Far away, in some ice fortress, sits the Isolationist. He has a glowing red eye, like the shadowy figure who saved Monet and Siryn from the police in Paris. Sitting lazily on his ice throne, he tells some people to go away and shut up for a few minutes. Turns out he can hear the thoughts, and see ghostly images, of hundreds of people from across the world. It's very distracting, and he gets off of his throne and goes to find some pills he has stored in a couple cardboard boxes just laying in the snow. Once he takes the pills, the 'voices' and images disappear and he's alone again.

Back at X-Factor, Layla Miller and the new girl, Nicole, are sharing a room. It's nighttime, and Layla asks Nicole what she's waiting for. Nicole is pressed up against the window, and says that she's just taking in the city. She goes to the bathroom, and Layla tells her to be careful with the handle, it doesn't flush right. Nicole thanks Layla for looking out for her, and once she's gone, Layla calls her a little creep. Also, Nicole is wearing one of Madrox's T-shirts from the MadroX mini series that came before X-Factor, just in case anyone likes little visual easter eggs like that. Downstairs, Madrox comes upon Monet and Siryn sitting together and doing a little reading in the lounge area. They're courteous when he greets them, then after a pause he asks if they're all okay? Both look at him a bit scornfully, and Madrox tells himself to be calm, but then he explodes with apology! Guido comes in from the other room, deciding that this is much more entertaining than TV. Everyone sits down.

Madrox says that he's just trying to be honest with the girls, that he misses being friends, he misses feeling that they can count on each other. Siryn tells him not to be ridiculous, that they can still count on each other. If someone where trying to slip a knife into Jamie's back, she'd stop him, and Monet would too...right? Monet asks which of them was better in bed. Guido whispers to Jamie, "Danger, Will Robinson." Monet reminds Jamie that he said he wanted to be honest, and if he's honest, then she'll forgive him. If you remember back a few issues, Jamie told Rictor that Siryn was like waves crashing against the beach, whereas Monet was like a monsoon. Madrox figures that Rictor must have said something to her, but even if he didn't, Monet is a telepath and she will know whether or not he's lying. But if he tells the truth, then Siryn will never speak to him again. Jamie thinks to himself, "Lord, please somebody bail me out..."

That's when Rahne shows up, furious that Monet treat Jamie like that. Monet tells her to keep her nose out of it, like Rahne's some kind of expert on sex. Rahne says that she knows more than Monet thinks, and Monet continues to tease her. Rahne just gets more frustrated, and Monet tells her to back off and calm down. Rahne gets this weird doggie breath whenever she's upset, and it makes Monet...suddenly Monet needs to throw up, and she flies down the hall holding her mouth. Everyone else peers curiously around the corner, watching her leave. Madrox's inner monologue says that the desire to be with others, to seek kinship, can be overwhelming sometimes. You may think you can survive on your own, but inevitably you have to come out of the cold and into the real world.

Speaking of which, the Isolationist appears in New York through some kind of portal. A truck is heading right for him, but the Isolationist stands his ground and the cab crumples around him. The driver flies out through the windshield, and the Isolationist calls him an idiot, then his glowing eye fades to normal and his gray skin turns a more natural caucasian. At X-Factor HQ, Nicole stirs in her sleep and looks out the window. The Isolationist is outside looking up at her, and she smiles just a little bit.

Rictor, meanwhile, is alone in his dark room. He's all curled up, with his knees against his chest as he sits on his bed in the corner. Rahne comes in with some food and mentions the shouting from before, and says that she'll never make the mistake of getting into a sexual relationship in the workplace. She puts the food down on the bed, but Rictor smashes it away. He wants to be left alone, and there are tears streaming down his face. He had his powers back, they were in his grasp! He had hope for the first time since M-Day, but it got thrashed. There's no hope for him or any of them. The whole mutant race is finished. He's so alone. Rahne sits with him and tells him that it'll be okay. Rictor says it won't, and she tells Rictor to have faith, that he's not alone. They kiss briefly, then pull apart, then kiss again for a bit longer. Madrox's captions suggest that maybe it's genetically hardwired into us to seek out other people to survive, because there is strength in numbers...even if that number is only two. Rahne rises to leave, but closes the door and returns to Rictor. She removes her shirt and they have sex.

At a cafe downtown, Guido is meeting with Val Cooper. They chat about the good old days of the government X-Factor, where you could be a superhero working for the government of your free will. Guido says that there's only one more step to take before there's an enforced draft for superguys, and Val tells him it would never happen. Guido says that's how all those things that could never happy actually happen: people are too busy saying it couldn't. Guido orders a beer, despite it being early in the morning, and he says he's following Jamie's lead. Guido then cuts to the chase and calls Val out on why she asked to see him. Guido thinks that she wants him to spy on X-Factor for the government, that he'd be an easy mark. But he's not about to spy on his friends, he isn't for sale. Val finally interrupts to tell him that they want Guido to be the new Sheriff of Mutant Town, to be the head of law enforcement for the district. Guido is speechless, and changes his beer to an orange juice.

A kindly old couple has come to X-Factor with a job. They're not mutants, and don't have anything against mutants either. They've come about their grandkids: Molly and Wally, fraternal twins. Jamie is meeting them with Monet and Siryn. The couple says that ever since their daughter Abby married Roy she's been different. Jamie recognizes the twins in the picture, they're the Purity Singers, two cute kids who sing about the joy of a world without mutants. They're like the mutant equivalant of Prussian Blue, if you've ever heard of them. Anyway, the grandparents didn't raise their daughter to hate mutants, it's her husband Roy that's caused all the problems. They have sued for visitation rights and the court granted them, but Abby and Roy are ignoring the court order because they move around the country with the Purity Movement. So the grandparents have come to hire X-Factor to enforce the court-order to let them see their grandkids, and maybe talk some sense into them. Madrox asks Monet and Siryn if they would like to take the case, and they agree. Madrox is pretty sure he heard some sincerity in their voices.

Elsewhere, Layla has some breakfast cereal. Nicole comes in, having retrieved something that was blocking up the toilet. She put it in a plastic bag for Layla, much to the other girl's disgust. Although what she found was actually a discarded pregnancy test, one that tested positive. What's even worse, is that Layla didn't know about this...

Back at the Power Plant, Jamie is drinking alone again, which he figures is better than not drinking at all, right? That's when the Isolationist shows up, calling himself Josef Huber. He says they're going to become great allies, that they're alike in many ways. Being alone is a terrible way to live.

Review: And just like that, PAD is back at his A-game! The less than stellar action arc is over, and we're back to character-driven drama in the pages of X-Factor, drawn by the best artist this book has seen. It's a wonderful reunion. The Madrox/Siryn/Monet triangle is once again the topic of the day, with an added twist. Might Monet be pregnant from her little tryst with Madrox? PAD teases and drops what could be a major clue or a sly bit of misdirection. Just because Monet is suddenly sick doesn't mean she's pregnant, like everyone would believe. So we'll see. Personally, I'm not in favor of one of the girls getting knocked up with Madrox's love child. Nothing destroys a character's independence and fun like a new baby, and X-Factor is barely getting started on what will hopefully be a long road.

The rest of the character moments were equally great, finally shining the light on Rahne and Guido. PAD once again shows his skill by easily foreshadowing the thought of Rahne having sex, then actually showing us Rahne having sex. While those two hooking up isn't exactly surprising, it will at least change their dynamics. Rahne has been far too angry, hopefully this will lighten her up. And what a wonderful Strong Guy scene! Using Val Cooper as an occasional supporting character is a wonderful move. She has strong ties to not only X-Factor as a concept, but to Madrox, Guido and Rahne specifically. So to have her popping in and out is a lot of fun, in my opinion. Her giving Guido that offer was unexpected, and I can't wait to see how it turns out, but I still can't help but think there's a little duplicity to Cooper. After helping him and getting his help, Madrox would seem to be the more obvious choice for Sheriff. So either she really wants Guido to step up, which I would believe and love, or she really is using him as some sort of 'spy' within X-Factor in order to stew dissension in the ranks.

I don't really give a hoot about the Isolationist. The character stories of the leads far outweigh whatever antagonism he might bring. The ruler of some far off ice palace seems a little too weird to find traction in this book, but I'm willing to give him time. His connection to Nicole, and the fact that she's not just an innocent girl, was obvious, of course. Also, how great is it to have Raimondi back on art? He's phenomenal. I almost fear that some more important title will claim him and X-Factor will have to go without. That would be a sad day indeed.