new favorite toy.
"So, Damian," she said in that velvet voice,
"if you were going to take a girl on a real date… would you pick magic or mystery?"
Damian blinked.
"I would pick dinner. Because that is what this is."
She laughed softly.
"Oh, sweetheart. We're flirting. Try to keep up."
Damian choked on air.
Raven watched with a deadpan expression
Raven Fires Back (Quiet but Deadly)
Raven's voice cut in, calm but sharp:
"Zatanna, he's uncomfortable."
Zatanna smirked.
"He'll live."
Raven turned to Damian, her tone softening immediately.
"You don't have to answer anything you don't want to."
Damian felt warmth in his chest.
She understood him naturally.
Instinctively.
Like she could hear the tension in his heartbeat.
Zatanna rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Aww. She's protective already."
Raven shrugged.
"I don't play games."
Damian glanced between them.
Two women.
Two completely different energies.
Both interested.
Both terrifying.
Dinner… Sort of
Food arrived.
Zatanna ordered wine (the waiter didn't dare challenge her).
Raven ordered herbal tea.
Damian ordered grilled salmon and rice.
Zatanna leaned close to Damian again.
"You know… You fight like a storm.
But you blush like a puppy."
Damian almost stabbed his plate.
Raven, not to be outdone, looked Damian straight in the eyes and said:
"That technique you used earlier…
Sun Breathing.
It's beautiful.
You're beautiful."
Damian actually froze.
Zatanna stared at Raven.
Raven stared back.
Oh yeah. They were competing now
The Goodbye That Wasn't Really Goodbye
After dinner, they walked together toward the base of Titan Tower.
Zatanna wrapped Damian in a sudden, warm hug.
"Don't disappear on me, hot stuff."
Raven stepped forward and—very gently—touched Damian's hand.
"Come back soon."
Her voice was almost a whisper.
Damian's pulse nearly stopped.
Zatanna noticed.
Her smirk was lethal.
They waved goodbye as the elevator doors closed behind them.
Damian stood alone at the coastline, staring at the ocean.
He whispered to himself:
"…I am so doomed."
Home — His Real Home
He walked into a random motel hallway he used as a temporary staging ground…
pulled out a single golden key…
and inserted it into a door that should not have existed.
The door glowed—
clicked—
and opened to a completely different world.
His private dimension.
A massive house.
A calm yard.
A perfect hot tub steaming in the night air.
He stepped inside, shut the door, and
everything mundane in Jump City vanished behind him.
This was his space.
No assassins.
No Titans.
No Batman.