Tony the Talking Clock was one of the worst out there. Corruption is a powerful biomechanism of objects. And he used it to it's fullest extent. Of course... considering the scenario from which he was created, it was almost an inevitability that he turned out like this.
...
When the universe we are observing in this story started, there was Father Time. He sat in waiting for billions of years, for something, ANYTHING, to happen. Other creatures of his caliber were formed during that time, like Mother Nature and Primordial Soup. Some creatures already existed, like me. But he was the one that made sure any of it was able to happen, because he was that from which time flowed.
As the planet that resembles our universe's earth was formed, the interesting thing he was waiting for finally started to happen. Minuscule life was indeed beginning to spring forth and over a much shorter period of time, sentience began to arise. Other eternal beings were already in the process of creating their OWN sentiences to match, in the form of gods and spirits. Father Time didn't want to be left out, of course, so he made his own god of time. His son would be able to portray the immense power of time in a way that a mortal could understand. And that was Kronos.
For a while, the two exercised their will upon earth casually, giving humanoid form to time in a way that the prehistoric humans and objects could understand. But Kronos grew lonely, and wanted to follow in his father's footsteps in more ways than one. And so, right around the time when historical records were beginning to take hold in society, Kronos formed a son of his own.
He was a mortal boy, a clock object. But it didn't take very long at all for him to be influenced by his immortal relatives in ways that normal people would consider... negative. Corruption is fickle, but considering how early in history this was, he was likely one of THE first recorded object corruptions.
Corruption stops your aging, giving you eternal longevity. That is the first step. The second is physical mutations. The only consistent one is that your dark blue inky body sours into a pure black. There are other potential mutations however, and the chances increase the longer you live. The third step is developing a set of powers. The longer you exist, the more powerful you grow, and the more you can hone your abilities. Now you would think that these benefits would cause more objects to intentionally corrupt themselves, but they are a naturally good hearted species. That's why this even causes mutations in the first place, as opposed to humans.
Tony became corrupt over 5000 years ago. He didn't look a day past 40. One wouldn't be able to tell at first glance, but a mutation of his was his extra pair of arms, tucked hidden in his clothes. Unsurprisingly, he developed time powers. With one hand he could freeze time, with another reverse, another could speed up, and the last could erase.
Tony the Talking Clock spent his existence throughout almost all of history toying with object and human kind. He was like a myth or a legend, a tall creature that could kill you in an instant or turn you old and young with the twist of his hands. A disturbing man that caused chaos where ever he arrived and left only a few alive, and only for the sake of spreading his legend. He cemented himself as one of ancient time's greatest mythical monsters, and certainly didn't stop there.
As humanity progressed, he too found new ways to toy with others. While everyone grew more organized, he turned from a hulking monster to a sneaky cryptid of the night, sowing disruption where he could. People who feared him would evacuate their homes the moment a rumor of his presence blew in. The more brave souls tried to kill him or fight back, to very little avail. Tony had suffered enough near death experiences to know that a knife to the chest was indeed survivable. The truly twisted humans and objects out there might approach him with payment and ask him to kill those they disliked. He quite enjoyed these, and gladly disposed his services upon those deranged enough to agree with him.
The world got bigger and bigger and disasters got worse and worse and he continued to stoke the flames at every opportunity. Any war he could dip his hands into, any natural disaster he could worsen, any injustice he could perpetuate, he would at any cost. For what else could he do with his life? He didn't know. There was nothing else he knew but this, so why would he even try an option he refused to acknowledge as existing? He disregarded any form of affection as nonsense, even from his own family, and ESPECIALLY from other humans and objects. What use could he have for it, when he was already above everyone?
He was the highest form of life, he told himself. He could do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted because it was well within his rights. He was smarter, more talented, more powerful, more handsome, more wise, more cruel, more AMAZING than any other creature in all of history, he insisted.
And yet still, something creeped up on him slowly.
He felt a strange emotion as his atrocities progressed. That he was... doing something wrong perhaps. But that was ridiculous, he was NEVER wrong. Maybe he was just being too immature, after all, he WAS 3,300 years old now. His father was already in the business of godlihood at that age. Or maybe he was just getting burnout. Being an agent of chaos and destruction using the unthrottled power of time was pretty exhausting after so long. Perhaps he just needed a short break.
And so in the 1700s, Tony the Talking Clock decided to go on murder rehabilitation, much to the enjoyment of his more mortal family members. He laid low for a long time, merely observing the world as it jolted itself through the colonial age and the industrial revolution. He felt a serene yet miserable calm as he waited for his silly emotions to go away.
One day, he did break his probation, but only for a little bit! He was eating at a nice restaurant in Serbia when he saw a young human down on his luck, saying he just failed an assassination. Tony decided to give the man a little pep talk, it wasn't all that bad, there'll be other chances! Soon after that, World War 1 broke out.
Tony waited further throughout the 20th century, being terribly miserable that he couldn't contribute to nuclear weaponry. However, as the 21st century rolled around, the rest of his family grew more interested in him. He seemingly cooled down enough to include him in other events. Perhaps now would be a good time to reach out to him...