—Kuai Liang to Smoke after defeating Bi-Han and quitting the Lin Kuei. |
Biography
- Mortal Kombat 1: Like his cherished father, Scorpion is dedicated to the Lin Kuei and its defense of Earthrealm. When his father died, Scorpion was bereft. Though he took pride in knowing that his brother, Sub-Zero, would succeed their father as the Lin Kuei's grandmaster. But Sub-Zero's unprecedented moves to cast off the Lin Kuei's traditional duties have frozen Scorpion's enthusiasm. He fears that one day he may have to battle his brother for control of the Lin Kuei's legacy.
Storyline
In restarting the timeline, Liu Kang designed the fates of every inhabitant, including his old allies. In doing so, he designed the fate of Kuai Liang to become this timeline's Scorpion, averting the corruption of Hanzo Hasashi after his murder and resurrection and restoring his brother Bi-Han and granting him the mantle of Sub-Zero. Additionally, Kuai Liang is still a member of the Lin Kuei, as the Shirai Ryu do not exist in this new timeline. Kuai Liang follows his brother, who is the rightful successor to the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei after their father's death.
Mortal Kombat 1
Kuai Liang and his brother, as well as their adopted brother Tomas lead an assault on Madam Bo's Teahouse, with Kung Lao and Raiden defending the Teahouse from the Lin Kuei's assault. After the fight subsides, Liu Kang arrives, revealing to the two that the Lin Kuei were there to test them and they become worthy of being Liu Kang's champions, not realizing that Kuai and his brothers were holding back the entire time. Kuai and Bi-Han then accompany Liu Kang to recruit Johnny Cage at his mansion. As they arrive, Johnny had recently subdued Yakuza member Kenshi Takahashi. Believing his wife Cris is pranking him, he is then attacked by Bi-Han and Kuai Liang after Johnny put his hands on Bi-Han, but the two are defeated by Cage and the fight is broken up by Liu Kang, revealing to a confused Johnny that he is the Eternal God of Fire. Liu Kang then recruits the actor and gangster as his champions for the upcoming Tournament in Outworld while Kuai Liang and Bi-Han remain in Earthrealm for their next objective from the Fire God.
After the Tournament as well as developing circumstances, Liu Kang has Kuai Liang and his brothers lead an assault on the Ying Fortress where Shang Tsung, a former Outworld con artist has turned into a powerful sorcerer through unknown events. Kuai Liang and his brothers are tasked with destroying the developing Soul Stealers and to capture the sorcerer. As they arrive, Kuai and Tomas do not see eye-to-eye with Bi-Han, with their brother and Grandmaster believing that completing this mission will bring glory to the Lin Kuei, something that their father did not believe or care about. Bi-Han believes the Lin Kuei would be better off leading Earthrealm than defending it, something that Kuai and Tomas disagree with, as it does not follow their father's teachings.
At the Fortress, Kuai and his brothers face off against Quan Chi's allies and creations. Quan Chi, a former Outworld mine worker turned sorcerer like Shang Tsung, allied with Nitara to support her realm while ordering his creation Ermac to defend the Fortress while the sorcerers prepare the Soul Stealers. The allies are defeated by the brothers, where Tomas remains outside to prevent the Soul Stealers construction while Kuai Liang and Bi-Han infiltrate the interior after spotting Quan Chi. Once inside, they fight and defeat the sorcerers, but are apprehended by General Shao and his forces. Knowing that Bi-Han wishes to free the Lin Kuei from Liu Kang, he is manipulated by Shang Tsung with promise of control over Emperor Ying's Dragon Army, which Bi-Han accepts to Kuai's dismay. Bi-Han then reveals he let their father die to ensure he became Grandmaster. Kuai manages to free himself and fights his way out of the Fortress, kombating the High Mage Rain and wounding & disfiguring the Seidan Havik in the process. Once outside, he reveals Bi-Han's treachery to Tomas, but the two are confronted by Bi-Han, who demands they remain at his side. Refusing to give into his brother's treachery, Kuai fights Bi-Han, where he is wounded by his brother after being slashed in the face. Bi-Han is defeated and Kuai and Tomas return him to be locked up to prevent him from aiding Shang Tsung and Quan Chi.
After some time, Kuai Liang and Tomas aid Liu Kang and the Outworld champions on a new assault on Emperor Ying's Fortress to stop Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. Once there, they subdue the sorcerers, but are greeted by their benefactor who reveals themselves as Shang Tsung from another timeline. Confusing the group, he reveals his and Liu Kang's battle for The Hourglass broke the fabric of time, creating two parallel timelines in which both Liu Kang and Shang Tsung won in separate battles and claimed the Hourglass. After the revelation, Kuai Liang assists the group in fighting a Raiden from Shang Tsung's timeline and an unknown version of Sindel. The fight is victorious at the cost of their timeline's Sindel.
After the battle, Shang Tsung hypothesizes the possibility of other timelines, in which Liu Kang plans to bring other Titan variants to aid in the upcoming battle. In the meantime, Kuai Liang assists the group in hindering the awakened Dragon Army. He devises a plan to destroy the portals being made to move the Dragon Army, while the others battle time-displaced counterparts that were pulled into the timeline by Titan Shang Tsung. The plan works and Titan Shang Tsung's army is momentarily halted. At the Hourglass, Liu Kang successfully pulls in other Titan counterparts from different timelines that seized the Hourglass from Kronika in their own timelines. During this, Titan Shang Tsung arrives to destroy the Hourglass but is stopped by Liu Kang and the other Titans, leading to a plan to assault Titan Shang Tsung instead of staying in their timeline.
Liu Kang arrives in Titan Shang Tsung's timeline with his Forces of Light to battle Titan Shang Tsung's Forces of Darkness. A battle ensues with kombat and death all around. Titan Shang Tsung summons a Titan version of Quan Chi, thus reforming The Deadly Alliance for the battle at hand. As the battle wages to the top of the Pyramid, a good version of the Deadly Alliance briefly fight the Titan Deadly Alliance before being quickly killed. At the top, the Titans fight Liu Kang and an ally, only to be bested by Liu Kang's ally in kombat. Liu Kang uses his Temporal Power to erase both Titans, but in doing so, causes the timeline seemingly begins to collapse. Running out of time, Liu Kang sends his ally back to their respective timeline before doing so with himself.
Back in their timeline, Liu Kang reveals that after Bi-Han's treachery, Kuai Liang and Tomas defect from the Lin Kuei, who plan on starting a new clan as the successors to the Lin Kuei.
Endings
- Mortal Kombat 1 (Canonical): "No sooner had Titan Shang Tsung been defeated than Bi-Han and his loyalists hunted us down. Outnumbered, we fled to Japan. There we sought refuge from an old family friend. As children, we played together. But Harumi Shirai was a woman now, the head of her clan. Her strength, beauty, and intellect awed me. Also incensed by Bi-Han's betrayal, Harumi agreed to help me forge a new clan. One that would stand against him and defend Earthrealm. Her aid proved invaluable. And as time went on, we grew closer. To honor Harumi and pay respects to my new bride, I named the clan after her, calling it the Shirai Ryu. Now the battle against my brother begins in earnest. The Shirai Ryu won't rest until Bi-Han is defeated and the Lin Kuei's honor restored."