MARVEL: The Guardian chosen by the Moon

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The night wind swept through New York's skyscrapers, swirling snowflakes under the glow of streetlights. I loved this city. Always bustling, always noisy, but never boring. Tonight, however, something felt different. A slight shiver ran down my spine, and it wasn't just from the biting cold I spread through the streets.

I had this persistent feeling of being watched.

But I didn't have time to dwell on it. Just below me, in one of the dark streets of the financial district, something caught my attention.

A scream. A gunshot.

My gaze snapped to a bank, its large glass doors shattered.

Armed shadows rushed inside, their hurried footsteps echoing on the marble floor.

A robbery.

A smirk spread across my lips. Perfect.

I let the wind carry me down, landing silently on the roof of the neighboring building. Through the wide glass façade, I could make out four armed men, their faces hidden by balaclavas. They moved quickly, ordering the employees and the few customers present to lie on the floor.

One of them approached the main counter and pressed his gun against the security glass.

"Come on, fill the bag, and hurry!"

The trembling bank teller complied, sliding bundles of cash into the robber's bag.

I raised an eyebrow. They were going to be disappointed. I certainly wasn't going to let them leave with their loot.

Without a sound, I slid down the wall and blew a frosty breath under the bank's door. Instantly, a thin layer of frost began to spread across the floor and walls. The temperature plummeted, and the criminals shivered, exchanging uneasy glances.

One of them, more nervous than the others, glanced over his shoulder. "What the hell… why's it so cold all of a sudden?"

I smiled. Time to make my entrance.

"Sorry, guys, but the bank's closed due to inclement weather."

I blew on my staff and sent a gust of frost that instantly froze the ground beneath their feet. They slipped forward, trying to catch themselves. Two of them fell hard on the icy marble.

The third, the one holding the bag, turned to me, furious. He raised his gun.

Bad idea.

With a fluid motion, I waved my staff and conjured a pillar of ice under his feet. He was launched into the air, dropping his gun, which slid across the floor before I froze it in a block of ice.

The last criminal, realizing he was completely outmatched, tried to run for the exit. I raised my hand, and a sheet of ice formed in front of him. He crashed into it headfirst before falling backward, dazed.

I leaned forward slightly, a mocking smile on my lips. "Slippery, huh?"

The bank's customers and employees began to sit up, realizing the danger had passed. Some stared at me in disbelief, others whispered among themselves.

"It's him… Jack Frost…"

I nodded, satisfied. The night was still young, and I was about to take off, carried by the wind, when an odd shiver ran through me.

Something… no, someone… was there.

I froze.

It was a familiar feeling, as if the air around me vibrated differently. No threat, no hostility, just… a presence.

I turned slowly, scanning the shadows of the street, the rooftops, the sky.

And I saw him.

He was there, floating in silence, barely visible under the streetlights.

A boy. A boy who looked so much like me that it felt like seeing a distorted reflection of myself.

His white hair shimmered softly under the moonlight, just like mine. His pale green eyes watched me intently, as if trying to gauge every expression on my face. His body seemed made of light and mist, subtly dancing with the wind.

But the strangest thing was his hesitation.

He wanted to approach. He wanted to. But something held him back.

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Hey… Hi?"

He flinched slightly, as if caught in the act. He immediately raised his hands and began making quick gestures, trying to tell me something.

I crossed my arms. "Uh… Am I supposed to understand that?"

He stopped abruptly, lowering his gaze slightly, visibly flustered. He tried a few more gestures, slower this time, but I kept staring at him, uncomprehending.

"Okay, listen, I'm not bad at guessing stuff, but this…"

He hesitated. Then, after a moment of thought, he timidly raised a finger and touched my forehead with the tip of his index finger.

The world shifted.

As if a dam had burst, my mind was flooded with images, sensations, sounds.

I saw what he had seen.

The frantic chase in Washington, Nick Fury hunted like prey, the sudden violence, the gunfire, the explosions. The imposing shadow of the Winter Soldier, relentless, advancing toward his target.

And through it all, a sense of urgency. A deep unease.

But that wasn't all.

In this ocean of images, other memories mingled. Memories… of me?

No. Not me.

I saw him following me across the world, watching my games with the children, my travels through snow and ice. He had wanted to play with me, join my snowball fights, laugh with me in the desert, slide with me on snowy slopes.

But he hadn't.

Because he wasn't sure.

Because he doubted.

And then, a phrase stood out, clear and sharp, spoken in a smooth, warm voice.

"The Moon told me you weren't my Jack… but that you were just as kind as him."

I took a sharp breath and stepped back, breaking the contact.

There, in front of me, he still watched me, but with the same shyness that contrasted so much with the overflowing energy I had felt in him.

I struggled to find the words.

"You… You're quite the chatterbox in your head, huh?"

He blinked slightly, then looked away, uncomfortable.

I rubbed my temples, trying to process it all. "Alright… So you've been following me for a while, you know the Moon, you want to play with me but don't dare, and on top of that, you're here to warn me about something that could go really wrong in Washington?"

He nodded eagerly.

I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. "Damn… You're really like me. Like, really."

He looked at me, intrigued, as if waiting for more.

I shrugged with a smirk. "Well, listen, we're gonna have to work on your communication skills because I don't understand a thing about your sign language, but… thanks."

He blinked.

"For following me. For watching me. For wanting to play."

A slight shiver of surprise crossed his face, as if he hadn't expected that.

I raised my staff and twirled a snowflake between my fingers. "Once we've sorted out this Washington thing… You'll have no more excuses. You'll come play with me, okay?"

A brief moment of silence.

Then, slowly, he nodded.

I smiled.

"Then let's go see what's happening in Washington."

And in a frosty breath, we vanished into the night.