 This article belongs to the Classic Timeline
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| ā | The Rooters are a black-ops Plumber unit. | ā |
– Rook explaining the Rooters' function[1] | ||
The Rooters were the former black ops wing of the Plumbers and a splinter faction of the organization as a whole. They appeared as villains in Omniverse. Over time, they went rogue and split from the Plumbers, creating a rift. They made their main goal the elimination of Ben Tennyson, believing he is not worthy of the Omnitrix and his presence might be a threat to the universe.
Contents
History
Background
The Rooters were originally part of the Earth Plumbers. When Earth joined the intergalactic Plumbers, the Rooters were continued as an "experiment in cultural sensitivity", becoming a special unit in the Null Void. They had a powerful rank within the Plumbers, as they answered to the High Protectorate and only the Magistrata outranked their leader Servantis.[2][1]
Servantis, however, was obsessed with destroying Ben, considering him a universal threat, and decided to carry out secret missions to save the universe from his presence. The Rooters' new agenda went on without the Magistrata's knowledge.
They rescued Kevin Levin from a Vulpimancer and took him to their headquarters.[3][4] Servantis, upon discovering Kevin's "one in a trillion" ability, decided to use Kevin to pass on DNA and create a "Ben 10 Hit Squad" as well as have the Rooters gain their own alien powers. As training, he sent the squad on various missions before finally prepping them to defeat Ben. After they failed, Servantis wiped everyone's memories and let them loose in the Null Void. Servantis then decided to create a being named Aggregor from Kevin's own DNA to replace the hit squad.[DJW 2]
This would all be put on hold once Ben stopped wearing the Omnitrix and the threat passed.
Omniverse
Years later, Servantis figured out that Ben had started wearing the Omnitrix again (Rook theorized that Servantis heard of Ben's recreating the universe while Gwen said it was possible that he sensed or measured it); he started looking for Kevin to reform the hit squad.
In The Rooters of All Evil, the Rooters turned up at the Plumber Headquarters in Bellwood. Servantis attacks the Plumbers, trying to read their minds. Along with him are three more members: Swift, Phil Billings, and Leander. Swift and Leander are defeated by Ben, who finds Kevin. Ben, Kevin, and Zed escape but they later got taken to the HQ by the Rooters. Servantis reveals that each Osmosian has a unique power, and Kevin's is absorption. They plan to use Kevin to win a war against an unknown threat to the universe.
When Max Tennyson doesn't let Kevin go with the Rooters, they attack the Plumbers. Ben turns into Gravattack and defeats them with the help of Molly Gunther, Magister Patelliday, and Rook Blonko. Servantis reads Ben and Max's minds and detects they don't know anything about where Kevin went because Rook destroyed the camera systems. They leave the HQ, but Servantis says they will return.
In Weapon XI: Part 1, Kevin and Argit attempt to warn the Plumbers' kids about the Rooters' intentions. Kevin gathers Alan Albright while Gwen Tennyson, Ben and Rook gather Helen Wheels and Manny Armstrong. The kids learn they aren't Plumber hybrids and Kevin goes into the Null Void alone to put an end to the Rooters, but when Ben and the gang bring the kids it turns them against Ben, and Servantis ends up persuading Kevin into joining him.
In Weapon XI: Part 2, the Rooters are defeated due to Kevin betraying the group, having faked turning on Ben. Their Plumber status was officially revoked by the Magistrata when she got word of their acts in direct violation of the Plumbers' mission. Their base was confiscated and teleported away, leaving them stranded in the Null Void with the Way Bads.
Swift later appeared as a contestant in The Most Dangerous Game Show. In an ironic turn, Swift helped the other contestants save Ben from the very same Way Bads in the Null Void, indicating she no longer follows her old cause of destroying him. She ended up getting arrested again.
Future
In the future, the Rooters would still cause trouble in the Null Void every now and then, and it was Kevin's task to keep them at bay[5] or they eventually escaped.[DJW 3]
Notable Members
Appearances
Omniverse
Season 6
- The Rooters of All Evil (first appearance)
- Weapon XI: Part 1
- Weapon XI: Part 2
Naming and Translations
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese (Br) | Desentupidores | Plungers |
| Spanish (HA) | RaĆces | From RaĆces, Roots. Note: not mentioned in The End of an Era. |
Trivia
- The original idea for the Rooters came from the Proto-Tech Armor.[DJW 5]
- At some point in the planning stages of the sixth Omniverse story arc, the Rooters were supposed to consist of their unnamed leader, Phil, Ragnarok, Bel Biv Kaboom and a female Lenopan.[DJW 6]
- Also, Gorvan was supposed to be a former member and the group would have had ties to the Forever Knights.[DJW 6]
- If either Max or Gwen used the Omnitrix, the Rooters would not consider them a threat.[DJW 7]
