As she laid in bed, Melanie stared at the ceiling in disbelief. Did she just befriend one of the most notorious villains in the science community? Could they become friends? Real friends? Maybe, it was possible.
These thoughts stayed in Melanie's mind as her eyes shut and she fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Lord Reaper stood against the wall of Black Hat's office. He stood alone and projected a memory of his mind before him, one specifically 14 years earlier back when Melanie was a baby.
It was time for her blessing ritual. But since Melanie arrived a week earlier than expected, it was unfortunately also the day he was supposed to meet with Black Hat. So, rather than reschedule, he brought the then-newborn Melanie with him.
So, while Lord Reaper sat in the chair on the opposite side of Black Hat's desk, the baby with dark hair napped in his arms.
While Melanie napped, Lord Reaper moved his hand in a wave, gently using his power to draw out the supernatural abilities within her that would otherwise risk being suppressed by many generations of human genes.
Lord Reaper smiled as he watched Melanie's power appear before his eyes while she napped. He always loved getting this day with each of his newborn grandchildren. It was a nice quiet time Lord Reaper got to bond with his newest family members.
Unfortunately, Black Hat had to enter the office. He was in the thrall of paperwork which he telekinetically placed aside.
Black Hat stared at Lord Reaper with the child in his arms, causing him to raise an eyebrow with a finger outstretched and ask, "What is that thing?"
"She is my newest granddaughter, Blanche's third born daughter, Melanie," Lord Reaper explained as he stood up and presented him the baby wrapped in a red blanket. "She was born early and only came home yesterday, so I'm going ahead and performing the blessing ritual like I do for all my babies. Isn't she cute?"
Black Hat remained silent with a frown, giving the child only a cursory glance.
He walked to his desk, only saying "Gross" before he sat down.
"Unbelievable," Lord Reaper said with an eye roll. "You know, Lord Black Hat. I've introduced you to all of my children and my grandchildren since before the French Revolution. As their grand-uncle, I'd have thought you would have taken interest in at least one of them from the time they were born by now, but you've been dismissive of every single one of them. Why?"
"Because each time they each prove to be equally unappealing and I have no reason to think this newborn won't be the same," said Black Hat, clasping his hands together and narrowing his eyes. "I can't believe they're blood."
"Unappealing how?" Lord Reaper asked in disbelief as he continued his blessing ritual on Melanie. "All my children are strong. You said so yourself. Take Melanie for instance. She has all the psychopomp magic that Lunet has in her blood if not more. She can open portals to the afterlife, sense when someone is dying, absorb life sources, control any soul to do her bidding, resurrect, reanimate, fight with a scythe, summon wings, communicate with the dead, hear the dead, make barriers, be invulnerable, regenerate, possess, use witch magic, walk through walls, make electronic pulses, and so much more! She might even be able to summon hellfire in the future!"
"Hellfire? That'll be the day," said Black Hat with an eye roll. "And are the other things supposed to impress me, Reaper? Do drop the dramatics."
Just then, Baby Melanie suddenly woke up and burst into tears.
"Look what've you've done," Lord Reaper said sassily as he rubbed her back and bounced her in his arms. "You've woken her up and hurt her feelings. Don't worry, my precious treasure. I know how special you are. Please don't cry."
Black Hat rolled his eye again, delivered the pair a death glare, and said, "If that is all you have to bring, then get out."
The last few words had the inflection of a deeper and more demonic tone.
Suddenly, a spirit appeared by Melanie. And then another. And another.
"Black Hat, there's no need to summon your victims on me," said Lord Reaper, putting the briefcase of reports on his desk. "I have the reports you asked for right here."
"I didn't bring them here," Black Hat replied.
"Well, neither did I," Lord Reaper returned.
Then another spirit showed up and another and another and another. They began to crowd themselves around Lord Reaper and Melanie.
"Black Hat, what's happening?" Lord Reaper asked in growing concern as he summoned a scythe between himself and Melanie and the crowding spirits.
"I told you, you idiot! I'm not doing this!" Black Hat shouted.
More and more spirits of the dead began crowding the room. They kept their attention on Lord Reaper and Melanie.
Lord Reaper started to internally panic. He held his baby close as he summoned his wings, flew higher, and held his scythe in front of him.
"Why are you crowding me?!" Lord Reaper asked in exasperation. "Do you want me to cross you over? You know Black Hat won't let me! You have to leave!"
The spirits tried to reach for Melanie. Lord Reaper held them back.
"Black Hat, I don't know what's happening, but you need to stop this or I will," Lord Reaper threatened.
Instead of responding, Black Hat placed a finger on his chair and watched the spirits, noticing how they were drawn to the child.
"Curious," Black Hat muttered lowly.
"What?" Lord Reaper asked incredulously.
"The spirits aren't drawn to you," Black Hat explained. "They're drawn to the baby."
Lord Reaper then looked at Melanie who was still crying and looked at the spirits. Carefully, he dissolved his scythe and used both hands to hold Melanie out in front of the spirits.
The spirits instantly surrounded Melanie and began singing in a low tone to comfort her.
Lord Reaper could only stare in astonishment. It wasn't long before Melanie stopped crying.
"I can't believe it," Lord Reaper said to Black Hat. "It's been centuries since this has happened. I haven't seen this since my and Rose's children were born."
Black Hat continued to stare with a slight amount of interest, but the low singing almost immediately undercut it.
"Rrrrgh- Get her out of here!" Black Hat finally snapped.
As if on cue, Melanie fell back asleep, and the spirits stopped singing.
The spirits then looked at Black Hat and immediately fled.
"Well, wasn't that something! Quite the performance there!" Lord Reaper exclaimed in astonishment. "My descendants don't usually gain this power until they're at least small children. Not even Lunet could attract spirits till she was two. It has been too long since one of mine could attract spirits from birth. Looks like you have power, my little Melanie."
Melanie yawned adorably and snoozed peacefully in Lord Reaper's arms.
Lord Reaper leaned over and kissed the baby on the forehead.
"Are you impressed now, Black Hat?" asked Lord Reaper.
"Not really," Black Hat said briefly.
"What?" Lord Reaper asked incredulously.
"Unless I'm the one doing the act, then no," explained Black Hat. "It is impressive for her I suppose. But I am not impressed."
"Unbelievable," said Lord Reaper with an eye roll. "Shall we continue our meeting then?"
Back in the present, Lord Reaper waved his hand and dissolved the vision completely.
"Are you done reminiscing? We have work to do."
Lord Reaper looked across the room to see Black Hat by the door. The psychopomp couldn't help but smile.
"I was just reflecting on the first time you met Melanie," said Lord Reaper. "I can't help but find it truly ironic that the baby you thought so little of is the only one of my descendants you're going out of your way to give such special attention."
Black Hat scoffed and said, "She wouldn't need such special attention if her parents had done a better job. Honestly, how hard is it to make sure three kids stay in line?"
"Four," corrected Lord Reaper. "You forgot about Dita."
"Same difference," Black Hat said with a shrug.
"I can't say I'm not disappointed in Blanche and Carlos either," said Lord Reaper. "I know that they love her, but their neglect is inexcusable. I always knew Melanie was strong. I told her parents to be sure to pay special attention to her, but they didn't listen. I don't know whether they thought Melanie was less capable due to her mental disorders, got busy with work, had trouble dealing with Melanie's withdrawal, or were too occupied with their older daughters, especially considering Iliana's tantrums, but it doesn't matter. They failed. This meeting might feel cruel but it's necessary."
"If you had been crueler sooner, Melanie would be already well on her way to using her power to its fullest, darkest potential," said Black Hat. "But that cannot be undone. Now we must pick up where they failed. Starting with this first step."
"Have the lawyer bots been notified?" asked Lord Reaper.
"They're getting the legal paperwork together as we speak," said Black Hat before giving Lord Reaper a pointed look. "But they're not the only ones who need to be signing papers and filling out paperwork right now."
"I hear you," Lord Reaper said with a sigh as he moved off his spot on the wall and walked over to Black Hat. "I'm coming. Whatever it takes, I'm willing to do what's best for Melanie."
"Good," said Black Hat as the two headed out of the office. "I want to have this done by tomorrow night. With all of us working, we should be done well before then."
"Then we can focus on Melanie," said Lord Reaper.
"Yes, I'm anxious to start working with her more personally," said Black Hat with a wicked grin. "The girl still has much power we need to develop."