Ben 10: Justice Incarnate

The Interview

Central City

11:30 EDT, Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Harleen forced a smile on her face for the customer on the other side of the counter. "Again, Ma'am. We do not sell caramel macchiatos or any other coffee. We also have tea. If you like, we have some fresh dragon fruits for-"

The mother in her mid-thirties raised a fist in irritation. "What kind of Mickey Mouse establishment is this?!"

The nine-year-old next to her sunk her head into her hands. "Mom, please. The store is called Mister Smoothie."

'At least the kid seems to know better.' Harleen couldn't help but imagine strangling the mother.

The woman waved the child off. "Quiet, honey. The adults are talking. Well, one of us at least." She stuck a finger at the cashier. "I demand to speak to your manager!"

"Oh yeah? You want to speak to the manager?" A sly grin creeped onto Harleen's face. "Well, guess what. I am the manager, and I'm asking you to leave."

She huffed in indignation. "Why, I never. I am a Yelp Elite member! I will ruin you!" She grabbed onto her daughter's wrist. "Come, Jenny. We're leaving this hussie and her dump of a shop." As the two walked out of the store, the kid mouthed a 'sorry' to the worker, waving goodbye.

Harley rolled her eyes and waved back at the child. As soon as the door closed, she collapsed against the counter. "God, I hate people like that!"

The back room opened, revealing Ben against the door frame. "I must say. You handled that better than I expected." He chuckled. "Although, this is my first time hearing about your promotion to manager."

Harleen crossed her arms. "Consider it a temporary position of power. Isn't that how you deal with them, especially since you are the owner?"

Ben shrugged. "Kinda. I still try to be nice to them, but I don't accommodate unreasonable people."

"What about the fake reviews?"

"Eh, don't worry. If I find any fakes, I can sometimes find their picture. From there, I match it up to the security tapes. After I report it to the admins, they usually remove it."

"Smart move. I swear I would've strangled that bitch." She made the hand motions only to notice Ben's flat look "But I didn't. Not with her kid there."

"Right... That's the issue I had with the strangling. How about you have an early break while I take over?"

She sighed in relief. "Thanks." Harleen dropped onto the shop's couch by the window.

Ben started wiping down the counter. "I'm surprised that you're feeling this stressed already. I thought you blew off some steam during your weekend in Gotham?" He paused. "Actually, I don't think you told me what you guys did. What's fun in Gotham this time of year?"

Harleen went stiff at the question before straightening herself a bit. "Well, we did some bird watching, flew some kites, and tried one of those escape rooms."

Unknown Building

Gotham City

19:45 EDT, Saturday, July 2, 2010

A man in a green suit decorated with a question mark appeared on the monitor. "Welcome to the Think Tank!" Riddler grinned wide. "If you don't find your way out in time, you'll either lose your life or your mind!"

In the middle of the dim room, Harleen and Ivy stood, staring irritatingly at the man. "Thanks a lot Harls..."

The blond raised her arms in indignation. "Oh, come on. How was I supposed to know it was a trap?"