Written by PETER DAVID Penciled by BING CANSINO & VALENTINE DE LANDRO Cover by ESAD RIBIC X-Factor has relocated back to New York, and their first client is a keeper: Franklin Richards, whose mom has disappeared and who figures that the premiere detective agency in the Marvel Universe has the best chance of finding her. Except Reed Richards doesn't seem especially cooperative in helping them locate his missing wife. What is he hiding, and does it have anything to do with the coming Darkness? Meanwhile, Val Cooper has some bad news for Monet: Her ambassador father has been taken prisoner by terrorists, and she has less than 24 hours to find him before he winds up getting his head cut off on video. Collecting X-FACTOR #200-203. MAR100639