Ch 2: A New Face

It's been over an hour since Steven left the small town known as Beach City, and he still hasn't stopped driving. No matter how much he thought, he just couldn't figure out where he wanted to go. There was still so much daytime left, and Steven didn't know how else to spend it other than driving. So that's what he did. He just continued to drive with no real destination in sight. At some point, he rolled the windows of his car down so he could feel the wind breeze. This actually managed to put a small smile on his face. The feeling of wind brushing his face as he continued down the road, going wherever it took him. It was a nice feeling for the boy, and for just a few moments, he forgot about all of the emptiness he had felt earlier.

However, the smile soon turned upside down as he remembered why he was driving in the first place. As good as this felt, he still needed to figure out what to do. He left Beach City so he could find his own answers to his own questions, but he wanted to come back as soon as possible. He'd miss his friends and family too much if he was gone for too long, especially Connie.

Speaking of, Steven wondered how his Jam Bud was doing. He wondered if she got the message, and what she thought about, and if she was angry right now about him leaving, but he figured she'd understand. Plus, she's got school to focus on, so she shouldn't worry about him.

'Yeah, Connie doesn't need to worry about me. I mean sure, we never hang out as much as we used to, and while I'd love to be able to hang out with her more, she's got more ... important things to do...'

It occurred to Steven just how much he missed Connie. Ever since they stopped the Diamonds invasion and he helped dismantle their empire, they weren't really able to hang out with each other often, especially now. He missed talking to her, training with her... being with her.

'Maybe after all of this is over, I can call her and ask if she'd like to hang out, or...' Before he could finish that thought, Steven saw the gas icon begin to point to the E for empty. He sighed to himself.

"Guess I'll have to make a stop for gas."

Luckily, there was a Gas Station just in front of him. How convenient. He made a left turn to the station, and parked his car in front of a service canal. After he exits his car, he begins to fill the tank with gas. He didn't have to worry about the cost because his Dad essentially forced a ton of money onto him.

After filling the tank, he enters the station building to pay for the gas. He also decided to get some snacks too for when he feels hungry. As he stops in front of the register, he's met with a middle aged woman with Ginger hair. She's wearing a uniform that seems to fit the color scheme of the gas station, so it's easy to tell she works here.

"Well hello there~.", the lady said.

Steven was startled by the way this lady greeted him.

"H-hi.", Steven stammered.

"Never seen you around here before."

"That's because this is my first time here."

"I see, and what's a handsome looking guy like yourself doing in a place like this?" The lady said with a flirty voice.

Steven blushed not at the prospect of being called handsome, but of someone he doesn't know calling him that. Being called handsome wasn't new to Steven. Pearl and Garnet often called him that, and Amethyst would talk about how good looking he was at times. That never really bothered him because they were his family, and it was natural for families to do that. But when someone he doesn't really know calls him handsome, especially someone he just met, he was prone to feeling a little embarrassed.

"U-um, I-I'm just uh...", Steven felt flustered.

The lady chuckled as Steven stammered with his words. "Don't worry, I'm just messing with ya. Now how can I help you, sir?"

Steven began to relax.

"I'm... just here to pay for the gas, and get a few snacks.", Steven said

"Sounds good, honey. But maybe you should pick out your snacks first, and then come back so you can pay for it all in one sitting.", The lady advised.

"... Right... I'll go do that."

"Take your time, sweetie.", the lady said. Steven left to go get a few snacks, and to try to clear his head from the embarrassment he felt. Honestly, the way she was teasing him reminded him of how awkward and nervous he could be around people. He never really felt like that around the people of Beach City. Mainly because they were familiar to him, but even as a kid, despite being shy at times, he never really felt awkward around anyone. Well there was Onion, but he managed to break past that as well.

But now that he was outside of Beach City, things were different. He was no longer surrounded by people he was familiar with, and even the buildings were new to him. It only served to remind him of how small he was compared to the rest of the world. Of course he already knew that, but he never really felt it to this extent, which was weird. He had been to space before, he fought off against multiple aliens, and even got stuck on a planet with Connie, yet here he was feeling awkward around one person.

'Guess it just goes to show that I'm not even good at being normal.', Steven thought to himself with a hint of bitterness.

Just as Steven finished grabbing what he wanted, a hooded figure carrying a duffel bag entered the station, and placed it in front of the cashier.

"Hey, what the he-", the lady was about to curse before the figure pulled out a gun, and pointed it at the lady. Now having a better look at the figure, she could see that they were wearing a hockey mask under the hood. But it was the voice that confirmed the figure was a man.

"Put the money in the bag.", the figure demanded.

Steven's eyes went wide as he witnessed the events unfolding behind him. A robbery was taking place. He quickly crouched down and hid behind the snack aisle to avoid detection. He hoped the thief didn't notice him, or was at least more focused on getting the money than he was on him. Steven had never been caught in the middle of a robbery before, but his dad always told him that should he find himself in that position, just keep calm, stay hidden, and call the police. And so he did.

Steven dialed the number, and waited for someone to pick up. After a few seconds, someone finally answered.

"911. What's your emergency?"

"Officer, there's a robbery taking place at Sunoco Gas Station.", Steven whispered.

"And where are you, sir?"

"I'm inside the gas station, hidden from the thief."

"Good, keep it that way. We'll be right there, but whatever you do, do not engage.", the officer ordered.

The officer hung up from there. Steven wondered how long it would take for them to get here. If it was Connie's dad, he'd probably be here in a second. But once again, he has to remind himself that this isn't Beach City. He wasn't sure if the police would make it in time.

"HEY! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! SHOW YOURSELF IF YOU WANT THE LADY TO LIVE!", The thief yelled.

Steven's blood went cold. The thief found out he was here, and was threatening to kill the cashier if he didn't reveal himself. He didn't fear the thief, but he did fear for the woman's life. With no other choice, he stood up from where he was, and raised his hands in the air. The thief pointed his gun at Steven.

"Good. Now get in the corner, and don't move from there.", the thief said.

Steven decided to comply with that. He moved to the corner of the station, and didn't move after that. He wasn't afraid of this guy. He'd dealt with worse things. He could always use his powers to take him down, but he'd rather not draw that much attention to himself.

"Now you're gonna stay there, and keep your mouth shut."

"Why?", Steven asked

"Did you hear what I JUST F#*ING SAID!?", the thief yelled that last part.

"Yes, but why? You don't have to do this. You could just walk away right now."

"Utter ONE MORE WORD, AND YOU'RE GETTING-!" But before the thief could say anything else, a blue blur suddenly past between him and Steven. In the blink of an eye, the thief was suddenly stuck to a wall, his gun disarmed. Steven stood there surprised at what had just happened. One minute, the guy was holding a gun on him and the cashier. The next, he was trapped onto a wall without his weapon. One question came to the minds of Steven Universe and the Cashier.

'What just happened?'

Once the police arrived, they removed the thief from the wall and apprehended him. They then went to confront Steven, and ask him what had happened. She had blond hair, brown eyes, and her figure looked very similar to Lapis's, except she was more muscular.

"Hello, my name is Officer Coral, and if you don't mind, I'd like to ask a few questions.", Officer Coral stated.

"Uh n-no, I don't mind.", Steven said nervously.

"Alright then. First, what's your name?"

"Steven Universe."

"Okay, Mr. Universe. Can you describe in your own words what happened?", the officer asked.

"Well, I was getting some snacks from the station, until that guy came in and pointed a gun at the cashier, telling her to put the money in the bag. I hid myself from him once I learned what was happening, called the police, and tried to stay hidden. But then he threatened to kill the cashier, so I was forced to reveal myself and do as he says. I tried to keep talking to keep him distracted until you got here, but then some kind of... blue blur appeared. After that, I saw that the thief was stuck to the wall behind me."

"Is that it?", she asked.

"Yeah, that's it.", he answered.

"Thank you for your time then, Mr. Universe.", officer Coral said as she left him be after their talk.

Steven nods his head, and the officer walks back to her partner. Once Steven was alone, he began to ponder what it was that happened. Or rather, what caused this to happen. He knew that something or someone stopped the thief, but he didn't know who or what it was. He did have an idea, however.

'Could it be another Gem that we missed? Maybe another Homeworld gem that got lost?', Steven thought to himself. The boy doubted the latter, but it was also hard to believe the former. The Crystal Gems spent years hunting down any and all Corrupted Gems on Earth, and they've been cured. If they missed one, they probably would've realized that.

Plus, it didn't seem like that blur was just the Gem randomly attacking like a Corrupted Gem usually does. The attack was quick and precise. What really bothered him though was how fast it was. He had never seen a Gem move at that kind of speed. And if she's that fast, it would be almost impossible to catch her. Which asks the question...

"What kind of Gem is she?", He asked out loud to himself.

As Steven kept thinking to himself, Officer Coral began talking to her partner about today's events. He was a middle aged man with brown skin. He had black hair, hazel eyes, and a stubble for a beard.

"So what do we have today, Annie?", the new officer asked.

"Well, Officer Vik, we got the same situation as two days ago... and the day before that... and the last two weeks before that.", she states with some irritation.

"Again? This is the seventh time in the past two weeks that the Blue Blur has stopped a crime before we're even there.", Officer Vik complained.

"Don't remind me.", Officer Coral said with a bored expression on her face.

"I mean, how are we supposed to do our job when he or she keeps doing it for us?", Officer Vik asked in frustration.

"Calm down, Vik. The Blue blur's not taking our jobs.", Officer Coral stated.

"They might as well considering what we've been able to accomplish lately." Officer Carol sighed at that. She knew Vik was right. Even though she wouldn't admit it, their job was starting to get dull. Well, more dull than usual. They didn't really get much done because there wasn't much to be done. Every now and then on patrol, they would encounter something at least. Like someone breaking way past the speed limit, or even a burglar at someone's house.

But ever since the Blue Blur showed up, criminal activity had been even lower than it was now. As a result, they had pretty much nothing to do on patrol. Not that they had much to do in the beginning, but still.

Something that bugged her though was that she could swear she heard similar reports about a Blue Blur appearing somewhere in West Virginia; which was several hours away from here. If this was the case, then... what was he or she doing there?

As the police continued to talk with each other, and Steven began to drive away, a figure is seen zooming through the roads and into the forest in a blue blur. The figure kept zooming through the forest, and passing by rocks and obstacles at speeds impossible for a normal human to achieve. The figure than makes a stop in between its run, and we get to see what exactly looks like a teenage boy. The teenager was wearing a pair of worn out shoes, shorts that looked like they should be pants, but the legs were cut off, and a sleeveless sky blue shirt with some light dirt marks. The boy's skin was tan, his body was fairly muscular but skinny, he had dark blue short hair that was spiked behind him, and forest green eyes.

The figure smirks, revealing his teeth as he does, and he pumps his hands into the air.

"Oh yeah! Another day, another civilian saved.", he exclaimed. The mysterious young man then began to stretch his arms and legs for about a minute. He then pulled out what appeared to be a music player. He connected his headphones to it, put them in his ears, and pressed play.

(Sonic Rivals 2 ost - Race to Win)

The young man gets himself into a starting position, his right leg bent in front of him , his left leg stretched behind him, and both hands on the ground. He stared off into the distance as he prepared himself to run. When the music hits a certain beat, he takes off so fast that he breaks the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom.

He runs past some trees, moves out of the way of others. Same with rocks, and anything else that was in his way. As he keeps on running, he grins with excitement. He sees a small hill in front of him, and decides to run up it. When he reaches the edge, he jumps onto a tree. He jumps just as soon as he lands from tree to tree to tree. On the last tree, he leaps even higher, and soars into the sky. While he's in the air, his shirt is flailing around and from within the shirt, a blue gem can be seen on the young man's chest.

"Waaahooooooooo!", he shouted in excitement.

The boy soon begins to descend back to the ground. As he was about to reach the ground, he positioned himself so he would land on his feet. Once he did, the teen continued running, not stopping for anything or anyone.

"Gotta go fast!"

And with that, he zooms past everything, and vanished off to the distance.

A/N: This took me a few days to write. I debated on splitting this chapter to make things easier, but decided 'nah, I got this'. Anyway, there's our new someone. This guy is my OC. And yes, I know he seems very similar to Sonic the Hedgehog, but that's because my OC is inspired by him. There'll be more info on him and who his mother is later in the story. For now, stay tuned, and I'll see you in the next chapter. Peace.