Rejected Stones

Made Equal

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9. Made Equal

God made man. Sam Colt made them equal.

-American Proverb

"We can do this, I know we can, we're ready, we're prepared, we've researched every possible opponent, we can do this, we're ready," Izuku muttered to himself as they walked through the tunnel out into the main stadium groups for the Sports Festival.

"Plus, our babies are super cute!" Mei crowed from her perch atop the two and a half meter tall Power Suit. It was now painted in garish pink and green digital camo pattern, which Mei said represented both of their hair colors. While part of Izuku was a bit embarrassed to be in such an ostentatious color scheme, another part was proud of their hard work, and wanted to stand out. "You're gonna win, Izuku!"

The suit itself was bulky and bulbous, weighing in at just over 500 kilos. The main compartment was large enough to hold Izuku's chest and torso, but his arms and legs stuck out into the limbs of the powersuit to aid in making the movement feel more natural, though they only extended about halfway down the limbs. Izuku's head stuck up out of the suit, though it was encased in a metal helmet shaped a bit like a full face mask model for a motorcycle with an opaque visor. He could take it on and off, though he much preferred to leave it on as no one could see his face then.

The arms themselves were also rather bulbous, holding modules for the various systems that they had created. The hands were to scale with the rest of the suit, which was one reason it had taken Izuku so long to get used to using them properly. They were coated in a special rubberized substance that made gripping things easier, with haptic feedback connected to the gauntlets Izuku wore. His legs were somewhat stubby for the size of the suit, though they were still half a meter longer than Izuku's own. The feet were broad and had treads like a large boot to aid in grip along the edges, with the centers holding air jets that allowed Izuku to jump farther and in combination with the jet pack, fly for a short time.

Really, the Power Suit reminded Izuku a great deal of some of the mecha he'd seen at Coruscant Comics, though it wasn't exactly like any of them, and was a great deal smaller than the larger models. Still, he had to be carefully going through the tunnel into the stadium, the top of it only centimeters above his head.

Izuku nodded, keeping his strides even and measured. Mei's presence somehow calmed his nerves, and he forced himself to keep looking forward as they made their way out of the tunnel.

"Support classes F, G, and H!" Present Mic's voice called from the loud speakers.

Izuku tried to smile and look around to wave, but felt too nervous to do so. Mei was now standing up on top of the power suit, waving both arms to the crowd. "Yes, it's us, with our super cute babies! Show off your babies, everyone, the crowd is watching! This is our chance to get funding!"

Mei's frantic energy brought a real smile to Izuku's lips, and he used one arm to steady Mei, while waving with the other.

"They're looking at us, Izuku! They're all watching our baby! Oooh, you really have to win! It will prove just how wonderful our babies are!" Mei shouted.

At last, after some frantic motions from Mr. Maijima, Mei hopped down as all the first year students assembled before the stage.

"And now, to give the student pledge, the First Year rep, Katsuki Bakugo!" Present Mic announced.

With a start, Izuku looked around wildly, spotting Bakugo walking up to the stage, a determined look on his face.

"What, Bakugo?" another student from the hero course with long earlobes that ended in electrical jacks asked. "Why'd they pick him? He's such an asshole."