| Melinda Sophia Kathleen Walker |
 |
| Portrayed By: | Mischa Barton |
| Status: | Alive |
| Age: | 17 |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Family: | Brian Joseph Walker |
| Freak Factor: | Slayer |
Background
Melinda Sophia Kathleen Walker was born on April 13th, 1992 to Barry Walker and Sophia Walker, her middle names are that of her mother and grandmother and her first name was given to her in memory of her father's deceased sister. The eldest of three children and the only girl, Melinda was spoiled rotten, often getting away with anything and everything in the house, since her father was often on deployment and her mother was too busy taking care of her younger brothers. Despite being only a year older then Bryan Walker, the oldest of her two younger brothers, she never missed an opportunity to push him around and make it known that she was the boss. While Melinda had fun with her childhood, there was no doubt that poor Bryan was put through torment after torment, being dressed up in girls clothing and having makeup put on him, until he was old enough to fight back. Of course, being Daddy's little girl, meant that Bryan was often the one who got in trouble, even if Melinda was entirely at fault.
Despite how much she tormented her younger brother, she loved him dearly though and as they got older because of their closeness in age, they often continued to hang out together whether at home or in school. When the other girls were playing with Barbie's, she was often trying to help Bryan with his experiments, until she got bored of them, at which point she was often prone to ruining whatever he was working to satisfy her boredom. Even though everyone thought she was absolutely adorable, her mother knew exactly what kind of terror she was in the house, making messes and never cleaning them up and constantly borrowing anything she liked, especially shiny things like her mothers jewelry.
Unlike her brother, Melinda was not a walking encyclopedia or a genius by any means, a little smarter then average, she was always a poor performer in school due to laziness more then anything else. Going through grade school, several times it looked like she might have failed a grade just because of the fact that she absolutely refused to do her homework at home. Then she hit High School and she realized she had no choice but to submit the homework to the teachers after she received a written warning sent home, that was when she found yet another use for her little brother. Rather then do her own homework, she got Bryan to do it for her, after all he was smart, why shouldn't he be doing her homework for her.
As a freshman, she was unpopular and had very few friends, often teased or harassed by the other girls about how tall or skinny she was, because they were jealous that she had developed a little faster then most of them. It didn't help that she had practically no interest in dating or having a boyfriend, preferring to keep to herself or hang out with the few friends she had. While definitely not on the lowest end of the social totem pole, she was still very close to the bottom and most of her friends tended to be just like her brother, nerdy and smart.
She couldn't wait for grade ten and to be in school with her brother again, she genuinely missed having him around and after going through school together for so long, she was almost depressed the year she was without him. Then everything changed, after the end of the school year, summer vacation came and went and a new school year started with her brother. Her grades were average at best still and if it wasn't for her brother doing her homework, it's possible she might have failed several of her classes. Then everything changed in 2007, after Christmas holidays a representative from the School Board came to visit her family and informed her parents that she had been selected to go to school for a year in Rome. Her mother and father were skeptical to say the least and her brother was furious, it didn't seem to make a lot of sense that Melinda would be selected to study overseas given that she wasn't on the honor roll or anything else. After contacting the Principal though, he confirmed that it was all true and Melinda had been selected to travel to Rome. Little did they know, that this was all due to the long reach of the Watcher's Council.
It was surprising, most girls would have been ecstatic to travel to Rome and go study there, but she was still a little hesitant about the entire ordeal. Why had she been chosen? It was a question she repeated over and over in her head, but more importantly, what was with all the weird dreams she had been having lately, none of it made any sense at all to her. Her mother told her and assured her, it was all to do with hormones and she was going to be fine. Saying goodbye to her parents and her brothers tearfully, she was off to Rome for a whole year, it was insane and exhilarating all at the same time; she had never been away from her family for any period of time.
It turns out, Rome wasn't exactly what she was expecting and the trip, while academic in nature, wasn't primarily about learning from text books. When her role in the world and her destiny as a Slayer was explained to her, she was awestruck, she had always thought she was special but not like this. It was all hard for her to comprehend, but somehow deep down she knew it was all true, the dreams, the changes she had felt in her own body, it was more then just hormones like her mother had explained. She had been chosen to help fight the evil that plagued the world and it was a task she took very seriously without question, there were no more doubts or uncertainties in her mind. She was honored to have been chosen for such a monumental task and unlike High School, she formed bonds and friendships with her fellow Slayer trainees, not quite as unpopular as she once was.
Everything she learned was new and exciting, she had never really fought much aside from with her brother, but she was amazed when she realized that she had a real talent for it and she was strong and fast. It was like a dream come true and she took to her newfound abilities effortlessly and unlike High School, here she would have been considered part of the Honor Roll. Her training was more then just fighting though, she learned about the monsters that go bump in the night, the threats and dangers that faced the world and what was expected of her. Of course, they still had to learn some school curriculum, otherwise it would be awfully suspicious when she and other girls returned to their homes in the next year with absolutely no new academic knowledge.
The year flew by for her, she barely ever felt homesick and by the time she had to return home and her training in Rome was finished, she almost didn't want to leave, she just couldn't believe it was over already. It wasn't over though, before she left she was told that Katherine Lister, her school councilor would be continuing her training when she returned, even after all she had learned in the past year, she could have never suspected that Katherine was a Watcher. Her trip home was uneventful and her reunion with her family was joyous, but they all felt she had changed, she was more mature and somehow different, she had a confidence and surety she had never possessed before.
After her return home and her training began a new with Katherine, things began to take on a new light for her, most of her training was in the field and her late night escapades were often covered up by extra-curricular activities and who was going to question her school councilor about the validity of this? Her nosey brother was suspicious though, first Melinda got to go to Rome and came back different and now she was always out late at night, something wasn't quite right. That was when he confronted her and she could keep her secret no longer, she explained everything to Bryan and was more then surprised to realize he had some special talents of his own. While Katherine was reluctant to let Bryan in on things, there was very little harm now that he knew and the fact that he had some peculiar talents could be a great benefit in fighting the forces of darkness. This doesn't mean she received a stern reprimand for telling her brother, Katherine stressing the importance to her of keeping her identity a secret. While humbled, she regretted nothing, her brother had always been a rock in her life and a constant, if she was a Slayer, she wanted him right there with her.
Her skills continued to improve and despite the patrols every single night, it seemed like they were barely making a dent in the denizens of Sin City. Katherine was impressed with her progress though with one exception, Melinda was often reckless and charged into situations without thinking, relying on her abilities to get her through fights and situations. Even with Katherine's best efforts, it was a habit she couldn't break from Melinda and the entire situation got her into trouble more then once, nothing fatal had happened as a result of it yet, but that would change in the future.
After the new year and entry into 2009, Melinda was preparing to finish her final years of High School and possibly go to College after, even though she hadn't decided if it was something she wanted or needed to do; she was a Slayer after-all. It was in February, something haunted her dreams, a malevolent entity sleeping beneath the surface of the city, calling out to her, daring her to come face it. She told Katherine about it and after some joint research with Katherine and Bryan, they found the identity of the demon, Shu'la'gas'kanar, The One of Many Faces. When Katherine insisted they wait to face the demon, Melinda listened at first, until her dreams continued to get worse, she saw her brother dying if she didn't rush out to face the demon herself, a trick planted in her mind by the One of Many faces.
Rushing out into the night by herself, her brother Bryan could do nothing to stop her, all he could do was call Katherine and let her know that his sister had rushed out in the middle of the night and they both had a very good idea of what she had in mind. Melinda was not strong enough to face the monster alone, she didn't stand a chance without help and a weapon to help her really hurt this ancient evil, a mere harbinger to what was coming. While Melinda fought for her very life against the monster, Katherine and Bryan arrived almost too late to help her, hoping to help her charge. Katherine did her best to get the demons attention and Bryan was tasked with giving her a blade of purity and light, meant to banish the darkness. While they had saved Melinda from certain death, the distraction by Katherine was a success and a failure, the Watcher being brutally killed right in front of Melinda and Bryan.
It was traumatic and with a fury unseen in the young woman, she brandished the sword and charged the demon, banishing it from this world in a pitched battle that left her exhausted and wounded. She was frozen, Katherine had been wholly devoured by the demon, there was nothing left except the stains of her mentor's blood upon the ground. If it wasn't for Bryan, she might have collapsed there, but he dragged her to safety and tended to her wounds, taking her home. The Council was aware of the events that had transpired, thanks to Katherine's prudence in notifying them, they knew that Shu'la'gas'kanar was active in Las Vegas and had planned on sending more then just Melinda to fight the demon.
That was two weeks ago and ever since then, the horrible nightmares and memories of that fateful night haunt her on a regular basis, Melinda not quite able to forgive herself for the death of Katherine. She had received an email from the Council, letting her know that her new Watcher would be arriving shortly and while they were disappointed in her reckless actions, they could not deny that she had vanquished a great evil, but at a price.
