Isprinsessan
Character Information
History
Early years
Bridgit Sundstrom was born on Praetorian Earth, in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 10th, 1998, the only child of Clarence and Henrietta Sundstrom. Her parents emigrated to the United States when she was five years old following the Hamidon attacks on Europe.
Her mother died in childbirth, and her father tried his best to raise her while working for the P.P.D. (Praetoria Police Department) until he was killed during the first few months of the Praetorian/Primal War.
Trying to make ends meet after her father's passing, she turned to a life of crime as a small-time burglar, targeting mostly industrial and research facilities. One night, she had the audacity of breaking into one of Anti-Matter's research facilities, called the "Pandora Project", looking for some 'stuff' she could steal and resell. In one of the Project's labs, she was accidentally subjected to massive doses of an experimental cryogenic agent that radically altered her body chemistry. Stumbling out of the lab, she was caught by the Project's security forces before she could master her newfound powers. She later agreed to be studied by the Project instead of being sent for 'rehabilitation'.
Paragon City
Bridgit escaped from Neuron's lab during one of the attacks on Praetoria by Primal Earth forces and was soon forced to join the thousands of refugees who looked for shelter in Paragon City. There she met and befriended another Praetorian refugee, Herder 867-5309 (aka Jenny Herder). Shortly after that, they both joined W.A.T.C.H. after being personally invited by its former Director, Hana Yamada (aka Nonohana). During her time with W.A.T.C.H., she kept the codename she used in Praetoria: "Chillltouch".
She kept in contact with Jenny after her friend left W.A.T.C.H. to join the newly-reorganized Axiom Guard. Jenny's high praise of the methods and values of the Guard and the assistance the Guard provided Bridgit during the "Project Hoder affair", convinced her to petition for Axiom Guard membership. Since there was already a "Chillltouch" in the rank of the Guard (her male Primal Earth counterpart, Soren Sundstrom), she decided to change her codename to "Isprinsessan" (Swedish for 'the Ice Princess') - a childhood nickname her father had given her.
Back to Praetoria
After about a year working with the Axiom Guard, she questioned herself and her place within the group. She made her way back to Praetoria via means unknown to "find answers about her father's death" and about her condition. When asked, she said she found those answers (but without clarifying what they were). She also contracted a rare, mutated form of the deadly Tellurian plague. Her endothermic powers were significantly slowing down the progress of the disease, but a permanent cure was still out of reach.
Return to Paragon City and the Axiom Guard
She returned to Paragon City, sick and homeless. Her friend Jenny found her in a shabby apartment in King's Row and brought her to Axiom-One to receive medical attention. She later led a group of Axiom Guard members into Praetoria to find samples of the mutated disease. They ended up rescuing researchers Bridgit had previously befriended along with the data they had gathered. Bridgit collapsed upon her return, suffering a nearly-fatal cardiac arrest.
Studying the retrieved data gave the doctors treating Bridgit a clue to a possible cure for her condition: the spores infesting her being susceptible to intense cold, boosting her powers beyond their established limits should hopefully eradicate them.
An attempt was made using the "Fluid Zero" experiment that gave Soren Sundstrom his own ice powers. In exchange for leniency for his past crimes, Dr. Gustav Heller (who had worked on the experiment while with the Pandora Project) agreed to help set up the experiment, which took place in a reinforced section of Zigursky Penitentiary's "Wing K" Ultra-Security Wing. The plague spores were successfully destroyed, and her body adjusted to her enhanced abilities.
As a favour to her friend Jenny Herder, Bridgit agreed to share her room at the Axiom Building with Beatriz da Fontaine while the young Brazilian was awaiting the results of the trial involving her father. Jenny was secretly hoping that daily contact with the energetic Brazilian would help bolster Bridgit's self-confidence.
When another one of Praetor Berry's former lab experiments, Kathy Koslowski, was found living on the streets of Talos Island, Bridgit and Bea offered to share their place with her. Still, accommodations got a bit too cramped in the Axiom Building's 3-rooms, 1-bedroom living quarters, and they decided to find their own apartment. They settled on a 5-rooms, 3-bedrooms, 2nd story apartment in Steel Canyon.
The Guardians of Tomorrow and after
Bridgit resigned from the Axiom Guard a few months later to join Bea's team, the Guardians of Tomorrow.
She was with the GoT for about a year until she turned 21. She then resigned and accepted a job offer to work at an art gallery in Steel Canyon.
Coaxed by her friend Bea, she recently accepted to teach art classes at the Young Warriors' Youth Center.
Personality
Bridgit is outwardly very shy and self-conscious, with a tendency to stutter when nervous. But, on the other hand, she can be extremely stubborn when she fixes herself a goal to attain.
She has a very keen sense of right and wrong. She is not proud of her actions in Praetoria before obtaining her powers, and she has been striving to do good deeds ever since as a way of redeeming herself.
Abilities
Bridgit's powers are linked to her ability to generate intense cold waves. This ability is always active, but Bridgit can normally regulate its intensity at will, making it more or less cold in her vicinity. As a result of the treatment she received to cure her of the Tellurian Plague, her powers have been greatly amplified and are even more subject to fluctuations due to her emotional state.
Bridgit gained minor skills with bypassing security systems and disabling locks during her brief criminal career. While with the Guardians of Tomorrow, she helped the GoT's security expert, Lisbet Stedmann, in managing the "Warehouse of Tomorrow"'s security and communication systems.
She has developed an interest in fashion and the Arts. She took some evening classes at Paragon University, then enrolled as a full-time student. She graduated with high honours and found employment as an assistant manager at a local art gallery, where she sometimes exhibits her own paintings.