Rejected Stones

Shattered Pinnacle

Beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida

43. Shattered Pinnacle

"Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves."

― Emily Brontë

Izuku walked down the steps of the bus, looking up at the giant building before him, his heart thumping in his chest. It looked like an ordinary skyscraper, just another large office building in Jianosi, a large ward of Tokyo that had dozens of similar buildings. Around him, his classmates lined up on the sidewalk, each taking a moment to look up in awe. Save one.

"Izuku! We should put on your arm," Mei told him, holding up the case that held his artificial limb. "Don't worry, I made extras this time so if this one gets hurt we can just put on another!"

"Do you really think I'm that careless?" Izuku asked, trying to give Mei a grin.

"You have lost two arms. I would prefer you not lose another one, but I am prepared," Mei told him. She helped Izuku strap the arm on, then put on the metal headband that would help read his nerve impulses. It also functioned as a control for the Power Suit, even allowing Izuku to control it to a degree remotely, though they hadn't practiced that much.

"Hey there kiddies!" Burnin said, her face split in a wide grin as she descended the steps. She wasn't dressed in the dark clothing of the faux villains of the exam, instead wearing a white jacket that went down to her mid thigh with large brass buttons on its overlapping lapels. Her "hair" was a green flame that burned atop her scalp, and she wore a domino mask along with a fire extinguisher strapped to her back to complete her hero uniform. "You kids ready, Shoto?"

"I think you'd best ask Mr. Aizawa or Hari that," Shoto Todoroki said with a shrug. "You're not supposed to treat me any different then the others, are you Burnin?"

Burnin grinned and nodded. "Ha! Good answer! Well, Eraser? Let's get this party started!"

"We're ready," Aizawa agreed.

Burnin nodded, leading them all up the steps. "I have to say, you kids all look different. What, you all change your hero costumes or something?"

"We did," Yaoyorozu said, nodding stiffly. Her former hero outfit had been replaced with one that offered far more protection instead of the midriff baring ensemble she'd worn before. Now she wore a dark red bodysuit with a folded midsection that would allow her to draw out her creations while still offering some protection. On her left breast was emblazoned 1A, which every member of their class now had. She also wore a half mask, hiding her burn scars. While Yaoyorozu was gaining in confidence, Izuku knew she was still highly sensitive about her physical appearance.

"We figured we should go with a theme, you know?" Uraraka said, smiling. Her own outfit was more practical as well. Gone were the heels, replaced with thick combat boots with steel toes. She wore heavy leather gauntlets that wouldn't interfere with her activating her quirk by touch, but would protect her knuckles and hands from the brawling she increasingly favored. Her getup was still pink and white, but it was padded and armored with kevlar and other sturdy materials. Her helmet was still vaguely shaped like an astronaut, but it was also reinforced and designed to take harder hits.

Each of the students' costumes had been redesigned by Mei and Power Loader to offer greater protection and practicality. All of them had suffered enough wounds to decide that look and flair were by far secondary concerns to practical protection. Even Izuku's outfit had been redesigned, though his was far thinner and looked more like a pilots flight suit with the right arm exposed, as Izuku needed to be able to easily fit into the Power Suit.