Half-Life 2/X-Men Crossover

By Dennis Goldsmith

"A fine day to be inside, making great strides in the name of Science. Wouldn't you agree, gentlemen?" Dr. Henry McCoy, known to his fellow X-Men as "Beast", smiled and raised an eyebrow as he looked up from the panel of a very large machine he was working on.

Logan and Piotr, or "Wolverine" and "Colossus" as they were called by their comrades, smiled nervously and swallowed hard as they nodded their hesitant agreement. Indeed it was an appropriate day to be inside, since the weather outdoors was a raging torrent of rain, thunder and lightning. However, their task at hand was not something either of them looked forward to.

Over a year ago, Beast had begun constructing a kind of teleportation device, the plans for which he had been drawing and revising for the past decade or so, whenever he found the time. It was only within the past few months, however, that he was able to actually send objects from one point to another.

Beast started off his experiments by sending inanimate objects like furniture and clothing to another teleporter built by a mutant named "Forge", located on Muir Island. After experiencing success with these, he moved on to more complex objects, such as various electronic devices, samples of bacteria and other microorganisms, and eventually progressed to successfully teleporting house plants and lab mice without any complications. Today would be a milestone, however, because today he would sent send humans - or at least mutant-humans - through his teleporter and finally be able to record what was experienced during the teleportation process.

Wolverine and Colossus, as well as Beast himself, were making the final preparations for the journey as several of their fellow X-Men looked on with nervous anticipation. Scott Summers, known as "Cyclops", looked particularly worried for the safety of his friends as he paced back and forth, occasionally throwing questions at Beast to reassure himself that the three of them would be alright.

"I've reminded you several times, Scott, that this procedure is completely safe, as we have concluded from our previous experiments with living organisms. There have been no complications or side effects so far, and so this experiment today is really only a formality that should be done before we put the teleporter to regular use. I assure you that we will all be fine. We'll be to Muir and back before you know it."

Wolverine and Colossus seemed to settle ever so slightly after hearing Beast's reassuring words again, but Cyclops continued to fret, saying, "What about all the lightning and thunder going on outside? Could that have any effect on the process? Maybe we should postpone until it clears up, or at least wait until Ororo gets here so that we can control the situation better."

"Nonsense, Scott," Beast replied, "This lab is far enough underground that lightning will be of no consequence - besides, all of our power is self-generated and self-contained and functions completely independently of the power source on the surface. There's nothing to worry about."

Cyclops clenched his jaw and finally sat down, as his wife, Jean Grey, massaged his shoulders and grinned sympathetically at the three X-Men who would take the trip through the teleporter. Beast waved away her concern and motioned for Wolverine and Colossus to approach the teleportation bay. With their chins held high they did as they were asked, but Colossus leaned over to whisper to Wolverine in his thick Russian accent, "I have met many dangers and battled many villains without fear or hesitation - Da, I have not once cowered from a task that has been handed to me. Now, however, I am finding myself afraid for some reason I cannot explain. Do you not feel afraid as well, friend Logan?"

"I can feel all the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end," Wolverine replied, "but I'm pretty sure that's just the static build-up. See?"

Wolverine reached out with his finger and shocked Colossus, who in his flesh-and-blood form, flinched slightly at the electrical contact and muttered something to Wolverine in Russian.

"Hmm..." Beast paused for a moment and wiggled his fury blue fingers in the air.

"There does seem to be a bit more of a charge in the air than usual-"

"See?" Cyclops rose to his feet, "I told you. We should wait 'til-"

"However," Beast interrupted, "It will have little if any impact on the whole process."

Beast smiled triumphantly at Cyclops, who sat back down with a defeated look on his face.

"Gentlemen, if you would be so kind as to take your positions, I will initiate the first phase."

Colossus and Wolverine looked at Beast, then at each other, and then took the final few steps into the teleportation bay.

Beast began flicking switches and pounding on a keyboard that was attached tot he massive teleporter via thick, black cables. Soon the X-Men heard a low hum as the device came to life, and the two mutants standing in the teleportation bay felt a slight vibration at their feet, which, paired with the unnatural static activity they were experiencing, made for a most uncomfortable sensation.

"There," Beast said with great satisfaction, "Now we only have to wait for the countdown to finish, and we will be off to Muir Island. This is all so very exciting, don't you agree?"

Beast turned to look at Wolverine and Colossus, but before they could answer they were startled by two large metal arms that extended from the sides of the teleporter and began to rotate around them. Wolverine noted the arms and smirked.

"What is it, Logan?" Beast asked.

"Aww, nothin'. Just that I half-expected this thing to have parts that spin around, or flash red and blue lights, or make annoying sounds and stuff like that. Would've been disappointed if it didn't."

Beast huffed and rolled his eyes, and then, careful to avoid the arms that were now spinning quite fast, joined his friends on the teleportation bay.

Cyclops, along with his wife, Jean Grey, and a few other mutants (including Iceman, Jubilee, Rogue, and Nightcrawler) sat with tense faces and crossed fingers, and looked on anxiously as their comrades approached the final moments before their departure.

"I will pick up the countdown at ten..." the three mutants' faces displayed a mixture of expressions. Beast had a look of pure excitement, like a schoolboy about to pin up his finest drawing on his parents' refrigerator. Wolverine looked bored, with his eyes half-lidded, lazily moving from person to person. Colossus looked both proud, but worried, his chest puffed out and his eyebrows raised in the center, like a Marine Corps cadet that was being chewed out by his drill sergeant.

"Ten..." the on-looking X-Men sat forward in anticipation.

"Nine... Eight... Seven..." Colossus glanced at Beast and Wolverine, a bead of sweat beginning to roll down his forhead.

"Six... Five... Four..." Cyclops clenched his fists until the knuckles whitened, while Jean felt a weight in her stomach that grew with each descending number.

"Three... Two..."

"Good luck, X-Men." Cyclops whispered as Beast counted the final number.

"One!"

A moment after Beast finished the countdown, a giant ball of white light appeared in the center of the bay. The light flung tendrils of electricity in every direction, which connected with various objects in the room and showered the spectators with sparks.

"Something's not right!" Cyclops yelled and jumped to his feet. Reaching up to his visor, Cyclops placed his finger on the shutter release, ready to blast the control panel of the teleporter in order to save the three X-Men.

"Scott!" Rogue shouted, "You don't know what that will do to the -"

Rogue was cut short as the entire room went white and a crackling, whining noise filled the air, growing in pitch until all at once the chaos subsided. With spots in their eyes and ringing in their ears, Cyclops, Jean Gray, Iceman, Rogue, Jubilee and Nightcrawler searched the room for their friends, but found only a smoldering teleporter.

"Something went wrong, Jean, I just know it." Cyclops shook his head in despair. "Can you reach any of them telepathically?"

Jean closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead, frowning. "N... no... I don't sense any of them." Jean's hand dropped and tears began to fill her eyes.

Cyclops spun around and began barking orders. "Kurt! Contact Muir Island and see if they've arrived! Jubilee, I need you to alert the other X-Men!" Cyclops then turned to his wife and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Jean, we'll get Forge and the Professor down here and figure out just what the hell happened to our friends."