I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters.

Trouble

Jack watched as the kids below him skated around on the ice rink he had made. He smiled, tossing a snowball back and forth between his hands. It had been a busy ten years since he had become a guardian. He had been going all out letting kids have fun, though at the request of the other guardians, he had kept the pranks and the chaos to a minimum. On the other hand, things had changed a bit since then as well. The kids that could see him had all grown up. And despite their best efforts, they had all stopped being able to see the guardians, even though they still believed. After all, the guardians only worked with children. Jack wasn't sure why they weren't allowed to associate with adults, but he had tried a dozen times, only to be as intangible and invisible as he had once been with children. Then, he had started to notice something else. Again despite those children's best efforts, Jack Frost's existence had never spread like the others' had. As soon as Jamie and his friends grew too old to see Jack, he found himself completely invisible once again.

"Wish you kids could see me," Jack smiled, twirling the bottom of his staff in the air, starting it snowing lightly. "This job's kind of...well...boring really, when I have no one to associate with."

Baby Tooth flew up out of his pocket and landed on his shoulder and he smiled, reaching up and gently running a finger over the top of her head, as she seemed to enjoy him doing.

"True, I've still got you," Jack smiled.

He sighed, standing and lifting off of the roof, drifting into the air and looking around. He kind of wanted to visit the others, Tooth most of all, but he had other towns to bring snow to. He drifted through the air at a leisurely pace, not particularly in any rush. As he flew, he rolled over, Baby Tooth landing on his chest and holding her arms out to the sides as though she were a plane. He smiled. She was always doing stuff like that. Always playing around and trying to lift his spirits. He was grateful. If he hadn't had her around, he'd have probably lost hope.

Jack felt the shift even before they began to fall. He flipped, Baby Tooth taking flight as Jack fell. He tried to focus on summoning the wind but it wouldn't respond. He swore, flipping and sending out a blast of ice magic, a massive pile of snow appearing and softening his landing. Then, as he climbed out of the snow, he looked up into the air, seeing someone floating down toward him. The man was tan, and had flames for hair that were a deep red near his scalp, then faded to orange, then yellow as they reached up the six inches off of his head. They were all burning more or less backward to a point above the back of his head, giving it a sort of slicked back look. On his body, the man wore a red muscle shirt leaving his toned arms exposed, and a pair of orange gym shorts. He had on a pair of red converse high-tops and was holding a red staff shaped exactly like Jack's.

"Hot air is such a pain isn't it?" the man asked as he descended slowly. "So hard to control."

"Who are you?" Jack asked, eyes narrowed and holding his staff ready.

"You can call me Heat Miser," the man smirked, landing in front of Jack and resting his staff on his shoulder. "And don't worry. I'm only hear to talk. For now."

"Okay Heat Miser, what are you doing here?" Jack asked.

"I told you, I came to talk," Heat Miser said.

"Then talk," Jack said. "But make it quick, I've got snow to deliver."

"That's the thing," Heat Miser said. "See, I'm relieving you of your job. you don't have to worry about snow anymore."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Jack said. "Children love the snow. My entire job is to bring the children snow and fun."

"Ah, yes, but, you see, children love heat more," Heat Miser said. "In fact, there are some children that you hardly ever get to that have never seen snow and they love the heat. There are some kids that you bring snow to regularly who love the heat more too. So when you add that up, they love me more, and that means, they don't need you."

"Yes, they do," Jack growled.

"Oh really?" Heat Miser asked. "When was the last time anyone talked to you? Or didn't walk through you?"

"When was the last time they talked to you?" Jack asked. "I doubt anyone even knows your name."

"Probably not," Heat Miser shrugged. "But that's not important. For me, it only matters that the children enjoy a nice warm day."

"Well, that's not going to happen, so you can take a hike now," Jack said. "Go back to Hawaii."

Heat Miser chuckled. "No, I don't think I will. You see, I felt I should offer you the chance to do this nicely, but since you fail to see reason, I'll explain it a little less pleasantly. You believe the guardians are light, correct? And that you can be counted among that number? Well, you're right...about the guardians. But you are not light."

"Excuse me?" Jack asked.

"I am the light," Heat Miser said. "I believe Pitch explained it to you fairly well, yes? How ice connects with darkness perfectly? Well, heat works only with light. Therefor, I am the light, and you are my darkness. So now, you have to disappear."

Jack had heard enough. He moved to fire a bolt of ice magic at Heat Miser, only for Heat Miser to hold his own staff out, heatwaves radiating from his staff, almost instantly melting the snow and ice around him in a circle that spread outward. Jack grit his teeth, shoving his staff forward and sending a blast of ice at Heat Miser, only for it to melt in the air a few feet from its target.

"A blast of ice magic?" Heat Miser laughed. "That's it? That's the best you can do? Oh Jack, that's so sad. And to think you were considered the strongest Guardian. Oh well. Once we deal with the others, I'll show the New Guardians what it really means to be strong."

"New Guardians?" Jack asked. "What do you mean Heat Miser?"

"Oh, please, call me Heat, or Miser," Heat said. "Calling me the whole thing is like me calling you Jack Frost too many times. It's just so formal and unnecessary. Anyway, it doesn't really matter what I mean. Because you're going to die here. And then the children of the world will enjoy a nice long relief from your insipid cold."

Heat pulled his staff back across his body, a fireball forming in the hook, then swung it, hurling the fireball at Jack. Jack shouted in surprise and fear, slamming his staff on the ground and forming a wall of ice between himself and the incoming projectile before hurling himself to the side, the fireball exploding against the ice wall and forming a crater that extended past where Jack had been, the concussion hurling Jack away from the explosion into the side of a tree. Jack shouted in pain as he hit, crashing to the ground before grabbing his staff and slowly starting to push himself up. Heat turned toward him and raised his staff over his head, flames spiraling to life in the hook yet again. This time, when he swung the staff downward, a jet of flames shot out of it at Jack. Jack shouted in effort, swinging his own staff around to aim at Heat, a blast of his ice magic shooting out to meet the flames, only to be instantly melted away to nothing. Jack shouted again, putting everything he had into the blast, but it was still useless. Suddenly, the ground below him opened up, wallowing him, Baby Tooth zipping in after him before the hole closed and the flames exploded against the ground, burning the flower the hole had left behind to ash, along with several trees, igniting more.

"I see," Heat mused. "So they noticed. No matter. We're almost ready. Aren't we gentlemen, and lady?"

Several others stepped out of the trees behind Heat, laughing as Heat tapped his staff on the ground, the fires going out.

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