Quicksilver: No Surrender #2

Pietro Maximoff is Quicksilver – the fastest man in the world. The fastest that's ever been. Too fast for his own good. But not fast enough. He is trapped here between moments when the rest of the world sits suspended in time. He speeds past a frozen train, and across a motionless body of water – and is honest with himself – he is lonely. But he isn't alone. Quicksilver arrives at the top of Mount Rushmore, and looks down upon the frozen civilians who gaze up at the faces etched into the side of the mountain. Among them are several strange, brightly colored energy beings. Quicksilver doesn't know what they are, but they are the only other things moving in this frozen landscape. They are as fast as Quicksilver is, and they are killing people – people who don't even know they are dying. They don't speak, and they don't bother him, unless he tries to stop him. Quicksilver decides that the weirdest part is they look like him – he has destroyed a dozen of them, but they just keep appearing. He doesn't know how many there are, as he hasn't been able to stop them all. They are killing innocent people, and they are daring to wear his handsome face while they do it.

The victims aren't random – they have all been people he knows. He watches as one of the energy creatures hovers behind Mrs Sarah Lowenstein. Retired now, and only holiday with her husband. Mrs Lowenstein is an immigration lawyer, and years ago she helped Pietro and his sister get through a difficult process. They still speak occasionally. Now, Pietro is fighting to keep a monstrous copy of himself from ripping her in half. 'Life is weird, huh?' Pietro thinks to himself, before racing down the side of the mountain, where he lands on the energy creature, 'Hey! You ugly bunch of inferior knockoffs! Over here! Whatever you things are, do you have to be so damn quiet? It's creepy' Quicksilver exclaims, wishing there was some crappy super villain suppech right now to break the silence. He holds the energy creature up above him, and decides that he has gotten better at taking them out. He saves Sara Lowenstein's life by destroying the energy creature, smashing it into the ground, it breaks apart. But he is never fast enough to save everyone, and as he destroys another of the creatures, yet another appears. He wonders if it doesn't like what it sees in his eyes, maybe it sees what he did to its friends?

The energy creature runs, and Quicksilver gives chase. He can count on his hand the number of times something has been fast enough to make him chase it – it almost feels good. They run and run, and the strange thing stays ahead of him. Across oceans they run, through cities they run, and only at the last moment does Quicksilver realize that they are not running randomly. It is only when the monster stops and turns to face him does Quicksilver realizes where he has been led. It is the smell that tells him first – even before his eyes, scents are dulled in this weird-in-between world, but this one cuts through everything. Onion, paprika, it is the smell of janija, the stew his mother used to make. He speeds towards the energy monster and slams his fist into its face, realizing that they have led him here, although the faces and trailers have changed over the years, but there is no mistaking it – he is home.

Or, at least it once was. This is the place his parents raised him and his sister. Quicksilver remembers that they were poor, and not poor like Americans mean it when they say it – but poor. They had shoes, but not everyone knew they did. His mother even apologized to bread when she dropped it, and his father did anything he could to feed his sister and him – some of it was illegal, all of it was long, hard work.

Quicksilver slams his feet into the energy creature, knocking it backwards, while recalling that his father made a tiny amount of money a day, barely enough to keep them off the streets. Because they are Romani, the villagers called his father a thief when he tried to feed his children – it's what Europeans always call them, it is in their very words for them. Pietro thinks to himself that the Europeans never mention that they stole their whole people, enslaved them for 500 years – they didn't have a word for that level of theft.

Quicksilver decides that the Americans are almost worse, that they turn them into cartoons and costumes when they use their trust funds to safely wander the world – they call themselves gypsy, never having to feel the pain and hate that word carries with it. 'They think we are carefree nomads. They have no idea how important home was to the people I grew up with. How much it meant when Wanda and I lost ours'.

Pietro reminds himself that there are a hundred million horrible things happening to people around the world right now, that people are being murdered and tortured – human beings. He knows he should be racing around the world trying to stop it all while he has the chance – but experience has taught him that it won't work, that some other evil will always come along. 'Still this one little life...' he thinks to himself as he sees two boys nearby, one holding a bag with “Cheese Dibbles” written on it, the other holding a hammer. Quicksilver yanks the bag from the boy's hand, and pulls from it a turtle. Quicksilver stares at the turtle and recalls that when he was a child, he saved a kitten from some other boys who were tormenting it – they beat him mercilessly. He thought his father would be furious, embarassed – but when his father found out, what he said was “You are a good boy, Pietro. A good person. But it's  hard to be a good person in this world. It can kill you”. Pietro holds the turtle up to his face, 'I shall call you Mister Dibbles, since we're stuck in time here, I think you'll be okay without water for a bit, but...' Pietro begins, before turning as another of the strange energy creatures return, two of them speeding past him.

Quicksilver looks back at Mister Dibbles and tells him that a witty, handsome hero's work is never done. 'Let's go, Mister Dibbles!' Pietro exclaims as he speeds off after the creatures. 'We've almost got them!' Quicksilver exclaims, but they speed off ahead of him. 'Where the hell are they going?' Quicksilver wonders, following them still, he looks annoyed when he arrives at his next destination – Madripoor. 'Damn it. Not here. Not him. Don't you dare make me save...ugh' Pietro mutters, as he looks up at Magneto's base and tells Mister Dibbles that it belongs to Magneto, and that he is a jerk. 'He's tried to take over the world God knows how many times. But more than that, he claimed to be my father and then tried to kill me. He lied to me about everything that mattered'. Quicksilver recalls that Magneto tried to make Pietro and his sister slaves, and tells Mister Dibbles that Magneto is a class-A piece of $#%&, which is why he did this to him – dress him up as a clown. Pietro adds that he got some amazing selfies that are definitely going online if they ever get back to normal time.

But, Quicksilver knows that those energy things are trying to kill Magneto, and he can't let that happen. 'He might deserve it, but I can't let it happen' he remarks, before wondering where the energy creatures went.

'Hello, boys' he calls out when he sees two of them speed past. 'You wait here, buddy' Pietro tells Mister Dibbles as he place the turtle on a fence post, and races off after the energy creatures – slamming into two of them at once. The creatures work against Quicksilver, and force him to the ground. Quicksilver doesn't have room for a whirlwind in here, so he makes whirlwinds of his fists, they spin around and around, he presses himself as hard as he can to make his fists go faster, as the energy creatures are as fast as he is – and it is agonizing for him. But, eventually... it's enough, as Quicksilver's fists whirl faster and faster, he causes the energy creatures to disperse.

Quicksilver goes back over to Mister Dibbles and tells him that he thinks they have earned some rest – but no such luck, as another streak of energy zooms past. Quicksilver picks up Mister Dibbles and races after the creature, all the way to a mall in Minnesota, where the energy creature looms over Quicksilver's child, Luna.

Pietro remarks that Luna is the daughter of his doomed marriage, that she lives on the moon and hardly knows him – he hasn't been much of a father to her.

He lunges at the creature and wonders what these things are and why they look like him. He needs answers, but doesn't have any time to think, no time to slow down – story of his life. He punches the creature repeatedly, and forces it to the ground, where it breaks up, destroyed. Quicksilver decides that he is getting better at fighting them, they die quickly, but he doesn't know how long he can keep this up. He saves Luna, and it feels no different than saving a stranger. 'What is wrong with me?' Pietro asks himself.

But he doesn't have time to answer that, either, as three more energy creatures run past him – so he needs to keep running, too. By the time the energy creatures lead him to Avengers Mansion, Pietro is exhausted and half-dead, but not surprised. He takes the energy creatures on, slamming into each of them. He thinks that the creatures seem to know him, so it would make sense that they come here – Earth's Mightiest Heroes, where Captain America and Hawkeye are frozen in time nearby. For years after they accepted him, Quicksilver was convinced he was never really one of them. He puts Mister Dibbles on the ground as he darts after the third energy creature, 'Oh, no you don't! Not him, you bastards!' Quicksilver calls out as he grabs the energy creature and shoves him aside before the creature can reach Edwin Jarvis. Pietro tells himself that Jarvis is the only one who always accepted he and Wanda, never judged them He destroys the energy creature, but several smaller energy creatures are currently hovering around Jarvis, so Quicksilver races to them and swats them all.

Quicksilver returns to the other room and collects Mister Dibbles, before wiping his face and wondering how many people he has saved since being trapped here – and how many has he failed to save? He is more tired that he has ever been in his life, and needs to sleep – more than anything in this world, he needs to sleep. With the monsters gone for now, he finds his bed and lies down on it, placing Mister Dibbles on the bedside table. But Quicksilver's heart hammers in his chest, a thousand thoughts march through his head. He feels as if he will die if he can't rest – and then slowly, miraculously... he closes his eyes.

Pietro opens his eyes when he hears his name being chanted, 'Quicksilver! Quicksilver!' a voice utters. 'Well, that's creepy' Pietro remarks to himself, before picking up Mister Dibbles, and heading out of the room, 'What in the hell?' Pietro wonders as he hears his name chanted again. The chanting continues as Pietro enters another room and finds Jericho Drumm a.k.a. Doctor Voodoo and Emily Guerrero a.k.a. Synapse. A book is laid out in front of Doctor Voodoo, while a laptop sits on Synapse's lap, her fingers frozen over the keyboard. Pietro wonders if this is where the voice is coming from. He looks at Emily, and thinks about what an amazing woman she is, and that they might have had something, if he didn't screw it up. 'How many times in my life have I found myself saying that?' Quicksilver wonders, before looking down at Doctor Voodoo and realizes that he is using his magic to try and reach him. 'My team! They haven't forgotten me!' Pietro exclaims, adding that there must be some way he can help them as he looks over Synapse's shoulder, before he hears a loud booming noise. 'Great. What now?' Quicksilver wonders.

Quicksilver speeds out of the Mansion and onto the grounds outside,

'Okay, what in the hell is – oh, boy!' Quicksilver utters as he looks up and finds an enormous energy creature standing before him. 'What the hell am I supposed to do against that? And who is it trying to...' Quicksilver asks himself, before he goes wide-eyed as he sees the creature is looming over someone who has been frozen in the garden while smelling a flower – it's the Scarlet Witch! 'WANDA!' Quicksilver shouts.