Chapter 13: Picking up the pieces

PLUMBER HEADQUARTERS

"…Helped bring about the end of the notorious intergalactic gang, and brought about order to the Null Void and Incarcetron prisons. This includes Kevin Ethan Levin who had been accused of aiding the notorious gang but, as it has now been revealed was coerced into said 'gang activities' as the gang had threatened his loved ones. A spokesperson from the plumbers has reserved comment for the time being as they're still busy with the ongoing investigation. Not much more detail is available at this time but what we should all know is that once again Ben Ten and his team have gone beyond the necessary requirements to protect the universe, and are all heroes. Stay tuned for more details later..."

The entire plumber's headquarters near the Galvin planet broke into applause and cheered for Kevin, Ben, Gwen and Helen. They were all standing in the central room of the headquarters to listen to the official broadcast of their mission throughout the galaxy, with the rest of the organisation. For the four of them, it was a bittersweet moment hearing what they had accomplished as the sting of losing one of their skilled own, Cooper, still hung in the air. This was not made easier by the hanging of his framed picture in the plumber's academy amongst the other plumbers killed on the job on planet Shayana that they would have to see every time they came to HQ. They tried their best to smile and look humbly triumphant but the events that had unfolded were still kept afresh in their heads.

As they were about to leave, one of the plumbers told them to attend a debriefing in Magister Tennyson's office of which they left to do so.

"Grandpa?" called Ben sticking his head in the doorway.

"Yes Ben, please come in, all of you" said Max Tennyson sitting behind a big desk and pointing to four chairs he laid out for them to sit. They sat down and kept quiet, they were all caught up in their thoughts until they were disturbed by Max as he spoke to them.

"What happened on that planet, and to all of you, especially you Kevin was nothing short of a nightmare. We're so sorry for what you had to go through, none of it should have happened in the first place, and I cannot tell you how proud I am of how all of you handled the situation".

"I still feel like we failed though" said Ben bitterly

"Benjamin, what all of you did was to clean the universe of a highly organised gang, uncover all the rotten apples among the plumbers law enforcement and helped an entire planet of people get their home back. What part of that sounds like failure?"

"But at what cost, Grandpa, we lost someone, which feels like we didn't do enough" said Gwen.

"Let me tell you something, all the members of the plumbers law enforcement know and understand that they risk their lives every day to carry out the work they do. Cooper who was so skilled and talented died doing what he did best and we should honour him and his bravery by bettering ourselves and this organisation. I know what it's like to lose a teammate on duty" he said looking at Kevin as he was talking about Kevin's father "but we can't stop what we do because of death. People look to us as the people to keep the peace within the universe, and don't you forget that" said Grandpa Max.

When none of them responded he carried on. "Anyway, what I asked you guys to come here for, is to tell you about new developments on this case. Magister Ghalil, who was found alive on that planet, has been arrested for his dealings with that gang along with the other surviving gangsters. It's absolutely disgusting that we have some of our own respected plumbers on the wrong side. So, we have started a full investigation into our entire plumber membership and have established an independent investigator who will weed out the corrupt and keep on checking on the new wardens, plumbers and prisons every few months so that this level of corruption is never allowed to happen again. And as for Morgg, he has been placed in solitary confinement on his double life imprisonment sentence on a special ship made by Azmuth of the Galvin to hold him only".

Helen shook her head at this in disappointment. "Morgg doesn't deserve to be in jail, he doesn't deserve to breathe another breath because of all the lives he has destroyed and taken away, it's just not fair" she said with tears welling up in her eyes as she thought about her brother.

"Unfortunately, we have to abide by interstellar law which does not carry a death penalty clause for extremely dangerous people like him, I'm sorry, Helen, we'll have to look into that later".

They all made noises in frustration, but Kevin, feeling emotionally drained, just looked outside the window into dark empty space deep in thought. He would have liked to think that what they did helped get rid of the gang, but with Cooper gone, Morgg still alive and remembering the satisfied look on his face when he was being arrested, Kevin still felt like his old gang had won somehow. And with his knowing of Morgg, we would try and escape again. It's something he would have to look into. His thoughts turned to the inhabitants of the planet Mecka where Morgg carried out his evil work; he wondered how the inhabitants were coping on their newly freed planet.

"What will happen to the planet Mecka and all of its people?"

"Oh yes, the inhabitants of planet Azania which was its original name before Morgg took over, will be housed on planet earth and rehabilitated from drug addiction and trauma they endured, until the air on that planet can be detoxified and the planet can be brought back to its original thriving and functioning state, thanks to the intergalactic department of social upliftment who will restore plant life, water, soil and health back to the planet so the people and aliens can rebuild their lives again, and most importantly bury their dead according to their customs".

Kevin felt slightly better that the rookie on that planet would get a second chance at life, just like he did. At least someone did.

"I'll keep you updated on other incoming developments, but for now, you four need to get back to earth and recover from your ordeal" said Grandpa Max as they stood up to leave. Before Ben left he walked up to his grandfather and gave him one more hug.

"I'm so glad that you're out of retirement now and that you're our new Magister, we really need someone like you" he said.

"Thanks Ben, but it's only temporary, until we can get the plumbers back to the way it was" he said smiling to Ben. "I'll see you later".

THE LEVIN HOUSE

When they all finally arrived back on planet Earth and went back to their homes and families, Kevin got home, drained but anxious to see his mother. He opened the door and saw his mother and her man, Mr O'Connor sitting on the couch. When Mrs Levin saw her son walk into the house she immediately got up and ran to him.

"Kevin, honey, you're back" she said embracing him. "I'm so sorry that I didn't believe you, I know now that you're a hero just like your dad" she said combing his hair with her hands.

"Everything I did was to protect you, they told me that if I didn't help them steal, they would hurt you and I couldn't have that".

She shook her head and stared into the dark eyes that she gave him. "You're probably tired huh, after all you've been through"

"Yeah, but there's one thing I gotta do, just wait here mom" he said.

Kevin approached Mr O' Connor standing at the couch.

"Sir, I'm sorry for the way I treated you when we just met, especially since you're the one who was there for my other when I couldn't be, guess that I was being too selfish and I should give my mom a chance at happiness" he said.

"Thank you, I appreciate it, and I'm sorry for coming out of the blue like that expecting you to just accept me in an instant when I can clearly see that you and your mother have a very close relationship".

"How do you know that" asked Kevin.

"You're all that she ever talks about, including your difficult pasts together and your late father".

"Really? I didn't know, I thought that I would lose her to you the same way I did with her previous husband, He was the reason I ran away from home when I was a young kid. I thought that I would have to compete with you for her".

"Trust me, there's no competition" said Mr O'Connor

Kevin was starting to like this guy. Of course he looked and dressed like a corporate suited man but Kevin felt the need to give him a chance because of his mother.

"I just really want to make my mom happy and proud of me, you know".

"Then step up, and be the man that she wants you to be, and put all the alleged gangsterism behind you, and be there for her, I can already see that you're a mature young man, so keep doing what you're doing and bettering yourself and she'll see that." said Mr O'Connor

"Thanks Mr O'Connor" he smiled at him remembering that Max Tennyson had once said something similar to him. Mr O'Connor returned Kevin's smile.

"Well, I gotta get going, Evelyn I'll see you tomorrow" he said walking up to Mrs Levin while smiling and rubbing her back.

"See you," she said closing the door.

"What did you say to him Kevin Ethan Levin? you seem to be getting along with him" she said delighted but surprised.

" We just had a little talk man to man..."

BELLWOOD MEMORIAL PARK

A few days later, when finally, things slowly started to get back to normal for Ben and his team, before they could put everything behind them, they had one final task to do. And so, on a cloudy and rainy Saturday morning, Ben Gwen and Kevin wearing dark formal clothing got into Kevin's car and drove to Bellwood memorial park. They drove in silence as they felt the weight of those they had lost trying to get rid of Kevin's old gang. When they got to the cemetery, the rain had slowed down to a light shower and Gwen took out her umbrella and sheltered Ben and Kevin under it. Kevin ended up taking the umbrella and sheltering them as he was the tallest of the three. When they arrived to the grave site, they already saw a crowd of families, loved ones and general plumbers surrounding the area, waiting for the proceedings to begin. They walked to the grave site of the fallen plumbers and stood at the front of the crowd with heads bowed as they listened to a eulogy from one of the Magisters.

"Today, we honour the sacrifices and dedication of our fallen heroes in the line of duty. When we look back at what they have done for us, for the galaxy, we must remember the bravery and sacrifices they made so we can live safely in our homes. We should remember the youth of Pierce and Cooper, the best example of young talent who displayed a hunger and passion for their positions as plumber trainees and all of our remaining fallen heroes should be kept fresh in our memories, not as victims but purveyors of justice and peace in our galaxy..."

As the magister continued his eulogy, Kevin looked around the area to see the impact of the deaths on the people around them. He looked behind him and saw Helen softly crying softly on her friend Manny's shoulder standing next to her adopted parents she had shared with Pierce. She looked overcome with emotion. Kevin tore his eyes away from her and saw a heavily pregnant woman who looked just about ready to pop with her swollen belly with tears falling down her youthful face; she was standing by herself with one hand wiping her tears on a soft tissue and the other hand stroking her belly. Kevin felt his heart tighten as he realised that she was the widow of the man that Revenna had set on fire while he was trying to stop the robbery on planet Shayana.

"Please, don't kill me I have a pregnant wife back on planet earth and she needs me…" his words echoed through his mind along with the screaming he did while he was dying mercilessly at the hands of the two most important gang members… and himself.

The sting of guilt that Kevin felt being partly responsible for robbing an unborn child of its father and a young woman of her husband and happiness was all too great for him to bear. He couldn't help but notice that the woman was alone. He carried on looking around at the various families who had lost loved ones on planet Shayana as they were trying to arrest Revenna and Igazi; they were embracing, trying to be strong, and crying. Kevin's eyes stopped at a young boy with dark hair holding his mother's hand and looking quite oblivious to the situation. He reminded Kevin of himself, losing his father at such a young age. He wondered how the little boy would turn out after losing his father. He hoped he wasn't seeing someone who would become like his former Kevin Eleven. With his free hand that wasn't holding the umbrella over his friends, Kevin gripped Gwen's hand tightly and she responded by squeezing his as tears fell from her face.

After the eulogy Kevin asked Ben and Gwen to accompany him to another spot at the cemetery.

"Would you guys come with me somewhere?".

"Well we kind of have no choice since we only have one umbrella" said Ben.

They walked with him to another part of the cemetery where a large tree was standing tall over the park. Kevin took something out of his pocket and pinned it to the tree. It looked like a dull charm necklace.

"What's that?" asked Gwen.

"It's the necklace that belonged to Revenna; I asked one of the crime scene investigators searching that basement on planet Mecka to look for it".

"But why are you pinning it to this tree, she's the reason we got into all this mess in the first place" said Ben.

Kevin kept quiet for a while before replying. "For the longest time, she was my best friend, we both came from difficult childhoods and human-alien heritage and we looked out for each other when people who were afraid of us treated us like freaks. I was lucky enough to get out of the gang and get a second chance at life by befriending you two and moving back with my mom after I bought her a house. She wasn't so lucky though, and I saw potential in her that she wanted to change. She was so close, but in the end, she didn't think that she could do it. The choices she made, just like me, were a result of all the anger and pain and loss we endured when we were young. Cooper and the rest of the fallen plumbers are lucky that they have families to mourn them, but for people like Revenna, Argit and even that young prostitute woman killed mercilessly have no one. I'm pinning this to the tree for her and them, everyone deserves someone to love them. Rest in peace Revenna" he said looking at the tree one last time before walking away.

After walking away, with Ben and Gwen still under the umbrella, he approached another gravesite that read on its tombstone:

"Devin Levin of Osmos V. Beloved husband, father and dedicated plumber. May his soul rest in peace and rise in glory".

Kevin stood at the foot of his father's grave and stared down at it. Gwen placed her arms around his waist and Ben placed his hands on Kevin shoulder for support as Kevin was lost in thoughts. When he was finally ready to go, and let go of his past, he left the memorial park with his best friends along side him...

THE NEXT DAY

Ben Tennyson and his team pulled up to one of their favourite spots to hangout at in Kevin's car. Kevin parked at his usual spot around their other peers who were also hanging out and also enjoyed the same place. Ben walked out of the car in routine to get what they had come for, which left Gwen and Kevin alone in the car.

"I'm so glad that everything's over now so we can finally get back to normal" said Kevin

"You realise that normal means normal. As in no more drinking for you, and no self-harming" Gwen whispered taking his hand and rubbing the scars on his wrists.

"The same goes for you, no more acting like a runaway, it scared me, you reminded me of your cousin Sunny" said Kevin.

"Really?" she asked slightly amused.

"Yeah, and a little like Jennifer Nocturne, when she- as the tabloids said- 'ran away with the older man who kidnapped her"

"That's not good, Ben and I saw her and she wasn't a pretty sight, she was totally lost in it." She said. "Hey Kevin, can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"Did you still have feelings for her, Revenna I mean?"

Kevin thought about this. "I did, once, back in the day, but on planet Mecka or now Azania, I wanted to help her because I saw that she wanted another chance, but now I can't imagine being with anyone else but you".

She kept quiet before whispering to him "I had a pregnancy scare a few days ago and it turned out to be negative"

Kevin didn't know how to feel, he just felt numb. "You shouldn't have gone through that by yourself" he said taking her head and placing it on his broad shoulders.

"You were in jail, I had no choice. I think that we should just take things slow from now on, we were rushing everything too fast"

"You were the one riding me like a horse going too fast!" He teased.

"Kevin Levin! You know that's not what I meant!" she said blushing in embarrassment as he just laughed.

"No, I understand, we should take it one day at a time and not rush our relationship" he said sincerely.

In the meantime, give me that ring back, when you remember to bring it"

"Why?"

"Because it's mine" she said. "I'll put it in my jewellery box at home".

He kissed her cheek and was about to kiss her soft lips but was interrupted by Ben who had just come back and stuck his head in the car window on Kevin's side.

"Three mango smoothies on a chilled late Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of Mr Smoothies in Bellwood, here we go!" he said sounding too excited.

Kevin and Gwen got out of the car and took their smoothies from Ben and sat on the hood of Kevin's car with Ben joining them. Kevin temporarily got off the hood of his car and went to turn up the music on his iPod docked in his car of which their surrounding peers, also relaxing around the parking lot of the Mr Smoothies began jamming to his music, sippin' their smoothies and enjoying their day. Just as Kevin got back onto the hood and placed his free arm not holding his smoothie around Gwen, Ben had to voice his concerns.

"Can you believe that over a month ago today, we were chasing Argit in ironically named Prosperity City for stealing laser guns?" asked Ben loudly slurping his smoothie.

"Okay, moment ruined by Ben" said Gwen, putting on her sunglasses to shield the sun from her light eyes.

"I'm just saying, I'm a little concerned about Morgg's prison, I mean what's to stop him from escaping like he did last time?"

"Oh, don't you worry about Morgg escaping, I already took care of that" said Kevin satisfied.

Meanwhile on the ship near the Galvin built by Azmuth to house one of the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy. A young plumber named Helen slipped a single white envelope in the gap under the door of Morgg's cell.

Morgg, looking too pleased with himself as he was expecting a package form his gangsters containing a tool that would help him escape, opened the envelope and a small plastic teaspoon fell out onto the floor. Morgg looking surprised took out the letter inside the envelope that had come with the teaspoon and read it.

On it was written:

Dear: Morgg

I found out about your plan to escape, so I took the liberty of replacing the tool you wanted with one you needed to escape. This time, I made sure that I was ahead of you. You should count yourself lucky that I didn't get to deal with you personally for all the mess you made with my family and friends or I would have shown you what I was really like as a kid.

Well, if you ever hope to escape, you'd better start digging...

Kevin Eleven

Morgg let out a hateful scream that echoed in his tiny cell. He ran to the door and smashed his fists into it in his fury as he realised that he would have to stay there alone, in the quiet for over fifty years with his double life imprisonment sentence, being heavily guarded constantly by security, in an impenetrable ship made by the smartest being in five galaxies while three teenagers back on planet earth lived their lives and tired their best to keep the universe at peace from monsters like him...

-THE END-

Thank you for reading this story, I can't believe its done, sorry for the spelling errors/grammatical errors if you spot any. You can review, critique and recommend anything if you like, but for now I have to say "N'dizanibonani Ngelinyilanga" (See ya'll later) :