Chapter 6:

Three weeks after Sienna's collapse, a small team met in Xavier's office to discuss the situation at hand. The team consisted of most of the faculty and Hank had been called in especially for this meeting, his knowledge of scientific and medical phenomenon evident in his mutated appearance and in his hands he held a large stack of papers and books as he shuffled through them absent-mindedly and then pushed his glasses up his nose irritably as he set the stack on a nearby desk. Regarding those seated around him, he smiled briefly before lapsing into thought. Nightcrawler had been too distraught to come to the meeting, he was down in the medical lab holding tightly to the hand of his love and whispering a Catholic chant in German. His misshapen fingers clutched her small, pale and lifeless hand as tears streaked down his face and soaked into his fur. That left Jean, Scott, Storm, Xavier and Logan as the team and they were all on edge, Logan most of all as could be seen by his agitated pacing of the room. Muttering to himself, his eyes darted around like some cornered animal and his rage was bubbling underneath the surface as his muscles tensed.

Turning on Hank suddenly, Logan yelled at him. "Hurry up you blue-skinned imbecile! Every second we spend dawdling we waste and that brings her closer to death. Do something, for God's sake!"

Xavier spoke sharply. "Logan, please. Hank will start when he is ready, you do not have to make things worse by roasting him alive."

Logan shook his head. "I need a cigarette." Then, he pulled one out and went to stand by the open window as he lit it and Jean gave him a look.

Hank nodded in relief and took a deep breath before speaking with as much control as he could muster. "I have, as you know, great scientific knowledge in the fields of genetics, diseases and medical matters. However, this poison is like nothing I have encountered before in my life. I liken it to a form of aggressive cancer or AIDS; it is eating up her body cells and waging war against her immune system. At the moment, it is a losing battle on her part. The body she lives in is tiring rapidly, becoming weaker as the poison grows. It's taking over..."

Storm spoke up in her quieter way and Logan turned to listen. "What can we do? Is there a cure?"

Hank sighed and pushed his glasses back up. "It would take months of research and experimentation to find some hope of a cure. Time we simply do not have."

Logan slammed his fist on the desk as he walked back over and made Jean jump violently. Xavier gave the feral-like mutant a chilling look before speaking. "Hank, we must try anything to save her. How much time do we have? How long can she last against the poison at this rate?"

"A month at best," Hank murmured.

Jean began to sob at this point and Scott gathered her in his arms as Storm looked out of the window with tears brimming in her eyes and Xavier tensed. Logan pushed the door open and literally ran from the room, cursing colourfully all the way as his eyes blazed in pure anger and rage. Hank bowed his head as the group followed Logan out of the room slowly. Jean was cradled in Scott's arms as he tried to cry but every tear was burnt up as soon as they left his eyes. Strom left out the window, her eyes turning white in anger and her form levitating in the air as the rain began to fall.

Soon, only Xavier and Hank were left in the room and Charles eyed Hank sadly. "Hank, start experimenting as soon as you can. We must save her life."

The scientist nodded and walked out as he finished gathering his materials together. Watching him go, Xavier began to sob into his hands...