A kid named Trevor Chase is beaten nearly to death by The Friends of Humanity, in a clear anti-mutant hate crime.
Chase will later be revealed as Destiny’s grandson. Not much develops with him beyond being hospitalized, but he will be back. An interesting plot point has the nursing staff afraid to treat Trevor because he’s a mutant, and they are worried that he carries the Legacy Virus. The one nurse who expresses compassion and treats him, standing out from the rest of the staff, turns out to be Mystique in disguise.
She then turns into a police officer to steal evidence about the investigation. She tracks down the perpetrators and kills them.
Scenes of Chase are interspliced with a hidden government person (Bastion) interrogating the X-Factor about each other, and trying to get information about who is the “real” leader and the existence of Shard. The series of interviews gives the reader insight into each character. For example, we learn Polaris has a lot of reservations about serving with the team, but would be willing to help them bring Havok in now that he’s a “bad guy.”
The Chase/Mystique storyline is very good, especially given that Chase is the grandson of Mystique’s lover, Destiny. (That’s not revealed in this issue, though.). The Bastion interrogation scenes are also well done, and remind me of Peter David’s classic “Doc Samson counsels the members” issue, X-Factor #87.