The bonds weren't responding to her Fa Jing, despite the fact they appeared to be made out of some sort of metal. Frost suspected that they had been specially made for her, or her sifu. They did feel a little warn on her skin, so perhaps they were heated internally.
It had seemed like hours since she had woken up, bruised, battered, and in a finally indignity, strapped down. The room was oddly quiet, the only noise being a quite whirring from a machine that seemed to be keeping track of her vital signs. She couldn't be sure though, because the restraint around her neck prevented her from looking anywhere but straight ahead.
There were more restraints at her wrists, knees, and ankles, although curiously there were none on her torso. Despite the unusual arrangement, however, there was almost no room for her to move, and wriggling her middle did nothing but make the restraint around her neck cut alarmingly into her throat.
Instead of struggling futily against her bonds, she began to take stock of the situation. The itch of her forehead was gone, and the blood was mostly gone from her body, which was a positive sign. Most people didn't patch up those they planned to kill. She was still dressed in the outfit she was wearing when she was captured, though, which contrasted oddly with the sterile nature of the room. From what she could see, the walls appeared to be made of brushed metal, although there seemed to be pieces of metal littered around. All in all, it looked like a cross between an operating room and a mad scientist's lab.
She sighed heavily and tugged against the wrist restraints. They didn't even rattle.
---
Elsewhere, another Red Dragon member died suddenly, strangled silently with a small cord. His companion didn't even have time to react before a cold dagger sunk into his skull behind his ear.
Sub-Zero slunk down the corridor again, carefully avoiding the copious security cameras.
----
The door opened slowly, and Frost tried to crane her neck to see who was entering. Unfortunately, the angle of the slab she was strapped to prevented her from seeing anything until they were nearly next to her.
The figure before her wasn't very impressive, either physically or aesthetically. He was so greasy looking that at first she thought she had been packed off to the Black Dragon, but the Red Dragon tattoo covering half his face said otherwise.
He sniggered slightly as he approached, leering at her all the while, in a way that made her stomach turn. "Aren't you a pretty one?" he said in a voice as greasy as his hair. It's a shame they're gonna automate you." His gaze dropped to her chest appraisingly. "A body like yours shouldn't go to waste." Frost shuddered at the undertone of his appraisal.
"I'd take automation over a piece of shit like you," she hissed, with the look of someone staring at the mess a dog made on the floor.
"Ah, spunk. You won't have much of that-"the sentence was cut off as a font of blood spewed out of his mouth. The hooks buried in his back returned to their owner, and Mavado strode into the room, carefully avoiding the spreading pool of blood as his victim fell to the floor.
"I'm sorry about that, with all this expansion going on, we didn't have time to choose the best candidates," he said nonchalantly.
Another figure appeared, and Frost recognized him immediately as her abductor. Mavado turned to the cyber, "Here she is, just like you asked. Sorry about the bruising, but your man wasn't too gentle when subduing her."
Frost was confused. Hadn't he been the one who attacked her. Then two more cybers entered, both identical to the first, and her breath caught in her throat. This is what they meant by automation. Her muscles tensed involuntarily against her restraints as a wave of panic swept over her.
"You will be compensated as per our agreement," the first cyber announced in an emotionless voice. "We will contact you again for further acquisitions."
Mavado half nodded, half bowed, and exited, leaving her alone with the cybers and she found herself fervently wishing he had stayed. She knew that there were people underneath the armor, but their was a completely lack of humanity that was frightening. The seemingly head cyber regarded her through his expressionless mask. "You will make an excellent addition to the Tekunin," he stated flatly, before turning to his companion. Begin the automation," he ordered simply and left.
"You can't do this!" Frost shouted, pulling on her restraints in earnest.
"That is a false statement. Automation will commence," one of the two cybers announced. One went to the Frost's right side, while the other began assembling the pieces of armor she saw earlier.
A panel in the chest of the cyber next to her slowly opened, and her removed a full syringe from it. Seeing the medical equipment produced another wave of fear, and Frost used the one part of her body that wasn't restrained. She started screaming.
---
A female Red Dragon member now bled her life out on the floor, an icy blade still embedded in her back. Her body was dragged to an empty room and hidden there, and her shirt was used to mop up the trail.
Sub-Zero crept deeper and deeper in the Dragon's den.
---
The cybers seemed completely oblivious to her frantic cries for help. They had merely informed her that the walls were sound proof, and prepared her for automation. She had stopped shrieking long enough to freeze the liquid in the syringe they were attempting to inject her with, effectively stalling the operation for the moment. There was a small pause as the cybers processed the new development before one announce," Sedation unnecessary, continue with automation."
Desperate to escape, Frost added thrashing as well as she could to her hysterical shrieks. She could barely hear the heart monitor signal t he sudden increase in heart rate over herself. The cyber announcing that sedation was now necessary was heard, however, and she increased her efforts as the cybers decided their course of action.
Finally, the one who had been sorting equipment left the room, presumably to obtain some form of sedation, leaving her with only one being to glare furiously at. She felt wetness on her cheeks, and she knew that she was crying with fear, and there was nothing she could do, because there was no one to hear her screaming except uncaring ears.
The cybers must have had all compassion programmed out of them, because it is a rare man who is not affected by an injured, shaking, crying young woman screaming in fear. Pitiful as she looked and felt, Frost knew that she wasn't going to be able to count on any reaction from the cybers. Her only chance to avoid automation was an actual physical escape from the area.
---
Sub-Zero's blood froze when he heard the plaintive screaming. It only lasted a second before being cut off, but it made his stomach sink nonetheless. It was obviously the cry of a terrified person, and only a woman could reach that ear-shattering octave.
He had no idea where it had come from. The straight corridors produced a disorienting echo, making it seem as if it were coming from all directions at once.
Unfortunately, the noise had attracted the attention of several of the buildings occupants. While he was obviously not the source of the disturbance, he held their attention just the same.
The woman in red reaching for the radio hanging around her waist was the first to die, beheaded with one swipe of his kori blade. The two blond men, who looked enough alike to be brothers, were next, although they put up more of a fight before being disemboweled.
He heard the footsteps behind him well before they reached him. However, his surprise was so great that his opponent managed to get a swing in before he recovered enough to block. Sektor's return was known to the Lin Kuei, but the appearance of on of the red armored Tekunin was disturbing.
They had improved upon the original design too, he noted, as the blow pushed him back a step. The Tekunin pressed the attack relentlessly, and Sub-Zero was forced back again and again until his back hit the cold wall at the end of the corridor. Pushing back against the wall, he performed a Cold Shoulder, but the cyber barely moved. It did provide and opening though, and he took the opportunity to slash at the delicate circuitry in the neck. The cyber blocked, but this blade skittered off of the slick metal of the scarlet armor and sliced off the cyber's index finger at the unarmored joint, leaving him oozing oil.
Sub-Zero ducked the counter attack, and tried to sweep the cyber off its feet, but the cyber leaped over him, and kicking him in the small of his unguarded back. The Grandmaster grunted in pain and rolled away to avoid the next blow.
The cyber was more of a threat than he expected.
He caught the cybers next kick and brought his elbow down hard on the knee joint and the straining of the circuitry was audible. The Tekunin broke free finally but it was clearly favoring the damaged leg. It retaliated with a flurry of punches, but it couldn't put its full force behind them, and Sub-Zero easily blocked and returned with an elbow strike of his own to the cyber's visor, leaving a crack. He followed it with a downward kick to the already injured limb and the cyber collapsed heavily with a loud crash. A quick spinning kick snapped its neck and the blinking panels went dead.
Heavy clanking footsteps made Sub-Zero spin around, and two more identical cybers turned the corner and came into view. There was no time to think about how many more he would have to face before the two new opponents charged in tandem.
---
Utter hysteria was just around the corner for Frost. The second cyber finally returned with a vial of viscous, bright red goo. She prepared to lock her jaw against any possibility of an oral sedative, but then she spied the cotton swabs and iodine lying on the same surgical tray
She tried to squirm away as the first cyber took a cotton swab and began preparing a section of her stomach with the iodine. The orange liquid felt like ice water and she realized she was whimpering. Satisfied that the area was sterile, the cyber reached for the vial, but did not prepare a syringe like Frost had expected. Another cotton swab was dipped in the red gel-like substance, and Frost realized it was going to be applied topically, and there was nothing she could do.
The ointment was fire compared to the iodine, and it felt like it was burning into her belly as she writhed on the slab. The sedative began to take effect almost immediately, but she didn't feel sleepy so much as apathetic as the room started to become blurred.
Then everything went black.