Fan Fiction: Crossovers
Wrath of Khan
Chapter 2
A few days later…
Sitting in his Sanctum, Stephen Cranston/The Shadow had no
idea of the challenge ahead. He was changing, from ordinary casual clothes
to clothes for an unusual nightlife. When he was done he was wearing a
black cloak and slouch hat. A red handkerchief masked his face, which
had altered subtly so that he could not be recognised. After he finished
transforming, he reached into the equipment locker. He pulled out his
disguise make-up, which allowed him to change his appearance profoundly,
and then his weapon holsters. Leaving the Sanctum, he wished that his
partner Spider-Man were here, instead of vacationing with his family in
Australia. But… he supposed that it was about time he got to work on his
own. The mysterious masked man. He smiled beneath his mask; it would be
just like the old days. A hollow, whispered laugh echoed through the now
empty Sanctum.
"So that's where we stand on the Safford case commissioner." Finished a policeman.
The head of police in New York looked over the files. It was a collection of orders with signatures, financial reports, shipping receipts and letterheads. It looked like a clear-cut case of embezzlement.
"One thing I don't get… He wasn't stealing money. He was altering
shipments of munitions. Do we know where the surplus was being sent yet?"
Said the chief, as the janitor wandered in with his mop.
"Nope, Safford still wont talk. He just keeps repeating that he did not do anything and that he could not remember where he was at the time."
"Well we have all the evidence we need to convict him. Heck, we have him on video committing the crime. Let's get the rest of this in the morning, we'll put the paperwork through then."
The policeman nodded and turned to the janitor. "Fritz, will you clean this up? You know where everything goes."
"Yah." Said the stooped man in overalls, waving his mop back and forth over the floor.
"Another late night Fritz? Good man." Smiled the Chief, already thinking of his warm bed at home.
"Yah" Mumbled the janitor again.
The two officers left the room. Neither of them saw the strange, long shadow extending from the janitor.
After they had left, Fritz straightened up and looked through the papers. His eyes gleamed and he put them away; the information they held were copied quickly onto some blank papers that Fritz had. That done, his eyes burned toward a video also included in the file. He could not watch it here. He found the ID number written on the side of the tape. 1276-23.
Leaving the office, he continued to shuffle down the hallway toward the archive room. A few officials passed him but barely glanced at the janitor.
"There is nothing as invisible as a man with a mop," Thought
the man to himself.
Reaching the archive room, he slipped a skeleton key out from his sleeve. Once inside he started toward the visual archives and searched for a specific video file. 1276-23.
It took the janitor less than a minute to find a file with 3 copies of the tape to be used as evidence; also in the file was the identification paperwork for these videos. Taking the papers for one of the videos and putting them into his pocket, he took a video with him and left the archive room..
His work for the night finished, Fritz was wandering down the dark, empty hallways, still trailing his mop. Coming to the janitor's office he pulled a regular key from a pocket in his overalls. Entering the small room he put his mop away and started to change. The overalls peeled away to reveal a dark set of clothing. Opening the small locker, he pulled a cape and slouch hat. Rubbing at his face with a damp cloth the soft and harmless face of Fritz melted away to reveal an intense profile with a hawkish look and burning eyes. Donning the hat and cloak he chuckled softly. Checking he had the video and papers with him, he lifted the window slightly and slipped out. Striding through a dark alleyway, the man vanished into the darkness. A whispered laugh echoed behind him.
It was the laugh of The Shadow!
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