Night Widow Ricki
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
"You work hard to climb the list, twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift."
Night Widow Ricki was born when whims of creating a widow combined with the concept of someone who took Arachnos's recruitment fliers seriously. Throw in a pop culture reference and a star was born.
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In-Game Background
"The recruitment flyer said 'Join the ranks of the proud' and 'Become more.' It sure sounded more appealing than a career in waitressing, so I signed up. Only after a couple of years did I realize that they really meant. 'Join the ranks of the proud Zig inmates' and 'Become more of a statistic.' I was about ready to re-think the merts of omelette delivery when I heard about the Destined Ones. All that training and hard-work and near-death experiences and some bozo with an army of ninjas is getting all the cool missions?
So wouldn't you know it, I too had a greater destiny. Now I'm Ricki Taylor, Night Widow -and- Destined One. No more Operation Human Shields, endless helmet hair, or tables for four for me. This is where I really do become more."
The Dossier
For most of her life, Ricki Taylor led a mundane boring existance - which may have been the worst upbringing of all. She grew up in Sandusky, Ohio, raised by working-class parents in a working-class part of town. She excelled in class, graduating in the top of her class, and aced her way through community college to a bachelor's degree. It was then that she found that there wasn't much of a job market for her talents, and she wound up working as a waitress downtown to wait for her opportunity. And wait. And wait.
And then opportunity knocked with eight arms. Ricki was caught up in an Arachnos raid on a research firm across the street, as the raiders fled they left behind recruitment flyers beckoning the citizens to 'Become More'. Very much bored and done with her life in semi-rural Ohio, she arranged passage to the Rogue Isles to sign up for the Arachnos Widow program. Disdained by her fellow trainees due to a lack of mercenary or dignified background, it only drove her more to excel and graduate as the top of her class. This didn't help her any with her initial assignments, however, as she wound up on many a mission covering the escapades of capricious Arbiters and Operatives. The thin line between escape and the Zig was very narrow indeed, and having had one too many close shaves frustration built up.
It was then that she discovered the Destined Ones program, and things nearly exploded. Here she had been busting her ass against heroes and Longbow and now a bunch of dolled-up gimmicks were getting the plum assignments from Kalinda. No, this would not do. Enter Alan Desslock. With the mercenary's help, she was able to slip into the Destined Ones program, rising up not only through those ranks but the ranks of the widows themselves to become a full-fledged Night Widow. It was also through this program that she was given her assignment to join up with the Entropy Legion. It was unusual for the Legion to take in a rather mundane member, but the Legion has been short on straight men. Or in this case, a straight woman.
The Personality
To borrow a quote from Seth Gecko, Ricki may be a ******* but she's not a ******* *******. Outwardly, she's polite and well-spoken, perhaps even a little elegant born out of her years working with Arachnos's finest. To her associates, she's always calm and friendly. Inwardly, she's... not really that different. She's not fueled by vengeance, rage, or any psychosis. If you were to ask her, she's just a normal - if highly trained - girl. All she ever wanted was her chance to seize opportunity on her own terms, and to live an adventurous life to the fullest. Arachnos opened up that window for her, and she's been running full steam ever since.
Regrets? Maybe. But there's always some hero around to clean up after her and the Legion. And Widow knows she can't leave her teammates alone unsupervised...