Warp Pad

Warp Pads are teleportation devices created and utilized by Gems. It was first seen being used by the Crystal Gems it in the Pilot, but the Warp Pad officially debuted in "Gem Glow".

Appearance
Warp Pads are a tea, crystal-like platform which resembles the top half of a brilliant-cut diamond. It is unknown what Warp Pads are made of, but it seems to be a solid material.

Most Warp Pads bear the exact same design, exceptions being the Warp Pads at the Galaxy Warp. Warp Pads to other planets include a small set of stairs, and the Homeworld Warp appears to be a large Warp Pad on top of a slightly larger Warp Pad. The side etchings on the Warp Pad at Rose's Fountain differ slightly from the standard faceted look.

When activated, a Warp Pad emits a cylindrical beam of bright light - commonly referred to as a warp stream - and phases its occupants to the location they desire. From outside the warp stream, its passengers appear to fade away upwards into the stream. The stream extends as high as it can, into the sky or into a ceiling, and the warp itself cannot be physically obstructed or interrupted.

About
Warp Pads can only be naturally activated by Gems, but any object atop the Warp Pad travels with the person who initiated the warp. The Warp Whistle introduced in the episode "House Guest" has the ability to activate a Warp Pad when blown. In the episode " Winter Forecast ", the Crystal Gems attempted to warp the  Shooting Star  to the Galaxy Warp without warping themselves, implying the feat could be done, but with unbroken concentration.

Warp Pads transport their occupants through warp space. It is unclear how warp space works, though it's evident that common Warp Pads can only warp between other Warp Pads on  Earth. In the episode "Warp Tour", it is shown that warps are not actually instantaneous, its passengers ride the warp stream for a short while through warp space.

It was first seen in "Coach Steven" that heavy objects can destroy Warp Pads and render them unusable. Pearl was unable to return to the Communication Hub after it was accidentally destroyed by Sugilite. Garnet destroyed the repaired Homeworld Warp with her gauntlets in the episode "Warp Tour", Amethyst destroyed another off-planet warp pad at the Galaxy Warp with her whip and a broken structure during an attempt to capture Peridot in the episode "Friend Ship", Alexandrite accidentally smashed the Mask Island Warp Pad with her hand in a fight with Malachite in the episode "Super Watermelon Island".

Known Warp Pad Locations

 * Ancient Gem Colony Ship landing site (South America)
 * Ancient Sky Arena
 * Attack the Light Dungeons
 * Indigo Caves (world 1)
 * Gem Battlefield (world 2)
 * The Desert (world 3)
 * Lunar Sea Spire (world 4)
 * Red Temple (world 5)
 * Beta Kindergarten
 * Communication Hub (inactive as of "Coach Steven")
 * Crystal Temple
 * Temple Gate
 * Sapphire's gem on the statue
 * The Desert
 * Flower Meadow
 * Near The Forge
 * Galaxy Warp
 * Domestic
 * Homeworld (inactive as of "Warp Tour")
 * 14 off-planet Warp Pads (inactive)
 * Geode
 * Gem Battlefield (Scandinavian Peninsula)
 * Ice Cavern
 * Lunar Sea Spire (location presently underwater)
 * Mask Island (inactive as of "Super Watermelon Island")
 * Pearl's Arena
 * Prime Kindergarten
 * Rose's Fountain
 * Forest near Rose's Secret Armory
 * Sky Spire, base of mountain
 * Sea Shrine
 * Near The Barn
 * The Great North

Trivia

 * The concept of the Warp Pad is similar to the transporters from Star Trek, as well as any myriad of devices used to bring characters from one place to another in an instant.
 * A Warp Whistle can be used to activate Warp Pads, as shown in "House Guest". This is a reference to two whistles of the same name, one found in Super Mario Brothers 3 and the other found in The Legend of Zelda. In those games, blowing the whistle warps the player to a different world/dungeon.
 * First seen the episode " Space Race ", the  Galaxy Warp  is a Warp Pad hub with special Warp Pads that travel off-planet, with the most notable warp destination being the  Homeworld  Warp.
 * Steven has shown that he can warp on his own in "House Guest". He becomes proficient enough at it to warp others with him by the time of "Island Adventure".
 * Steven warps the Crystal Gems in the new opening.
 * When he is responsible for the warping, he spreads his arms out in the process.
 * Flask Robonoids contain a special liquid that can repair cracks in Warp Pads. Large quantities of the liquid can even repair large cracks like on the Galaxy Warp.
 * Remaining stable within the warp stream seems to require practice, as Steven's first known use of it caused him to lose his balance. Connie also stumbles in "Sworn to the Sword".
 * Lars, Sadie, and Greg seem to have managed to remain stable on first use, which makes instability perhaps a fact that occurs with children or smaller gems lacking experience.
 * This could be because warp streams appear to have no gravity on account that in "Serious Steven" Steven can float up in the opposite direction of the stream to retrieve his ukulele.
 * Warp Pads have one of the most reoccurring appearances in the show compared to most objects.
 * Before Warp Pads were built on Earth, it is shown in the episode "Friend Ship" that Ancient Gem Colony Ships were used to transport Gems to and from the colony.
 * In "Monster Reunion" it is revealed that corrupted Gems such as the Centipeedle cannot use the Warp Pads.
 * Humans are able to ride a warp, they just cannot initiate warps. With the Warp Whistle, a human is actually able to activate a Warp Pad and determine the destination.