Coldsnap

"The country needs a symbol of justice, Sarah. American Dream could be that symbol. You could be that symbol."

- Arsenal

With a keen sense of right and wrong, Sarah Gray grew up to honor the memory of her father by fighting for the same justice he died to protect. She served as a symbol of hope as she battles the criminals of the world as American Dream, and continues to do so as Coldsnap.

Early Life
"I love you, Sarah. You're going to be a great person when you grow up. Never forget that."

- Jack Gray

Sarah Gray was born in Santa Cruz, California in 1985 to Jack and Barbara Gray. Her family was a happy one and as far as she knew her father was nothing more than a forensic scientist for the police department. This, of course, was simply a cover. Doctor Jack Roberts was actually a brilliant geneticist who was part of a team attempting to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. Unlike several others who had attempted this feat, they came incredibly close. It wasn't until Dr. Roberts discovered that it had to be tailored to one specific set of genes to work that it became a success. He took a sample of Sarah's DNA and used it to create the serum. However, before he and his team were able to report their accomplishment their lab was destroyed and all of them were killed. Barbara and Sarah relocated to New York after the funeral to start fresh just in time for Sarah to begin high school.



Mysterious Packages
"Your father would be so proud of you, Sarah. Just like me."

- Barbara Gray

Sarah's high school career was uneventful. She was popular, beautiful, intelligent, and a skilled athlete. Upon graduating she decided to go into the law enforcement field, like her father before her. However, instead of a forensic scientist she opted to join the S.W.A.T. team. She graduated at the top of her class, having paid for school completely through her modeling career. She joined the NYPD after she completed her training at the academy and stayed with the department for a short time. Her father's past quickly caught up to her. She was surprised when she received a letter in the mail in Dr. Roberts' hand writing. It directed her to a safety deposit box in Chicago, Illinois. She obtained the contents of the box, which was a small vial, within the week. The letter had also told her that there were people who were still after the vial and that it was actually meant for her. When her mother was kidnapped in an attempt to locate the vial Sarah drank the contents and became the newest super soldier since Captain America. She tracked down the men who kidnapped her mother and rescued Barbara.

Soldier of Justice
"If you want to do some real good and take down the big fish of the criminal world give me a call. I could use someone like you."

- Arsenal

After Sarah and her mother discovered what her father had actually done for a living Sarah decided to give up the force and go back to modeling. It paid better and was less demanding of her. Which meant she now had more time to prowl the streets of New York as its newest vigilante; American Dream. It was early into her career that she ended up bumping into a more established hero known as Arsenal. He offered her a chance to do some real good as an operative in place of the recently failed Avengers team. She accepted and was the first of said operatives to work for Arsenal. However, she soon decided that the Avengers were too large and too over reaching for her. She preferred an organization or a team that was smaller within its boundaries.

She considered applying to S.H.I.E.L.D. to see if she could become part of the American Response Team, but decided after a few talks with the rest of the Avengers to offer her services to Vanguard. Sarah was asked if she would be willing to join a restructured Thunderbolts, which she accepted.

Powers

 * Peak Human Strength: Coldsnap's physical strength is enhanced to the very peak of human potential. She is capable of lifting 700 lbs.


 * Peak Human Speed: Coldsnap can run at a speed of approximately 25 miles per hour easily and has run a mile in a minute when under duress.


 * Peak Human Agility: Coldsnap's agility is superior to that of any Olympic athlete that has ever competed.


 * Peak Human Stamina: Coldsnap's body eliminates the excessive build-up of fatigue-producing poisons in her muscles, granting her phenomenal endurance. She can exert herself at peak capacity for up to one hour.


 * Peak Human Durability: Coldsnap's ability to resist or recover from injury and disease are superior to those of most ordinary humans. However, she can still be injured in much the same way.
 * Disease Resistance: Sarah is highly resistant to most diseases.
 * Alcohol Immunity: Sarah is virtually immune to intoxication by consuming alcohol.


 * Tactical Genius: Coldsnap's mental performance has been greatly enhanced. This manifests as an ability to quickly process multiple information streams (eg, threat assessment) and rapidly respond to changing tactical situations.


 * Peak Human Reflexes: Coldsnap possesses reaction time superior to any Olympic athlete that has ever competed.


 * Peak Human Senses: Coldsnap has exceptionally keen eyesight and hearing.

Abilities

 * Master Combatant: Coldsnap has mastered the martial arts of American-style boxing, jujitsu, aikido, and judo, and has combined these disciplines with her exceptional acrobatic talents to create her own unique hand-to-hand style of combat. She has also shown skill in and knowledge of a number of other martial arts, even pressure point fighting. She engages in a daily regimen of rigorous exercise (including aerobics, weight lifting, gymnastics, and simulated combat) to keep herself in peak condition, and has often defeated opponents whose size, strength, or other powers greatly exceeded her own.


 * Master Shield Fighter: Coldsnap's training and experience with her unique shield, as well as its physical properties, allow her to accomplish mind-boggling feats with the item. Aside from bashing foes with it and blocking incoming attacks, Alyssa is able to throw the shield with nearly perfect aim. She is able to hit multiple targets with the same throw by means of ricochet, and can even achieve a boomerang-like return effect with it, allowing her to strike enemies from behind or retrieve the shield without objects to ricochet from.


 * Expert Mechanic: An expert mechanic since she was very young, Sarah was able to totally overhaul a car's transmission by the age of 14. She is an excellent engineer as well, capable of fixing almost, if not all machinery. Her knowledge on mechanics has come into play over time since she is the head mechanic for the Thunderbolts' vehicles.


 * Multi-lingual: She is fluent in many languages including English, Polish, Russian, Spanish.

Former

 * Shield: American Dream's shield is a concave disk 2.5 feet in diameter weighing 10 pounds. It was forged from a Vibranium-Adamantium combined alloy.


 * Suit: American Dream's suit is armored as well as bulletproof.

Limitations
Though her immune system is phenomenal she is still subject to all other human vulnerabilities.

Past Threads

 * Avengers: Unholy Alliance
 * Genesis: Fire Flame the First Song