The Avengers took their seats, shooting one final glare at the enderman on the balcony. She gave no indication that she saw, and continued smiling away.
But as they settled down to listen to Tubbo's speech, Nat and Steve couldn't shake the feeling that something would go wrong. This was, as Quackity was saying now, an execution after all.
As if on cue, a turquoise ball was chucked into the stands, just below the stage. A millisecond later, a man in a cloak appeared out of nowhere in a volley of purple particles. In his hand were large bundles of TNT. He began placing them all around the stage and stands, causing the Avengers' adrenaline levels to skyrocket.
"Punz, what are you doing?!" Quackity screamed.
"Stop, Punz!!" Fundy desperately tried to command. Everyone was in a panic. The Avengers frantically scooped up the live rounds before this Punz guy could detonate them. Up on the rooftops, Clint and Nat spotted another man, one dawning an unsettling smiling mask.
"Big Q, pull the lever!!" Tubbo hollered. "Big Q!"
"HEH?!" Technoblade snarled quizzically.
Not only did the Avengers stop to watch, but Punz did too as Quackity lunged for the lever. The ghost in the corner seemed conflicted, his blue essence staining the wood below. The beanie man thrust the lever down, and the clicks and clanks of the terribly outdated technology wound up the tower it resided in, dropping the heavy metal anvil.
Time seemed to slow as the massive chunk of iron plummeted toward the ground, and the victim below. Technoblade's eyes widened, mainly betraying his cunningness and intelligence. The Avengers had no time to react as something golden suddenly appeared in the pig hybrid's hand, as if it were magic. He held it up to the anvil as it ripped through his hand and face. Out of the blue, a bright golden light erupted from Technoblade's golden item. The anvil seemed to disappear, and the hybrid's face reattached itself to his now mending skull.
The Avengers stared in bewilderment. Shouts of confusion arose from the crowd as The Blade leapt gracefully from his cage, dashing off into the distance.
Out of nowhere, in a volley of purple dust, the little Enderman teleported into the middle of the fray. She glanced around wildly, grinning when she glimpsed some pink in the distance.
"Steve." Tony nudged him. "She's right there."
Steve nodded, took a running start, and tackled Mellohi to the ground. She let loose a strange, distorted cry of pain as her face rammed into the cold wood. Blood began to pool beneath her chin as she spat some red from her mouth. Steve managed to turn her over without her escaping, but when he got a glimpse of her mangled face, pity aroused in his chest.
"Don't let her go!" Tony hollered angrily, trying to help Fundy and Tubbo track down Punz, who had abruptly left after Technoblade fled. "She's a danger to society."
The remorse left Steve's eyes as he remembered all the people Mellohi had killed. Her gaze was that of a panicked animal, staring deep into his soul. Before he could react, though, a green force slammed into him, and he was thrown off the Enderman. He crashed into Clint, who grunted in disbelief. The green figure backed off to help Mellohi, but not before thrusting his sword through Steve's arm, leaving him with a nasty wound. The green man tilted his head, revealing a simple yet disturbing white smiling mask. He averted his gaze, helping Mellohi off the ground and away from the frenzy.
Steve and Clint could only watch in astonishment. Nat came over to help them up, gingerly examining his gash as the chaos died down. Bruce slowly rose from his hiding place behind a stack of chairs, and Tony stormed over to his comrades in a fit of anger.
"You had ONE JOB, Steve!!" Tony shouted furiously. "We almost had her!"
"I was attacked, Tony," Steve replied. "By this tall man in a strange mask."
"Wait," Tubbo commanded, creeping up to the Avengers. "What did the mask look like?"
"It was white, covered his whole face, and had a creepy smile in the middle."
Even in the dark, the five friends could see the ram pale significantly.
"Oh no," he mumbled.
"What?" they wondered, voices laced with concern.
"That was Dream," Tubbo explained, his expression grave. "The most fearsome, most deadly, most experienced villain in the land."
Silence settled upon them, only broken by the string of curses shouted from somewhere deep in the heart of the city. Tubbo cringed.
"Sounds like The Blade won that fight," he murmured. "Which means he and Mellohi have escaped."
It was Tony's turn to curse. "Language," Steve scolded instinctively. Tubbo stared at him as if he suddenly turned to stone.
"What?" Steve inquired.
Tubbo shook his head. "Nothing. You just sound a lot like a friend of mine."
Ranboo came up from behind Tubbo, placing a hand on the ram's shoulder.
"Why are you chasing after Mellohi?" he wondered.
"We found three villages, all the villagers murdered," Clint explained. "The one survivor we found explained what happened."
Ranboo grimaced. "Ah. Yeah, she just showed up here, drenched in blood. I wasn't there when she arrived, but I heard she had tried to kill Philza."
Tubbo nodded earnestly. "Yep. We found her on top of Phil, an axe to his throat. He refused to fight back, though. After a moment, she kind of came to, screeching when she realized what she'd done. She asked for a blindfold, though I've no idea why. When we stepped to the side to discuss what would happen to her with Phil, she started talking to herself. It was really weird."
"You know why Phil refused to fight back?" Realization dawned on Ranboo's split features. "It's because she's just a child."
"What!?" the Avengers cried in unison.
"Mhm." Ranboo nodded vigorously. "She's only ten years old."
"But-but," Bruce stuttered. "Why did she kill all those people?!"
Tubbo shrugged. "Your guess is as good as ours."
"If you want more information on her," Ranboo pointed to a silhouette of a winged man on the balcony of a house, "you should speak with Phil. He spent the most time with her, therefore he knows the most about her."
They thanked the two strange beings, and made their way up the stairs to where Philza's home stood.
To their surprise, before Tony raised a fist to knock, the door swung open to reveal the crow hybrid. Philza stared at the five on his front step, his gaze sharp.
"What do you want?" he asked coldly.
"We want to know more about Mellohi," Tony shot back.
"Why should I help you?" he inquired. "You obviously have bad intentions in mind for her."
"She's a serial killer!" Bruce exclaimed.
"No, she's an innocent child who was lost in her own head," he corrected angrily. "She had no control. The very thought of what she did caused her to vomit. Unless you have lost interest in harming her, I will tell you nothing."
"We just want to know how we can combat her in the future," Nat said.
"Combat?!" Phil scoffed. "She's a kid for crying out loud! Granted, she's one of the more insane kids I've met, but I will not let any harm come to her. Nor will Technoblade."
Tony sighed exasperatedly as Steve pulled his friends to the side, out of earshot of the bird man.
"I agree with Phil," the super soldier murmured. "We can't hurt a child."
"She's hardly an innocent one!" Clint retorted.
"But Phil said she didn't have control over what she was doing," Bruce reminded them.
"Just like Bucky," Nat realized, picking up on Bruce's tangent.
"You guys can't be serious," Tony groaned.
"I hate to break it to you, Tony, but this is exactly like Bucky's situation," Nat said.
"We can't fight her, but maybe there's a different way to make her stop what she's doing," Bruce contemplated.
"What do you suggest?" Clint asked.
"We need to get more information on her before we can do anything," Bruce said.
"I'll go talk to Phil," Steve muttered.
Steve broke off from their group huddle, lumbering back over to Phil, who was beginning to close the door.
"We've decided not to hurt the kid," Steve said. "Her situation is almost exactly like the one my best friend went through."
Phil's eyes softened. "I see. Well, come in, have some tea. But just know that I will tell you what I want, not what you want. I still don't know if I can trust you."
And with that, the Avengers were beckoned inside to join the winged father for tea. They had a long discussion ahead of them.