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Chapter Text

IMPORTANT : This story was made WAY before the "Quite special isn't it?" update, that update has revealed lots of lore and information and also giving the characters personalities. The story you're about to read will receive HEAVY CHANGES, new chapters will be slowed in favor of updating old ones.

Hello! This is my author's note, it's pretty important so please read it.

There's also some swear words so you might wanna watch out for that

It was a beautiful sunrise, sun shining on the horizons, the cold winter seems to be swept away and is instead replaced by a nice warming air. But in the lab? It was a whole different story. The laboratory was cold, almost at freezing temperature, the floor has a massive coffee stain that she just didn't feel like cleaning, the machine she had just made almost exploded when she breathed on it, everything seemed to be going the wrong way. 

Yet, Quartz was excited, her bloodshot eyes from not sleeping was beaming with energy, it was like she just chugged down 1763 cans of energy drink and then did a backflip. The machine right in front of her was big, easily towering over her. It resembled a portal of sorts, metallic and maybe even a bit scary-looking, however, Quartz was looking at it like it was her newborn child.
"Rise and Shine! My beautiful creation!" Quartz screamed, hands rising up like she is doing an act of cultism. Her eyes light up as she flashed a wide grin before she passed out on the cold metallic floor with a thump.

"Geez, what happened here?", Quartz woke up as she is lifted up onto a chair by one of her workmates. "Oh, hi Mark...", Quartz said tiredly, shutting her eyes again. "You know you should actually get some sleep.", "Like, some real actual sleep." Mark continued.
"It's nothing! On average, every human blinks 21,600 times a day. And every blink lasts somewhere between 100 to 150 milliseconds, convert that to hours and each day I get 0,9 hours of sleep just by blinking! I can manage myself just fine." Quartz said, pretending what she spoke was some government level secret information.
"That's not how it works, and also sleep needs to be continuous, plus that's only around 54 minutes." Mark responded, taking a sip from his metal water bottle.

"Ugh, it's not that matters anyways. Look at this beautiful baby!" she pointed excitedly to the large portal in the corner of the room. "Yes. I know. I was in the lab with you last night building it.", "Why are you acting so nonchalant?! It's a freaking time machine! This could change the course of history!!" Quartz said, wailing her arms dramatically.

"Literally. What if it's used for something evil?", "W-Well not on MY watch!". Quartz responded immediately. "You never know until it actually happens. It can be stolen even in plain sight!" 

"Whatever! I'll show it to the higher ups anyways. Where are they?", Quartz ignored what Mark said, hastily checking the portal for any damages, then she stood up and said "It's time to let the public sees this amazing invention! Let's go and sign a patent!". "You haven't even tested it yet-", Mark didn't get to finish his sentence before Quartz dragged him out of the room. "Wait! You're supposed to write a patent yourself and then give it to the-" Mark was slapped in the face with a piece of paper. "O-Oh, nevermind."

*2 DAYS LATER* 

The wait was unbearable. Quartz kept on worrying that they did not see it as a joke or reject her patent despite multiple reassurances from Mark that if they did they would've sent her a message. And when they did give her one, it made her groan in frustration, "Oh come on! What do you mean they need a real trial! My beautiful baby does NOT need confirmation that he's real!". "It's a time machine. You sent in a patent for a TIME MACHINE." 

*Time skip to when the patent examiners come cuz im lazy* 

"So uh... Quartz, right? We're here for your... claim of creating a time machine." a young woman with purple hair and wearing a purple skirt said, "Theoretically, it wouldn't work, but your explanantion was pretty... convincing.", another woman, this time wearing a broan coat with a white buttoned shirt. "Either we just wasted our time on a fool that are just making up words or a real genius. I sure hope it's the latter.", another man in yet another suit said.

"Don't be so grim! Hey, my name is Amelia Plum, call me Ms. Purple if you like! I'm a patent examiner." The woman said, then another chimed in, "And I'm Seraphina Rouge! You can call me Ms. Pinky if you'd like!!", huh, she seems really nice for a name like that. Quartz though to herself, "And what about the guy?". "Him? He's Marcus 'Mark' Blade! You can call him Mr. Black too!" Mrs. Pink chimed in again. "I seriously hate this color naming thing..." Mr. Black finally spoke.

"Okay... Uh... So uh... This machine is supposed to take you to the past, So you just uh..." *beep boop beep bop beep boop beep*.
"Going back 533 years ago... 1492. Is this your desired destination?", a robotic voice called out. "YES!", Quartz said, the machine then immediately ringed then it opened. The door shined a blinding light, everyone had to cover their eyes in shock except for Quartz who kept her eyes open even if it's red and she wants to cry like an onion just smacked on her face at 12000 miles per hour. "That was awesome.", Quartz said, wiping away multiple tears both from being proud of herself and also dust entering it.

"And... BOOM!", behind the door was a place filled with nature. The plants overgrown, the animals thriving and the air is warm and cozy. "No way this is real..." Mr. Black muttered before he went to the door to inspect it. "Pretty cool, huh?" Quartz said, turning to the others. "This is... Amazing!" Ms. Purple turned to Ms. Pinky, "This could change everything about our history! Imagine how much mysteries we could discover with this machine!". "What if this machine is just showing us a specific time because it is fake? Like it can only show this?", Mr. Black said, accompanied by the silence of everyone else. "Did you really have to bring down the mood?" Ms. Purple said, "...Sorry."

"So... Is my invention applicable?". "Well.. yes. But let's just keep it a secret for now." said Ms. Purple, "Wait what? Why?", "There would be people wanting to destroy, or worse, use it for evil purposes, so if you just wait until a team of professionals come to protect your invention everything will go well!", Ms. Pinky said happily. Though, Quartz noticed that she has sweats rolling down her face.

"What's wrong?" asked Quarz. "Oh! It's nothing, really, I'm just a bit... Overwhelmed by this.. Haha! Silly me!" said Pinky, suspicious. Quartz thought to herself, but she didn't mind it too much. It's not like they're gonna steal it or anything, right???

*Later that night*

Mark was on the camera, looking through the cameras hastily without stealing a second glance, until his eyes landed on three shadows right at the front door. Though he didn't got to see them for very long, the camera suddenly turned static and shut down, leaving only a white static, "What the hell..." not having a great feeling, Mark immediately contacted Quartz. "Quartz, I think you need to see this...".

Meanwhile at the front gate... "Pinky! That was so suspicious of you, you've blown our cover!" a voice called out, resembling a man. "Relax! She didn't suspect it though, did she? It's my first time trying to persuade a woman after all!" Pinky laughed nervously while patting on Mr. Black's shoulder, "Tch. Whatever.". "Can you two stop arguing and help me?! Mr. V already disconnected the cameras! I'm trying to bust this front door open!" Mrs. Purple said to the two, making them go silent. "Oh! Oh! Let me do it! I have a lot of experience with busting doors open!!", "Huh, how come I've never heard of this before?" Mr. Black asked. "Why do it secretly when you can be flashy?" Pinky said before making the door opened with just a kick from her heels.

"Wh-Wha- HOW?!", "Shhh! Don't question it! It'll only give you even more questions!!" Pinky grinned before running right into the building. "WAIT!! MR. V HASN'T DISCONNECTED THE CAMERAS IN THE HALLWAYS YET!" Mrs. Purple's warning was in vain because not even seconds later they heard a faint smoke bomb going off, "Well- That didn't went very well-", "OF COURSE IT DIDN'T!!!" Mr. Black screamed back.
"Screw it! They've probably already seen us, let's just go in and get the time machine! We don't have much time!" Mrs. Purple dragged Mr. Black into the building, with a radio in her other hand, "We need some vials that grants more capacity! The time machine's probably too heavy.", "Oh! And maybe energy cells and medkits too!!" Pinky's voice rang out from the lab room.

While the two thieves were sprinting towards the lab room, Quartz has already arrived at the front door of the building. "Fuck! The front door is busted open! Mark, when did this happen?!" Quartz's voice echoed across the hallways, "Not even 15 minutes ago! They were too fast! Hurry now, I'm currently in the security room trying to ambush them!".
"Damn it! Someone is trying to steal my BEAUTIFUL baby!? I will not let this monstrocity happen!!" Quartz half-screamed and sprinted into the building. Meanwhile, Mark was hiding in the security room, holding his metal water bottle tightly. The air was tense, he could hear the distant footsteps, the echoing gasps, he could slightly make out their shadow by now. He holds his weapon so tightly that his hand goes pale, waiting for them to come.

It's close. He can feel it. Just a little more and he'll ambush them. Just a little more... A little more... And-

*BANG*

The sound startled Quartz, it took her a few moments to recollect herself before she had the courage to move again. "M-Mark? Are you there?! What happened?!" Quartz screamed into the radio, no response. Quartz tried a few more tries until she quickly sprinted into the building, ready to face anything the pesky thieves would throw at her.

"Mark... I'll beat them up with my bare fists and then shove Nicotine up their asses!"

Im so sorry guys I was too lazy so this will be split into 2 parts

Chapter Text

Quartz ran through the hallways, her steps becoming louder with each passing second. Her legs are weak and she feels out of breathe, but why would that even matter when her friend's life is possibly on the line? She would told herself that with each trip, not even caring about the fact that she's running out of energy and won't be strong enough to defeat the thieves. And there it is. The door to the laboratory, she gripped her hand around the doorknob, almost swinging it open until she took a glance at the security room. It seems almost... Alluring? Not even remotely in a good way, if Mark saw them breaking in, how could he be inside the lab?
She thought to herself, sighing, running to the security room and tried to pull the doorknob, completely forgetting that the door is supposed to be pushed and not pulled. "Mark! I'm coming..." Her voice came out weaker than expected, but in a situation where her only friend is in danger, Quartz paid no mind to the hoarse and trembling voice that was her's.

*At the laboratory*

"Her steps are becoming louder, and suddenly they stopped?! Is she trying to ambush on us?!" Mr. Black's voice echoed loudly throhough the room, too loud. "Shhh! She might be able to hear us!" Pinky snapped back at him, holding a fire extinguisher at an angle that makes it look like she's trying to threaten him.

"Quiet down, you two. I hear her going to another room, I think it's time we go out now.", Mrs. Purple said quietly, her hand on the doorknob. "We're going out in 3...2...1!" Mrs. Purple opened the door quickly, but what  met her outside was 
Quartz, holding a a broken flask with sharp edges, was immediately slammed into Mrs. Purple's head which made her winced and stumbled back in pain. "Gah! Look! We're just trying to leave here. We do not want to fight-" Mrs. Purple was interrupted as Quartz pushed her to the other two, forcing them to hold her up. "ARE YOU NOT LISTENING?! WE SAID WE DON'T WANT TO FIGHT!"

Mr. Black left Mrs. Purple with Pinky before going into a fist fight with Quartz. Loud grunts are heard as Pinky tries to wake Mrs. Purple up, "Purple!! Purple!!! Are you okay?!", "Ugh... What...".
Then a voice called in from the hallways that made the three thieves panic even more, "I called the cops, Quartz! Just hold in there, I'm coming!", "No! Not now. We need to leave!", "We could-" Mr. Black was interrupted by a punch to his jaws, "Fuck! We could call for backup. Hurry up!", he threw the radio to Pinky and gestured for her to use it.

With the oncoming onslaught of Quartz and her labmate Mark leaving the thieves dazed, Mr. Black glanced at his weapon before finally deciding to use it. "YOU MADE ME DO THIS!", "Wait! Blackie!! No-", a loud gunshot was heard which made Mark's heart dropped, laying before him, was Quartz, bleeding, hugging her wound. "Qu-QUARTZ! Are you okay?!" Mark kneeled down and went to the cabinets to give her a first-aid kit, before he finally glared at the thieves, "You'll pay for this!" he charged at them, swinging his weapon like a wild animal. 

Though his attack was cut short, before a figure crashed into the room through the window, the glass shards flew everywhere as Mark covered his face to see who was it. "How did you failed this badly? Didn't you remember what I told you?" the voice was thick, serious, commanding.

It sounds normal, but there's a tone of anger underneath all that, and that made Pinky shiver, almost accidentally letting go of Mrs. Purple still in her hands. "W-we're sorry, sir! We won't make this mistake again...".
"Save the apology for later. Let's get out of here first." Mark could get a clear look of him now, he was... wearing some sort of yellow hood? With a yellow suit jacket, it's too dark to make out his face but his pose and voice alone is enough to make everyone in room scared. "What happened over there?", the man asked, pointing to Quartz still laying on the ground trying to tend to her wounds. "I-it was me. She tried to attack us. I had to...", "It's fine. We'll bring her to Doc.".

"WHAT?! No! You can't take her away! How could I know if you're doing something bad to her?! You literally SHOT her!" Mark tried to protest, but the man knocked him out cold. "Mr. Black, carry her. Let's go.", "Y-yes sir!"

...

What the... What happened...? Quartz tried to get up, but she's too weak to do anything, it almost feels like she's trapped. She fluttered her eyes open to see Mark bravely defending her agasn't the thieves. Those stupid thieves! She should've killed them when she had the chance too... Now her surroundings feel fake. Everything is blurry, but at least she can still make out some things.

Ugh, I hate this, Quartz thought to herself, she can't even move an inch, just like she's experiencing sleep paralysis.
Her insides are screaming. Get up. Go help Mark. But how could she do that when trying to turn her head was a struggle? She hate this weakness. Hate how she isn't doing anything at all to help Mark. Hate how she's being a heavy burden weighing him down. If only she could-
Quartz's thoughts were interrupted as something, or someone, crashed into the window. The loud noise startled her, making it feel like her ears just exploded. The man in the yellow hood sure didn't make the situation any better.

How could this person be a police officer? And who would've known to break in through the window, if not on the same side as the thieves? This made her stomach churn, nothing's going well. All she could hope now was that the police could come sooner... H-hey?! What are you doing?? Quartz tried to speak, but all that came out was inaudible mumbling, she was being carried by that moron! How could she allow this?! She hates to do it, but she wanted to call for help from Mark, if only he wasn't knocked out earlier...

Finally, Quartz drifted to sleep from exhaustion, shutting her eyes tight, and everything went black.

Chapter Text

Quartz groggily opened her eyes, she felt weak... There seems to be someone right in front of her... Where am I? Quartz thought to herself, this place doesn't look familiar at all. It's dirty, messy, everything screamed like it needed 3 dips in mouthwash and 3 deep cleanings, she couldn't even see it clearly, but it's enough to make out how disgusting this place is. Ugh, I can't move... Quartz tried to talk, to maybe scream for help, but all that came out was a weak whimper. Her throat was sore, her legs were weak, it felt like she was paralysed from head to toes. Her eyes darted around the room, she could finally see clearly now, and she wish she hadn't.
She was laying a white bed, covered with a sheet, it's like they thought she had died and is now covering her up. She definitely hated the look of this room, maybe she hates the whole room itself, but the thing that disgusts her the most was the smell. It was truly acrid, tasted slightly bitter and like that of chemicals like when an underwear hasn't been washed for a long time. She felt like puking, but that would do nothing but make everything even worse. 

The door opened wide with an unpleasant creak as a figure walked in, he looked like a doctor, with a white coat, a gray shirt and a blue tie, he had a grin on his face that made Quartz want to strangle him, but she would never do that to someone who probably took care of her. "Wh-who..." Quartz said weakly, not having the strength to complete the whole sentence. "Quiet down now, you're still too weak to do anything.", he said, looking at his clipboard with a fuck ton of papers on it.
"I checked your condition and it's not too bad. You drank too much energy drinks which lead to higher blood pressure, dehydration, insomnia and you woke up 3 hours ago screaming about the ancient toad in the history transcripts, it was probably a nightmare so no worries!", Quartz wasn't taking in any words, all she could focus on was-

"Oh wait let me try this-" Without a single warning, the doctor pulled out a comically long injection needle and sticked it right into Quartz's right leg, she let out a surprise squeak as the mysterious liquid sinked into her body, it felt... Weird, but also... Stronger? "That's the new substance Dr. Tanner made, apparently it makes the user immediately heal from their condition or whatever... I haven't tested it yet, so there might be some side effects, but you'll probably be fine!!", Quartz glared at the doctor, "...I hope..."
"Sorry for not introducing myself! You can call me... Doc. Just Doc! I'm the medic of this facility so you'll probably see me again soon!! Now... I'll head out so you can have a private chit-chat with him!" Doc looked hesitant, like if he left her and whoever the other person is alone, something bad could happen. Quartz sat up straight, trying to recollect herself after that whole first meeting with Doc, but right after that, a rather familiar face appeared.

Quartz's eyes narrowed in anger, she eyed him up and down, right in front of her, standing so casually, was the man in the yellow hood, the one that Quartz had catched a glimpse of before she was knocked out. "You...", "Yes. Me.", "Take me home! Why didn't you just send me to a hospital!" that fucking creep sighed, before talking again, "Well. That would be suspicious, and second, we got Doc, he's good at his job. Though sometimes he got his medical license confiscated because he once went out of the surgery room with the excuse of 'I don't feel like it'...". Quartz's mouth hung open for a second before she said "Everyone in here must be crazy!! I wanna go home!!"
"That... Won't be good. You could report us. That wouldn't work, plus, we need you for something...", Quartz perked up at what he said, she stared into nothingness for a few moments before her brain finally processed the information

"You thieves want me to work for you? No fucking way!!" She spitted back, not leaving room for the man in front of her to respond. "I was shot!! Why would I work with someone who could've KILLED me?!". "I understand your frustration, and I am deeply sorry for what he did. I promise I won't assign you on missions together.", "Wh-what- No- I just denied your offer. Now just let me go!". Quartz stood up, attempting to leave the room.
"Please, just bare with me here. You will get... Let's say, over half of what YOU steal in our heist. Don't worry, we don't steal from the innocents, just from the big companies, is that okay with you?", that thought really made Quartz think, she knows, that this is wrong, that she might be unintentionally affecting many people with this. But then again... Who gives a fuck? Quartz needs money for her project, she needs money for maintenance, cleaning, and all the stuff that comes with creating a time machine that could alter the entirety of human history. And... She hated to admit that she really thought of joining for a moment.
"Don't worry. For a criminal organisation... We're not THAT violent.", honestly that made it worse. "Please. We need you, your intelligence and inventions have been proven very valuable for us.", Quartz turned away, seemingly not persuaded, she walked towards the door, putting her hand on the doorknob.
"Y'know, there's a lot of people in this organisation who also shares your passion for these machines." That made Quartz hesitated on the doorknob, hovering her hands over it but not opening it, "I can see it in your eyes. The passion, the fire burning inside. They have it too, they really do. But guess what they needed to truly get their feet off the ground and get noticed by everyone?"
"Money. They needed money. That's why they resorted to stealing. Overtime, they all got what they wanted, some left, some stayed...", he turned his head, walking towards Quartz. "The choice lies within you. And you have the decision to make every next step of your creation even further and easier...", Quartz turned around, seemingly stunned by his words. "So? Do you want to join us?" He raised his hands towards Quartz, after a few minutes, Quartz's eyes light up, and she shaked hands with him. "Great. Call me... Champion.", "You have a lot of training to do, meet me outside once you've gained your confidence, you'll also want to meet the other thieves, they'll be interested in a new recruit." Champion said, opening the door and going out of the room, leaving Quartz alone to rethink her life decisions.

there will be another chapter when I'm ready

Chapter Text

WARNING : There's a use of the s word (Sl*t) in this chapter, specifically in paragraph 6 (counting a single sentence as its own paragraph) so you might want to watch out for that! Specifically it's in the last sentence of paragraph 6 if you'd like to still read the whole thing.

Quartz finally gathered up the courage to walk out of the door to see Champion and the other thieves, she held her breathe, she raised a hand up to cover her eyes from the bright light before she takes a good look at the place and the other thieves. What waited her was definitely not what she had expected. The walls were damp and old, some parts are even moldy, there were clothes hanging off of the racks, they were dripping wet, creating slippery puddles under her feet.

The place was pretty messy, there were random items everywhere, some money bags, cash, trophies, paintings, she can even see cats laying around lazily everywhere. Looking around, this place seems not too bad, comparing to what Quartz had thought.

"OH MY GOSH!! A NEW FACE!!! WE HAVEN'T SEEN THAT IN LIKE- FOREVER-" A loud voice resembling that of a young teenager girl said, "Please calm down, Dawn. It's only been a few weeks since those newbies got recruited..." another voice, this time seemingly coming from a man with a deep voice responded. "Please, Payday! This level of enthusiasm is very interesting!! Especially coming from a bunny hybrid!" a young man voice called out, it seemed very smug. "Oi! Stupid scientist! Just because I'm a hybrid that's never been seen before and can possibly break many laws in biology doesn't mean you get to research me!" What? Are these people crazy? All this screaming and talking really made Quartz nervous, what if they were simply... Built different? What if she and them simply didn't get along, according to all the (inaccurate) action movies with The Rock in it, Quartz thought that if they didn't like her they'd shoot her in the leg then pushed her off a cliff into the deep ocean below... Honestly she'd jumped herself to save them and her the trouble, Quartz realised she's getting carried away and looked at the other thieves, their eyes are all on her now.

"Okay, Greymane, we already rehearsed this. No biting people's head, no scratching them with claws, and especially no peeing to mark your territory, alright?" That made Quartz wanted to punch herself, a low growl was heard coming from where the man's voice earlier came from. "Okay. You got this. Don't mess it up. Don't be awkward. Don't be a weird creep! Yes, you got this!!", Oh. Maybe these people wouldn't be so bad. Quartz though to herself, zoning out a bit. But she was thrown out of her thoughts as someone approached her.

"Uh... Hi...?" That sounded SUPER awkward, Quartz wanted to stab herself with a dagger, then travelled back in time, and then stabbed herself again. "OH MY GOSH, HI!!!" It was a girl with long and flowy white hair, she was wearing a black suit, with a red shirt underneath, it was quite formal even though judging from the girl's demeanor, she wasn't quite like that at all. However, that certainly wasn't the thing that stood out to Quartz the most, on her head, two very real, very hyper, very much still moving, bunny ears. "Y-you... Are you...?", "Yes! I am a bunny hybrid!" the girl responded enthusiastically. "Calm down, Dawnstar." A gentle and quiet voice of a woman called out, Quartz looked in the direction of the voice, a girl with a slim body, she was wearing a black low bib overalls on top of a white shirt. She seem quite... Shy, judging from her posture, she also have long white hair, much like Dawnburrow, except this time she kind of had a half-up half-down twintail. She even had a white mask which made it hard to figure out what she looks like.

"I'm sorry, Dawnstar gets really excited when a new face comes.", "Hey!! I'm just excited, it felt like we had enough time to evolve into a different species before this girl got recruited!", "Hm? Perhaps hybrids perceive time differently from us? Could it be...?!", "Oi oi oi!! Stupid scientist man! Shut up!", the 'scientist' that Dawnstar was mad at also had white hair? Dang, is white hair sort of a symbol for being in this organisation or something? Shaking off the silly thought, Quartz had a much better look at him. He has short and messy white hair, some of it getting stuck in his blue goggles which makes it hard to see his eyes. He wore a blue faux-fur trimmed bomber jacket, although the sleeves looked much shorter than a normal one. He also has a H-shaped chest harness. Slut. Quartz thought to herself.

"You weirdo!! Stop trying to research me!! I will call animal control!", "Seems a bit ironic, don't ya think?" The scientist smirked at Dawnstar's attempts at scaring him. "Anyways, the name's Subzero! Nice to meet ya, what's your name?", "U-uhm... Qua-". "Shush." A hand was put up to Quartz's mouth, interrupting her mid-sentence. Rude, Quartz thought, I'm so gonna develop a new substance in the future that makes people go pregnant and you will be cursed to test it first. The hand was of a tall and muscular man, his face was entirely covered, a black mask, thick black goggles and a black and white ushanka to top it all off. He wore a black shirt that almost seemed too tight for him, clinging into his muscular frame, holding on for dear life. Though, it was not too noticeable since he also wore some military stuff that Quartz was too lazy to think what it is. His presence alone seems to make the others calm down, they all went quiet, except that stupid smug Subzero!!

"Awh, why so serious, Payday? It's a newbie, don't be too harsh-", "That's not the problem." he said, turning back to face Subzero, then faced Quartz. "That's your real name, isn't it?", "U-uh..." did she fucked up?? "Don't worry. It's a rookie mistake. We should try coming up with a fake name for you.", "Wait! Wait! I have an even better idea!!", Payday turned around, unamused, but not entirely agasn't Subzero's annoying words. "What if we try something different for her! Y'know? Give her a fake name and make her real name the codename instead?? How cool would that be!" Payday still looked unamused, even if Quartz couldn't see what he was thinking he was DEFINITELY furrowing his eyebrows. "Fine.", "W-wait- really??" Sprint interrupted, shocked. "But this is too risky!", "Your whole existence was risky, Dawnstar! Now, let's see what the newbie wants for her fake name!" all the attention was placed on Quartz again.

"Uh... Uhm... B-Beatrix...?", "Hm... Great! Payday, what do you think??", "I mean... Sure, it's not too bad. How about Beatrix Tockwell?", Subzero looked like he would glow up and exploded in excitement, while Sprint and Dawnstar were smiling at her, Sprint even took off her mask and clapped for Quartz. "So, my real name as my codename... Is quartz fine?", "Yes, of course!! That name is so... Super Ultra Modern and stuff!", "Dawnstar meant amazing." Sprint smiled softly as Dawnstar jumped up and down like a spring. "So! That's all figured out! Payday, lead the next move!!", "Wha- me? Well... It's time for you to learn the basics of this organisation." Payday pointed to an alleyway, a white van was parked there, the path looked mysterious and unnerving. "Ronald will teach you all about the basics of stealing. Make sure to pay atten-", "I WANNA GO TOO!!" Dawnstar screamed as she leaped forward, pulling Quartz into a tight hug. "Well... Since Dawnstar is going, I guess I'd go too." Sprint approached Quartz, beaming her a smile, but she seems to be a bit more shy now. "Then I'd better go to-", "NOOOOOOOOOOO-" Dawnstar screamed in horror as Subzero declared he'd be coming with them. "I'm really sorry, Quartz, it's... Usually not this loud.", "No! It's fine!" Quartz reassured Sprint. "Okay... Let's go!" Sprint then sprinted, pulling all the others with her into an alleyway. Accompanied by Dawnstar's struggle of kicking Subzero off while Payday wave them from outside the darkened path. His figure slowly disspearing as Sprint comes to a full stop.

"AGH!" Subzero dived head-first into the ground as Sprint put Dawnstar and Quartz down gently. There was a man standing there, resting agaisn't the wall, "I see you're finally here.", Dawnstar squealed, "...And bought some friends.". "Sorry for the inconvenience, Ronald. Dawn really wanted to go so we went too.", "Whatever.". Ronald turned the projector on, Quartz held her breathe, but what appeared on the wall was a... Powerpoint presentation? "Are you serious?", "What? Were you expecting some kind of dramatic opening? Sorry, but we don't do that here.". The group's attention was redirected to the screen as Ronald began explaining to Quartz the basics. "So basically, you go into a place, steal stuff, and when your capacity is full, go deposit them at the deposit stations.", "But there's these pesky cameras! They're trying to stop us, avoid them at all costs! They even shoot deadly lasers that can hurt you! Help your fellow teammates as much as possible.", "Uhm... Sorry for asking but... Doesn't those cameras violate the Geneva Convention?", "What? Don't know, don't care. Moving on.", "Don't try to ask Ronald about anything, he'll just dismiss it and continue with the conversation!".

"I think... That's it? Eh, I'm not paid enough to do this anyways. You're free to go.", "Woohoo!! Come on, Quartz, let's go explore our hideout!!", "U-uhm... Okay!", "Let me come to-" Subzero was interrupted by Payday putting a hand to his mouth. "Wha- Mmmph!! MMMH! mMmPH!", "I've been getting too much complaints from other thieves about your... Attitude. We need to have a talk.". "YES!! The scientist is gone!! WOOHOOO!!!" Dawnstar celebrated, doing an exaggerated gesture as Subzero got dragged away by Payday. "Uhm... Dawnstar? I'd... Prefer if I could go alone...", "WHAT?! B-BUT-", "Listen to her, Dawn. Let her be alone for a bit, I'm... Sure she'll come back later.", "Hmph. FINE." Dawnburrow dragged Sprint away as they both disspeared into the shadows of the alleyway, leaving Quartz alone. "Uh... If you want to meet some more thieves, try going into the different apartments... Or maybe even the sewers if you'd like." Ronald said, "Thank you, sir!" Quartz thanked Ronald before running out of the alleyway, unsure but exicted about who she's about to meet next.

"YPC WMS RFC LCAPGR???" A mechanical voice almost made Quartz jump, from behind her, a robot, with metal arms and legs, but its blocky body was instead made out of cardboard? The way this thing works is seriously messing with Quartz brain, but then again, she made a time machine, so who is she to judge? "Ah! Pardon me, he asked if you were the newbie or not!" a hand reached out to Quartz, she looked up, her gaze was met by a middle-aged man, with white spiky hair, he wore a formal grey shirt and tie, along with a lab coat that stretches down to his legs. On his forehead was an orange barrier goggles. "Call me Dr. Tanner.", "I... Er... Dr. Tanner, hello.". He smiled right as Quartz took out her hand to shake his, "It's a pleasure to meet you! I was interested since it's only been a few weeks and we've already got a new face.". Their conversation was cut out by the robot talking again. "CLMSEF UGRF RFC AFGR AFYR!!", "Don't be so impatient, CRD-B4RD! He's trying to tell you to put on some new clothes, I mean, your current one isn't too appropriate, is it?" Quartz looked down, she had to agree, this lab coat wasn't really it for a job meant to be stealthy and steal.

The robot seemed to agree, as it pulled Quartz into one of the buildings, inside, the lights were brightly lit, she can see some people, a young man wearing a blue shirt with an unbuttoned brown vest and a brown fedora to top it off, he looked quite messy, like he didn't try at all. Another man was dressed in a full-yellow fit, with a ridiculously tall yellow tophat to top if off (GET IT?). They're playing some game of cards before they turned their head to get a look at Quartz.

CRD-B4RD sat Quartz down, before pulling out a mirror and a stupidly large amount of clothes from the drawers, shelves, and even the trash can. Suddenly, a vent, sticked to the walls right next to the mirror creaked, weird sounds coming out of it. Quartz tensed, trying to think of what it could be... A rat? A group of cockroaches? A hippopotamus riding on a bicycle??? Then the lid to the vent popped out, flying and then lodged onto the wall, forming a crack. From the vent, a figure popped out, wearing a cargo shirt and pants, along with two turtles, one on their head and one on their right shoulder. "Heyyyyooooo... I am Shelly, this is Scooter, and this is Speedy..." A young boy came out, introducing himself. "This... IS the CHANging space, we change thieves' clothes so they can look... FAbuLOUSssssss..." What a weird way of talking, Quartz thought. Shelly pointed to the changing stall to the left, in which he took a stupidly long amount of time to take a shirt and pants out and give it to Quartz, it was like he took 5 evolution cycles just to do that. "Uh... Thanks.", "Nooooooo Problemmmmm....."

Through a few tries of clothing, like a banana peel suit, "Heh... That REALLY suits you...", Quartz finally chose what she thinks would fit her the best! A brown jacket, slong with some orange goggles and brown slightly-baggy jeans (Yes that is a thing). "Hm, I think this is it! I really like this one.", "Ohhh... Yeah... That's like- totally cool, you definitely don't look like cat poop in it or anythingggg....", "...Okay. Whatever.", Quartz rolled her eyes.

"Hey... Your... Hair... Wouldn't it be EAsy to reCOGniSE you if yOU gEt caught on cameRA?", oh yeah, that could be a problem. "Hm... Do you have a.. Wig?", "Even BETter. CRD-B4RD! Glitter scan!" Shelly yells enthusiastically as CRD-B4RD approaches Quartz, it scans her, before saying a bunch of random stuff. "!@&!^@%!^@@!!@*!@&^!^", "Does that... Mean anything?", "Nooooooo... Just draMAtic effect...", "Uhm... Okay..." Quartz checked her hair to see her brown hair from before was replaced with long and flowy blonde hair. "What the-!", "Witness the MIGHT of Dr. Tanner's CREAtion...", CRD-B4RD tied Quartz's hair into long twin buns, "Woah... Thank you...", "!!!!@@#@!#@!". Quartz walked out of the changing room, not noticing the figure appearing right behind her.

"Quartz.", Quartz jumped as a voice called out to her from the shadows, Payday, gosh, could that guy be less of a creep? The only reason Quartz hasn't punched him yet is because he's packing 6 packs under that shirt and would probably fold her like a folding chair! "Y-yes...?", "Come with me. We have a meeting in a few minutes.", "A... Meeting? For what reason?", "For a heist.", Quartz hesitated, before following Payday into the darkened path of the alleyway.

Sorrry guys originally she was gonna meet MUCH MORE thieves but I didnt want to make you guys wait too long + I dont want to delay too much on the action. IM REALLY SORRY!!