BIOGRAPHY - Page 7
Once more alone, Quicksilver was visited by Nestor again, who confronted him with the fact that he had assumed many roles for himself in his life without finding satisfaction. Pietro couldn’t deny that there was some truth to Nestor’s words and, after briefly checking on Crystal and Luna in Attilan, Pietro decided to travel for a time and "find himself" as best he could. He never learned the true identity of Nestor, or why he had taken an interest in Pietro. [Quicksilver #13]
A few weeks later, Pietro’s journeys were interrupted by Amelia Voght, an Acolyte who had been observing him on behalf of Magneto, who had reclaimed command of that mutant sect in 
Exodus' absence. Seeing her presence as a sign that it was time to settle things with his father, Pietro asked her to teleport him to Magneto's side, only to find himself in the war-torn nation of Genosha. In the preceding weeks, Magneto had blackmailed the United Nations into giving him legitimate sovereignty over that island, as a new homeland for all mutantkind. Initially horrified at the power granted to his father, Quicksilver witnessed the insanity and hatred that raged between the Genoshan people - from rioting and guerrilla warfare in the streets, to makeshift concentration camps for Legacy Virus infectees. Pietro decided that the country truly needed help, and perhaps even needed his father. And so, he chose to stay in Genosha as Magneto's "conscience," working with the government cabinet Magneto had established in the hopes of tempering his father's violence and guiding him towards actually bettering the Genoshans' way of life. This decision more than strained his relationships with the rest of the world, however, especially his sister Wanda. [Magneto Rex #1-3]
Pietro soon learned how difficult his new task was when he was informed of X-Force’s unsanctioned presence on Genosha. Representing the Genoshan government, Quicksilver had to oppose the mutant group and ordered them to leave. However, upon learning that they posed no threat to Magneto as they only came to retrieve a certain artifact that belonged to their ally, Pete Wisdom, Pietro let himself be defeated by X-Force, so that they could escape. [X-Force (1st series) #94-95]
When Quicksilver was in New York to appear in front of the U.N. to represent Genosha, he also stopped by Avengers mansion to make up with Wanda. Though at first there was an awkward 
mood between the siblings, they soon sorted things out. Pietro explained his reasons for joining the Genoshan Cabinet and reassured Wanda that it didn’t mean that he was siding with his father. Quite the contrary, he wanted to make sure that Magneto wouldn’t step out of line. Wanda was relieved and promised her support. [Avengers (3rd series) #24-25]
Matters grew more tense, as Genosha continued to prosper under Magneto's rule, and the United Nations came to fear that, instead of caging Magneto in an untenable situation, they had provided him with the perfect platform for launching his war on humanity. Quicksilver became less and less comfortable with his father's rule, and tensions finally boiled over on the battlefield of 
Carrion Cove, the last outpost in Genosha resisting Magneto's rule. As Pietro and other members of the cabinet learned of the genetics technology stored in caves near the cove, they recognized the chance Magneto had to supercharge his mutant powers to unbelievable new levels. Ultimately, however, even Quicksilver, Polaris and the combined roster of the Avengers were unable to prevent Magneto from accessing the technology and boosting his powers significantly. Magnus exiled Pietro from Genosha for his treason, but Quicksilver and Polaris managed to sneak back into the country, and began organizing a group of freedom fighters to oppose Magneto's reign, as well as a network for refugees to escape the closely-guarded borders of Genosha. Quicksilver's actions were ultimately just a delaying action, though, as Magneto caught him and cast him out of the country, mentally and physically beaten almost beyond recovery. [Magneto: Dark Seduction #1-4, X-Men (2nd series) #111] During Pietro's several weeks of recuperation, Magneto's plans for a world war against the humans were stopped by a small band of X-Men, and Magneto himself was critically injured.
With Magneto's threat apparently ended for the time being, Quicksilver rejoined the Avengers at Wanda‘s side during the team's attempt to broaden the scope of their activities and become 
more proactive. He was instrumental in their raids on Taskmaster's various training facilities and in retrieving Bruce Banner to help the Avengers against thousands of Hulks in Greece. While doing so, Pietro displayed his impressive speed by running across the Atlantic Ocean and back; this increased power was a left-over from his exposure to Isotope E. [Avengers (3rd series) #38-40]
Several of his teammates noted that Quicksilver had changed since they last worked with him. Due to his time in the Inhuman militia and with the Knight of Wundagore, he was now tactical in battle and demonstrated leadership skills. Still, Pietro confessed to the Avengers‘ butler, Jarvis, of feeling out of sorts when off-duty. While on the battlefield Pietro knew who he was and what he could do, but his personal failures left him feeling awkward and isolated from the team when the fighting stopped. [Avengers (3rd series) #43-45] Perhaps this is why he chose to step down from active status shortly after the Kang Dynasty War. His last mission as an Avenger was a humanitarian one, as he helped to deliver provisions and medical tools across the African continent. [Avengers (3rd series) #55, 58]
When Genosha was slaughtered by a new breed of Sentinels, Magneto apparently died among 16 million other inhabitants of the island nation. A few weeks after the attack, Quicksilver accompanied Professor Xavier and a few others to the island to check on the ruins. They wished to offer 
help to the few survivors and other mutants that, in the meantime, had come to Genosha. They happened upon a somewhat deranged Polaris, naked and confused, acting as a living conductor to some sort of magnetic black box, in which Magneto had recorded everyone’s thought in the instant Genosha died. To prevent her consciousness from bursting open, the X-Men had to break Lorna free from the magnetic field energies. She still managed to single out Magneto’s voice of all of them and boosted the signal so that everyone could hear his last words. Some other mutants had already begun to turn the deactivated Sentinels into a giant monument of Magneto, and Quicksilver and Polaris helped them to complete the work, so that everyone would remember the good that he was capable of and the tragedy that had occurred. [New X-Men (1st series) #132]
Not much is known of what Pietro did in the following months. He seemed content to retire, at least temporarily, from the worlds of super-heroism and human/mutant relations. He spent some time in an isolated section of Greenland at a rustic cabin, reading novels and living a simple life at his own pace. [Avengers Finale #1] Tragically, he was there on vacation when Wanda suffered a nervous breakdown and no longer could properly deal with her reality-altering powers. In this state, she even murdered some of her fellow Avengers until her mind simply shut down, reducing her to a vegetative state. She was retrieved by Magneto, mysteriously back alive (which might also have been Wanda’s doing), and taken to Genosha, where Magneto had been residing with Xavier, trying to rebuild the place.
Quicksilver sat by helplessly as Professor Xavier and Doctor Strange did everything they could to try to repair her mind, and ultimately failed. When he learned that the X-Men and Avengers 
were in a meeting trying to decide whether it was necessary to kill Wanda for the sake of the world, Quicksilver panicked and ran to his sister's side in Genosha. Unable to face the idea of losing her, Pietro devised a desperate scheme by which Wanda would use his thoughts and Xavier's telepathic powers to help her reorder reality into a more perfect world. [House of M #1]
And so from the siblings' thoughts arose the House of M, a world where mutants had risen to power under the direction of Magneto, who now ruled America and most of the planet with his devoted family by his side. Unfortunately for Pietro, a select group managed to hold on to their 
memories of the true reality, and alerted others to the change. A small rebellion was led against the House of Magnus, and Doctor Strange learned the truth about the new reality, alerting Magneto himself. Magnus was furious at what Pietro had done in his name, and struck out at his son. Wanda was devastated by his attack on her brother and, in her unstable state, came to blame Magneto’s ideology of mutant superiority for everything wrong that had happened. As such, she whispered the words “no more mutants“ when she restored reality, removing the powers from more than 90% of mutantkind before disappearing herself without a trace. [House of M #7]
Just like Magneto himself, Pietro was among those rendered powerless in the event known as M-Day. He became one of the most wanted men in the world, as the few heroes who remembered the House of M wanted him to answer for his actions. He came to live as a homeless drunkard in the streets of New York, barely getting by without his powers. With nowhere to go, he sent a signal to Attilan on the moon, hoping Crystal would come for him. Before she came, however, he got into a confrontation with Spider-Man, who had had a son born in the House of M, only to lose the child when reality reverted to normal. Feeling Spider-Man's justified hatred and grief, Pietro gave into his despair and jumped off a building, hoping to commit suicide. Crystal arrived in time to save him, though, and transported him to the moon, where an Inhuman healer repaired his injuries. [Son of M #1]