The first nine months were a pure blessing. The excitement of that Christmas ended in a joyful crash for Scott, Carol, and their newborn, and life in The North Pole carried on as it always had. The elves got their much needed rest, and the council of legendary figures returned to their duties once it was clear Christmas was saved. Jack Frost, now thawed, had become a trusted friend of all legendary figures in the time since. While his powers weren't quite as strong as they had once been, he was able to keep the next three winter months icy where ice was needed. It helped that much of his work had been completed before the thawing. For the first time in his immortal life, Jack was happy. He was accepted. He was loved. It was a life he never could have imagined himself having.

When the end of March came around, Jack's services wouldn't be needed for some months. He was free to take a long, leisurely vacation. Rather than retire to his condo in Gstaad, a reflection of his old life of loneliness, Jack opted to hit as many hot locations as he could. His existence had been so cold, it was time to show some skin and drink a pina colada on the beach and see fish and seagulls and mosquitoes. All the things he didn't have the luxury of doing once upon a time. And his new friends joined him periodically throughout his trip. He swam with Mother Nature and got blackout drunk with Cupid and The Tooth Fairy.

It wasn't until he wrapped up his trip and returned to Gstaad that he, or anyone, suspected that something was amiss. Mid September was rolling around, meaning Jack would be getting back to work soon. When the car from the airport drove into his town in The Alps, the sight of people in summer clothes caught his eye. Sure, the area wasn't cold year round, but it rarely went beyond the high 60s, and warm season was supposed to be near its end. Getting out of the car brought an even bigger shock. The air sat at a balmy 72 degrees. It all felt very wrong to Jack, but once he was unpacked, he could set to work fixing the situation. If he had to work twice as hard to create what he once could, and he was starting with a template that was twice as warm as it should be, he would simply have to work four times as hard.

But when October snuck up on him, he truly realized that he had his work cut out for him. Freezing his own town back over took a solid week and left him exhausted. He blamed this on good ol' global warming. Nothing he could do as a magical man about the artificial hole the humans put in the ozone layer. A good meal and a good night's sleep should be enough to get him up and running again, energized and eager to start bringing the fall chill to the rest of Europe. Then November popped up, and he was behind schedule.

Failure was not an option, not when he still had to prove himself to his peers. Jack was not an entirely different man these days. He was still a little sneaky, occasionally lazy, insecure in ways. He still thought himself suave and debonair, of a higher intelligence than the average guy. He could even still be selfish more often than he cared to admit, but for all of his old personality that remained, his new traits spurred him on. The number one rule of the new Jack Frost was that he came through for people. And so, he ran himself ragged trying to bring the snow to the world before Christmas, meticulously freezing every icicle one by one, until he finally couldn't.

—

A simple stroll through his workshop led Scott to a disturbing discovery. He trotted down the stairs into the main square of his property, running his hand along the icicles hanging from the handrail. A few icicles broke off, and a coat of water came off on his hand. Weird, the icicles were typically rock solid. He descended the last step and… slipped. He slipped on dirty, sloppy slush. Even weirder. The snow should most certainly not be melting.

"There you are! Mother Nature just called an emergency meeting!" Curtis rushed through the snow, shouting his head off. "Are you okay, sir?"

"Just took a little spill," Scott assured him. Curtis helped him to his feet, struggling with his weight. Scott brushed his clothes off. "See? No harm done. Is the meeting here again?"

"Yes, sir. Right in the kitchen." Scott waddled off to the kitchen, rubbing his sore hip on the way. Most of the council's meetings over the last year had been held at The North Pole, due to Scott not wanting to leave his wife and baby for long. The usual suspects were already in their labeled seats. Sandman was always early so he could get comfortable enough to sleep through the meeting, Mother Nature was always early to get things organized, and Jack Frost was always early due to certain anxieties he held. He was still thinking that he had to go above and beyond for everyone, that he had to be holding himself to a higher standard because he thought everyone else held him to a lower one.

"Mother Nature, Jack, Sandy," Scott greeted. Mother Nature gave him a nod and Sandman didn't acknowledge him. He moved in Jack's direction and Jack got up to give him a bro hug. When he pulled back, he noticed the bags under Jack's eyes. He looked older and more worn than Scott had ever seen him before. Jack's former pallor had come back to his skin, not from being cold blooded but from being malnourished. Scott's intuition and Jack's appearance led him to a clear conclusion; this meeting was about Jack.

"Jack…" Scott gave Jack a sympathetic look. Jack pursed his lips and nodded. Without much speaking, the two friends communicated everything they had to. Something was horribly, horribly wrong.