"Frost." It was the name she had taken upon joining the Lin Kuei. She'd been alone for so long that she barely remembered her original name. The young woman had been born with the inhuman ability to harness cold temperatures and project a frigid beam so potent that it could freeze a person solid in seconds. Her first victims were her own parents, accidentally frozen solid, inside and out. She had grown up on the streets, stealing to survive, utilising her powers only to defend herself or evade law enforcement.
Apparently, her actions had attracted the attention of the Lin Kuei some years ago, but after the invasion, a series of hostile takeovers had prevented this clan of assassins from acting on whatever intentions they had once had for her. Upon claiming control of the clan for himself, Sub-Zero had scoured the archives and databases of the clan to find persons of interest with which to rebuild the once great clan. She had caught his attention quickly for her cryomancy powers that bore similarities to his own. He had invited her to a tournament to separate the wheat from the chaff, and the desperate street urchin had proven the firmest of the wheat. Sub-Zero had taken her on as his personal apprentice, seeing to her training personally, which was apparently a first or him.
He had spent many nights teaching Frost to better control her powers, honing them to mirror the versatile lethality of his own. Of course, his powers were tempered and focused through decades of rigorous training and practical experience. Hers remained purely lethal, even now. Only Sub-Zero himself, protected by the Dragon Medallion, could withstand the deathly chill of her powers. Her inexperience led to her becoming somewhat reclusive, rarely interacting with the other initiates and remaining fairly closed-off from Sub-Zero as well.
He had remained patient with her, though she could sense his growing frustration with her lack of progress. He often assured her that it was okay, that comparing herself to a man with decades of practice and a similarly-powered older brother to learn from was inherently self-defeating. She tried not to make such comparisons, but being subjected to demonstrations of his masterful control, performed on various subjects including herself, made it nigh-impossible not to do so.
Despite her inexperience, Sub-Zero had brought Frost along with him as he travelled to meet with other heroes of Earthrealm; warriors that had fought in the Mortal Kombat tournament, the secret Outworld tournament, the Invasion of Earthrealm, and the Invasion of another realm called Edenia. It was here that, for the first time in years, a fire was ignited in Frost's frozen heart.
There were two members of the U.S. Special Forces present: Sonya Blade and Jackson Briggs. From what she understood, Frost was the single newcomer amongst this group summoned to meet, the others having become familiar with one another through their constant battles to protect the Earth. It had been a simple question - one evidently not intended to demean or offend - but Frost had been unable to hold back her frustration when Sonya Blade had asked: "Who's the kid?"
Comparatively speaking, Frost was a child next to the near forty military woman, but to Frost, the word 'kid' was far less neutral than had been intended. It was an indicator of Frost's inexperience and ineptitude. Here she was, standing alongside heroes that had been fighting threats to the Earth for an entire decade. One of them had powers similar to her own, but was so adept with them that he could coat his forearms in a flexible, but no less hardy, second skin composed of ice. Her hair was similarly icy, which Sub-Zero claimed was a sign of her immense potential, but to her, it only broadcast to the whole world that she lacked the ability to control her own cryomancy.
She lashed out. Verbally, at first, demanding to know what the blonde woman meant by her comment. The stranger was taken aback by the sudden outburst, but she maintained her composure for the first few salvos. Then, she fired back. She called Frost irrational, impulsive and immature. Frost responded with an ice blast.
Fortunately for the American, Kung Lao had anticipated such an escalation and his blade-rimmed hat was already soaring through the air to intercept the blast. This gave Sub-Zero the time he needed to step between the two to ensure a second attempt would also fail. His hands were on her wrists before she could register his presence, chilling her muscles into a numb stupor. Crisis averted, Sub-Zero apologised to his comrades before dragging Frost away from the group's campfire to begin his interrogation.
"What was that?" he had asked as evenly as he could, but his outrage was clear.
"I... I'm sorry" was all she had managed as her mind processed what she had almost done.
"You almost killed Sonya Blade. And over what? Calling you a 'kid'?"
"I know, I... I just... I felt-"
"Like she was demeaning you. But you also knew that no such offence was intended. You allowed your emotions to drive you into attempting to murder one of your comrades! You need to be able to assess any situation and allow logic to guide your actions, not your emotions. Do you understand?"
"I... Yes, Grandmaster."
"Good. We will apologise to Major Blade and maintain our distance from her for the foreseeable future. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Grandmaster. I'm sorry."
Sub-Zero said nothing.
It was this event that continued to play in Frost's mind day and night. She had been stupid and only proven that she was prone to acting rashly with a power she couldn't yet control. And this was the first impression her new allies had of her. To prevent such an occurrence from happening again, when the Thunder God Raiden had suggested the group divide into smaller teams upon reaching Outworld, Sub-Zero had opted to take Frost and keep her away from the others.
Sub-Zero had been to Outworld before and knew that the journey would take a few days. As such, they were currently camped out on a cliff edge a few miles away from the Dragonfly, a large dragon-shaped floating platform, where the Earthrealmers were to reconvene. Unlike their compatriots, neither of the two Lin Kuei needed a campfire, as their bodies were naturally resilient to cold.
Sub-Zero had created a walled enclosure around them to make animal attacks or enemy ambushes more difficult. The earth around the walls was coated in a thick layer of ice to slow down or trip up anyone who approached, while ice sculpture sentries watched over the entryway. He had explained that the Dragon Medallion had strengthened his powers upon claiming it from Sektor. This was allegedly a major factor in his ability to create such a structure.
While she was sure this was intended as reassurance - him lowering the scope of his own abilities to close the gap between the two - Frost could only think about what that medallion might do for her: granting her greater power and control, as it allegedly had for Sub-Zero, who was now sleeping soundly and wearing the medallion on his chest. All she'd have to do was reach out and take it while he was powerless to stop her. It would be so easy, and the reward would be well worth the risk. Her hand reached up, hesitating, moving back and forth, fingers stretching and retracting, as she contemplated the ramifications of what she was about to do. Clenching her other fist in determination, she forced her hand closer to the medallion until her fingers were touching its smooth edges. Sub-Zero's icy blue eyes suddenly shot open, forcing Frost to tear the medallion sharply from its resting place, damaging the Grandmaster's uniform in the process.
"Frost, no!" he cried as his protégé quickly backed away with the mystical object.
"I'm sorry," she said genuinely, releasing a blast of ice in front of him that formed an icy coating to the floor, slowing him down enough for her to box him in with an ice wall. Somehow, she knew instinctively that the medallion was already focusing her powers.
"Frost, drop it!" Sub-Zero called out from behind the ice wall, banging his fist on it hard enough to create a large crack in it. "It's too much power for you to handle!"
Frost shook her head solemnly. "I'm sorry. But I need..."
Her voice got caught in her throat as she felt a sudden burning in her fingers. She looked down and found, to her horror, that her hands were becoming coated in a layer of ice that left her fingers totally numb, but locked in a tight grip around the medallion. If not for the immobilising numbness, she might have thought this was a sign of her reaching a level of mastery on par with Sub-Zero's.
Sub-Zero finally crashed through the ice and rushed over towards her. By the time he'd gotten close enough to place his frigid hands on her cheeks and tear off her mask, the ice had spread up her arms, across her torso, and halfway down her thighs. Its upwards progression was slower, but already making it difficult for her to speak as her throat began to freeze solid.
"I... I'm sorr..." Frost's mouth froze solid in the middle of her final apology. Her dread-filled tears met the same fate, becoming an eternal reminder of her remorse as her wide eyes glazed over, never breaking contact with her master's.
"No," Sub-Zero said softly, tears welling up in his own eyes as he wrapped his arms around his frozen student. "I am sorry, Frost."
Sub-Zero stared down at the Dragon Medallion in his hands. It had been a struggle to pull it loose from Frost's iron grip without damaging her fingers, but he had somehow managed. He was tempted to throw the damn thing away, to let it be lost forever so that it would never harm another as it had Frost. But it wasn't the medallion's fault, really. It was his. If he had only trained Frost better, she wouldn't have felt the need to take the medallion, and the two would now be on their way to Shang Tsung's Palace with the others. Instead, he opted to keep the medallion as a reminder to himself of what his incompetence had done to Frost. He had left a message for Raiden at the Dragonfly, informing him that he would first bury his protégé, and then meet up with them at the palace as soon as he could.
He found a nice shady spot under a nearby group of trees that he thought looked a suitable burial site for her. He had seen her reading a book by herself beneath such a tree in the Lin Kuei courtyard many times, after all. It was the best he could do, in light of the urgency of the situation. He was just about to fashion a shovel from ice when he sensed a presence behind him.
"Scorpion."
"Sub-Zero."
Sub-Zero turned to meet the undead eyes of his Shirai-Ryu counterpart. The two hadn't met since their battle in Edenia many years ago. In spite of the fact that Scorpion had killed his brother in Mortal Kombat, Kuai Liang and Scorpion had maintained a professional alliance up until Shinnok's right-hand man, Quan Chi, had manipulated Scorpion into believing that the younger Sub-Zero had annihilated Scorpion's clan and murdered his family. The truth had come out upon Sub-Zero's defeat and the sorcerer, so confident in his victory that he had openly admitted his deception, soon found himself hounded mercilessly by the spectre for the better part of a decade.
"If you have unfinished business with me, Scorpion, it will have to wait until I have laid Frost to rest."
Silence reigned between the two after this. Scorpion's regret was clearer than any words could convey.
Sub-Zero sighed. "Dishonourable though your actions may have been, you were honour-bound to avenge your family. You had no choice in the matter."
"And you did? You allowed your brother's killer to go free - even fought alongside him in two conflicts with Outworld."
"A killer who sought redemption for his heinous acts. How could I ever seek my own redemption if I denied you yours?"
Scorpion remained silent.
"So far as you knew, my denial of my involvement was an insincere act of cowardice. Quan Chi's illusions are powerful and seductive. I daresay I might have done the same in your position. I have no qualms with you, Hasashi-san. You are forgiven."
Scorpion could only muster the words, "Thank you, Sub-Zero."
"If you still hunt for Quan Chi, then please, meet with Raiden and the others at Shang Tsung's Palace. They will soon be launching their attack and I fear I may not make it there in time. With your presence at their side, I would feel reassured."
"Very well. I will join Raiden's forces in your stead. See to it that your comrade receives the burial your brother was denied. There is a tomb not far from here. About half a mile due South. The area was unusually cold. It might be a fitting resting place for one of yours."
"Thank you, Hasashi-san. Good hunting."
"The Lin Kuei is better for having your kind soul guiding it, Kuai xiānshēng."
She awoke inside a stone coffin. She didn't know how she'd gotten here or where she had been before now, but she knew her air supply was limited. She tried to force the lid off with her feet, but the stone was far too heavy and the space too cramped for her to be able to get enough leverage to budge it. Getting desperate, she rolled onto her side and kept her feet in one corner while releasing an icy blast into the other corner, forming more and more ice that continued to rise until the corner of the lid began to come loose. Before too long, the lid was tilted so far that it slid right off with a heavy thud.
Frost bolted into a sitting position and tore her mask off to allow greater access to that sweet, lifegiving oxygen. She didn't even care that the air carried a musty, deathly smell. She was just glad to have any of it. Leaning over the side for fear the sudden wave of nausea she felt might make her sick, Frost finally had time to reflect on what had happened to her.
She had seized the Dragon Medallion from Sub-Zero, been too weak to properly utilise the medallion's power, and been consumed by her own freezing ability. And now, she was inside some kind of icy tomb. For all she knew, years had passed and this tomb had been built exclusively for her. Further investigation proved this not to be the case, as dozens of others were also entombed here.
Based on the murals adorning the walls, it seemed there had been a group of cryomancers in the distant past, from whom Frost and Sub-Zero were likely descended. The murals depicted fantastical feats, such as the construction of fortresses and cities produced entirely from ice. The final set of murals depicted their fortresses being destroyed and their people slaughtered by a large humanoid dragon and its barbarian enforcer. Whoever these people once were, they were long dead and forgotten by history.
Nearby, there was a throne on which a nude skeleton sat. A familiar blue and black uniform lay folded neatly beside it. No doubt, Sub-Zero had taken whatever the skeleton had been wearing for himself. Either that, or he had stripped naked and died here long ago, thought seemed incredibly unlikely. Looking over the murals one last time, Frost saw that the warriors depicted bore weapons constructed of ice. Inspired, she sat on her heels and focused her power into her hands. She felt like she was capable of so much more now, whether by learning of her ancestry or as a residual effect of her brief time holding the medallion. Whatever the case, she was now able to construct a pair of short icy daggers from moisture in the air. They were nothing compared to the broadsword Sub-Zero could create, but it was a start.
Finding nothing of use she could take with her, Frost departed the frigid tomb and emerged back into the wastes of Outworld. She could just make out the remains of Sub-Zero's ice fortifications in the distance. If she made her way over there, she was certain she could find her way back to the portal to Earthrealm. And from there, the Lin Kuei temple.
The journey was a long one, and Frost had plenty of time to contemplate how she had gotten here. How she had been taken in by Sub-Zero. How he had showcased how much better than her he was at every step. How he had brought her along to a foreign realm and continued to taunt her with the mastery over ice that he failed to teach her. How he had flaunted the power of the Dragon Medallion and denied her its ability to focus her cryomancer powers. How he had abandoned her and left her stranded alone in a tomb in Outworld.
His final words to her played on repeat inside her head: "It's too much power for you to handle!" He'd never believed in her abilities. Even now, the medallion had had a clearly positive effect for her powers, but Sub-Zero had instinctively doubted her ability to handle such power. Well, she would just have to prove how well she could handle the power of the medallion.
By the time she returned to the temple in Arctika, Frost's heart was filled with conviction. To hell with Sub-Zero. She would slay the callous, incompetent fool and lay claim to his medallion and his clan. With them, Frost would master her cryomancer powers and lead the Lin Kuei herself, ensuring that every member received the proper training she was denied, so that none of them would ever again suffer as she had.
Of course, there would be Sub-Zero loyalists, like that Sareena woman from the Netherrealm. They would have to die, of course. There was no room for dissent in Frost's Lin Kuei. They would all die by her hand to pave way for a stronger Lin Kuei. And Sub-Zero would beg for his life as she left him gutted and bleeding at her feet. And then, she would seek out Sonya Blade and do the same to her.
Most of the other initiates lacked any sort of superhuman power, which left them utterly outmatched by Frost. Dozens of them stained her clothes with their blood before Sub-Zero made his presence known. Despite his new suit of armour that she recognised from the tomb murals as belonging to the Cryomancer King, his aura was unmistakable. He was surprised to see her, clearly, and she wasted no time in using that opening to attack. The walls, the floors and the corpses were all completely coated in ice by the time a victor was decided.
Once again, Sub-Zero found himself holding the frozen Frost in his arms. Now, not only her fate, but those of his fellow Lin Kuei, were on his head. He found a small empty chamber to leave Frost, sure that the enhanced powers the Dragon Medallion afforded him would keep her incapacitated long enough for him to decide what to do with the apprentice he had failed.
What if Frost had more character beyond being DMC3 Vergil without the backstory?
