Introduction
Monthly Poll
2001 Archive
2002 Archive
2003 Archive
2005 Archive
Sequel Poll
2001 Archive
2005 Archive
2009-2010 Archive
Fan Fiction
Fan Art
Tidbits
Movie
In Print
Radio
T.V.
Miscellaneous
Events
Site Map
Guestbook
Forum
|
Fan Fiction: Crossovers
Identities and the 8th Wonder
by Matt Dennion
Part 1: Lamont Cranston
Lamont Cranston stepped out of his limousine onto the street of a warm New York spring night. A massive crowd of people had gathered for this spectacular event. His driver shut the door and ran ahead to find help in gaining access to the VIP section of the event. He took a deep breath and sighed, while he would have preferred to have been out hunting down criminals as The Shadow he knew that he needed to make the occasional public appearance as Lamont Cranston in order to keep the public from looking to closely at Cranston's life. This was exactly the type of event that as one of New York's wealthiest citizens Lamont Cranston would be expected to attend, Denham's presentation was said to be the most amazing thing discovered perhaps in human history. Cranston raised his eyes to the glittering marquee "King Kong Carl Denham's Giant Monster" Cranston new the gist of the story from what the papers had already indicated, Denham had gone out to film a new movie in a remote location, and stumbled upon a lost civilization of savage natives who lived on an island populated by dinosaurs and worshiped a giant monster known as Kong. Denham and his crew had captured the monster and brought him back to New York to display for all to see. From what The Shadow had heard while lurking around the docks the monster was some manner of a giant gorilla larger then the biggest elephant. Cranston had to admit even he was curious to see what exactly Denham had brought back.
The driver quickly came back over "Right this way Mr. Cranston." He was led through the VIP and press entrance. As he entered the brightly lit room, Cranston was almost overwhelmed at the level that Denham had gone to for this event. Cranston felt like he entered a wing of museum that had found its way from the World's Fair. The entire room was sectioned off into areas representing different parts of the dramatic voyage. One wall was covered in glass cases filled with artifacts from the native village. In front of this display, a Professor Jones of archeology and anthropology from Princeton University was discussing the artifacts and possible origins of the natives on what was now called Skull Island. Jones was surrounded by representatives from various newspapers peppering him with questions. Cranston noted that for an event such as this, editors seemed to deem a normal reporter unequal to the tasks and were handling the questions themselves. Scanning the crowd of newsmen, he noted J. Jonah Jameson, the young editor of the new Daily Bugle newspaper, as well as several other editors from out of town, including Perry White from Metropolis' Daily Planet and Britt Reid from the Daily Sentinel.
Cranston stood in back of the large crowd of reporters listening to Dr. Jones when he was bumped into from behind. Cranston turned around as a young man in a suit and tie with a young blond woman next to him grabbed his hand shook it and spoke in an exhilarated manner with British accent "Ah Mr. Cranston long time no see!" The man leaned in closer, whispering "and may I say you are looking a Shadow of your other self tonight." The Shadow was not easily shocked no matter which identity he was using but his face lit up with surprise at this comment. He quickly grabbed the man by his lapels and growled "What did you say! Who are you!" The man spoke in a friendly tone "It's me The Doctor and of course you remember my companion Rose, we thought we would stop in and see this event before things got …. Hairy." Both The Doctor and Rose giggled at this. Cranston tightened his grip "Doctor Who? What are you talking about I've never met either of you before and why did you use the phrase 'shadow of my other self'?" The Shadow looked into this Doctor's heart and was amazed to find not one but two hearts: one filled with unimaginable darkness, and one the kindest heart he had ever seen. Cranston's head was swirling as The Doctor mused "Oh what year is this? 1933? Oh from your perspective we won't meet up until the business with that Fu Manchu character for another two years. Oh well nice to see you catch in few years. Look, the speaker of the hour has arrived."
Cranston snapped his head around to see the crowd was quickly gathering to the side of the room which displayed the photos of the dinosaurs from the island. In the spilt second it took him to turn his head back he found both the mysterious Doctor and the girl gone. Cranston thought how did he get free of my grip without me even noticing? He quickly thought about tracking him down but thought better of it; he reasoned that chasing after a man in a room full of newspapermen would draw undue attention to Lamont Cranston. He would look into this Doctor character later to clarify his Shadow reference and mention of the international criminal Dr. Fu Manchu.
Cranston turned his attention the crowd of people gathered before the new speaker. Even the famous Doctor Jones had stopped his lecture to hear what this new speaker had to say. An elderly man of robust stature, with a barrel chest, a long grey beard and long disheveled hair approached a podium. Despite his age he looked like an extremely physically strong man and his presence in front of people made even Cranston feel humble. The crowd of reporters, academics and socialites roared in approval and adoration of this gentlemen, this titan, this legend. The man's voice boomed a thank you across the room. A small smile worked its way across Cranston's face. There were few people he looked up to and considered true heroes but this man was one of them and despite his advanced age seeing and hearing Professor George Edward Challenger was still awe inspiring. Denham had brought the legendary researcher and adventure in to discuss the similarities and possible connections between Skull Island's dinosaurs and the beasts he discovered on the plateau in South America known as the Maple White Land. Cranston looked at the stage; Challenger was the type of hero he strove to emulate: knowledgeable, fearless, and dedicated to making the world a better place despite what people thought of him. As he spoke, not single person asked a question - they just sat and listened. In Challenger's heyday this would not have been the case.
Cranston remembered early in his career when he was luckily enough to study under The Great Detective on Baker Street, and how his mentor informed him that he was going to consult with Challenger on case, to which he said " Challenger? Isn't he viewed as a crackpot or something?" He could still hear the Detective's reply: "My young Mr. Allard, don't always believe what you read in the paper. While the Professor may be arrogant, he is genius and a fearless man. I have no doubt he will one day receive the credit he is due!" The smile on Cranston's face grew as he contemplated how Holmes' words had rung true Challenger was finally receiving the credit he deserved. He then took a seat at the back of the crowd and listened to the Professor's lecture.
|
|
