"You sure this is the right place?" Kevin asked Ben.
Kevin, Ben, Gwen, Rin, and Looma were crouched on a rooftop looking through a skylight. Looma was fidgeting but Rin was the only one to notice, he decided to ask about it after the mission.
"Pretty sure," Ben said, "This is where the tipster said the deal was going down."
"That's the part that's concerning," Rin said, "Normally is either me or Kevin who get info like this, it's strange."
They moved over to another skylight and saw what they came for. There were loads of Forever Knights moving boxes that looked like they were full of energy weapons around the warehouse.
"See? I told you!" Ben said, "Let's get them."
Ben jumped through the glass with Kevin who absorbed part of the roof and Gwen while turning into Humungosaur. Rin held Looma back and told her something felt wrong.
Ben tried punching one of the Knights but his fist phased right through him.
"What? Holograms?" He asked out loud.
"Good guess."
They turned where the voice came from and saw someone press a button on a disk which caused the holograms to disappear. He walked out of the shadows and revealed that he was wearing Plumber armor.
"Magister Gilhil of the Plumbers. Magister Prior Gilhil." He said, "I'm the commanding officer of this quadrant, you're all under arrest for impersonating officers of the law."
Ben looked confused and returned to his normal form with Gihlil towering over him.
"Arrested for what?" He asked.
"You've illegally impersonated Plumbers, the only law enforcement recognized by every member of the Milky Way Treaty. That's an interstellar class felony."
"Sounds bad," Kevin commented offhandedly.
"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you," Gilhil said.
"If I were YOU I wouldn't talk that way to someone who can kick your can halfway up the street and back!" Kevin responded.
"You feeling froggy boy? Then jump." Gilhil said,
Kevin smiled.
"Ribbit."
Kevin went for a punch but Gilhil caught it and twisted Kevin's wrist, causing it to make a "pop" sound. He grabbed Kevin by the scruff of his shirt and threw him through some wooden crates and into a metal wall.
"Stay down son," Gilhil said as he stopped in front of Kevin.
Kevin absorbed the wall and punched Gilhil in the face, staggering the Magister. He punched him again, knocking him back, but this time, he kept his footing.
Gilhil rubbed his chin, "As much fun as it would be going a couple more rounds with you, I don't have the time."
He pulled out a gun and shot an energy bola at Kevin which wrapped around him and caused him to float upside down in the air. Ben activated the Omnitrix and the hologram was set to Goop.
"Don't" Gilhil said.
"Do" Gwen retorted.
He slammed the watch core and dodged a shot from the bola gun after he transformed. He snaked his way around another shot and wrapped around the Magister, quickly incapacitating him.
"You wanna talk? let's talk." Ben said.
Later on the roof, everyone was there, including Rin and Looma who were out of sight.
"I don't get why we gotta talk to him!" Kevin said annoyed.
"Because I'm the Plumber authority responsible for this whole section of space," Gilhil responded, equally annoyed,
"Then you know we're the good guys." Ben reasoned.
"What I do know is that over the last months I've gotten several reports of you kids passing yourselves off as Plumbers." He said.
"Our grandfather was a Plumber," Gwen said.
"Max Tennyson. He was a good man. But, that doesn't make you plumbers. And you," He said, turning his attention to Kevin, "You don't even have a claim by blood."
"Yes, I do," Kevin said angrily, "My father, my real father was a-"
He trailed off.
"Kevin?" Gwen asked.
"It's nothing." He said dismissively.
"The point is," Gilhil continued, "There's a reason we shut down Plumber operations on Earth five years ago. After Vilgax was destroyed-"
"You mean after I destroyed him?" Ben interrupted.
"Credit due. But Earth is a backwater Level Two planet, without an imminent threat, I can't allow Plumber resources to be wasted here. I've got over three hundred inhabited planets under my watch."
"Magister," Ben said.
"Wait," Gwen said, "Wasn't the last Plumber we met also named Magister? Wasn't it Magister Labrid?"
Gilhil let out a small grin.
"Magister isn't a name, it's a rank. You pretend to be Plumbers but know nothing about the job."
"I've never pretended to be anything!" Gwen yelled indignantly.
"Aliens are attacking our planet. We're just fighting to keep it safe." Ben added.
"I've read several reports on your activities, there is no evidence of significant alien activity here."
"We've seen them!" Ben yelled, "Rin, Albedo, and I wrecked one of their ships."
Gilhil shuddered at the mention of Rin and Albedo.
"Regardless, in a few months, there will be a new magister for Earth pretty soon. He'll come by in a few months. If you have any proof, give it to him."
"Still dodging problems are you?"
Gilhil cringed massively on the inside but hid his cringe at hearing Rin's voice.
"Alan," Gilhil said through clenched teeth.
"Prior," Rin said with a too-sweet tone as Looma stopped next to him.
"Look, as much fun as throwing verbal barbs with you is, I have important shit to do," Gilhil said.
He pressed a button on his wrist and was teleported to his ship which quickly flew off.
"I'd like some context as to what the heck that was," Ben said.
"Not much context, we just don't like each other much,"
"And why is that?" Ben asked.
"We went to the same Plumber academy and I kinda sabotaged him."
Kevin got a look on his face that not even Rin could decipher and asked, "How did you sabotage him?"
"Oh, I just modified the glove he used to throw Nuclear Fusion Grenades so that the grenade would remain stuck to the glove," Rin said way too casually.
Looma and Kevin's became the size of dinner plates, confusing Ben and Gwen.
"Meaning?" Gwen said, motioning for him to continue.
"He strapped a nuke to Gilhil's hand," Kevin said.
"Jesus Christ!" Ben said.
"Is this that shocking considering the bullshit I pull on a daily basis?" Rin said.
Gwen and Ben were about to respond, but after they thought for a second they realized it was pretty par for the course.
"It's getting late, shouldn't Ben and Gwen be getting home soon?" Looma asked.
They checked their phones and nearly had heart attacks when they realized they were way past curfew. Gwen ran to Kevin's car and Ben transformed into Jetray.
After they left, Rin turned to Looma.
"Is something wrong? You've been fidgeting a lot recently." He asked.
She blushed and fidgeted more.
"I've got a couple of pieces of news for when we get home." She said while avoiding eye contact, seemingly out of embarrassment.
Rin nodded his head in understanding and transformed into MonKi before grabbing onto Looma's shoulders. He concentrated and started flying back to their house.
It took a few minutes, but they were there in no time. They landed in front of the door and Rin returned to his human form. They walk inside the house and sit on a couch next to each other.
"So," Rin began, "What's the news?"
Looma took a deep breath and said, "Before I tell you what's going on, I want to say that I am happy about one part of the news and deeply distressed by the other."
Rin nodded.
She exhaled and said, "I went to my yearly checkup on Khoros last week and they noticed something odd which they needed to test."
Rin nodded his head, showing that he was listening.
"They drew some blood and as it turns out, I'm pregnant." She said with a small smile on her face.
It took Rin a short second to recognize what she just said and his reaction was both surprised and unreadable.
"Huh, neat." He said plainly.
Looma was drinking from a bottle of water that was on the table and did a spit-take.
"That's it?!" She asked, semi-angry.
"Sorry, blanket reaction." He said sheepishly, "To be honest I don't know how to feel."
"What do you mean?" She asked nervously, this was the first time she has ever felt any bit of anxiety.
"Well, on one hand, I'm scared." He said, "I have no idea if I could raise a child as the only example I've had is how my parents raised me and I'm not exactly the most 'complete' individual."
Looma looked as if she was about to cry when Rin continued talking.
"On the other hand, I can't describe my excitement. I honestly never thought that I would have a kid with anyone, that my only kids would be the ones born through Big Chill when his instincts took over my body." Rin said, "It's simply amazing."
Looma looked relieved by this.
"So, you're not breaking up with me?" She asked.
Rin looked at her.
"Of course not." He said seriously, "I would never do that to anyone while they're in a situation like this, especially not you."
He leaned in closer.
"Simply put, you're the most amazing woman I have ever met and your the only person I can confidently say that I love."
He leaned in closer and kissed her. She was a little surprised and her cheeks turned a slightly brighter shade of red before she reciprocated.
They pulled back and Rin asked, "What's the other news?"
Her happy demeanor faltered and she got a look like her entire life was shattered.
"My father announced the news to everyone on the planet and none of them liked the idea of the Princess giving birth to the child of someone like you." She said shakily.
"Is it the ten percent Galvan thing?" He asked.
"They also don't like that you're a human. My father couldn't care less about your species so long as we're happy. All the males on Khoros have challenged you for my hand in marriage. You would have to fight them all at once like a battle royale and if you won we would have to get married immediately which you said you weren't ready f-"
She was cut off by Rin kissing her again. She was even more surprised this time, but he quickly broke the kiss.
"Looma," He said, "I don't care that we would have to get married immediately. I told you that I love you. and I mean it. I've never been more sure of anything, even if I don't know how to express it."
Looma was crying by this point, no one had ever felt this way about her and she had never felt this way about someone. She pulled him into a hug as she cried more. He stroked her hair soothingly and held her close with his free hand.
She stopped crying and separated while drying her eyes.
"When is the challenge happening?" Rin asked.
"In five days." She said, "We have to go to Khoros and you have to fight in a sacred stadium."
He nodded his head. He turned around and noticed Albedo coming up from his basement lab.
"Did you hear what we were talking about?" Looma asked.
"Yes, congratulations on the baby." He said with a small smile.
"Haven't seen you smile in a while," Rin said.
"Little bit difficult not to when your best friend is about to be a parent." Albedo retorted.
Looma told Rin that she would go upstairs to pack some stuff for them that they would need during the trip. She walked up the stairs and after she was gone, Rin looked to Albedo.
"Albedo, I need you to promise me something," Rin said gravely.
"What is it?" He asked. His friend didn't normally have a tone that serious.
"If some unforeseen accident happens and I die. I want you to protect the world with Ben in my place." He said.
Albedo exhaled and said, "I promise."
They stayed in silence until Looma came back downstairs a couple of minutes later with two suitcases.
"You ready?" She asked.
"Yeah," Rin said as he stood.
They walked outside and Rin pressed a button that transformed his car into a small travel ship. They got into the ship and got in the pilot and co-pilot seats. They strapped two belts around their torsos that formed an X shape on their chests before Rin started the ship. It glowed bright purple in the night before it quickly flew out of the planet's atmosphere, leaving only a fading trail of purple light in its wake.