[centre][h3][b][color=#CC3610]Jasper Reid[/color][/b][/h3][/centre]

The refugee from another universe was still getting used to his new home. While this Grailham City was similar to the one he had grown up in, there were still several differences. The history here was just different enough from his home dimension. It had been quite a few times that Jasper had made a faux pas in a conversation related to aspects of this world, passing it off with a joke about the Mandela effect. So he had done his best to try and learn about this new dimension, just so that he had an easier time fitting in.

A quick glance on social media had shown that several people that Jasper had known did exist in this world, but conversely many didn’t seem to exist here. Jasper had also thought of looking himself and his family up online, but it caused a massive feeling of anxiety, so he had not searched it.

But while Internet search engines were always decently useful for finding information, Jasper had always valued actual physical books. And while there were plenty of online book selling sites, Jasper was kind of strapped for cash at the moment. But luckily for him, Grailham was a massive city and as such had an extensive library system. And while there weren’t any in the neighborhood Jasper lived in, he could reach the nearest branch by one bus, granted it was a long bus ride across the city.

But Jasper didn’t mind, as something as mundane as a bus ride was calming to him. He had spent far too long living underground, burning the dead, and fleeing from monsters. So Jasper sat calmly on the bench at the bus stop a few blocks from his apartment building. Within a few minutes the bus arrived at just the same time as the app on his phone said it would. Swiping his bus pass, one of the first things he bought in this universe, Jasper took a seat in the middle of the bus.

The ride was uneventful, which was perfect for Jasper. Just gazing out at the still peaceful Grailham City did a lot to help his mental health. In fact Jasper zoned out for most of the trip, only really snapping back to the moment when most of the passengers got off at the Museum Bus Terminal. Jasper remained seated as the library was a few more stops up the street.

In a few more minutes, Jasper was departing the bus as he was adjacent to the library’s parking lot. Jasper was filled with a feeling of content as he stared at the modernist architecture of the library. The last time he had been here in his home dimension, it had been badly damaged by the military as they tried to contain the Pandora Virus.

As soon as Jasper entered the building, he breathed in the scent of physical books, the same smell he was used to in this library before the virus. From there he went to the front desk to sign up for a library card. That only took a few minutes, then he was free to borrow to his heart’s content. Jasper immediately headed to the history section, finding a large hardcover book on the history of Grailham City.

After skimming over a few pages, Jasper decided that it was what he was looking for. But before he left, Jasper decided to go to the fiction section. He went straight to the K section, and was pleased to see that Stephen King had indeed related new books in this universe. But then an announcement came over the speakers, saying that the library was about to close.

Jasper had guessed that he had spent longer on the bus and then browsing then he thought. Jasper had picked this branch in part due to its really late closing times. But that time had arrived, so Jasper just grabbed the newest Stephen King novel and headed for the checkout. After having the two books processed and placed in his backpack, Jasper exited the library as the librarian began to lock the doors.

But as Jasper left the building, he saw the city bus whiz past him. He swore softly as that was the bus he had planned on getting on. Looking at his phone, Jasper saw that the next bus wasn’t for another forty minutes. Sighing, Jasper took a seat on the bunch next to the bus stop.

Jasper proceeded to pass the time by playing games on his phone. Before he knew it a half hour had passed. Anxious to get on the bus and get home Jasper was looking up the street for the bus. But as he turned his head, Jasper heard an explosion from behind him. Whipping his head around, Jasper saw that it had occurred at the Carlyle Museum.

[color=#CC3610]“That does not look good,”[/color] muttered Jasper as he stood up.

Figuring that people could be in trouble, Jasper bolted to the nearest alleyway. Luckily he always kept his hero outfit in his bag, just in case something like this occurred. After two minutes of struggling in the dark to get on his outfit, Jasper emerged from the alleyway, wearing the garb of Crystalis.

Jasper then began to run down the several blocks from the library to the museum. By the time he reached the museum, Jasper was out of breath. He took a few seconds to calm his breathing so that he could effectively create gem shards if this situation called for it. But as Jasper barreled through the doors, he was met by several people in various outfits.

Jasper immediately wondered if they were villains, but then he recognized one as Dynamo, the celebrity superhero. And it seemed that they were not fighting now, even though the museum showed signs of a battle. Whatever had happened at the Carlyle Museum was now done.

Jasper raised his hands as not to appear as a villain, approaching the assembled assumed heroes, just as the knight looking one introduced himself as Arthur Pendragon. Jasper wondered why he would use his actual name, but then he though that Pendragon sounded like a pseudonym. But then he also said that he was the king of Britania.

[color=#CC3610]“Well, I’m no king, but you can call me Crystalis,”[/color] said Jasper as he walked toward the other costumed folks, [color=#CC3610]“And I guess I missed whatever happened here. Is anyone hurt?”[/color]

With a quick glance around the room, it didn’t seem that anyone was indeed injured, but they could easily just be putting on a brave face. The truth was that Jasper had no idea who these people were, and that nagging distrust in his brain made it so that he was prepared to shoot some gem shards at any second.