©July 2003
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimers in Part One


The Host

By SKH



Part Two

Without a word to Wonder Woman or the Flash, the Batman vaulted over the front of the Batmobile into the cockpit. The vehicle roared to life, its spinning wheels kicking up dirt as it backed up, turned, and sped away down the unpaved road.

Minutes later, the Batmobile came to a screeching halt in the Batcave. Launching out of the vehicle, the Batman said nothing to his trusted friend and caretaker, Alfred Pennyworth. He ran to the teleportation device, stopping briefly to enter a command at its console before leaping onto the platform. A second later, he vanished.

Alfred's eyes moved to the hastily abandoned car. No one else got out of it. With a shudder of foreboding, Alfred Pennyworth moved to the car and looked inside.

Where was the boy?


When the Batman materialized inside the Justice League's orbital space station, Superman was there waiting for him, his expression noncommittal.

"Where's Robin?" the Dark Knight hissed, stepping off the platform.

"He's in the infirmary with J'onn." The Man of Steel said no more because the Batman had left the room.

Batman reached the infirmary and stopped in the doorway. Robin sat on one of the beds, his legs dangling off the side. Gone were his cape, gloves, red tunic, and green shirt, and the boy was in the process of peeling off his mask.

"Robin?" the Batman uttered, straining to keep his voice level. He crossed the room to the boy's bedside. Despite his lack of covering and the station's usually chill temperature, Robin was perspiring slightly, his face and skin flushed. The blood had been cleaned from his belly.

"Ah, you're up, I see," J'onn J'onzz remarked, approaching the bed and carrying a lightweight blanket. The Martian draped the blanket around the boy's shoulders and took the mask from his hand. The Batman's hand shot out, grasping the Martian's wrist. He took the small, black mask away before releasing his grip.

Robin watched the interaction, then turned his attention on his shoes. He pulled one off and looked at it.

"No, you should keep that on, as well as everything else," J'onn advised.

Batman looked at Robin as the youngster struggled to replace the shoe. He took the shoe from Robin's hand and put it back on the small foot. Placing a hand on Robin's shoulder, the Batman spoke gently.

"Are you all right, chum?" he asked, lifting the boy's chin with one hand to look him directly in the face. To Batman's shock, silvery blue eyes looked back at him.

"We are well," Robin replied. "The joining is complete. I am Tem--" The boy's expression saddened. "We were... Tem-Rhyn. Rhyn is gone."

Before Batman could speak, J'onn explained. "Tem-Rhyn was a symbiotic being. His host body, Rhyn, was injured in an accident that brought his ship to Earth. The organism you saw entering Robin's body was Tem."

"Get it out!" Batman ordered. "Get it out of Robin's body now!"

Robin put a hand on Batman's arm. "We are joined. The Within and the Without will die apart until the new Other comes."

"Batman, it's true," said J'onn. "Tem has integrated with Robin's body, woven itself into his spinal column and into the boy's brain. It must remain there until another Duon host body is provided."

The Martian felt the surge of xenophobic emotion in his colleague, entwined with fear and concern for the boy. The intensely private Batman had volunteered nothing to the Justice League about the existence of his young apprentice. Only Superman had known, and had disapprovingly shared the information with the League.

"Then get one here and have it take that thing out of my-- out of Robin's body," Batman snarled.

"Until the joining was complete, Tem couldn't communicate. Even telepathically, its sending was painfully intense and difficult to understand," the Martian explained.

Robin slid down from the bed, seemingly to test his balance. Batman immediately reached out to steady him. The boy removed the Batman's hand from his shoulder, patting it reassuringly.

"We are well." Robin looked up at Batman, his alien eyes solemn and serious. "Regrets to you, Guardian, for Tem's joining with your Other. Rhyn was dying, and afraid. Rhyn did not want Tem to die, and placed Tem in your Other."

Batman tried to find his partner in the unfamiliar eyes that looked back at him. "Why not choose one of the adults? Why not choose a stronger body?" he asked.

"An immature Other is a better join for a Within. Regrets, regrets to you for foolish, gone Rhyn." Robin lifted Batman's hand, pressing his forehead to the back of the man's hand in a poignant gesture of apology.

"Tem, where are the Duon now? How can we contact them in order to return you?" J'onn asked.

"The Duon are pilgrims. We travel to a new world. Our ships are two systems beyond here. Tem-Rhyn was a scout... and curious. We strayed, had an accident. Regrets, regrets, but your world is viable to us, and here we came. Poor, gone Rhyn." A tear rolled down Robin's cheek. He gathered it on his fingers and tasted it.

"Tem..." Batman began. "Will Robin survive this joining and separation? How is he? Where is he within you?"

"A new Other must come soon. The Without can live and be well for a time. The Without is not Duon, but can survive... for a time." Robin turned to the Martian, reaching up with his arm. J'onn knelt down so the boy could touch his head. Robin closed his eyes and J'onn shuddered.

"Gently, Tem," he cautioned.

Batman stood by quietly, burying his anguish for Robin's safety as the Duon and Martian communicated telepathically. He didn't hear the approaching footsteps until Superman was by his side.

"I'm sorry, Bruce," Superman said softly. "There wasn't time to explain, but I saw the organism inside Robin. It was integrating too quickly to interfere, so I had to bring them here."

"I should have taken him home first," Batman said, more to himself than to Superman. "I hadn't prepared him for exogenic encounters..." The Batman looked at the Kryptonian. "Including you."

With a whimper, Robin released the Martian and stumbled backwards. J'onn caught the boy and returned him to the bed.

As Batman went to the boy's bedside, J'onn turned to Superman. "It gave me the right ascension and declination for the Duon fleet. Let me show you in the chart room." The Martian and Kryptonian left the infirmary, passing Wonder Woman and Flash in the corridor.

Diana stopped J'onn. "The child?" she asked.

"Well, for now. He's with Batman in the infirmary."

"And how's *he*?" Flash inquired grimly.

"Not in the best of moods," J'onn replied, continuing on his way to the chart room.

"That sounds normal," Barry Allen quipped, pulling back his cowl with one hand and scrubbing his blond head with the other. "What doesn't seem normal is Batman with a kid!" he said to Diana. "What do you make of that?"

"It gives me a headache trying too hard to make sense of man's world, Barry," Diana smiled.

The Amazon joined the Batman at Robin's bedside. She looked at the perspiring, flushed boy and then at Barry. "Get some water, Barry. This child needs to stay hydrated." She reached out and pressed the back of her hand to Robin's cheek. "How do you feel, little man?" she asked the boy.

"We are well," Robin answered, looking not at Diana, but at Batman. He held out his hand and Batman tentatively took the smaller hand in his. "That eases the Without, Guardian. Thanks and thanks."

"Is he afraid?" asked the Batman, stroking the small wrist with his thumb.

"No. The Without understands the Within, and forgives Rhyn's foolishness. Poor, gone Rhyn." Robin sighed and leaned back against the elevated head of the hospital bed.

Barry handed Diana a tumbler of water. She held it out to the Batman. "He's feverish. He needs to drink something, Batman."

Pressing the tumbler into Robin's hand, Batman said, "Tem... Robin needs to drink this. I'll be right back." He left the boy and went out into the corridor, followed by the Amazon and the Speedster.

"*This* is your *apprentice*?" Barry asked incredulously. "You don't welcome anyone else into Gotham City, but you put a little *kid* on the front line? And what's with that costume? That's more than just weird, Bats!"

"It's none of your business," Batman warned.

"The boy is *young*, Batman," Diana interjected.

"The boy is unique," J'onn J'onzz interrupted the growing argument. "Both mentally and physically. He's quite dedicated to his training, and is prepared to deal with what's happening to him." The Martian's red eyes trained on the Dark Knight. "Superman has gone to find the Duon, Batman. He should return within 72 hours."

"Can he go home?" Batman asked. "He might feel more comfortable in familiar surroundings, even if he senses them only subconsciously."

"I wouldn't risk teleportation. It might be wiser to use the shuttle. Tem doesn't appear to be physically traumatized by the ordeal, and Robin's condition is stable, with the exception of the low-grade fever."

"Who's Tem?" asked Barry.

"The symbiotic organism inside Batman's apprentice," J'onn replied patiently. "I'll explain later. For now, maybe it's best that Tem-Robin returns to Earth with Batman."

Continued in Part Three...