Wild Time
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Wild Time by Tovio Rogers (from United Underworld group shot) | |
| Wild Time | |
| Player: RobotoHQ/Holygiant | |
| Origin: | ??? |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Dominator/Controller |
| Threat Level: | 50(+1) |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Leonardo Rossini |
| Known Aliases: | Confidential |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 34(born 10/30/1979) |
| Height: | 5'6 1/2 |
| Weight: | Unknown |
| Eye Color: | Unknown |
| Hair Color: | Dyed green |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Occupation: | Villain |
| Place of Birth: | Catania, Sicily, Italy |
| Base of Operations: | Outpost Omega, Shadow Shard |
| Marital Status: | Unknown |
| Known Relatives: | Confidential |
| Known Powers | |
| Psionics | |
| Known Abilities | |
| N/A | |
| Equipment | |
| Spyderco butterfly knife, lighter, vodka bottle | |
| ' | |
"Now, are y'sayin' that you're evil to the core, or that you're made of evil, or that evil is a philosophical path that you follow?"
"All of those. Times two."
-Wild Time on his morality
I found Wild Time's name on the Virtue Name Watch on 7/21/2010 when someone released about 30 names. I spotted Wild Time and it's been a big success ever since. Wild Time is certainly a very fun character to play. He has obvious inspiration from The Joker, but I usually try to take his personality a step farther away from just another homage, to being his own character. Originally, I was going to make a Marcone named 'Arrivederci' (Italian for goodbye) but the name was taken. Combining this inspiration with a new-found focus on time with the name 'Wild Time," he was born. He is a common source of comic relief to his team and everyone else around him with his quintessential 'supervillain' antics, but he can still show a more serious and profound side of his character as well. Wild Time is by far my favorite of all of my City of Heroes characters from the past, albeit one of my final.
Then, in mid-November, upon an invitation to the excellent villain group United Underworld, Wild-Time was created. I had been wanting to create a new Wild Time with time manipulation, but didn't want to get rid of the old, primarily because of his history (alongside a then-upcoming revamp of his powers.)
As of July 2014, this character is being reworked for personal purposes (and, with any luck, for a restart). The new WT's backstory will follow.
LEVEL 50 - 1/30/12
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Contents |
Pre-CoX/Sicily Blues
Leonardo was born to the large Sicilian Rossini family. The Rossini Family has a reputation of being rather neutral, holding one of the biggest alliances of the many American and Sicilian mafias. His wealthy father drove the family into becoming a massive, successful syndicate. They became well known as the family who ran east Sicily - the scourge of Catania. They were truly untouchable - they bribed the police, they defeated the other families, they even annihilated upstart heroes in the most sly ways imaginable - car bombs, backstabbings, you name it.
That all changed quickly. An associate of the Rossini family known as Lucio Abbracciavento had lost a package loaded with methamphetamine, intended to be delivered to clients of the Rossini family, while running from police. These police officers investigated this mysterious package and traced it back to Leonardo's father, who was then arrested and hauled off to prison.
His father didn't take long to escape with the web of connections he had, but with his newly minted notoriety as the chief of the big Rossini Alliance, he was a target for the police and heroes of Sicily. He knew that bribes would eventually not be enough. He was essentially forced to stay in hiding and run his gang discreetly. Anything too major could be traced back to him and land him in an unbreakable federal prison - or worse.
Their lack of flexibility cost them power, and alliances started to fade away, turning them into mere neutrality. However, one of Leonardo's brothers had found connection to the most influential group of the American Mafia. The Marcones were astoundingly big, even compared to the Rossini family. They were so massive that they were simply referred to as 'The Family' in Paragon and the Isles, and they could even stand toe to toe with the supers.
Leonardo, in his early life, went through a prestigious high school program in Sicily - the Giurisprudenza, a law program that would end him with a five-year degree. It was an intense program, and he dropped out at 15, believing that working for the family business would turn out a lot better than becoming a pet lawyer to bail out mobsters. He found himself, instead, running around on the streets at 15, delivering packages full of product from place to place, being a lookout for heists and shakedowns - the usual.
Even at 19, when Leonardo had a pressed white suit and shot up banks with all of the other made men, Leonardo was still on the shorter side of his peers. He was at a measely 5'6 with a pretty small frame - but what he lacked in size he made up for in raw power and ingenuity. As despicable as the mob was considered in Sicily, he was a moral gold standard. He pushed drugs and killed people, but he stood up for innocents if he knew they were being treated unjustly by his fellow mafioso. If there was a man beating his wife on the streets, Leonardo would fight that man until he was in a full body cast. Then, he'd leave the hospital a few weeks later and shoot the guy in the face.
He was quiet, reserved and reasonable, but he could fight if a fight was demanded. He didn't need a machete to take down a guy twice his size - just a few good hits with his strong technique and the guy was finished. This got him a few broken bones, but it was all worth it to him. Anything for his family.
Nuovo Alleanza - New Alliance
He was twenty-six years old in 2005. Old enough to be considered a veteran of the streets and of the gang wars of Sicily. With his many brothers acting as ringleaders and hitmen for the Rossini family, Leonardo spoke to his father, the Don, one day. He was asked personally by his father due to his somewhat diplomatic nature and raw experience to act as a link between the Rossini family and the Marcones in the United States to secure a lot of money and power for both families.
Leonardo worked a long year as an extortionist and package runner, just like his teenage years. He was especially strong in this field, and moved on to become a Button Man himself. He participated in gang wars alongside his new, English-speaking brethren. As he climbed the 'corporate ladder,' so to speak, the ties between the two mobs became more tight. It wasn't long until he found himself a boss of his own crew, spraying down Hellions and concrete-shoeing snitches at the docks.
He became especially notorious when he was held responsible for killing a vigilante in Port Oakes, scoring him an invitation to attend a private party in the back of the Golden Giza. Slipping on his finest tie and outfitting himself in the whitest of suits, Leonardo made his way into the casino.
It was there that Emil asked him for a personal favor - to get revenge on a certain scientist for double-crossing him. He ordered not only that the hit be completed as soon as possible, but that a certain device be retrieved from his company laboratory - a device secured in a safe of mysterious description. Leonardo, wanting to please both of his families, graciously accepted the task and rallied up his crew to plan the heist as soon as he left, albeit being a tad drunk.
Payday
He passed out at the safehouse, and they plotted when he woke up. They scribbled together a map of the laboratory and pulled balaclavas out of their closets. They grabbed their ammo bags, cocked their shotguns, loaded their Tommy guns and drove off to the hit.
Busting into the lab was easy. Only one hapless guard was stationed at the front with a metal detector. His crew shot him down, hopped over the barricade and kicked down the door past reception. They sprayed at the ceiling and shouted for everybody to hit the floor, pulling the receptionist inside as a hostage. They screamed the name of the scientist they were looking for, threatening to execute hostages.
In the midst of the chaos, Leonardo spotted a man in his office towards the back, shuffling through his desk frantically. He approached the door and read the sign, but the scientist spotted him on the way over. He burst out of the office, knocking Leo down, and sprinted down the hallway. Ordering his crew to keep the hostages busy, he gave chase down the hall.
Leonardo sprinted, firing warning shots at his quarry. He saw the man slide a card over the door and slip in, but not before he was able to get in himself. Chasing down his target, he had him pinned into a corner at gunpoint.
"Listen... whatever I did to piss off you guys... I... I can make it up! I can pay you back! I... just... just don't hurt me," he stammered frantically.
Leonardo stood silently for a moment, pondering the words of his victim. Eventually, he spoke.
"Open the safe on the wall and I will," said Leonardo decisively.
Reluctantly, the scientist limped over to the safe and slid his hand over a biometrics scanner. He looked back at Leonardo with a new expression of immense fear, as if something scared him even more than the barrel of the gun breathing down his neck. He took a deep breath and pulled open the safe very quickly. He closed his eyes and slammed down on a device sitting inside the safe.
There, a strange vortex appeared. A funnel of indescribable visions. The scientist cowered in fear as Leonardo was entranced by the vortex. Something there changed him forever. It was as if a hand of pure insanity reached out to him from the vortex and tapped his mind, embracing him with utter madness.
The scientist realized he was stuck. He realized he had made one of the worst decisions of his life. He stared at Leonardo, careful not to peer into the vortex, but afraid to take any action. Soon, Leonardo turned and looked at him with a large grin on his face.
The quarry was puzzled. He looked at his hunter's passive stance, his machine gun laid by his side as he grinned ear to ear. It was a wave of both relief and another form of horror that overtook him. After a long, eerie silence, the scientist spoke.
"So... I gave you what you wanted. The thing in the safe. Can I lea-"
He was cut off abruptly as a barrage of bullets annihilated his body, leaving him dead in the corner of the lab.
Bridge Burner
Leonardo left the lab grinning, walking past his confused allies with his gun clutched at his side. He stopped at the door to the company and cracked up laughing, leaning against the door frame, peeling off his balaclava as the hostages and mobsters stared at him in fascination and fear.
One of the mobsters, a tall brown haired man nicknamed Mickey, spoke out, his head turned with his shotgun pointing at the receptionist on the floor.
"Boss, the hell's..."
He was cut off by Leonardo. "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! Actually, you know what, goodbye."
He sprayed a controlled burst of bullets at Mickey, and he hit the floor. The receptionist screamed and the mobsters looked on in complete devastation. Leonardo glared at the crowd, panning back and forth as everyone stared at him, his laughter turned into a distinctive look of pure anger.
"You know... you know... you know his time was up?" said Leonardo. He burst out into another round of hysterical laughter and slipped through the door as his astonished crew shuffled around, one of them pulling Mickey's lifeless body over to the side and attempting to resurrect him. Another Marcone stared out the door as Leonardo left. Leonardo sprayed bullets at the ceiling while he exited, laughing maniacally all the way.
He went missing after that incident. Emil was outraged; not only was the job a partial failure, but the man he assigned the task to shot one of his own men and then disappeared without a trace.
It wasn't until the next week that he turned up in Emil Marcone's seedy back-alley office in Port Oakes, at the Hook and Anchor casino.
He stumbled through the door in a green and red dyed suit, bright green hair and a horrible grinning mask. The guards bounced strange looks off him and approached him with a casual, snickering demeanor, standing in front of the small man to block his entry to the back office.
Emil Marcone soon saw the green-haired, suited man strolling into his office, laughter echoing from the lobby. Leonardo shut the door and he sat down in the chair at Emil's desk.
Emil glared at the figure sitting casually in front of him, the mask grinning back.
"First of all... who the hell are you? Second of all... good job getting in," said Emil.
"Why, I'm Leonardo Rossini! Don't you recognize me, Mistah Marcone?" Leonardo said innocently.
Emil stared at him in disgust. He took a moment to look down and collect his thoughts.
"Alright... you know what. You think it's okay to come in here after you -failed- a task I gave you personally and shot a footsoldier? You think that's okay, Leo-"
"Actually, call me Wild Time," said Leonardo, pulling out a pocket watch and dropping it with a loud thump on the desk.
Emil looked at the pocket watch in utter disgust. He sighed, and leaned forward, pummeling his cigar into the ashtray on his desk.
"You're out, Leo... Wild Time. Out of the Marcones. Go back to Sicily, go back to your madre, I don't care. But you're nuts. You're nuts, and if you don't get out of my fucking sight immediately I'm gonna give you the turban and throw you in the sea."
Leonardo tilted his head oddly, looking at Emil, and the grin on his mask widened immensely.
"Why, whateva do ya mean, Mistah Marcone?" he said curiously.
He pulled his hand up from under the table and shot Emil in the chest with a revolver.
Emil slumped back and grabbed his chest, grimmacing. He writhed in pain as Leonardo started to laugh again... that evil laugh. He picked up his pocketwatch and Emil slumped onto the floor, wheezing, coughing up blood and pulling a cellphone out of his jacket pocket. Leonardo picked up his watch, dropped it down his collar and dusted off his black gloved hands.
"I think that'll be all. Looks like that's all the time we got, folks!" he said, laughing hysterically.
Leonardo meandered out of the room, slipping out the side door into the alley as the unconscious guards gazed into the distance with smiles on their faces, completely entranced by their madness. He was a changed man now. He was beyond notoriety. The Marcones feared him. The Mooks were terrified of him. The Hellions loathed him. He was no longer just a standard Made Man. He was a god with this power in his hands - the greatest being who ever lived in his eyes. Nothing could stop him, and it could only go up from there.
CoX: O, Syndicate, Where Art Thou?
Upon officially "retiring" from the Marcones, insisting that they were the traitors in this situation, Wild Time, as he called himself, knew he had to rise up and take his rightful place on the villain hierarchy. He had plenty of contacts at his disposal and there were plenty of powerful villains ready to join his ranks.
Wild Time established the Arrivederci Syndicate, the "finest Family splinter cell known to man or wolf". It was quickly proven that he was capable of being a respected leader, with numbers rising steady day and night by way of picking the runts of the litter off Mercy Isle. After a feud with the elusive Black Heart Machine, the Arrivederci Syndicate slowly fell apart and Wild Time disbanded it in frustration.
Off The Radar
Wild Time seemed to have disappeared in the months following the disbandment, but he had plans to infiltrate Black Heart Machine's group from the inside to enact his total revenge on the wretched woman. He eventually lost track of the group and decided to retire for awhile and take a break from constant violence.
It was short lived. While he enjoyed the luxury of a penthouse in Nerva, he craved killing. He craved more money and more fun. He donned the mask once again, slipping into a fresh vest he designed at the tailor. He was interested in putting himself back on the map. He wanted every hero hunting for his head and every villain to fear him! Wild Time knew just how to do this: find some friends.
A House United
The United Underworld, at the time a fresh duo consisting of the mysterious Nine-ball and the dastardly Maestro Fortissimo, was searching for villains to assist them in their efforts. They saw Wild Time's passion for the annihilation of all things good. He insisted that he was the best candidate for the Underworld that they could find out there, and thus he became the third. The Underworld soon exploded with new villains all pursuing wealth, infamy and power in their own way - but under one banner.
Wild Time, being one of the first to ascend to the Council of Chaos, knew he could take advantage of the innovative revolving democracy that the United Underworld presented. He had every intention to devise a master plan and carry it forth. It was just a matter of time before he was elected.
In the first election, however, Wild Time lost to Maestro Fortissimo in a tense race by a vote of 4-3. However, he was still waiting in the shadows for his time to strike.
Invasion of Paragon City
On January 29, 2012, the Underworld openly attacked Paragon City with a chaotic rampage and intent of using a biological weapon. With a place that has such a reputation as a City of Heroes, it's not an easy feat to simply waltz in and siege Atlas Park. You have to be a bit more subtle - but having a little fun in the process never hurt anybody! The Challengers and their allies, known as the Grey Watch, dashed valiantly to the rescue of their fellow heroes and the hapless citizens they have always aimed to protect.
In the midst of this invasion, Wild Time raided Chiron Medical with some hired cronies and caused massive mayhem. However, in the bloodshed, Wild Time was able to slip in and plant toxic blood in the supply to slowly infect Paragon City. He was disguised as a doctor - Doctor Rossini - and staged himself as a hostage. Xanatos and his team valiantly saved the doctors from the hospital, and let Wild Time free without any suspicion that the very man that they were trying to stop was right under their noses!
He flew back to the Isles in a private jet and held an immediate emergency meeting with the Underworld.
Ascension
The emergency meeting was originally only to plan when a vote would be called. However, a decision was made instead to instate a new leader after the failure of Maestro Fortissimo's invasion. Wild Time beat Becky Beatdown seven to zero in another vote. Now, all Wild Time had to do was to put his plan in motion. He'd get Maestro Fortissimo and Nine-ball out of their prisons orbiting space under the watchful eye of the Challengers. He sent a tape detailing his diabolical plans to the Challengers - his plans to infect the entire city with a bloodborne virus and take control as the rightful king of the city!
The next day, Nine-ball broke out of Xanatos' impromptu prison on his own. Now, all that was left was the Maestro. A group of Challengers appeared to take Maestro from his cell on Longbow's order. They tugged him to Siren's Call to turn him over to the government only to be intercepted by the United Underworld who clutched an offer in their hands: a suitcase full of antidotes. He offered them in exchange for his comrade, the Maestro.
The Underworld, in full, met the Challengers on a half-sunken oil silo north of the Arachnos base established in Siren's Call. Wild Time approached the Challengers, snickering as he handed the case off. Johnny Turbo dashed off back to Paragon to deliver the little vials to hospitals only to find out that they're nothing more than colored water. He laughed at the Challengers, taunting their intelligence, pulling Maestro over to their side. He laughed in Red Havok's face and told him that they were fakes. Just like that, a brawl ensued.
It was an intense and action-packed ten minute fray. Both sides had their fair share of personal defeats and victories within the battle, but before the defeated Challengers could regroup, the ranks of remaining villains slipped away back to Sharkhead Isle.
Preparing his speech in front of the Underworld, Wild Time found himself rudely interrupted by none other than the Challengers. They were breaking protocol by entering the Isles, but an enigma known only as Phanto appeared bearing the name Kain, which had the Challengers heading back home in shame.
Sore Loser
Wild Time made a reckless decision to capitalize on the chaos caused by the toxin. He and his constituents from the Underworld set foot in the sewer system of Steel Canyon and started to cause serious damage to the sewers. The streets of Steel Canyon fell apart. Blyde Square was evacuated, and as the Longbow dropped in alongside many would-be heroes, the United Underworld were nowhere to be seen.
In the meantime, the Challengers were in a race against the clock to find the original batch of antidotes. After constant interrogation, they learned that the antidotes were supposedly locked in a lab in Antarctica. They flew as fast as they could to Antarctica only to find a base packed with HENCHmen, but no cure. A hero known as Azure Tracer had a brilliant idea to use her superhuman blood as a failsafe.
Wild Time's team beat up the Back Alley Brawler and moved on to find Holo-Man, an independent hero, who was protecting Doctor Ion, a scientist responsible for the gradual development of the antidote. They dispatched of Holo-Man and kidnapped Doctor-Ion, but their chaos in the sewers enraged a powerful monster who emerged from the depths. After defeating the monster, they secured a link back to the Isles.
The Challengers felt powerless. They barely missed their opponents. They returned to Paragon waiting for another shot at the cure.
However, Wild Time made another foolish decision: he returned to Paragon, offering a proposal of one billion dollars per cure. The Challengers were done playing games: they weren't going to be fooled again (YEAAAAAAAAH!) and instead traded blows with the Underworld.
With the home advantage, the Challengers were able to secure a clear victory over the Underworld this time. He was forced into making a deal to return Doctor Ion and provide antidotes in exchange for his group's freedom.
Cannot Stand
Nine-ball found himself Supreme Leader once more. Wild Time was still fixated on scheming for his next shot at the throne, even if it was months away. Nine-ball's term was rather uneventful, but did establish the creation of Outpost Omega, a floating fortress in the recesses of the Shadow Shard. Becky Beatdown won the next election and hatched a plan to increase the Underworld's power even more.
Associations
Annoying tin can. Really good at killing things that need killin', though. Mook knows what he's doin'. A lil' unsettling, though.
Met her back when I was runnin' The Zoo down in Sharkhead. Fun girl. Craaaaazy, no doubt, and a little bit too feisty sometimes, but fun! Ain't nobody else who gets chaos quite like she does.
Freakin' idiot, but he's my idiot. He pisses me off sometimes, but he is willing to pick sides and shoot fire at the other side. Luckily he usually picks mine.
Dunno what the hell he's doin' wearin' yellow tights everywhere he goes. The junk display is a bit too intense. But he's good at what he does. He's smart and terrifying for it.
Bore-snore. Don't know what to make out of 'er. I'm sure she can genius up some fun schemes, though!