BIOGRAPHY -- Page 40
In Monaco, Matt traced a trail of breadcrumbs to Lennox’s client, Tybold Lucca, a local crime-boss. His escapades brought him in conflict with Tombstone and a new Matador, as well as Lily Lucca, Tybold’s beautiful daughter. Lily’s scent poignantly reminded Matt of Karen, which left him vulnerable and confused around her. After the Matador killed Tybold Lucca, it seemed like Lily was in danger and Daredevil chased after her and the men who abducted her. He recognized her scent when he found the body of Alton Lennox, though, and eventually realized Lily was a player and not a pawn. After Daredevil beat Tombstone, Matador tried to kill Lily, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. The puppeteer behind the whole ordeal had given Lily a pheromone-based 
perfume which influenced men by making them recall their fondest scent memory. Lily thought she would inherit her father’s empire, but her real purpose was to drive Murdock mad when she was killed, marking her as yet another woman he failed to save. When she realized she had been used, Lily gave up her employer… Vanessa Fisk. [Daredevil (2nd series) #89-91]
Daredevil found Vanessa waiting for him in Zurich, eager to explain her plot. She was suffering from organ failure, the late stages of a terminal disease she was convinced struck her because she murdered her own child. Vanessa blamed Wilson and Matthew for their private war leading her to that act and wanted revenge. Through Alton Lennox, Lily Lucca and the rest, she arranged for Matthew and Wilson to either kill each other in prison, or force Matthew to betray the law he 
loved by escaping custody to hunt Daredevil 2.0 and avenge Foggy’s murder. And now, she offered the blackmail and manipulation tactics at her disposal to free him from the stigma of being outted as Daredevil and the related criminal charges, in exchange for Matt Murdock taking Fisk’s case and getting him released from prison as well. By making Murdock responsible for Wilson’s freedom (and everything he did with it after that), Vanessa hoped to twist the knife and make Matthew realize how truly selfish he was.
Murdock initially rejected Vanessa’s proposal and departed, but she put the plan in motion anyway. Her men killed FBI Director Leland Drummond, leaving behind a suicide note which admitted his role in a massive conspiracy to frame Matt Murdock for being Daredevil for the advancement of his own career. The lie was out in the world already, and now all Murdock needed to do was… not correct it. Matthew reluctantly went along with Vanessa’s ruse in order to get his life back. He returned to New York with a story of “being held captive” by the Punisher, who supposedly blamed the attorney for defending the guilty. Although there were naturally some in the media and public who questioned the director’s suicide, the federal authorities as a whole prepared to drop the case against Murdock.
The biggest shock came when Foggy Nelson showed up on Matt’s doorstep. Among the connections Vanessa had were men in the FBI, who arranged for Foggy to be placed in witness protection when he was revived after the knife attack. Making Murdock break the law to avenge somebody who wasn’t even dead appealed to her sense of irony. With Foggy and his freedom back, Matt could do what he wanted. Still, even though he didn’t actively accept Vanessa’s deal, Murdock felt obligated to follow through on her final request for him. Once the charges were dropped and his law license reinstated, Murdock took the case and arranged for Kingpin’s 
release. Fisk didn’t thank him, for in the weeks that Murdock put off his decision, Vanessa passed away. Wilson was deprived of the chance to bury his own wife, and he held that against Murdock. Nevertheless, Murdock convinced Fisk to honor the woman Vanessa once was, before their war corrupted her as much as it did them. As part of the deal, the Kingpin gave up his U.S. citizenship and left the country, a small concession towards Matthew’s conscience for releasing him in the first place.
Matt and his people got back to their lives. Matt returned to his second career as Daredevil, using the ambiguity left by Vanessa Fisk to reclaim some anonymity, even if the police and the public still suspected a connection between Matt and Daredevil. The newly retitled Nelson, Blake & 
Murdock moved to new office, unlisted to the public in order to avoid unexpected visitors. Instead, they would only take referral cases based on their reputation. Matt and Milla got a new home away from the brownstone and the law offices, but their reconciliation was slow and halting. His encounter with Lily Lucca forced Matt to accept that he was still in love with Karen Page, a love which was apparently stronger, even in death, than his feelings for his own wife. [Daredevil (2nd series) #92-94]
Back in Riker’s, Melvin Potter got into an altercation where he was accused of killing several inmates in the machine shop using buzzsaw blades. Matt was hesitant of taking the spotlight with another “Daredevil” case, considering he just went through, but Becky Blake insisted he meet with Melvin. Potter was insisting he was innocent, and her friend Gus from the Public Defender’s office was overworked and out of his depth for such a case. Unfortunately, after Melvin was transferred to Bellevue for evaluation, there were two more murders, and this time one of the victims was a 
guard. Melvin still claimed he didn’t commit the crimes, but the Bellevue psychiatrist believed he was lying and, alarmingly, so did Matt’s senses. Daredevil shadowed the van transporting Melvin back to Riker’s, when it was attacked by goons who were clearly prepared for Daredevil’s intervention. Matt was thrown for a loop and Melvin escaped in the confusion, in the midst of a manic episode and blaming Daredevil for his problems. [Daredevil (2nd series) #95-96]
As the Gladiator, Melvin soon re-emerged and went on a killing spree. A deeper conspiracy also revealed itself as Daredevil found Gus the PD dead by apparent suicide in his apartment. Therefore, Matt was already distracted when Lily Lucca showed up at his door. Lily claimed she was repentant, but the perfume Vanessa gave her ended up having permanent effects of her bio-chemistry. Now she couldn’t shut the pheromones off, and men were becoming violent towards each other around her in attempts to possess her. According to Lily, Vanessa said one of Murdock’s old enemies originally developed the perfume. Matt didn’t trust Lily (or himself around her), but he reluctantly considered she might genuinely need help. He passed the case off on Dakota North to investigate, but that wasn’t enough for Milla, who seemed almost irrationally angry at the idea of Lily being around.
Before they could settle their argument, Gladiator attacked Matt and Milla at a restaurant. Once Matt changed, Melvin still beat Daredevil unconscious and he woke up in the back of a police car. The Superhuman Registration Act passed while Matt was in prison, and Daredevil was now an unregistered hero on top of his other problems. Using a high-frequency directional microphone, a mysterious and garbled voice spoke directly to Daredevil, telling him that Gladiator followed Milla back to their apartment. Matt was forced to break out of the police car to save his wife. He found them on a nearby rooftop just as Gladiator dropped Milla to the streets below. Matt saved her from 
the fall, but all restraint was gone between Daredevil and Gladiator now. Matt nearly beat Melvin senseless until Milla screamed for him to stop. Melvin fluctuated between madness and regret, and Matt had to stop him from trying to commit suicide. With his wife traumatized and a former friend gone completely over the edge, Daredevil was left with more questions than answers. [Daredevil (2nd series) #97-98]
Matthew had a complicated night getting Melvin back into custody while establishing an alibi for himself and Milla for when Daredevil was assaulting the police. He didn’t find out until the morning that a crime wave had escalated through Hell’s Kitchen while he was distracted. Street gangs had been fed a supply of a new drug which made them feel fearless, leading to suicidal risk-taking and 
the deaths of five shopkeepers during armed robberies. Daredevil traced the drug suppliers and discovered Mr. Fear running the Enforcers. Larry Cranston had improved and diversified the effects of his fear drug, supplying the chemicals which boosted the gangs, altering Lily Lucca’s bio-chemistry and driving Melvin Potter mad. And, though Matt didn’t know it yet, Larry also made the acquaintance of one Milla Donovan.
Mr. Fear’s new fear gas drove Daredevil from his hideout in a hallucinogenic romp through fears and nightmares. It was only once Matt shook the gas’s effects and came home that he realized how much Larry had taken from him. Milla’s recent erratic behavior was the result of a chemical agent Cranston discreetly introduced into her system. In particular, it was designed to specifically react badly to the presence of Lily Lucca. That night when Foggy and Lily were escorting Milla home from the law office, Milla became uncontrollably angry at Lily on the crowded subway platform. She shoved Lily towards an oncoming subway train, causing Lily to knock into a third man and send him to his death in front of the train, and in front of many witnesses. [Daredevil (2nd series) #99-100]
Matt and Foggy did their best to secure bail for Milla but, even after learning some of Matt’s meditative techniques, she failed her psych evaluation. Milla’s mind was breaking down and she was a hair’s breadth from psychotic rage at any moment. Matt learned Mr. Fear had already killed his chemist partner, Dante Govich, and believed he did so to prevent Matt from getting his hands on an antidote for the drug used on Milla and Melvin. Hell’s Kitchen was already a battleground between the Hood’s syndicate and Mr. Fear’s new organization, forcing Daredevil to contend with their squabbling on top of his search for Mr. Fear.
Eventually, Foggy managed to get Milla released on house arrest, pending trial. She would be constantly monitored by a nurse named Elsa until her condition could be properly diagnosed. This 
was aided in part by Lily Lucca recanting her testimony and using her own subtle persuasion on D.A. Algren to make him more sympathetic to her and the Murdocks. However, this was also part of Fear’s plan. Once Milla was out, Mr. Fear pressured Lily into visiting her when Daredevil was out hunting for him. Lily’s presence provoked Milla into another incident where she nearly killed Elsa. The police came and Matt had no choice but to let them take his wife back into custody.
Even when he finally caught Mr. Fear, Daredevil found no salvation. It had all been a game and Cranston just wanted to see the look on Murdock’s face when he told him there was no antidote. Melvin and Milla were permanently broken by his chemicals. Daredevil couldn’t even get 
satisfaction from attacking Mr. Fear because Larry had rendered himself chemically immune to fear. For his own amusement, Mr. Fear agreed to be arrested and give a full confession clearing Melvin and Milla of responsibility for their actions, for all the good it would do. Matt had nothing left to do but commit his wife to the Broadmore clinic upstate for permanent housing until and unless somebody devised the means of restoring her competency. [Daredevil (2nd series) #101-105]