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However, crime had been unaffected by the war. There were just as many robberies and murders as before. Now that the war was over, and America was finally overcoming depression for the first time in two decades, crime was rising at a steady pace. But, the NYPD had a secret weapon on their side: The Shadow.
Recently, though, The Shadow had been feeling the weight of the increased crime. Sure, more super-heroes were emerging, and with the war over, there were more men available to be cops. Still, The Shadow was slowing down. He was gradually becoming to accept a fact that he was not yet ready to embrace. The fact that terrified him more than any criminal ever could.
The Shadow was getting old. It was almost time for him to retire. He had been able to track the murderer to an empty apartment. The Shadow looked around. He was
unable to discern any signs of living inside the apartment. He had already checked on the tenant
records. No one had lived here for years, but somehow, all of the calls originated from this apartment. The room The Shadow was in was dark. He was standing in the doorway. Across from him stood a
fireplace and mantle. He started to walk around the perimeter of the room, looking for a secret
compartment or room. Suddenly, as he approached the mantle, he saw light radiate from behind it. The Shadow lifted his hands and felt for a crack. He found one, ever so small. He looked around,
searching for something to pry the crack open. He couldn't find anything, so he placed his ear to the wall.
He heard the insane ramblings of a madman. On the other side of the wall, unknown and unseen to The Shadow, the murderer was standing in front of
what appeared to be a control panel. He was about 5' 10", had unruly short black hair, and black eyes.
He appeared to be in his twenties. He was wearing goggles, and if to protect he eyes from something. At the moment, he was changing plugs and pushing buttons. The entire time, he had a huge smile
plastered on his face. He enjoyed doing this. 'Much better than the day job,' he thought. Meanwhile, on the outside, The Shadow continued his search. He checked inside the actual fireplace.
The back of it seemed different than most fireplaces. He looked up. The chimney didn't seem to be a
chimney. In fact, it appeared to be a passage to some hidden place. 'That has to be it!' he thought. He reached up. His hand hit something hard only a few inches above his head. It startled him at first
because he expected the passage to go up several feet. He felt around on the top. He found a handle
and pulled. The obstacle swung down on hinges. The Shadow climbed up. He found himself in a larger
passage. This one continued to go up, but changed directions at the top. The Shadow measured the distance. About seven feet high, he estimated. He braced himself in the
passage and climbed up to where he could reach the second passage. He pulled himself up and began
to crawl. This passage had better lighting, so he could tell that it was longer than the other. When he reached the midway point, he looked down and saw a vent. He wasn't sure why it would be
here. This couldn't have been an air duct. He looked down. He saw the murderer standing in front of
the control panel. Suddenly, the murderer turned away from it and walked to the phone. He asked for
the number and waited for the person on the other end to answer. While he was waiting, he picked up a
gadget and began to make adjustments in the settings. The Shadow carefully began to open the vent
and climb down. "Mr. Drake?" the murderer asked into the phone. The man on the other end answered with a basic answer. When he did, the murderer lifted the gadget,
attached to the mouthpiece, and pressed a button. A loud noise entered into the receiver while the
murderer ran to the control panel to flip a series of switches. The Shadow ran to the phone and pulled the wire out of the wall. He then pried the gadget off of the
phone. The murderer turned around quickly. "What happened?" he shouted. "Nobody's here!" The Shadow laughed. "That's where you're wrong," he said. "The Shadow is here." "The Shadow! I've heard of you! My dad tells me about you all the time!" the murderer said as he ripped
off his goggles. Suddenly The Shadow recognized who was standing in front of him. It was Christopher Weston, son of
the commission of police! Weston's second-in-command came over to him. "Should we enter now?" Weston shook his head. "Break down the door, boys!" he shouted. Upon hearing that command, the five officers standing in front of the door rammed their shoulders into
the locked door. It gave very easily. The pulled out their guns and entered. Two more men entered
behind them, followed by the commissioner and second-in-command. The first officer to enter walked back to the commissioner. "Sir, the first floor is empty. Shall we
proceed?" Weston nodded his head. The nine officers walked upstairs. They searched each room. They came to the end of the hall and saw
a room that looked different. It appeared as if to be used more than the other rooms. They all stood
beside the door. Weston pointed to two officers, then motioned for them to follow him. They walked into
the room and looked around. One of the officers spotted the light behind the fireplace. "Sir! Look!" he whispered. Weston came over. "Looks like we found something." "I can't see you Shadow!" Chris shouted as he picked up a gun. "But I can kill you!" "Chris," The Shadow pleaded. "What would your father think? Do you know what this will do to him?" "Leave my father out of this! He doesn't care about me! All he cares about is getting glory one last
time!" "That is not true," The Shadow said, moving around the room, examining it, and preventing Chris from
shooting him. "YES IT IS!" Chris shouted, tears forming in his eyes. "HE DOESN'T CARE!" With that, Chris pulled the
trigger. On the other side, the officers heard the shot. "Get over there!" Weston shouted. "Lieutenant! Get in here, now!" The officers immediately tried to begin knocking brick loose, hoping to reach the other side. Inside, Chris heard voices. "Cops! They've found me!" He turned to where he thought The Shadow
was. "It's your fault! You led them to me!" He fired the gun again. Just then, the police had begun to break through. Chris looked around, hoping to find something to brace
the wall with. In the corner of the room, The Shadow was hiding, making Chris think he was injured. He studied the
control panel. If he reworked some of the wires and plugs, he could blow the system out. Maybe that
would let the cops in. He ran over and began working on the panel. Chris was too busy searching the room that he didn't
notice The Shadow. Finally, The Shadow had reworked everything. He put the final plug in. The room filled with sparks. The control panel blew out of the wall, falling backwards. The mantle in the
other room swung open. The Shadow laughed. Chris cursed at The Shadow, turned around and began to use his secret escape hatch. However, it had
been jammed in the explosion. The police officers charged in. Weston shouted, "POLICE!" One of the
officers saw Chris and fired. The bullet struck Chris in the hand. Two officers ran over and grabbed him.
One handcuffed him. "Oh, man," he groaned when he saw who it was. They stood Chris up and walked him over to the rest. "Chris!" Weston shouted. "It was you?!" Chris didn't said anything. Instead he looked down. Weston slapped him. Chris looked up. "Go to hell," he said just before the officers took him out. Weston walked over to the wall and leaned against it, tears forming in his eyes. "Sir?" the lieutenant asked. "I just need a moment alone," Weston replied. The officer walked out of the room. The Shadow walked over to Weston. He placed his hand on
Weston's shoulder. Weston looked up, startled. "Wha-?!" "It's me," The Shadow said. "The Shadow, eh?" Weston replied. He was silent for a moment. "What a way to go out, huh? I've been
trying to find that one case that would be a great way to go out. I thought this would be it. Instead, I find
out that my own son is a murderer." The Shadow took his hand off of Weston's shoulder and was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Life
is like that, sometimes." "The thing is, I don't have it me any more. I can't continue being commissioner." He turned around. "I'm
done. You can expect to see the announcement of my retirement in the papers soon." "How long?" The Shadow asked. "How long until you leave?" "I figure a month is enough. Maybe I can get another case." Weston paused. "Who am I kidding?" he
asked. The Shadow didn't say another word. Instead, he turned around and left. "Lamont, what is so depressing this time?" Margo asked. "I saw the cops bring out the murderer." "I learned who did it," Lamont replied, looking down. "What was so terrible about his identity that you are looking so grim?" "It was Chris Weston." "The commissioner's son?" Margo said with a gasp. Lamont nodded. The remainder of the ride was silent. "Margo!" he exclaimed. "What brings you here?" Margo walked in and took her coat off, handing it to Lamont. "I'm here to talk about you and The
Shadow." "Whatever for?" Margo turned around and looked Lamont straight in the eyes. "Lamont. I love you. You are getting too
old to be The Shadow. Your reflexes aren't as fast. I need you." Lamont was startled by this. "Let's discuss this in the living room," he said. The two of them walked into the living room and sat on the sofa. Margo looked directly at Lamont. "So, let's start over here," Lamont said. "Why are you here?" "Lamont," Margo replied, "times are changing. The Shadow is getting old. I am tired of waiting. I want
to get married. I want to have kids. I want you." "Whoa," Lamont said, exhaling. This was a lot for him to take in. Suddenly he remembered something
in the other room. "Wait here," he told Margo. He returned a minute later. He walked over to Margo and bent down on his knee. He pulled a black
velvet box out of his pocket and opened it up. Inside was a diamond ring. "Margo," he said, "will you
marry me?" Margo looked down at him, tears beginning to fill here eyes. She leaned down and whispered, "Yes,"
before kissing Lamont. He heard a noise behind him. He knew from experience what it was. "So, Shadow, come to wish me well?" he asked. "Actually, I came to tell you good-bye," The Shadow replied. "You aren't the only one retiring. It's time
for me to quit." "What?" Weston exclaimed, turning his chair around. "Are you sure?" "Yes. I've been doing this for almost twenty years. I'm not as fast or as great as I used to be. It's time
for me to quit and start a family." "I guess I never thought about The Shadow having a real life." "Yes." "End of an era?" Weston asked. "I guess it is," The Shadow said. Weston stood up and walked over to where he thought The Shadow might be standing. He put out his
hand. The Shadow lowered his cloak of invisibility. He shook hands with Weston and smiled. He then turned
invisible again and left the room. Weston sighed and walked out into the party. A few minutes later, Lamont and Margo entered. They had been invited because of their closeness to
Weston. "Commissioner!" Lamont exclaimed. Weston walked over and met Lamont in the middle of the room. They shook hands. "How are things?"
Weston asked. "Well, I'm getting married," Lamont said, lifting Margo hand up, showing the ring off. "Very nice. I hope you can keep him out of trouble, Margo." "I'll try," Margo replied. "Congratulations on your retirement," Lamont said. "Thank you. Congratulations to the two of you," Weston replied. The NYPD changed with the new commissioner. The Shadow never showed up again, leaving behind
the mystery of who he was. Eventually, over time, The Shadow was forgotten by many. Later, Lamont decided to write down some of The Shadow's adventures. The novels he wrote sold well,
and he was praised highly for them. No one ever knew that he was really writing autobiographies of
sorts. He never kept a penny of sales, though. All money was donated to charity. "The Shadow will
always help people. One way or another," Lamont would later say. It wasn't long before Lamont Cranston, Jr. had grown. He discovered at a relatvly early age that he
possessed mystical powers. His parents told him of The Shadow. It wasn't long before he became the
second Shadow. He made sure that the legacy of The Shadow would live on. The version of The Shadow in this story is from the radio show. This makes it easier for the
secret identity. Having Lamont marry Margo, and having Weston retire would be the best
way to end The Shadow's career. I better stop rambling, so I can start on the DCM series. It will feature the debut of Shadow III,
and set up many plotlines. This Shadow will be part of the DCM merged universe, as will be seen
soon. Thank for reading,
On this night, The Shadow was chasing a murderer through the city, following the clues that he left
behind. This murderer had an unusual modus operandi. He never killed the victims in person. He was
able to do so over the phone. The Shadow was trying to find out how.
Outside at that moment, the police were surrounding the building based on a phone tip from The
Shadow. Commissioner Weston himself was leading the raid, because he wanted to catch the murderer
himself. He was nearing retirement age himself and wanted one last moment of glory.
On the other side of the fireplace, The Shadow was confronting Chris Weston.
The Shadow walked to his car, where Margo Lane was waiting in the driver's seat. She saw the door
open. As The Shadow entered, she saw him gradually fade back into visibility. She began to drive off as
The Shadow took off his cloak and hat.
The next morning, Lamont Cranston was fixing breakfast when he heard the doorbell ring. He was
dressed, so he didn't mind answering the door. He opened it and saw Margo standing at the door.
A month later, Commissioner Weston was sitting in his office. Everyone else in the department was
outside at his retirement party. The lights were off, and Weston was looking out the window.
Lamont and Margo were married later that year. The next year, Margo gave birth to their first son,
Lamont Cranston, Jr.
In Detective #1 at DC/Marvel: The Merging - It's the public debut of the third Shadow, bringing the legacy into
a new century!
WRITER'S NOTE: The hardest part of this story was trying to figure out when The Shadow was around. He
first appeared in pulps in 1931. His last pulp was in 1949, but his radio show lasted until
1954. He never aged at all during the show. (At least, it was never touched upon.) I
decided on choosing this time period, because I wanted Shadow III to be about 17 or 18 in
1999 (or 2000). I figured the best way would be to have Lamont Jr. born in 1950.
Chip Caroon, DCM co-EiC, writer of Spider-Man, The Shadow 2000, and X-Men co-writer