Overview

After the recent loss of both Wolfsbane and Layla Miller, and the destruction and evacuation of the former Mutant Town, X-Factor is left questioning their purpose more than ever. At that lowest moment, Val Cooper and the O*N*E* step in, giving the group an ultimatum that will change everything about the team.

THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN, PART 3 OF 5

As Rictor faces down death underneath a rapidly lowering, swinging blade, the rest of the team finds themselves in a Mutant Town transformed into the vicious Murderworld of the diabolical ARCADE! But who has hired the red-haired assassin to take out our heroes? This issue ends with an explosive finale that will literally change the landscape of New York City.

Spoilers

Monet finds Rictor, but before she manages to free him, she's be hit by an electric jolt and knocked unconscious.

The man who hired Arcade is revealed to be a former Purifier, the one who recruited Rictor and was later kicked out after Rictor exposed himself as a spy. He seeks revenge on Rictor, but Arcade wants to make it more than personal and get rid of the whole community of Mutant Town.

Guido is still stuck to a big rock, rolling around the "jungle" and about to smash everyone in his way. Guido barely frees his hands in time to save a woman pushing a baby cart.

The woman, however, is part of Arcade's amusements and takes a gun out of the cart and starts shooting at Jaime.

In the last moment before the axe hit him, Rictor breaks part of the board he's tied to and blocks the blade. Theresa and a Jamie dupe arrive to help him.

Though the plan seems to fall down, Arcade says he'll execute a failsafe plan. To keep everyone in Mutant Town and prevent an outside help, Arcade activates a force field.

Jamie takes down the shooting woman, after she killed and wounded many of his dupes. After he hits her, Jamie discovers that it was a robot. He is then sure that Arcade is behind it all—that and his sign on the rock from last issue.

Jamie is fooled by another robot, this time of his, thinking he's a dupe. The robot shoots him in the shoulder. Guido shows up and squashes the robot with a rock.

Rictor is being hunted by a horde of cars, Theresa saves him.

Monet is awake and pissed off, looking for the man responsible for her electrocution.

Outside of Mutant Town the police and army can't get through the force field without getting harmed. Valerie Cooper arrives and hears the sit-rep, knowing that X-Factor are somehow involved.

Jamie's dupes calm down the civilians while Monet traces the location of Arcade with the robot's head.

They find the client alone. He says Arcade escaped through a hatch and Monet goes after him.

The former Purifier tells X-Factor about his bad experiences in life and how the Purifiers saved him. Now it's all gone he has no reason to live.

He tells them that Arcade's last plan was that he'll be attached to a bomb that will blow all Mutant Town when his heart stops working. He just finished drinking a glass of poison and lost consciousness.

Overview

How can X-Factor be the defenders of Mutant Town when their little piece of the world is hemorrhaging its population? Combine that with Rahne already being gone and Rictor having one foot out the door, and Madrox's team finds itself at its lowest point. Unfortunately, since they're the last mutant team standing and the only game in town, that puts them squarely in the crosshairs of one of the X-Men's oldest and deadliest foes.

Spoilers

This issue begins with Rictor burning the letter from Rahne and throwing it down the toilet, while demeaning her to hell.

We then see Jamie and Strong Guy talking about the bar, and then Jamie asks Strong Guy about the job he was offered by Val Cooper. Strong Guy tells him that he told her to shove it, and that he told Val that he didn’t care how much money he offered her and that he wasn’t going to desert his friends. Jamie stops him mid-sentence, and tells him that he didn’t turn it down, that they probably withdrew it because there was no point for the position because there were very little habitants left in Mutant Town. Strong Guy asks how he knew, and Jamie says that he makes big hand gestures when he lies.

The two return to HQ, and Jamie begins to inner monologue, thinking about famous quotes. As he walks through the living room, M and Siryn are on the sofa. Siryn calls quietly to him, but to get his attention M shouts “YO! IDIOT!!” at him. He turns and asks what, and she tells him that Siryn has something to tell him. Siryn begins to talk, but keeps pausing, and Jamie jumps to the conclusion that she’s leaving (Strong Guy is now entering the room behind Jamie). He says he knew, and Strong Guy says to believe him because he has killer guessing moves. Siryn asks how he could tell, and he says it was written over her face, and she asks how does he feel. He begins shouting at her, and he says he expected more from her. She then shouts back at him, saying that she expected him to be supportive. He replies with “Right! Sure! Blame it one me!” and they continue to argue until Rictor comes down and tells them he’s leaving, and Madrox just tells him to go. Madrox and Strong Guy chase after Rictor. Siryn and M chat about how Jamie was acting, and then M realises that what happened was similar to an episode of “Three’s Company”, and Jamie had no clue about what she was on about. M then tells Siryn that she’s still in love with Jamie, and after questioning it, Siryn curses.

By the front door, Jamie grabs Rictor’s arm. Rictor tells him to let go, which Jamie does. Rictor then tells him that he’s not a mutant anymore and that he doesn’t belong there. Jamie just tells him to go, and when Jamie says “Vaya con dias”, Rictor tells him not to speak Spanish, it makes him sound stupid. Rictor steps outside to find the HQ floating in space. The stairs then turn into a slide, but Rictor manages to grab the door handle, and shouts for someone inside. Strong Guy opens the door, telling Rictor that he knew he’d some back. Rictor tells him to close the door before they lose air, and he tells him that they’re in space. Strong Guy takes a look outside and all that’s there is plain all Mutant Town. Strong Guy assumes that he’s making it up as a way to come back, but Rictor just shouts at him as he’s standing on the sidewalk. Strong Guy turns his back and Rictor falls down a trap door in the sidewalk, and Strong Guy comments that it’s not good.

In the kitchen, Jamie is making a peanut butter sandwich while talking to Siryn. Siryn says that he doesn’t understand, but he says no one else understands. He starts talking about how the threats to mutants are still out there, and that he must be sounding paranoid. They talk about how all the X-Men, marriage and about Jamie. Just as Siryn is about to tell him she’s pregnant, Strong Guy calls Jamie, and Jamie calls a rain check with Siryn. Siryn then comments “Don’t worry, kid. I’m sure I’ll manage to tell him before you graduate high school.”

Outside, Strong Guy is explaining to Kamie what happened, while coming up with a few wacky theories about what happened to Rictor. M and Siryn come outside, and says “Occam’s razor” meaning the simplest explanation tells to be the right one, and the simplest explanation would be a trap door. Strong Guy takes off his jacket and pulls up the sidewalk. Jamie sees that there’s an opening and climbs down with a torch. The others follow, and they find a brick wall. M and Strong Guy punch through it, but they reappear outside HQ.

Two voices speak over Rictor. One says that he should just kill him, but the other asks where’s the fun in that. Then we see Rictor strapped to a table upside down, with a gigantic swinging blade coming closer and closer to catastrating him. A man says hello to Rictor, but Rictor just tells him to go to hell. They continue to talk and the voice tells him how he came up with the idea for the machine (from watching Goldfinger), and then Rictor shouts for M.

M hears him and flies off, and Jamie makes a dupe, and Siryn carries the dupe as they chase after M. As they fly off, the whole area around Strong Guy and Jamie changes into a jungle.

Back with Rictor and the voice says that Rictor should be thankful because the technology is cutting edge, and then the voice makes a joke about Rictor losing his “cojones”.

Back with Jamie and Strong Guy, and Strong Guy says that the jungle has to be a hologram and Jamie agrees. A boulder then roles towards the two, and Strong Guy says it’s just another hologram, and then he’s hit by the boulder. Jamie inner monologues about how the same villains keep coming back, and when they do, they love making themselves known. Then we see on the boulder is a picture of Arcade, and written is “Gameday is here!” “XOXO – Arcade”.