Chapter 5:
Three days later, the X-Men found Sienna blindfolded and gagged in a deserted warehouse near the centre of New York. Untying her, they took the drugged girl back to the Mansion and deposited her in a holding cell with no contact from any of the students. Xavier was recovering well in the lab but the rest of the faculty were at a loss to explain why exactly Sienna had shot her mentor and principal so Scott contacted Hank one day and they went over the video footage. Pressing a few buttons, Hank activated the genetic scanning option and they soon discovered that "Sienna" was actually Mystique. So, a delegation was sent to the holding cell and found Sienna crouched on a corner of her bed with a faraway look in her dimmed eyes and her knees up to her chest. Holding up a hand as Scott tried to apologise, she stopped them and looked at the assembled group warily.
"Before you say anything else, listen to me. Magneto has planted a virus in the Setinel practise sim in the Danger room and has infected me with it. It is slowly killing me..."
Jean gasped and made as if to hug her but Sienna shook her head in warning. 'I don't know what it is and I don't know the cure. Magneto certainly enjoyed gloating about it but he disappeared before I could get the words out of his mouth. Please, just leave me alone in case it's transferable. Just...go!
Logan turned away slowly and marched off as the rest followed reluctantly. Closing the door quietly, Gambit eyed the other younger members of the team and then glanced back at the forlorn silhouette of Sienna crouched on the bed and staring out to space. Turning away, the man sighed and adjusted his sunglasses as he disappeared from view....
---
Months passed and Sienna became visibly paler, thinner and weaker to all who viewed her. Her naturally thin form became gaunt and hard edged so she took to wearing baggy clothing and often would cough up blood into a tissue. Her eyes took on a lifeless appearance and she dropped out of her classes and quit her job, keeping away from others. Most often, you could find her perched in a tree or clasped in Kurt's arms. Secretly, Kurt was worried out of his mind and often tried to tempt her to eat some of his cooking. He rarely left her side these days and soon became even more exhausted than his girlfriend, which was solved by both Remy and Logan tying Kurt to his bed physically so he could sleep. But, worse was to come...
One afternoon, Sienna simply collapsed in Kurt's arms and fell into a very deep, catatonic state that nobody could wake her from. Every empath, every telepath and every mentally powered mutant was frantically begged to alleviate her state but none succeeded. It was as if she had just decided to give up the fight and the poison began to flow through her weakened body more quickly every day. Logan had fled to the woods for a week after he received the news and Kurt could not be consoled as he sat next to her and begged Jesus and Mary for the return of Sienna's health. The rest of the Faculty and students were in a state of shock and disbelief bested only by the reaction to the death of Jean Grey. Xavier had once said that "the Institute was not just about the buildings, it was the hearts behind it" and that had become evident in this situation. But, despite all the efforts of her friends and teachers, Sienna simply got weaker and weaker and suffered heart attacks and dipping in vitals more frequently every week. Jean had taken it upon herself to keep Sienna alive and had latched onto her life essence, keeping it going even when the essence dipped dangerously towards death.
The medical laboratory had become in effect a complete beehive, with students popping in every five minutes and the staff looking in every so often after classes. They younger students had even written up a schedule for people who wanted to sit with Sienna and give Kurt a break and every student signed up. Then, those who were able took the younger students shopping and the others would cook tea for the school and bake treats to keep the morale up. Even the youngest of the students got in on the action, making get well cards for Sienna and blowing up balloons to cheer her room up. But, through it all Sienna remained completely catatonic and unaware of any touch, sensation or voice as the poison took a deeper and more malevolent hold of her every day...