This will be the last interlude chapter for a while. This was so I could progress with the plot, and fluff. Which, to be honest, the fluff is 90% of why I write. I plan to play up the humor, fluff, and action after this chapter. But the interpersonal growth I've depicted and facilitated needed to be done. And I feel happy with all I've done so far. I don't have a huge event planned out yet, and probably won't for a while, but I've been enjoying the snapshot formula I've done so far.

Interlude 2: The Therapy sessions.

Ben and Galatea were in central Gotham, outside a shop called Isley Nursery, which for some godforsaken reason, was where they'd been told to show up to for their therapy appointment.

"Oh great." Galatea said with a groan. "Not only are we talking to Harley Queen about our problems, we also have to deal with her psychotic eco warrior girlfriend." Whatever Ben was about to say, was cut off by a rather high pitched girly voice.

"Say whatcha will about Red, she's as smart as she is sexy." The voice of Harley Quinn, their assigned therapist, came from a window on the second floor. They glanced up to see their therapist is rather...risque lingerie. Harleen Quinzel was a blond woman with shoulder length hair, a cute face with a manic grin, and a modest figure. Galatea covered Ben's eyes, and glared at Harley, who raised an eyebrow and made a mental note to tease the Pulp Fiction looking chick about it later. "So you the ones Jason mentioned?" This prompted Ben to scoff.

"We are, but are you the one he thinks can help us?" That made all the humor and playfulness drop out of Harley's voice.

"I know I may not look it, but I have an PhD in clinical psychology, which I obtained by the time I was your age, and was regarded as the best in the field...at least until the bastard got his claws into my head. I am trained in multiple styles of therapy, and I will do my best to help you through your issues. Kay?" That knocked the criticism right out of Ben's mouth. He made the wise move of shutting his mouth, and nodding. Galatea uncovered his eyes since Harley had left the window sill to come let them into her office/home. This made Ben turn to look at her.

"Why'd you cover my eyes? It's not like I was staring." This made Galatea blush a bit, and she refused to answer. Ben just shook his head, and muttered something about her 'not being his girlfriend' under his breath. He had unfortunately forgotten that Galatea had super hearing, and though he didn't see it, her expression was one of hurt. Again, she didn't say anything, but you could tell she was down when they walked into the Harley's building. She brought them to an office area. In it, were walls lined with bookshelves with literary works on everything from psychocology to neurochemistry and botany. There was also a desk, with a padded chair behind it, and a couch that looked really comfortable. Harley gestured to the couch while she took a seat behind her desk.

"So which one of you wants to go first?"

Galatea was shaking, but Ben put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"It's okay, Tea. Harley hate the Joker even more than you do. She's not going to hurt you. And even if she tried, I'd be right here to help, okay?" Ben told her gently, which got him a nod from the newly black haired girl. She brushed a bang behind her ear, and gave him a weak smile.

"I'm okay, Ben. I just got nervous. I'd like to go first." She spoke softly, lacking her usual boisterous confidence she usually had. Ben nodded, and went to go outside. Harley noticed this, and quickly spoke out to get his attention.

"Follow the sticky notes to our living room. Nothing will eat you there." Before he could even ask what the hell that meant, the door slammed closed. Shaking his head, Ben did as he was told, and eventually found himself in a stereotypical living. Shrugging, he took a seat on their couch, and pulled out his phone, and started watching some anime on Netflix.

Part 1: Galatea.

Harley looked at Galatea who fidgeted. "So since you guys agreed to do this once a week, I say we do the light stuff first. Building trust and what not. So tell me, how long have you loved blonde and broody over there?" At Harley's mirthful words, Galatea blushed, and began to fidget even more.

"It, uh, started when he saved me from the Joker." Instantly, the mirth left Harley's expression, clearly remembering her own issues with the recently deceased Clown Prince of Crime.

Shaking her head, Harley pressed on, "We can either talk about that now, or you can tell me some of the other reasons why you love the Mr. Reilly."

"I'd like to talk about the beginning, just not in too much detail." At this, Harley nodded encouragingly, offering a brief but gentle smile to coax Tea to share. "When he kicked open the door to the cell I was in, he looked so...gallant. I know it's cliche... but he really looked like a knight in shining armor. I thought I was going to die down there, so when I say he saved me in more than one way, I mean it." Harley mulled over Tea's words as she stopped for a moment, choosing that moment to offer a comment.

"Do you think you might be projecting your perceptions and feelings onto Ben?" Galatea looked surprised, but shook her head slowly.

"No, well maybe in the beginning but not now! He has done a lot for me. He has given me a roof over my head and asked nothing in return, and doesn't even try to ogle me when I walk around the apartment in shorts and a tank top." At this, Harley's smile turned slightly teasing.

"But you'd definitely like him to." Again, Tea blushed, but slowly nodded.

"I do, but I refuse to try anything until he's come to terms with Patty's death. I owe him and care about him too much to try to take advantage of him like that. He's so kind sometimes without even realizing it." Tea's eyes watered up a bit. "He even puts a blanket on me when I fall asleep on the couch watching Netflix. And he always sets aside enough of his paycheck to make sure I'm taken care of with whatever I want. And he doesn't ask a thing of me in return."

"So you feel bad about that."

"No! I mean, sort of? I told him I'd take a job at LexCorp to help out with the bills, and he told me the money wasn't important. He only got me the job because he was worried I was bored being cooped up in the apartment. You know he even offered to go drop a grand on an entertainment system for me?"

Harley frowned a bit. The girl had it bad, in terms of loving someone who wasn't available at the moment. "Well, typically what I would say is you have to be careful not to take advantage of his emotional state while he's fragile like this, but you seem to get it. When did you notice your feelings were more than friendship for Ben?"

"I think...it was when I saw him teach for the first time. He was chaperoning his AP chemistry students on a field trip to LexCorp. He'd brought me along just so I could get out a bit and stretch my legs. But when we got there, he went into teacher mode. He was patient. He was kind. He didn't get annoyed at the slower students, despite what he may say. You could tell that he was loving every second of helping these kids better understand one of his passions." At this, Tea's eyes teared up a bit, both from longing and happiness. "And that's when I realized I loved him. I know I'm a failure, and I shouldn't exist, and that I've hurt so many people that I don't deserve a shot at happiness...But he does...and I'd like to try to give that to him, when he's ready."

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Ben was annoyed. He had gotten board of Netflix, so he'd started to watch My Hero Academia on Hulu. He'd just watched Bakugo bully the main character, and it brought up bad memories that Peter had of Flash Thompson. It was vivid, and he had to watch something else. He was about to watch some Futurama when he saw Tea walk into the room, and wave to get his attention. He briefly smiled, which she tentatively returned.

"She ready for me?" Tea didn't respond verbally, but she nodded. "Well, guess I'll head in." He was about to walk off, but he stopped a moment, and walked back over to her, she looked a bit skittish, and she was even more confused when he handed her his phone and his headphones.

"Why are you giving me this?"

"Because I noticed yours died on the trip over here. So I'm giving you mine so you won't get bored." Having said his piece, he turned around and walked back towards the office.

If he'd stayed a bit longer, he'd have noticed Tea tear up a bit and whisper to herself "Would he still be kind to me if he knew how many innocent people I'd hurt?"

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Part 2: Benjamin

There was a tense silence between Ben and Harley. After about 2 minutes of silence, Harley realized she would need to take the initiative.

"So, Ben, tell me, Jason didn't explain why you were coming to see me. Would you please tell me why?" She asked kindly, but clearly, hoping to elucidate what had happened to the guy who wasn't all the younger than she was.

"We could go into how I have identity issues because I'm a clone, or how I killed the other clones to remain alive, or we could talk about how your ex left my girlfriend to bleed out cold and alone in an alley way. Your pick." He stated sarcastically, but he hadn't exactly lied. All of those things were issues he struggled with. He had never really had anyone to discuss them with, because he was so used to being on his own, with no allies in a strange world. Harley frowned a bit at that. That was a lot to deal with, and any one of them would be a problem to deal with on its own, let alone with all three being comorbid.

"Well, the purpose of our meeting is a sharing and mutually working towards solutions to problems you might be facing. It's nothing so pedantic as a snake oil cure for your problems." That got Ben's attention. He would never claim to be an expert on psychology, hell all knew about it was the bullshit stereotypes he'd seen on TV. "So I don't want you to talk about anything you're not ready to talk about." She finished with a small smile.

Ben looked down at his hands. Memories of all he'd experienced hit him all at once. He closed his eyes, trying to process it all. He looked to Harley. "I want to move on from it all, but I don't know how. The way I'm going through the motions kills me inside, and I want the pain to stop."

'That admission was a good start,' Harley thought clinically. "Jason did mention your background is a little crazy. Why don't we start there?"

Ben took a deep breath but nodded. "It all started with a young adult named Peter Parker, and his college professor named Miles Warren..."

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To Be continued...

So not a full sized chapter but definitely a needed one to bridge the gap between this chapter and the next. I intend to keep using interludes when there are events that need to be clarified between chapters that can't just be explained quickly as uneventful. In the next chapter, the seeds of love will be planted, or will they? I guess that's for me to know and you to find out.

Raizen out.