Fan Fiction: Crossovers
Lineage

  Gotham 1978

  It was 10:00 o'clock at night. The Shadow stood outside the home of Professor Jonathan Crane Sr. Crane lived on the outskirts of Gotham City, some thirty miles from the heart of the city. He watched through the window from the front lawn. He had been watching and preparing the home for several days now. Though he was in plain sight, no one would see him. He had learned how to give off a psychic aura that would cause the minds of humans to simply overlook him. He made sure to stand out of the path of direct light so his physical body did not cast a silhouette on the ground. He was waiting for Ra's al Ghul to make his move. He knew that Ra's would be here in person tonight. Ra's would not leave a mission of such importance to his underlings. He had been there for several hours. Nothing had happened. The rich family next door had taken their young son out for the night. The Shadow thought he heard them saying something about seeing a movie.

  As The Shadow waited for Ra's to make his move, he thought about the events that had brought him here. After returning to Earth, The Shadow spent a decade trying to track down Ra's al Ghul. All of his efforts were in vain. Ra's was too clever to be found. The only people who found Ra's were those Ra's wanted to find him. Finally, The Shadow realized the best way to find Ra's was to draw Ra's to him. The Shadow was the only person on Earth who had the one thing Ra's desired above all else: knowledge of how to decode the Talisman of Cortez. The best way to alert Ra's to this fact was not through the hunting and tracking skills of The Shadow but through the business skills of Lamont Cranston.

  The Shadow soon established himself as Lamont Cranston the third, the grandson of the original Cranston who had disappeared after WWI. He was then able to regain his former wealth under the guise of being his own grandson. His next move was to announce that while in the Far East he had come across an archeological site which contained tablets with an unknown form of ancient writing on them. Cranston had, in fact, used his knowledge of the language of Shambala to create the tablets himself. The final move in his plan called for patience on his part. He had to act as if he had no idea how to read the tablets. If someone was to suddenly appear with not only writings matching those on the Talisman of Cortez, but also have the ability to read them, Ra's would be suspicious and avoid the trap. Cranston had to hire the world's best paleolinguist to decipher the tablets. That man was Professor Jonathan Crane of Gotham State University. Crane worked tirelessly on the tablets but seemed to be unable to translate them. After several years, The Shadow began sneaking in Crane's home at night and altering his notes to help him decode the tablets. Finally, after years of secretly assisting him, Crane had been able to learn the language of Shambala.

  Earlier this week Crane and Cranston held a press conference announcing their breakthrough. The Shadow knew that soon after the announcement Ra's al Ghul would make his move. The Shadow knew Ra's had been carefully watching Crane since he first began working on the tablets. Now that Crane was successful Ra's would soon make his move. The Shadow was not bothered by the fact he was using the professor as live bait. He rationalized the move by assuring himself that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." If Crane died as a result of his involvement, it was a small price to pay when considered against the lives of every other person on the planet.

  The Shadow watched through the window as Ra's al Ghul, Ubu, and seven men armed with automatic guns walked up behind Crane as he sat reading in his chair. Damn, The Shadow thought, Ra's slipped into the house without me even noticing. He's good. But I doubt he is good enough to live through the night. The Shadow entered the house. He then found his way to the room where Ra's was addressing Crane. He picked up their conversation midway through. He heard Ra's saying, "...and they will anoint me as their new messiah." At hearing that, The Shadow laughed. The laugh echoed through the room causing Ra's men to jump to his guard by surrounding him. The Shadow spoke, "Do you really think they would choose you Ra's?" Ra's answered the voice, "They will choose me or I will take their secrets from them by force!" The Shadow laughed again saying, "You think that you will live long enough to reach the portal? Give me the talisman now and I will kill you tonight instead of dragging out your death over the next several weeks." Ra's stood with a defiant look on his face. He scanned the room taking in everything he saw. He noticed each piece of furniture, each lamp, every curtain, the smallest detail of the room. Finally something caught his eye, he could not account for a shadow which seemed to have no point of origin. Ra's directed one of his men to fire at the shadow. The mercenary obeyed his leader's orders and fired. The bullet grazed across The Shadow's arm. The wound did not baldy injure him but it caused him to loose his concentration, thereby making him visible to everyone. Reacting instinctively The Shadow ducked, reached his hands to the holsters at his sides and pulled out twin Colt .45s.

  Ra's men stood and fired at the Shadow. Bullets dug themselves into the wall above his head. Bullets ripped through the wall into the bedroom of the young Jonathan Crane Jr. The boy pulled his blanket over his head. He was shaking with fear and crying. The boy heard everything that was going on, it terrified him. That night the young Jonathan Crane learned a lesson in fear that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

  The Shadow fired hitting one of the mercenaries in the chest, killing him instantly. He hit another twice in the leg, causing him to fall the ground. The Shadow then dove for the entrance to the hallway outside the room. Using the oak door for cover The Shadow peered into the room and fired again. He saw one man drag the injured mercenary behind a couch, in order that they could continue firing on him. The remaining four, Ubu, and Ra's were climbing out the window with the professor as their captive. The remaining mercenary and the injured man fired at The Shadow, forcing him to duck behind the door. He had been standing upright when Ra's men last got a look at him. As a result, they were still firing at the top of the wall where they saw The Shadow's face. Using this to his advantage, The Shadow crouched down to a squatting position, leaned around the bottom of the door, and fired, hitting both men in the chest killing them. He then ran across the room and jumped out the window after Ra's.

  As the Shadow landed on the lawn, he looked around. To his left he saw Ra's and two guards running away. To his right he saw Ubu and the other two guards escaping with the professor. Ubu, was so large and powerful that he was able to wrap his arm around the professor's waist and run with him. The professor was turned backwards facing his house as he was carried. Seeing The Shadow jump onto his lawn he screamed to him for help. Sighing, The Shadow placed one of his guns back in its holster. He placed both hands on his other gun. Dropping to one knee he, took aim at Ubu's group and thought to himself, The needs of the many... The Shadow fired a single shot. Professor Jonathan Crane screamed as he saw the flash of light. It was the last sound he would ever make. The Shadow's bullet buried itself into Crane's forehead, killing him instantly.

  The Shadow stood turned and began to pursue Ra's. He felt no remorse about the professor's death. If Ra's managed to escape he would have tortured Crane until he finally agreed to translate the talisman. By killing Crane, he not only saved him from agonizing pain but he also destroyed Ra's best chance of translating the talisman. A hero would have saved Crane, The Shadow thought to himself, but I'm no hero.