Lee had managed to stay away from the Avengers for several days, not going out as Shadowspider so much as once during that time. Her ribs felt better allowing her to stop taking painkillers and focus on her planning for Archon. However nothing last forever. When the news of Tristan Oswald, a mad man with as nasty habit of experimenting on people had returned to the city she knew she had no choice but to go after him. Tristan was on the list of names she had gathered on her own but he had slipped away from the city before she had the chance to go after him. She wasn't about to make that same mistake twice.
Damn it! Trust them to show up here when I'm so close. Each Avenger (other then the Hulk who was oddly missing from the group) where standing outside of Tristan's lab while Stark disabled the security systems. If I'm to have any chance at getting Tristan I'll have to slip in through the air ducts. It wasn't something Lee wanted to do but the need to get to Tristan was too great for her to care. Getting the cover off with out the Avengers noticing was simple enough as was sliding into the duct its self and the path appeared to be straight to the lab.
Lee dodge another shot from Tristan's gun growing more annoyed with the man. "Come now my dear. If you just give up I promise the experiments won't hurt and I'll make you into something truly perfect." He seemed to believe he could convince her to volunteer for his twisted work. "There's only one thing I want from you Tristan." She growled as she shot a line of web at his chest and pulled him toward her, her hand closing around his throat. "And that's some names. You know the ones I want from you." Lee watched with growing anger as Tristan's face spilt into a huge grin. "Oh the things I could do with you. So lovely." Lee was just about to throw him to the ground and leaving him for the Avengers. "Just like you mother was." The shock that hit Lee was like a punch to the gut. "What did you say?" She whispered, not willing to believe this monster knew her mother. "Same face, same hair. But with that dirty mongrel's will. We should've never let them get so close." This was not what Lee was expecting nor wanting to hear. Tristan was suggesting that her mother and father both knew him and those close to him. "Who? Who shouldn't have let them get close!? Tell me!" Lee demanded as she slammed Tristan against the top of a near by desk. "Shadowspider?! How'd she get in here?" Lee turned her head and found herself staring at the Avengers. "Poor little Lee. You really don't remember." Lee returned her eyes to Tristan. "Remember what?" She asked. "They'll be so sad to hear that. Poor little Libena." Lee was about to demand him to explain himself when her body jerk back to avoid Stark's blast. "You won't get away this time Shadowspider." She hissed at Stark before switch on her invisibility.
Lee had flung most of the boxes containing what little information about her life she had been able to gather aside, half the contents of each box scattered across the room as she searched for a file. Finally she found it. Her hospital record from the day of the crash. She had read it many times back when all she wanted was to remember her past. But over the years since then everything she read in that file had been pushed to the very back of her mind and now for the life of her she could not summon it back to the front. Opening the file Lee's hands shook as she read the name on it. Libena Finn Almar. "No. No this can't mean he knew my family. They were following me. He could've got the details from anyone. My parents couldn't have been with them!" Lee threw the file away as tears pricked at her eyes and the long scar on her back began to burn with white hot pain. She fell to her knees and held herself, denying any possibility that Tristan was telling the truth. "It's not true. It can't be true." She cried. But the more she tried to deny it the more some part of her screamed back it was the truth. Forcing herself to her feet Lee grabbed her coat and left her apartment. She needed to get away from it all. She needed to drown herself so she could forget it all. So she went to the bar.
Several shots later Lee was at the point where the drinks and emotions clashed just enough that it left her feeling numb. She barely even noticed Steve taking the seat next to her. "Ms. Almar?" Lee turned to him and noticed the worry on his face. "Hello Steve." Her voice was empty and that only made his worry grow. He quickly stopped her from taking her next shot. "I think you've had enough. Here let me take you home." She quickly threw off the hand he placed on her. "Home is the problem. Home is the reason for this. You would take me back to it just for me to come back here mere moments after you leave me?" She asked him. Steve quickly rethought what to do. "Then come back to the Tower with me. We have more then enough room for you to sleep this off there." Lee was half tempted to accuse him of trying to trap her, but thankfully she wasn't that far gone. "You won't leave me. Will you?" She asked. "No Lee. I can't allow myself to leave you in the state you are in." Lee let out a heavy sigh and slapped a few 20s on the counter before picking up her last shot. Steve went to stop her but she glared at him. "One more isn't going to kill me." She growled before downing it and standing. Or rather trying to stand. Steve had to shoot up fast to steady her. Lee's arms wrapped around his neck and a smile appeared on her lips. "You know, this is kind of nice." Steve was beet red as he stared down into her eyes. There was a part of him ordering him to kiss her, that she wouldn't mind him kissing her in the state she was in. But it was the reminder that she was in a drunken state that kept him from doing that. That and how he was brought up. "Let's get you out of here." Steve picked her up bridle style and carried her outside, silently thanking god for his choice of one of Tony's cars rather then his bike that night. As it would make getting Lee back to the Tower that much more safe and easy.
"Back off Tin Can! Or I'll melt you down into a nickel." Lee snapped at Stark when he started teasing Steve about bringing home a drunk woman. "She doesn't mean it. Come on Lee. Let's get you to bed." Lee smiled up at him. "You bed sounds great!" There were a few snickers as Steve turned bright red. "Here Steve, I'll help her to bed." Pepper offered as she walked over to the two and took Lee's free arm. Pepper struggled a little under Lee's weight but managed to get her to the hall way leading to the bedrooms. "So. Who's the girl?" Stark asked. "Her name is Lee Almar. We've run into each other a few time and tonight seems to have been a bad night for her. I found her drinking in a bar." Steve sighed. "Any idea why?" Bruce asked. "No. All she said was that the problem was at her place. And I have no idea where that is."
Pepper returned 20 minutes after putting Lee to bed. "What took you?" Stark asked her. "Lee felt the need to bathe before bed and then she chose to sleep naked. She" Pepper didn't seem to want to continue. Too bad Stark wanted her to. "She what? Has a tattoo?" He asked her. "No. She has scars along her back. Most of them seem to be small but there is one that takes up a good amount of space on her back." This interested Steve a little. "A large scar?" He asked her. "Yeah. It run up the back of her right hip to the back of her left shoulder." "Are the edges jagged?" Bruce asked. "No, they appear smooth. Like a medical scar." Everyone looked to each other before Stark called out. "Jarvis, what does her files say about this?" Steve was about to tell him off for prying into her personal information when the AI answered. "Ms. Almar's medical file list a car crash being the cause of the smaller scars along the back of her body, however the cause of the large scar is unknown. Her file suggests that the scar is older then the crash related scars however no reason for the scar is listed." "A car crash?" Steve found the question slipping out before he could stop it. "Ms. Almar was 11 years old when her parents car was hit by a large transport truck. There is little information regarding her family. It appears as though most of it was erased." This got everyone's attention. "Someone erased her family information?" Natasha asked. "The crash by it's self isn't out of the ordinary but the fact that someone delete information about a whole family is. Why would anyone want to do that?" Clint asked. "Maybe some spies should look into it." Stark suggested.
Lee groaned as she woke. It was clearly still the middle of the night but her mind was clearer now. Sitting up she grabbed her clothes and slipped them on before making her way out the door and down the hall. She knew where she was but didn't care. She just wanted something to eat. Entering the kitchen the lights flicked on, surprising her and hurting her eyes a little. Blinking away the brightness she glanced around for any signs of the Avengers before walking over to the fridge and checking what was inside. "Pizza's still good." Lee slammed the fridge door close as she spun around. Stark was smirking at her from the archway. "Mr. Stark." She greeted. "Call me Tony. As I said the pizza is still good so help yourself." Lee was tempted to just head back to the room she had been given for the night. But she knew she'd just come right back for food not five minutes later. Reopening the fridge she grabbed a couple slices and settled down at the island. "Steve tells us you have an interest in Shadowspider." Though it wasn't voiced as a question she knew he wanted an answer. "Who doesn't have an interest in the one person who keeps slipping through the Avengers' fingers. Even Loki hasn't be able to evade your group like she does." Tony shrugged. "She's still kind of new. Only been a year since she first showed her face when she killed all those children and we still know nothing about her." Lee wanted to laugh. "From the way Steve tells it your group doesn't really seem to care much for more details on her. After all he seems to be the only one interested in finding out what she wants. Not that she'll get it in the end." Tony nodded. "Alright maybe we do need to have some idea what she's afraid. God knows that Dr. Oswald wasn't able to give us anything useful. Just kept muttering about how some girl was going to make some people sad about being forgotten." Lee forced herself to take a bite of her pizza before speaking. "Did he give any names?" Tony merely shook his head. "None. Not even who the girl was. Though I think he might've been referring to Shadowspider." Lee raised a brow. "She was there when we reached him. Had him pinned to a desk and looked about ready to kill him. Then again given the things he's done to people I can hardly blame her." Lee wiped her mouth and took a long look at Tony. "You think she would've killed him for what he did to people?" She asked. He smirked at her. "Nah. She was there for something else. Don't think she got it though. Which is why I have Jarvis digging through all of Oswald's data." That data! It could hold a name or two that I could use. But Tony Stark can out hack anyone in the world. How can I get that data for myself. "You looking for work?" The question threw her. "What?" "You just look like you could use a job. That and I read what there was of your file. Your computer skills are a little weak but I think I can work with that." Stark's offering me a job? What's the catch? "You want me to work for you? Where? Doing what?" Tony crossed the room and took a seat at the island. "Going over some data mostly. Like what we got from Dr. Oswald. There's a lot of it and I think you could help." Lee was sure this was a trick. "And just what would I be making?" It was a struggle not to narrow her eyes at him in suspicion. "Well let's see now." Tony took out his phone and began muttering to himself as he pressed buttons. Lee only managed to catch words like "living expensive" and "transportation" before he turned the phone to her. "Around there. Though I think we can settle on a larger number." Lee's jaw dropped at the numbers on the screen. For several moments she couldn't speak let along breath. Opening and closing her mouth a few times Lee finally got out "W-what time should I start?"
"You what?" Steve asked Tony after hearing about what took place in the kitchen. "Gave your girl a job here at the tower." Tony repeated. "Why?" Tony just shrugged. "And she agreed?" Steve couldn't believe it. "I was surprised too. No, on second though I wasn't." Steve fixed Tony with a look. "You and I both know that you are more then capable of looking through everything we got from Oswald with out anyone's help. What are you up to?" Tony just grinned and headed for the lab. "And Lee isn't my girl!" Steve called. "Whatever you say." Tony called back. Steve let out a heavy sigh. "Just what are you up to Tony? Why let Lee see that kind of stuff?" A thought suddenly popped into his head. One he wasn't sure he'd like to confirm.
"Tony!" Steve caught up with Tony at the elevator, managing to slip in before the doors closed on him. "Are you trying to test Lee?" He asked. Tony raised a brow the question. "What ever gave you that idea?" Steve's eyes narrowed. "You're trying to see if she could handle being around stuff like what's in those files. Why? Why do you care about that?" Tony let out a sigh. "Look oddly enough I do like you enough to call you a friend and mean it. The things we do not everyone can stand being around for. It's clear you like Lee enough to want to make things work but you won't quit being Captain America because you can't stand standing by and doing nothing while the world falls apart. Better to put her through the horrors of what we do now before you get in too deep with this girl. We'll know in a few days if Lee can handle the things she'd see if she was your girl." That was not what Steve thought Tony would say. He had never expected Tony Stark to try to protect him from a broken heart. "So you aren't doing this for your own amusement?" He had to be sure. "Do you really think I'm that low?" The doors of the elevator opened and Tony stepped off, telling Jarvis to take Steve back to the main floor.