May 10
Rooters arc is VERY personal to me
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Rooters arc is VERY personal to me
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
The entire Rooters Arc in Omniverse was just Servantis reacting badly to people calling him out on his shitty Osmosian RPF.
A Brief History of the Null Void
(( ~ OOC: This is the fanon history of the Null Void as it pertains to this blog and the tie-in fan fiction “Elevator Monologue” which can be read on AO3. https://archiveofourown.org/series/720321 ~ ))
...
The Null Void is a pocket dimension that exists outside of, but right next to, real space. It was first discovered by Galvan explorers thousands of years ago. Galvan leadership decided that the best use for this new discovery was as a penal colony.
Criminals, both native born Galvans, and aliens alike were sent to the Null Void to live out their sentences, removed from the rest of society and real space as a whole.
For some, this was the worst fate. Banished to another dimension, never to see families or friends again. Set adrift in a harsh and unforgiving landscape.
While others saw it as an opportunity. A way to make their own life in their own world. To start anew with no history or baggage to weight them down. A literal clean slate. In this brave new world to settle.
And settle it they did.
The Null Void settlers were responsible for the main agricultural advancement in the Null Void.
Light is scarce in the Null Void, and fresh water even more so. Still, the Null Void settlers managed to yield a crop with enough nutritional value to sustain themselves. After several harvests, they managed to prefect the growing process enough to produce a surplus that could be traded with others.
But not everyone that was sent to the Null Void was as self-reliant or community oriented as the Settlers. There were still always those whom would rather simply take rather than trade.
As a solution to this problem, the Galvan leadership, the ones who’s decision it was to use the Null Void as a penal colony in the first place, created the Null Guardians.
Artificially created lifeforms to act as watch dogs and protect the Settlers trying to make a new life for themselves.
As time went on and other planets and races discovered the Null Void, they started sending their own criminals and degenerates to the pocket dimension. The Null Void became a melting pot of different races, languages, cultures, and customs. Differed codes of ethics, and concepts of morality.
Eventually, it became too complicated for the simplified animal minds of the Null Guardians to maintain and the Plumbers had to step in.
They set up a prison in the Null Void.
Incarcecon.
No longer should planets or Plumbers just be throwing criminals in the Null Void casually. Now defendants must be tried, judged, and sent to a prison where they could be kept away from the now-natives of the Null Void that just want to live their lives unmolested.
Incarcecon was a way to bring some version of order and safety to the Null Void. All of it run and maintained under Plumber purview.
But even Plumbers are not above corruption.
It was discovered that Incarcecon was built on top of a natural deposit of a unique mineral native to the Null Void. When ground down into a fine powder and inhaled, it would induce visions, hallucinations, and dream-states. Such a drug would sell very well on the intergalactic black market. A prison guard by the name of Morgg recognized this and staged a coup.
He took over the prison. Killed a number of inmates during the initial fight. Replaced all the other guards with robots loyal to him. And installed himself as Warden. In control now, Morgg converted Incarcecon from a prison into a forced labor camp. Using the existing inmates and any new inmates that were teleported in as slaves to mine his product.
This went largely unnoticed and unchecked by the Plumbers back in real space until Kevin 11,000 (whom was then known as “Ultimate Kevin” at the time) returned to Incarcecon to exact revenge on Morgg for killing an inmate close to him. With Kevin came, the Hero of the Universe, Ben 10,000 (whom was then still only “Ben 10″) followed him to prevent Kevin from exacting his revenge. Events unfolded as events involving Ben 10,000 usually do. Kevin did not get the revenge he wanted exactly, but the corrupt Warden was deposed, and the inmates took over the compound.
Incarcecon still stands today. But it goes by the name the Free Fortress and the same inmates who once called it a prison now call it “home”.
Around the same time as Incarcecon’s slave labor, another Plumbers project was going on in the Null Void.
The Null Void was so full of different species and races, different languages and dialects, different cultures and customs, a project of Cultural Sensitivity began. A team called the Rooters and lead by a Proctor ranked Plumber by the name Hector Servantis.
They were the first Plumbers unit to be based in the Null Void.
But they were not without their fair share of corruption.
Not long after the formation of the project, Proctor Servantis learned of a powerful piece of Galvan tech, arguably the most dangerous weapon in the known universe... and this advanced technology was given to a child. An Earthling child of the age of ten.
Human children that young should not be given that kind of responsibility. Human children that young were still learning right from wrong. In the hands of a child, the Omnitrix could un-make the universe.
Servantis switched his mission goal from cultural sensitivity and mediation to something entirely different and not at all in alignment with his original mission statement.
In the end, not much came of the Rooters plans.
Eventually, the Magistrata was made aware of what Servantis was doing and confiscated his base, stripped Servantis and his Rooters of their ranks and privileges, and banished the team to the same Null Void they had abandoned.
No longer Plumbers, the Rooters became just another band of criminals sentenced to live out their remaining days in the Null Void.
And the Null Void was not as safe as it used to be.
Not to imply that the Null Void was ever “safe” to begin with. But, it had increased in dangers in recent years -mainly since Ben 10,000 (then still just “Ben 10″) began throwing his enemies into it without formal trial or sentencing.
Most notable of these dangers are the Mutant To’kustar, commonly referred to as “Way Bads”.
The Way Bads continue to be a problem, as do the Rooters that the Magistrata left to wander the Void unsupervised.
In an attempt to solve these new issues, a new plan was implemented. Not another prison or a covert team to operate autonomously, but a proper Plumbers base, same as any outpost in any star system in real space.
A Plumbers Headquarters here in the Null Void.
Plumbers HQ-NV.
Currently, the base and corresponding Plumbers officers are running under the leadership of Magister Rook Blonko, a Revonnahgander from Revonnah.
Magister Rook is the former partner of the famous Hero of the Universe, Ben 10,000 and has lots of experience mediating difficult situations.
However, there is a rumor floating around that another change in the Null Void’s Plumbers leadership is in the works.
Some even whisper that Kevin 11,000 will return to the Void...
Talking to @kariachi and seeing their ficlet that's about Rooters arc, made me want to write one myself. So yeah!!
Big tw it's about non sexual grooming (no other way to put it) from a perspective of 12 year old Kevin so yeah
https://archiveofourown.org/works/84843036
Remember that one season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when they gave Buffy a fake sister, and her mom developed brain tumors as a result of her memories being altered...?
I would have been much more willing to believe the Ben 10 Omniverse Rooters arc if the people who’s memories Servantis supposedly altered also suffered some kind of brain ailment. Grandpa Max, Mrs. Levin, even Kevin himself. Maybe not something as dramatic as brain cancer. But just some side-effect of having their minds, memories, and personalities altered.
Anytime any character in a show says “I have great plans for you”, it’s a giant neon sign flashing “don’t trust this character!”
Can we talk about how Kevin has never had a stable Father-Figure
Seriously.
Kevin Levin has never had a stable or consistent (or even really very positive) father-figure or male role model in his life. Don’t believe me? Lets take a look at his life!
1.
Harvey Hackett
Kevin’s step father.
Admittedly, very little is known about Harvey since he only appears in one scene in one episode. But what we don’t know of him first hand, we can infer from dialogue.
In Harvey’s exchange with Kevin in “Ultimate Power Part 2″, we learn that even though Kevin was an 11-year-old child when they lived together, Harvey was afraid of him. Imagine what they must be like, to be a child that young and one of your two main care-givers, one of your parents is afraid of you. That would totally mess with a kid’s head. And -clearly- it did when in the exact same conversation Harvey says that Kevin destroyed the house and ran away from home. And before any of you say “well, doesn’t that just prove Harvey was right to be afraid of Kevin?”, let me remind you that KEVIN WAS A CHILD AT THE TIME!
He was only 11-years-old (or younger, we don’t know how long he was living on the streets). Children that young need care, understanding, encouragement and support! Especially special needs children. Say what you will, but a pre-pubescent kid with superpowers counts as a “special need” child. Children like that need their adult care-givers to understand them, or if not understand them, then at least make adaptations for them to better thrive. Not only did have clearly NOT do that for Kevin, but he also went one step father to openly admit to rejecting Kevin.
To a child that young, being fearful of them is indistinguishable from rejecting them. Kevin picked up Harvey’s fear and only saw a parent who didn’t want him.
So, he had a mental/emotional breakdown, used his unnatural super-powers to destroy their house, and ran away from home.
Or, from Kevin’s perspective based on what he told Ben in “Kevin 11″ from the Original series, his parents threw him our because they didn’t like having a “freak” for a son.
Kevin would see Harvey’s fear of him as a rejection and might run away from home imagining they would kick him out anyway. While Harvey would interpret Kevin’s destructive tantrum and running away as Kevin proving how “bad” a child he was instead of the cry for help that it actually was.
Both characters’ stories are true.
But that doesn’t change the fact that Harvey was a terrible parent and father-figure to Kevin.
Now, lets look at his second male role model and father figure.
2.
Kwarrel
The inmate whom Kevin met in prison and took him under his wing.
I could argue that Kwarrel is Kevin’s most positive male role model. Because, honestly, in the short time that they knew each other, Kwarrel did more for Kevin than any other adult figure he ever met.
When Kevin first met Kwarrel he was newly trapped in the Null Void and newly sentenced to the prison Incarcecon. He was physically deformed by the Omnitrix and -as far as Kevin knew- permanently disfigured. Understandably, Kevin was angry, resentful, even hateful. One of the first scenes in the flashback that introduces Kwarrel is one of Kevin beating the crap out of other inmates and then asking for more.
Seeing through Kevin’s rage and hostility, Kwarrel approaches him and strikes up a friendship. Through their friendship Kwarrel helps Kevin, not only, let go of his anger, but also helps him learn how to better control and use his powers.
In the entire franchise, Kwarrel is the ONLY adult who works with Kevin constructively to develop and control his powers.
We also see that Kwarrel is the one who taught Kevin to absorb matter so that he wouldn’t have to rely on absorbing energy and rest madness, or disfiguring mutation, or both.
Sadly, Kwarrel was only with Kevin for less than a year before he was shot in the back and killed.
All of this can be seen in “...Nor Iron Bars a Cage” in the Ultimate Alien arc of the series. I highly recommend you go and give it a rewatch. It is one of my favorite episodes.
After Kwarrel dies helping Kevin escape from Incarsecon, he ends up running headlong into the path of our next terrible father-figure, and -quite possibly- the most toxic of all...
3.
Proctor Servantis
A power-mad Plumber with much too much influence and privilege compared to moral fiber.
I could write chapters on this guy. But for this post, I’ll try to be brief.
When Kevin first meeds servants, he’s a ordinary human that’s employed by the Plumbers and stationed on the Null Void. He rescues Kevin from a pack of Vulpimancers that attacked him when he was wandering the Null Void an unknown amount of time after escaping Incarsecon (it could not have been that long since Kevin looks to still be between the ages and 11 and 12).
Saving Kevin’s life was great and all. I would not like the Ben 10 franchise nearly as much as I do if Kevin stopped being a character after the age of 12.
But almost immediately after meeting Kevin, Servants started manipulating him and using him. First just using his powers to conduct inhuman experiments on other children and aliens. Using Kevin’s Osmosian powers to graft alien DNA onto the genes of otherwise perfectly ordinary human children.
That quickly escalated into sending Kevin and the other children on black ops missions that would have been dangerous even for adults. He basically turned Kevin into a child-soldier and used him to make other child-soldiers.
Then, when Kevin and his team failed in one mission (the mission to kill Ben) Servants threw a juvenile tantrum and used the powers that Kevin gave him to wipe everyone’s memories and then ABANDON them to wander the Null Void alone.
Oh, but wait, not only did Servants wipe Kevin’s memory and abandon him to the equivalent of a Turkish prison/space Australia, but Servants ALSO created false memories to replace Kevin’s real one. There by erasing part of his past and part of his identity in the process.
And that leads me into our next weak and inconsistent father-figure...
4.
Devin Levin
Our super-sexy space daddy that I just wanna... uh...
Anyway...
If you only ever watched Ben 10 up to the end of Ultimate Alien and nothing past it, then you would know Devin as a pure-blood Osmosian from planet Osmos V, whom married a human woman, Mrs. Levin, and had Kevin. And, from all appearances, did manage to live and be present in Kevin’s life for some time.
At least, there is a photo of Kevin with Devin in Kevin’s house. Its always hard to tell cartoon ages since they’re cartoons, but Kevin looks to be about 4 or 5 years old. That’s old enough to have vague memories of his father.
From the ONE and ONLY flashback we get of Devin, he appears to deeply love his son and wife and is not only willing to die for them, but in fact DOES die for them. He dies protecting Earth from total planetary destruction, and as Devin dies in Max’s arms his last words are to tell his wife and son that he loves them.
That sounds like a really great father-figure, right?
Except that he died when Kevin was 4. So, its not like he was ever actually present or active in Kevin’s life.
But worse than that, if you DO watch beyond Ultimate Alien and into Omniverse you will see that they ret-con Devin. They ret-con him OUT! Now, Devin never existed in the first place. Instead, he was a false memory constructed by Proctor Servants and implanted into the minds of Kevin Levin and Max Tennyson. In Kevin, so that the Osmosian would have a motivation to become a Plumber, team up with Ben and Gwen, and become a sleeper agent poised to spring when Servants reappeared. And, in Max’s mind so that Max would accept Kevin on the team without question and look out for him.
So, not only did Devin die, not only did Devin not exist, but Devin was just some little flourish to further nefarious schemes, a conspiracy, and an assignation plot.
So... fuck Kevin. Am I right?
But I’m not done. I saved the best for last. Are you ready for number five?
5.
Max Tennyson
That’s right, Max mother-fucking Tennyson!
Now, before you all get angry and rage replay that I’m just a hater who hates Team Ben, please remember the Original Series. Please remember Max’s backstory. Please remember how they develop Max’s character of the course of the franchise, all the way from the OS, through AF/UA, to the end of Omniverse.
Max raised two children of his own. He is helping raise three grandchildren. He has LOTS of experience with children.
Max is a Plumber. He’s a space cop. An alien police. He has lots of experience with people with extraordinary and super-human powers. He knows how to deal with them, how to de-escalate situations with them, how to keep them from using their powers to hurt others. (Or at least, one would assume he knows these things since that’s a Plumber’s fucking job!)
So, what does Max do the first time they meet?
Abandons him! That’s what!
At the end of the episode “Kevin 11″ the first episode where we ever meet Kevin, the fight between Ben and Kevin doesn’t “conclude” so much as it just ENDS. There’s an explosion and -at first- Kevin is buried under a bit of rubble, which gives Ben the opportunity to return to Max’s side. But Kevin craws out pretty quickly after that. He’s conscious and ambulatory. Ben, Gwen, and Max SEE him. He’s just on the other side of the train tracks. Its not like its impossible for anyone to get to him. So, what does Max do?
He takes his own children and WALKS THE FUCK AWAY! He -literally- turns his back on Kevin the first time they met.
At this point in the franchise, Kevin is a homeless, rejected, unloved child with special needs, that no one in his life has ever tried to understand.
Max is a grown adult who has experience with both children and people with extraordinary powers. He is the best equipped person (possibly in the world) to be a care-giver to Kevin. But Kevin’s not his, so why the fuck bother!? Right?
Even when Kevin keeps showing up.
In “Framed” when Kevin is stalking Ben, posing as Ben, and committing crimes to frame Ben (which is, by the way, a cry for help), Max has another opportunity to help Kevin. And he wouldn’t even have to take care of the kid himself.
In “Framed” there was this other group tracking Kevin. Some kind of SWAT team that specialized in extraordinary cases. All Max had to do was tell those guy that “hey, this monster here is really just a disfigured child, you should take care of him” and then be on his way. But Max didn't even do that!
Just mentioning to that group which was clearly well funded, well equipped, and well trained, that this one monster they were trying to subdue was an unbalanced child who needed help would have been doing the BARE MINIMUM to help Kevin. Literally, the absolute minimum.
But Max wouldn’t do even that!
In fact, Max didn’t begin to give a rat’s ass about Kevin Levin until Proctor Servants had to alter his fucking brain! and give him fake memories of a partner who never existed.
Even then, Max STILL agreed with Ben when Ben decided it was better to kill Kevin than rehabilitate him during the Ultimate Kevin arc.
In short,
ALL OF KEVIN’S FATHER-FIGURES/MALE ROLE MODELS ARE TERRIBLE!
Its actually amazing he managed to become as well adjusted, helpful, constructive and GOOD, a person as he has.
Can we just appreciate how much free and open space there is in the Rooters base?
I mean, take the Amalgam’s lounge for example.
This tight shot makes it look relatively small, right? I mean, that’s a 12-year-old Kevin there and it looks like he’s taking up about 20% of the space in the area.
But then, the shot widens and we get to see just how big the lounge really is.
Its so big, a quarter of it doesn’t even fit in the frame!
And they have all this space to spend on a recreational area.
Who designed this base? More importantly, who approved this design and what board approved the funding for such an inefficient use of space on what is -essentially- a military base.