Steel

The pair made their way back inside to re-join the festivities, but as they were entering through the side-door into the hideout, Arthur's legs gave out from under him.

"Aaagh! FUCK!", Arthur shouted as he fell to the floor holding his leg.

"Arthur! What's wrong!? Are you OK?!"

"It's- aargh- I think it's broken..."

"Oh shit, OK grab on to me."

Erin helped Arthur onto her shoulder as he groaned in pain, and led him inside and onto the sofa in the recreation area. Simon casually strolled up and looked down at the injured Arthur.

"Wow, looks like Arthur can't handle his liquor!"

"He has broken his leg."

Simon looked down at Arthur trying to piece together her statement.

"I don't get it..."

"It's not a joke dumbass he has actually broken his leg."

Simon stopped for a moment to consider her words, obviously confused.

"But it's been... 45 minutes since his fight with Julian, how could he have walked on it for this long."

"They're made of steel."

The pair looked down at Arthur who was calmly laying on the sofa.

"What are?"

"My bones, they're made of an extremely tough steel alloy. That's why I could walk on it for so long without feeling pain, the only reason I'm in pain now is because my leg is out of place and it's affecting my tendons and ligaments."

"..."

"I'm not gonna question that right now, we need to get you some medical attention."

Arthur sat up and looked at them both, acting as if this was a normal occurrence.

"I don't suppose you know a doctor who can work on steel bones do ya?"

Simon and Erin looked at each other for a moment, and then began discussing something in private, occasionally looking back at the bewildered Arthur.

"Erin could you fetch them for me please."

Erin departed for a moment and returned with a locked box. It was made of iron and had a number dial on the front like they use on safes.

"Guys I might be injured but don't you think that euthanisation is a bit far?"

"Not quite Arthur, are you familiar with Soul Fragments?"

"Vaguely..."

"A Soul Fragment is created when a human extracts a part of their Soul."

Arthur looked up at the lockbox as Erin opened it, the small metal box slowly creaked open and revealed a small, glassy sphere, beige in colour.

"This is a Soul Fragment of the one and only Mac Hillard. He was a generational talent, truly a god amongst men. His Soul could regenerate his body at an immense speed, almost instantly. Margas used him, captured him and made him extract his Soul. Over, and over, and over again... here we have 0.5% of his Soul, if you ingest this your leg should heal in about thirty seconds."

Arthur stared at the sphere, lost in its ever-changing surface.

"How did you get this?", Arthur asked, stumped at how this small rebellion could hold something of such immense value.

"They happened to fall into our possession a while ago, each one of 0.5% purity is worth around one billion pounds."

"FUCKING HELL! Like... an entire billion?!?"

"Yes Arthur, an entire billion."

Arthur paused for a moment to take it all in, and then finally spoke again.

"You never thought about selling it?"

"If one of Mac's Soul Fragments was to be found anywhere in any market it would take no longer than twelve hours for Margas to have confiscated it and arrested the seller. All of his Soul Fragments are technically Margas property, hoarded for the sole use of strengthening their strongest soldiers and Shields to the fullest."

"Hold on... when you were talking earlier you said "They", you don't have multiple right?"

"We did, but this is our last one."

"Who ate the others?" Arthur asked, curious of which of the group have regenerative capabilities.

"I did, and Sam too."

"And you want me to eat this one?"

"I do, but Arthur this is a commitment, if you ingest this here there is no going back. So I'll give you a choice, eat this and you are a concrete member of this rebellion, no going back. Or leave and go to a hospital, claiming you broke your leg while running away."

Arthur nodded, "I'll never be able to kill Brandt without it."

Arthur took the Fragment in his hands, it was icy cold, and yet when he looked into the swirls and swarming warm colours , his Soul felt comforted. He raised it to his mouth, and placed it past his parted lips, it didn't taste like anything, exactly what he thought eating a glorified marble would taste like. After a while of struggling to swallow it, he managed to ingest the Fragment, he felt a surge of power, of confidence... like he had the power to topple mountains in the palm of his hand.

"How do you feel?" Simon asked.

"I feel amazing! Like I could run a thousand miles!"

Then, like Simon said it would, Arthur's broken steel bones started wailing and grinding against themselves, the sound of metal scraping echoing throughout the hideout.

"AAAAGGH!" Arthur screamed, the pain of his bones reforming themselves worse than that of them breaking.

The pain soon subsided however, and his leg was fully healed.

"Well, now that your officially a member, you'll be needing a codename!"