Introduction
The year 2004 proved to be a very deadly and tumultuous time for the heroes of the Marvel Universe. The X-Men, a group of mutants sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them, were infiltrated by a madman under the guise of the X-Man Xorn – a man claming to be Magneto. The catastrophic battle against Magneto left the Xavier Institute in ruins, as he made his way into Manhattan to once again launch his war against humanity. In the end, the X-Men proved victorious, with Magneto being slain, but not before he killed thousands of New Yorkers, students at the Institute and headmistress Jean Grey-Summers. Heartbroken and demoralized, Charles Xavier left the Institute and secretly made his way to Genosha, not only to bury the body of his old friend and enemy Magneto, but to rebuild the devastated island of Genosha back into a prosperous haven for mutants. However, upon reaching the island, Xavier found himself with a surprising partner for his rebuilding plans – the alive and well Magneto?
The X-Men, however, were not alone in their grief. During the years of protecting the world, the Avengers found themselves chasing one fire after another as a response team, instead of tackling foes before they became massive threats; little did the team know that the greatest threat would come from one of their own. The probability altering sorceress known as the Scarlet Witch, daughter of Magneto, lost control of her reality altering powers and went insane. Attacking the Avengers because she felt them responsible for the deaths of her children years ago, Wanda took the lives of Ant-Man, the Vision and Hawkeye. It wasn’t until Dr. Strange arrived and subdued Wanda that the threat was temporarily stopped. However, before her defeat, Wanda sent out a call to her father. Magneto arrived and took Wanda away from the Avengers. It would only be months later that the surviving Avengers would learn from Quicksilver that Magneto took Wanda back to Genosha to seek help from Charles Xavier.
On that fateful day the enemy of the Avengers and the enemy of the X-Men became one. The House of M was on the rise, and reality would never be the same again.
