The Titans returned one-by-one to the tower that evening, surprised to see their leader sitting on the floor of the common room surrounded by sneakers. Each Titan more puzzled than the last, with Raven being the last. "You ordered Superman sneakers?" Raven asked, staring down at her leader, along with her teammates. "Why?"

"I didn't order these," Richard replied.

"His secret admirer did," Beast Boy continued to stare curiously at the sneakers. "Do they fit?"

"They do," Richard answered.

"So…this person knows your shoe size?" Cyborg asked uneasily. "When did this…happen?"

"I don't know, Cyborg," Richard glared at him, "you were the last person in the hallway."

"Oh no!" Cyborg held his hands up, refuting whatever he was being accused of, "this wasn't me. I am not your secret admirer. Trust me," Cyborg laughed. "As devilishly handsome as you are…no."

"How do you not know?" Raven turned to Richard. "The alarms didn't go off?" she inquired. Richard shook his head.

"Cyborg was the last one to leave the tower," Starfire stated simply. All four Titans turned to Cyborg. "It wasn't me!" Cyborg yelled.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Raven quoted with a smirk.

"I do not love Robin!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"That's harsh," Beast Boy said as he pointed to Richard, "he's right there. You don't have to scream it at the dude's face."

"Yes, Friend Cyborg," Starfire said with her wide green eyes, "as someone who has once loved Robin, I can attest- "

"I'm not in love with Robin!" Cyborg couldn't believe his ears. "Did you even check the security footage?"

"Nothing is there."

"What do you mean nothing is there?" Cyborg asked, pulling the camera footage upon his arm. "Okay, look," Cyborg said as a holographic image appeared. "There's me talking to Robin." The video showed Cyborg at their leader's door. "Now watch as I- "the video cut off. "Hey!" Cyborg exclaimed. The video then resumed when Richard picked up the first shoebox.
"Well that was informative," Raven stated dryly.

"It's not me!" Cyborg yelled.

"Relax, Cyborg," Richard stood to his feet. "You've convinced me. It's not you," he eased the older Titan's worries.

"What on Earth – how do you – "Cyborg threw his arms in the air before storming away. Starfire and Beast Boy followed Cyborg, continuing to poke fun at their teammate. Raven looked at the shoes littering the floor. "So…Superman?" she asked.

"Yeah," Richard scratched the back of his head nervously. "Hey, listen," he said. "I was on the phone with Alfred earlier. I know I originally said we'd leave on the 18th, but is it okay if we left on the 15th or 16th?"

"That's in…3 days," Raven said, slightly worried, which confused Richard.

"I know," he studied her reaction curiously. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"I haven't mentally prepared myself…or – or – or meditated enough."

"You can meditate at the manor," he said with a soft smile.

"Yeah, but I'd rather spend that time with you," Raven's eyes widened as the words poured out of her mouth before she could stop them. "I – I – I mean…" Richard could only stare at her in stunned silence. "I just mean…" her cheeks pinkened slightly, "I'll be fine. We can go early."

"Are you sure?" Richard took a step towards her, "because…"

"No…No. I'm good," Raven backed away. "I'm just going to go start meditating now…or I'll read my new book. Goodnight." She phased into the floor before Richard could say something else. He began to mentally berate himself. "Why didn't I say, 'I'd love to spend time with you, too?'" Richard muttered to himself. He was totally off his game. The 15th couldn't come soon enough. He needed a break from Jump City.

Five hours later, Richard sat in his room, replaying footage taken from the security cameras outside his door. Something was there – right outside his door. He just didn't know what. He continued rewinding, playing, stopping, etc. Batman taught him to trust his instincts. His instincts were telling him there was something there…something he wasn't seeing. But there was this tingling sensation at the back of his mind telling him that whatever he wasn't seeing, he had seen before. Maybe he needed a break. It was almost 3 a.m. He pushed away from his desk before leaving the room, making his way to the kitchen. A voice caused him to pause a few feet from the common room doors. Raven. The smile on his face slowly faded as he walked closer to the common room. Raven was talking to someone. "No, he wants to go sooner…I don't think I'm ready…Gotta go, bye." She must have sensed him through the door because when he entered the common room, she wasn't there. No one was there. The lights were off. The place didn't even look like it had been disturbed. Weird, Richard thought. She teleported away from him. Why would she do that? Who was she talking to? He had so many questions.

Around 8 a.m., Robin called an impromptu training session. While he expected three of his teammates to be exhausted, as per usual, he was shocked when Raven appeared with bags under her eyes. She also wasn't in uniform. Not odd for the other Titans, but Raven usually trained in uniform. She certainly never trained in sweatpants and a tank top. Her hair was a frizzled mess. All four Titans gaped at her. "What?" she tiredly barked out when she realized her teammates were gawking at her.

"Dude," Beast Boy said, "you look terrible." Raven scowled at him.

"Are you okay, Friend Raven?" Starfire asked tenderly.

"Yeah, dark girl," Cyborg chimed in, "you don't look well."

"Are you menstruating?" Beast Boy asked, and Robin would have slapped him if Raven hadn't thrown him into a wall with her powers. He hit the floor with an 'eek'. "I'm not menstruating," Raven spoke firmly, no longer sounding or looking exhausted, "if you must know, I was learning new spells. I didn't realize how long I stayed up until it was 7:30 a.m."

"Yeesh," Cyborg said.

"Well," Robin continued to stare worriedly at her. She looked like she was about to collapse. "Maybe take it easy this morning," she suggested. Beast Boy limped over to them, glaring at Raven. "Was that really necessary?" he growled.

"Shut up, or I'll do it again," Raven responded. The changeling immediately snapped his mouth shut. Robin smiled to himself as he began going over the morning's workouts.

Around noon, after a shower, Richard found his mechanical friend in the kitchen making one of the biggest subs he had ever seen. "Cy," Richard called out.

"Hmm?" Cyborg asked, not looking away from his masterpiece.

"About yesterday. I was just kidding. I know it's not you."

"Then why accuse me?" the Cyborg asked in genuine curiosity.

"I needed to see how the others reacted."

"Oh," was all he said. "Find anything out?"

"No. Well…" he paused, getting Cyborg's attention. "I came down here around 3 in the morning for water or something. I overheard Raven talking to someone on the phone."

"She tell you who?"

"She teleported away before I could ask," Richard shifted worriedly. "Do you think…she has a boyfriend?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Cyborg burst out laughing. "Oh, you're serious," Cyborg said when he saw Richard's face. "No," Cyborg reassured his friend and leader, "dark girl definitely doesn't have a boyfriend."

"How do you know?"

"One, she would tell me. I am her big brother after all. And 2, I have it from a reliable source that she is into you."

"Really?" Richard couldn't help the smile that lit up his face.

"You know, for two people who are so intelligent, you guys really are slow," Cyborg grabbed the mustard sitting on the counter. "But if you just told her how you felt…"

"I intend to…in Gotham." Cyborg gave his friend a wary look. "What?" Richard asked.

"I can't help you," Cyborg said as he returned to his sandwich. Richard exited the kitchen, a slight bounce in his step. Raven liked him. The thought made him smile. However, the smile soon left his face as he slowly approached his room. His door was open. His door hadn't been open when he left. He knew this because the doors automatically locked every time a Titan left their room. But his door was open. Wide-open. Richard silently approached his door. No one was in his room – no one that he could see, anyway. There was, however, a large package sitting on his bed, a package that hadn't been there before. He frowned. This was getting weird.

Instead of returning to the kitchen where Cyborg was, he walked to Raven's room which was on the same floor. He knocked on her door. "Raven," he said, "I need you." The door opened and Raven stood in front of him. "What's wrong?" she asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need you to follow me. Someone left a gift on my bed."

They entered his room, where Raven inspected the package curiously. "There's an energy surrounding this box," Raven said.

"An energy? Like…magical?"

"Maybe," Raven said as she slowly approached. Richard immediately grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She looked back at him inquisitively. "Maybe you shouldn't," he said, his blue eyes filled with concern.

"I don't sense danger from it. It's…buzzing," she tried to explain, her violet eyes portraying calm. Richard's brow scrunched in confusion. "Like…electricity," Raven added. Richard still didn't release her. "Aren't you eager to see what it is?" she asked.

"Not if it means you get hurt," he answered.

"I'll remind you that I heal rather quickly," she quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Still…"

"Come on," she gently pulled. "I want to see what this secret admirer sent you."

"What makes you think it's from my secret admirer?" Richard asked, slowly releasing her wrist.

"Everything that's shown up in this tower this past month has been from your secret admirer," Raven smiled slightly before approaching the box. She gingerly opened the box and peered at the items inside. "What is it?" Richard asked at her curious expression.

"Oh," she shrugged, "it's just part of your Nightwing uniform."

"My what?" Richard asked with a raised brow.

"Your Nightwing uniform," Raven repeated. "It looks like batons."

"What?" Richard looked into the box. He then smiled at Raven. "Those aren't batons. They're escrima sticks," he said. "But they shouldn't be here. Nightwing is making his debut in Gotham."

"Hmm," was all Raven said, her eyes entranced on the weapons. "That metal is…weird," Raven spoke slowly.

"What do you mean?" Richard asked. Raven's hand glowed black as she lowered it to pick up one of the sticks. No sooner had she wrapped her hand around one did she jump back with a shriek. Multiple items in Richard's room exploded, stunning him as Raven doubled over, gripping her hand painfully. "What the fuck!" Richard raced to her. Her eyes were full of pain. The skin on her magic-covered hand was burned raw. Richard immediately helped her to the floor. He could feel her pain through their bond, buzzing in his head as if it were his own. He fought the urge to cry out with her as he grabbed a discarded t-shirt and wrapped it around her hand that was slowly turning a blistering red color. Why hadn't her healing powers kicked in yet? A flurry of footsteps got both heroes' attention. Their three teammates came rushing into Richard's bedroom. "What happened?" Cyborg demanded.

"Nearly everything in my room exploded!" Starfire said.

"Why do I smell burnt skin?" Beast Boy asked.

"I'm fine," Raven said as she tried to stand to her feet. Richard placed a gentle yet firm hand on her shoulder, his eyes silently telling her to remain seated. "What is going on?" Cyborg stepped forward. Richard slowly stood to his feet and began to explain. "Someone left me a gift," he motioned to the sticks on his bed. "Raven touched one and, well…"

"Hmm?" Cyborg hummed as he walked closer to the objects on his leader's bed and scanned the object. "These stick things, they're lined with Nth metal," Cyborg raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed.

"Huh?" Beast Boy asked while Starfire look just as confused.

"It's a metal," Richard reached for the weapons in awe, "a very special metal that interrupts magic."

"Well, that explains that," Raven slowly stood to her feet as her hand began to heal. "I wanted to make sure it was safe. I used my powers to pick it up," Raven massaged her newly healed hand. "No wonder."

"Forgive me, friends," Starfire said, "I still do not understand."

"The metal is the same metal used in Hawkgirl's mace," Raven explained.

"Oh," Starfire's eyes widened with understanding. Richard held each baton reverently, swinging each one experimentally. He was in his happy place, and everyone could tell. "Was there a note or something?" Cyborg searched the box.

"Didn't get a chance to look," Raven said, staring at the box warily. Cyborg gently smiled as he began digging around. "Found it," he held up the small envelope triumphantly. Everyone turned their attention to the cyborg. "On the 7th Day of…blah blah blah. We all know," Cyborg muttered. He opened the card. "Couldn't find 7 swans, but what about 7 pairs of electric batons? P.S. Keep the magic-user away from them. This metal packs quite a punch."

"Would have been nice if your admirer put that directly on the box," Raven mumbled as she continued massaging her hand.

"Sorry," Richard looked at Raven apologetically.

"I won't hold it against you," Raven said dryly, "you'll live to fight another day."

"You have my thanks," Richard joked with her. The other three Titans rolled their eyes before silently filing out of their leader's room. Beast Boy grumbled about how they would need a new gaming system while Starfire tried to comfort him. Raven reached towards one of the sticks. "What are you doing?" Richard grabbed her wrist, stopping her from grabbing the stick.

"I just want to try something," she smiled. "Don't worry." Raven gently picked up the weapon. Nothing happened. "What the…" Richard began but then smiled. "It's not hurting you," he looked at her fondly, "because you aren't using magic." She nodded as she caressed the cold metal that seemed to buzz right beneath the surface. "So," Raven smirked, pacing Richard's room, "you're going to trade your bo in for these stun batons?" she swung them around awkwardly.

"Again…escrima sticks," he smiled. "And that's not how you use them," he added with a laugh.

"Well, I'm a magic wielder, not a weapon specialist," Raven said, holding the stick out for Richard to take. Richard surprised both himself and Raven when, instead of taking the stick, he stood behind her. "Like this," he said, his words coming out slightly breathless. Richard felt Raven's body shudder against him as he began positioning her hands and legs. He then stood behind Raven and began positioning her hands and legs correctly. He began moving her body, showing her different forms and katas while smiling the entire time.