HUD: Hello again! I am back, with another fun, new idea! So, as a quick cap - I play FFXIV Online, and the idea struck me one night that the Avengers should totally be in a guild on an MMO. So! Largely inspired by the show, The Guild, as well as my own travels, this has now happened! I'm not sure yet just how long it'll be, but here's the first chapter. Enjoy!

"Alright, guys - ready?"

"Yeah, this is going to be an easy one."

"Nat, you and Clint cover his flank."

"Yup!"

"Got it."

"Bruce, you stay out of the way, back behind Tony, but keep a good eye on Thor."

"I can handle that."

"Great - Thor, draw as much attention as you can. Channel all his aggression."

"Aye!"

"And Tony - "

"Yes, Stevie?" God, even on his headset he sounded like an ass. Steve sighed, the sound transferring over the party's headsets.

"Just...light up the sky, I guess."

"Roger, Rogers!" He wouldn't be surprised if Nat tried to stab him later for that, too. A collective sigh echoed.

"Geez, Stark, you're a dick."

"That's not what your mom said last night, Barton."

"Tony!" Tony looked over from his screen to his roommate. Bruce Banner had his laptop in his lap with his mouse on the pulled over coffee table. He pushed his headset down around his neck and held his hands up. "What is wrong with you? We've only been in this guild for six months - you're gonna get us kicked out!"

Tony snorted and pulled his Bluetooth headset off. "Please, Bruce - they won't kick us out. You're the only healer, and I'm the only one who can fuse armour. It'll be fine - the worse that'll happen is I'm skipped for the loot after we kill this fucker."

Bruce huffed and pulled his glasses off, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Listen, I like these guys. They're nice, and they actually sound like they're around our age - " The last guild they joined were full of forty-sometimes with avatars that looked like fifteen year old school girls, which lasted all of one dungeon. Tony's idea; even for a genius, not all of them were winners. " - so don't mess it up."

Tony grinned and scratched his chin. "Alright, alright, Brucie; but only because you're my favourite."

The chemist smiled shyly, his cheeks heating. "Shut up and put your headset on." Tony stuck his tongue out.

"Don't block me out!" He called. Bruce ignored him and fixed his headset, eyes dropping back to his screen. Tony huffed and did the same.

"Sorry, guys," Bruce said. "He's under control. We can go on now." Tony flipped Bruce the bird over his shoulder, hearing the man snigger over his headset.

"Thanks, Bruce," Steve answered. Tony rolled his eyes. "Alright, team. Everyone ready?"

Tony listened to each team member call affirmative, adding his own after Bruce. His eyes fixed on his screen, double checking his hot bar and adding his experience and speed boosts. He was the third of the damage per second characters in their guild, but his rate of recovery was far better than an archer's could be, and he swapped regularly to close ranged attacks when things got too hairy, placing him as the best of both worlds.

He and Bruce played The World for nearly a year together before deciding to join a guild. It was a perfect way to pass the time when they weren't in class, and because they were both incredibly good at what they did, they often found an abundance of time left on their hands. Tony originally started as a gladiator, the same tank class that Steve used, before a new expansion released the engineer class with a more specialized job. It worked much better for Bruce, who still stuck as a white mage, to have a party member be able to transition from close to long range. Tony particularly loved his new skill set as well, now having the ability to meld upgrades directly to armour.

They met Captain America on a random-set dungeon raid; after two failed attempts with a previously terrible healer, the three of them were able to carry the other three members of their party directly to the end. Hardly minutes after the final boss, Captain America was sending them both guild invites.

Captain America was one of the more skilled tanks Tony had ever seen - he was downright selfless, calling any and all attention to himself to keep them off of Bruce and Tony. When they meet the other two members of the guild, Hawkeye the archer and Black Widow the rogue, it seemed they had a set plan. Then Thor came along, a marauder with a massive hammer that Tony didn't believe was actually allowed for his level, and they had their second tank.

"Guys, boss coming up now," Bruce said. "Tony, get over here."

"On my way," Tony answered, blasting off a few rapid shots to kill the demons moving towards Bruce. He stood a few feet off to the side of Bruce and began to take aim.

Clint and Natasha took their spots closer than Tony and Bruce. The ground began to rumble, jostling Tony's screen. All the additional targets went still, turning to face the back of the cave. The wall began to crumble as a large Orc smashed his way in, rocks cascading down around him. The lesser demons began to cheer during the cutscene, waving their crude hammers and spikes up over their heads. The scene abruptly ended, spurring the team to move.

Thor gave a loud whoop and immediately assaulted the boss, Crass the Destroyer. Steve engaged to the side of Thor while Natasha kept behind Crass. The Orc flailed and missed her entirely, too bothered by Thor's lightning-based melee and Steve's stun-inducing shield bashes to notice her. Clint and Tony picked off the remaining demons and focused on Crass. Before long, the second wave of adds came in.

"Hey, Clint," Tony called, setting up his massive multi-target attack. "Bet I can kill more than you."

Clint snorted. "Yeah, right."

"I bet you two thousand flint that I can kill these fucks before you draw your second arrow," Tony challenged.

"Fine - I need a new upgrade, anyway," Clit answered. "I dare you."

Tony clicked on his Hailstorm attack. His avatar shot both his guns into the air and in a complete circle - dropping all five adds around him and Bruce. Tony couldn't help but smirk.

"I expect a trade after this fight."

"Guys!" Natasha barked. "Pay attention!"

Tony noticed the aggression being focused on Bruce now, of all people. Crass turned and immediately began bounding over. "What the hell, guys?"

"Crass has a TP draining ability," Steve called, his avatar throwing his shield to try and draw back his attention. "Thor and I are recovering too slow, and Natasha can't handle full aggro. Clint, you take DPS while Tony tanks. Ten seconds, guys."

"You got it," Tony answered. "Bruce, run."

"On it!" Tony couldn't help but smirk at Bruce's cleric scrambling to the edge of the cave. Tony shifted his attention to Crass as Bruce began to cast protect.

The limit bar was still full, causing Tony to groan. "Guys, why didn't you limit break?"

"No TP!" Thor boomed. Tony rolled his eyes - Thor was far too loud for a headset sometimes.

"Okay, okay - I'll take it," Tony answered. Crass focused all of his attention to Tony after a successful taunt and brought his massive club down in a wide swing. Tony grimaced as he watched half his health drop away. "Shit, Bruce."

"I got you, man." Tony sighed after Bruce healed him, still charging up for the limit break.

"Thanks," he answered, the cast time for the limit break dissolving. His avatar held both hands out and summoned two electric cannons, turning them on Crass. The cannons glowed a bright translucent blue before firing, the screen whiting out for a split second. Crass immediately stopped moving, rocking on his feet, before falling back to the ground with a seismic thud. Tony couldn't help but grin as Thor whooped loudly.

"Excellently done, Man of Iron!" Thor called. Everyone trotted over to Clint and Tony. Crass' body disappeared, leaving behind a treasure chest.

"Thanks, Thor," he answered. "I should really be thanking you guys for not using the limit break."

Steve laughed. "No problem."

"Looks like Nat gets this loot," Clint said. Tony noticed the loot option in the corner of his screen and sighed.

"Yeah, it's only for a rogue or ninja. Dammit, papa needs new a flanchard!"

"Well, doesn't Clint owe you some flint? That should be more than enough," Bruce said. Clint groaned.

"Dammit, Bruce. You're supposed to be a healer, you know - kind to all, Mother Teresa and all that shit," Clint mumbled.

"Yes, I suppose you're right - but fair is fair," Bruce said. Tony turned in his seat and smiled broadly; Bruce grinned back and gave him a thumbs up.

Tony laughed when the trade window popped up from Hawkeye, complete with every flint. "Thanks, buddy!"

"When did you learn that, by the way?"

"Just leveled a day or two ago," Tony answered. He totally had enough for the new scalemail leggings he had his eye on. "It's pretty useful when Bruce and I run into one too many direwolves."

"I bet," Clint answered.

"It was pretty useful here," Steve said. "Good job, everyone."

"Thanks, Captain!" Tony chirped, making Steve laugh.

"Anyone need a teleport out?" Natasha asked. "I have a few free tickets left if anyone wants to hitch a ride."

Tony clicked on the window to follow her. "I'm in. Thanks."

"Sure, yeah," Bruce answered.

"Thanks, Natasha," Steve said. Once Clint and Thor were included, they teleported away to the city-state they met in, the capital Indale. Tony always marveled at the tall spires and high arches. It was snowing, bathing the entire courtyard in a beautiful white.

"Hey guys, I'll be away from keyboard for a second," Steve said. "When I come back, want to run Tooklate?"

"Bruce and I are in!" Tony answered.

"I don't have shit to do, so sure," Clint said, his avatar moving to sit on a bench under an awning. "I'll be here when you guys get back."

"I'll go do a side quest and be back," Natasha replied, trotting off.

"I shall return!" Thor called. "Do not leave without me!" Thor's avatar immediately disappeared, causing Tony to send a Bruce a sideways glance.

"Uh, okay. I'm gonna go spread this hard-earned dough on some new armour."

"Don't get flagged for indecent exposure, Iron Man," Clint teased, causing Tony to roll his eyes.

"Just once, man, that's all it takes."

"Duh - why do you think those people go to prison?" Clint laughed. Tony sighed and shook his head.

"I'm muting you until Steve is ready, Clint." Tony tapped a key and pushed his headset back. "Hey Bruce - I have a question for you."

"Shoot," he answered.

"Pull you headset off," Tony said. Bruce looked up, obviously confused, but did as he was asked.

"Is everything okay, Tony?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was just thinking," the genius began. He spun in his chair and folded his arms over the back. "The World is server based."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Yeah?"

"And those servers are done by area, for population purposes," Tony continued. Bruce began to frown.

"Uh-huh."

"So that means all of the Avengers must be in this area, right?" He said, pulling at the tag on the back of his chair.

"Tony - are you suggesting what I think you are?" Bruce asked, setting his laptop on the coffee table.

"That we meet face-to-face with our guild?" Tony offered. Bruce sighed.

"Tony - "

"No, no! Hear me out!" The genius said, standing. "We have, like, zero friends, Bruce."

"I have friends," the chemist huffed. Tony raised an eyebrow at him. "I have friends!"

"Okay, don't count me," Tony said. "How many?"

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "I'm not doing this."

"You won't do it because I'm right and you know it," Tony challenged. He folded his arms over his chest and grinned smugly.

"Why are you so proud about pointing out that we have no friends?" Bruce asked, shaking his head. Tony deflated slightly.

"That's...beside the point, Bruce," he said with a nod. Yeah, that's good. "Bruce, these people - they seem pretty cool. We're all already on the same server, and we're all adults. Let's see if they want to meet up somewhere, like coffee or bowling or whatever people do."

"Don't you think The World is enough?" Bruce asked. He scratched the back of his neck. "I mean, we deal with people all day in class. I'd rather not, when I'm here."

"Hey, that's not the Bruce I know!" Tony called, bouncing over to the couch. He grabbed Bruce's shoulders and pulled him back against the cushions. He rested his chin on Bruce's shoulder and held both arms out before them.

"Just imagine - people to hang with, Bruce! People that like us. They don't take our classes, they probably don't even go to this university. We work well together in The World, why wouldn't we be good friends in real life? They seem cool, except that Barton guy."

Bruce laughed. "Clint is nice."

"Yeah, whatever - there's also Nat, Bruce! She sounds hot, maybe she isn't seeing anyone? I know you guys run raids together without me," Tony said, waggling his eyebrows. Bruce craned his neck slightly and blushed at Tony's lewd expression.

"Tony!"

"What? I'm just thinking of my best pal, man," Tony said, mocking disappointment. "But seriously - these people, they aren't just tolerating us. I think we should do it. We could get a good group of friends here, man."

Bruce sighed, leaning back against the couch. Tony dug his chin into his shoulder and scratched his curly hair. "Dude, you know you want to. I know you want to."

Bruce groaned and dropped his head back on the cushions. "Fine, I kinda do. When all this blows up, though, you get the blame. I'm an innocent bystander."

Tony whooped and kissed Bruce's cheek. "Hell yes! I love you, man."

"Geez, Tony!" Bruce stammered, his face heating quickly. Tony sniggered as he headed for their kitchen. "You need to get a boyfriend, like, yesterday."

"How ever could you say that?" Tony asked, pulling out two bottles of cider and heading into the living room. He passed one to Bruce and moved back to the desk. "Do you not want to live with me anymore?"

"Not at all!" Bruce answered as he twisted the cap from his cider. "Just you hanging all over me is distracting."

"Oh, yeah?" Tony answered, wagging his eyebrows again at Bruce. Bruce just sighed.

"Yes, it is, but not in the 'I'm suddenly going to appreciate it' way."

"Yeah right," Tony scoffed. He picked up his headset. "I know you love it."

Bruce didn't answer, instead putting his headset on and shaking his head. Tony did the same and headed off to the markets. "Be right back!"

Once he was fully equipped in his new armour, Tony headed back to the square. Bruce was sitting on the bench with Clint; Natasha was back wearing an entirely new armour set as Thor jumped up and down in place. Tony just quirked an eyebrow - he knew Thor just moved here from England, and, well, eccentric was the best word to describe him.

"Killer armour, Nat," Tony commented. Natasha stepped away from the wall and moved to the centre. She twirled lightly, the soft light of the game shining on all the right points. Her top was a maroon tunic cut low to her belly button, exposing the chainmail beneath it. The leggings and gauntlets matched the maroon and chainmail perfectly, even right down to her shoes.

"Thanks. I just got the last piece," she said. "It's level forty."

"Shit!" Tony whistled. "That's awesome."

"Lowers my cool down time and raises my dexterity seventy points, too."

"I'm stupid jealous," Tony answered. "I just got this scalemail flanchard. It lowers cool down too, but that's about it. Oh, and raises defense."

"That'll help the next time you impromptu tank," Natasha said.

There was a moment of silence before Nat, Bruce, and Thor started laughing. "What?" Tony asked.

"Clint said you have clown feet," Bruce answered. Tony rolled his eyes and removed his mute on Clint.

"Bitch, I will shoot you," Tony said, targeting Clint on his bench. Bruce subtly moved a few feet down. "And at least I don't look like I'm wearing a bikini top."

"He has a point, Clint," Natasha said. Bruce and Thor sniggered. "Your chest is largely exposed."

"This gear is high level, man! High defense, too," he mumbled.

"Yeah, so is Bruce's cleric cloak, and that's literally a sheet."

That got Clint laughing and, before long, the rest were all chuckling. That's how Steve found them, walking over from their teleport point. "I'm back. What did I miss?"

"Tony has clown shoes and Clint is wearing a bikini," Bruce piped up. That made Tony laugh even harder as Clint squeaked into his mic. Steve started laughing, too.

"Oh god, it's all true."

"Yeah, yeah! Moving on - thought we were going to Tooklate!" Clint snapped, standing suddenly. Tony shook his head, still laughing.

"Absolutely," Steve said, clearing his throat. "Who's queuing?"

"I will," Bruce said. Tony watched his avatar begin the seals for summoning a queue and made his decision. Now or never.

"Hey, guys?" Tony began, watching the small window pop up for their dungeon. "I was curious about something."

"What's up?" Steve asked.

"Well, as a group effort, of course - meaning stop me if this gets stupid or whatever - we're all on the same server, which means that we're all on this coast. So, Bruce and I were - "

"No, just Tony, innocent bystander, here," Bruce cut in. Tony rolled his eyes and threw a pen at his couch. His aim was spot on, Bruce huffing into his mic.

"Bruce and I were thinking that, well, we work so well together on here, that we should meet up. As a group."

Tony held his breath, waiting for a response. The guild as a whole was oddly quiet.

"Do you mean, like, in real life?" Steve finally asked.

"Yeah! Like coffee or bowling or whatever," Tony answered eagerly. The lines fell silent again. Tony began to get discouraged - of course, now that he had mentioned it, they would treat him weird and it would be a week maybe two tops before his role in the guild was replaced -

"Yeah, sure," Clint said. Tony blinked. "I think that's a great idea. Tony's right - we all get along really well on here. Maybe being friends outside of The World isn't such a bad idea."

"I agree," Natasha said. Tony began to smile, looking over his shoulder at Bruce on the couch. The other scientist was grinning, too, catching his eye. "Clint and I live in New York."

"Bruce and I go to university there!" Tony said. "Steve, what do you think?"

Their guild leader was silent for a moment. "I live in New York, too..." He fell silent again, making Tony start biting his lip. If Steve wasn't in on it, then, there was no way the rest would still want to. "Hey, why not? I'm in!"

Tony whooped, air high-fiving Bruce from his desk. "Thor, what about you buddy?"

"I would be delighted!" Thor boomed. "My family is new to America; I have been suggested to meet others outside of The World."

"It's settled, then!" Tony said, grinning. "So when's a good time for everyone?"

After back and forth between Thor and Clint, bickering between Clint and Natasha (see, Clint was obviously the asshole), a time and place was decided. A coffee shop off of the main roads of New York, right next to the shawarma place Tony liked. It was perfect - the six of them would meet face-to-face on Friday, two days from then. The first official meeting of the Avengers Guild. Tony couldn't wait.

"Alright, guys - let's go kick Tooklate's ass!"

A/N: So, all the mechanics of The World will be largely based on FF, i.e. limit breaks, job classes. The names of the areas and bosses and armour will all be mine. FF is going to be an inspiration, we shall say.

Now, for those of you who do not understand some of the terms, here is a small breakdown of what was in this chapter: DPS - damage per second; TP - tactical points; Tank - that's the player with high defense and health to draw the aggression of the boss/enemies and keep their attention so the plays with higher and faster attack (DPS) deals more damage (tanks are not at all weak, they can just take more of a beating); aggro - aggression; cool down - the turnover time between using another skill.

That should about cover it. These terms will be widely used, but don't worry! I shall always provide a guide. :)

I hope you all enjoyed! Please leave your comments below!