Tap Tap Tap Tap
Rapid footsteps echoed down the long, white hallways of the underground complex. The air was dry... processed... And a constant hum vibrated through the very bones of the runners.
"Stop...” Wheeze “...you debutante!"
"I think...” Pant “...you mean...” Gasp “...delinquent, Shawn!"
"I've heard it...” Gasp “...both...” Wheeze “...ways!"
Gus struggled to keep up with his friend, both having exhausted themselves in the initial sprint. A shadowy, trench-coated figure dashed ahead, occasionally stopping to swipe a card through the lock of one of the many metal doors that dotted the hallway. The woefully out of shape pair had been chasing the suspect for what seemed like hours (though, in reality, it had only been a few minutes). To Shawn, whoever they were chasing looked to be getting increasingly frustrated with the twists and turns of the massive underground complex. Each attempt at a new door grew more desperate.
In fact, Shawn was starting to suspect "The Shadow", as he'd taken to calling the figure in his head, was hopelessly lost. This would be more encouraging if Shawn himself had absolutely any idea of where they were. Eventually, one of the doors gave a distinct click and The Shadow shouted a triumphant "Hah!" as it burst into the room beyond, out of sight.
"Come on...” Wheeze “...Gus! We've got him now!" Gus only groaned in response, having fallen to the floor face-first about 5 yards back.
"You..." Pant "…wuss." Shawn stumbled, the trembling in his legs forcing him to use the wall for support as he made his way toward the door.
Relieved to find it still unlocked, he stopped with his hand on the handle. Everything about this case had smelled fishy from the get-go. He thought back, his eidetic memory providing a series of images of the events that led to this moment...
FLASH
A woman in a lab coat, who introduced herself as Vanessa, standing in his office, speaking excitedly in technobabble. Phrases like "Quantum tunneling" and "Multi-verse theory" had roused his inner sci-fi nerd, but elicited no actual hidden knowledge or recognition on his part. Gus had looked excited, at least... though more so at finding a hot geek in their office than by the science talk. Her speech had culminated in the words: "…a historical discovery that will challenge our perception of the universe as a species!"
FLASH
The suddenly fearful look in her eyes as she recounted a dangerous encounter with The Shadow, whom she'd found rifling through her office desk. It had threatened her life, demanding her key-card, before vanishing into the hallway when her intercom buzzed. A threat both the police and the government organization running the project had ignored after failing to find any evidence of The Shadow's intrusion. It didn't help that she could give no real description of her attacker. Nor that she had a history of presenting with various psychoses under high levels of stress.
FLASH
Going to his father for help in reopening the case and being immediately forbidden from trying to sneak into a top-secret government facility.
FLASH
Shawn and a reluctant Gus sneaking into the top-secret government facility after-hours, having "borrowed” I.D's and keycards from a pair of unsuspecting project engineers.
FLASH
Shawn and a terrified Gus sharing an awkward moment with the infamous Shadow itself after accidentally bursting into the office it had just finished ransacking.
FLASH
The duo chasing a frantic Shadow as it sped through the halls, clearly in much better shape than either of them.
Back in the present, Shawn's eyebrows furrowed. No pertinent details had jumped out at him. Only questions: How had the figure managed to get in both times without a key-card? For that matter, it clearly existed... So how could there have been no video or physical evidence whatsoever of its previous incursion deep into the supposedly secure facility? He was pretty good at telling when people were lying, and he hadn't thought Vanessa was. Now he knew for sure.
On second thought, one thing had seemed strange. He had assumed this whole time that The Shadow was wearing a ski mask, but the one time he'd gotten a clear look at... Him? Her? It?... It had looked more like its head was composed of living shadow, translucent in the bright, artificial lighting of the office.
He shuddered and his grip on the door handle faltered. Looking back at Gus, who was mumbling incoherently into the floor, Shawn briefly considered waiting for his friend to recover.
No. He thought to himself. There's no such thing as ghosts... But there are such things as terrorists... And bombs... His grip faltered again. Come on, Shawn! Get it together! You're a man! You ain't 'fraid of no ghost!
The hallway suddenly lit red as a deafening orchestra of klaxons broke the stalemate. Shawn, startled, burst through the door.
"AAAAAAAaaaaaaahhhh... Oh." His girly scream dropped in pitch and volume then faded to stunned silence as his mind struggled to catch up with what his eyes were seeing.
A gigantic... machine... took up most of the space in the even more gigantic room. Thick, industrial cables carrying untold power and data covered the floor beneath the metal catwalk Shawn stood on. And, if a shadow could be said to look incredulous, the one standing under the machine at the end of the walkway was doing a good job of it.
This isn't happening...
Shawn, however, could only stare in awe at the fierce ball of raw energy that writhed and pulsed at the very center of a raised platform. The air around it was so heavily distorted that it looked... wrong... somehow. As if it had more than three dimensions. It hurt his head just to look directly at it.
This isn't happening... This isn't happening...
His gaze shifted to The Shadow, arms outstretched towards the energy ball with electricity arcing between them. The trench-coat had been burned off, revealing a vaguely humanoid, very transparent shape. It turned to him and a feminine voice rose up from its center.
"Grrrraaahh! Why dost thou persist on hounding me, fool!? Hast thou no regard for thine own life!?"
Shawn's jaw dropped.
THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! GFRARGLEBLARGH...
The logical part of his brain degenerated into a gibbering mess before shutting down altogether, allowing his snark run of the show.
"Fool!? Wha...Well... Y-Your face is a fool!" Nice, Shawn... Quick, say something witty to distract it from the fact that you sound like an idiot!
"And I don't see what McGruff has to do with any of this!" Dammit...
The Shadow stared at him, requiring three false starts before speaking, "Of all the inane... Who dost thou think thou art!?"
"Shawn Spencer, psychic detective! And I'm here to take a bite outta crime!" Stop! Just... Please, stop!
His brain finally rebooted and he gasped, "Wait! That's why you didn't show up in any of the security footage! You're a ghost!" He paused, "Or maybe an alien... Alien ghost? W-What are you, exactly?"
The Shadow seemed to grin, which was really disconcerting since it didn't have a face, "I am many things to many beings. But most know me simply as... The Nightmare."
"Nightmare? Really? Dude, 'The Shadow' is a much cooler supervillain name. Wait... Did you just seriously pause for dramatic eff-" Shawn's scoffing was cut short as the ball of energy's pulsing gained speed. It was LOUD, each thump resounding deep within his chest. It lost its spherical shape, becoming a violently shifting amorphous mass.
Shawn was on his knees, hands pressed against his ears in a vain attempt to block out the noise that filled his head. Then, as suddenly as it lost it, the energy regained its shape and shrank to a small dot.
Silence reigned for one brief, blissful moment.
"-ect?"
An explosion of light and noise overtook him and he felt himself falling... falling... falling... He heard an ominous, cackling laughter echoing through infinity. Then... Darkness.
------------------------------------------
The security detail that reached the room minutes later found only an unconscious Gus in the hallway and an empty room with a perfectly smooth, half-sphere shaped crater at its center.