THE MOMENT
Ryan woke with a peculiar headache that he recognized. And, his assumption was reaffirmed when he saw the back of the armed guard at the foot of his bed. He'd been shot in the head recently; that wasn't part of the procedure. He had the amazing ability to regenerate anything he needed to, including organs. His regeneration also helped organs acclimatize to their new hosts and were never rejected. He was a literal universal donor, and as a result, a highly valued asset to his employer. But, at least he was still in the hospital. He was in the room he expected to wake up in.
"... and you are....," he asked. The guard jumped almost three feet off the ground and spun in mid-air to stare at Ryan with wide eyes.
"Holy crap you're alive!?"
"Who are you and why are you in my room?" Ryan asked to take charge of the situation.
"For you, though we didn't really believe it. We heard there was someone who could regenerate his organs and even donated them regularly. We could use a guy like you on our team..., whether you want to join or not," he added with a smile.
[Gunmen in the hospital. - Ryan] he sent a Whisper to his own personal helpline. Nanos relayed the message he thought up as text. And, when the reply came, he felt the individual letters on his skin and heard a vocal response in his ears.
[And? - Helios] Ryan could never tell if the A.I. was being difficult intentionally, or simply being A.I. Helios definitely had a unique personality different from other A.I. Ryan interacted with.
"Now that you're awake after our little test..," the gunman playfully put a finger-gun to his head. "I've got backup on the way to carry you out of here."
[They're trying to kidnap me. - Ryan] he replied.
[Fiiiiine, hold on. - Helios] the A.I. replied. Whispers were also able to carry emotional information. Despite his non-human nature, the reply came with palpable annoyance. If Ryan weren't already used to it, it might've dampened his mood. But, somehow he found it comforting at the moment. He wasn't afraid for his life at all, but he didn't want to be held against his will somewhere else and forced into countless operations. They were trying to take him without fully understanding his powers. He needed a special anesthetic mixture to actually knock him out, his regeneration easily fought off the normal stuff. And, he guessed the thugs wouldn't actually care how much pain he was in if he was going to survive.
After a few minutes, four more men arrived and Ryan started to panic. Helios shouldn't have been taking that long.
[Help? - Ryan] he asked in another Whisper to Helios.
[It's New Year's Eve! People are busy! - Helios] he sounded extra frazzled, which Ryan found amusing.
[I'll find someone, just wait. - Helios] it was all Ryan could do really. Helios was playful, but usually true to his word. If he was actually trying to find help it would come eventually. Even if the men got him out of the hospital, Helios could track him anywhere.
"Are you going to join us for a walk, or are we dragging you out of bed?" Ryan's guard asked.
"I can walk," Ryan nodded. If he really and truly wanted to, he probably could have fought them off. They couldn't inflict any permanent damage and he had some basic martial arts training. He wasn't good by any measure but he could certainly win on pure attrition. The problem was, things still hurt and he didn't want to go through that. If it got down to it, and he was about to endure the pains of surgery anyway, he might make an effort then. But, not until he had to. He moved as slow as he could, while still moving, and got off the bed to join his escorts. He walked out into the hallway surrounded by the five men.
[Got help. - Helios] Ryan felt relieved when the Whisper came. He looked around trying to see who might be running to help him, but the hall was empty, and so was the nurse's station.
"Don't worry, no one's going to do anything stupid, like trying to help you," the lead gunman said. "It's not just us, we've got a group guarding the entrance with hostages too. Everyone understands we'll leave in peace once you're out of here." They reached the elevator, and it opened immediately with a button press. They walked in keeping Ryan in the center of all of them, then the doors closed and the gunman hit the '1' button.
"What the hell!?" The door opened to the lobby and the group around Ryan were immediately on alert. Not only were the hostages gone, the rest of the gunmen were sprawled out unconscious, with sirens sounding in the distance. "MOVE!" the lead gunner yelled and the group moved forward out of the elevator. "Stick to the plan," he gave the order. Ryan walked with them knowing he wouldn't even have to step out of the hospital.
They left the elevator behind and made it a few feet before the ruckus of an armed thug collapsing to the ground filled the air. The group stopped and turned around to see one of them unconscious on the floor with a blue-haired teenager standing over him.
"Who the hell are you?" the gunman asked.
"I'm Liberty," she smiled, then vanished right before their eyes. Another thug crumpled to the ground as she appeared behind him.
"Screw this," the gunman opened fire, accompanied by the other two remaining. Liberty vanished again, and another thug fell. Ryan was relieved, though it was difficult to feel relaxed with the sound of gunshots. With only two left, the gunmen put Ryan between them and faced each other. Liberty had already proven she liked to appear behind people so they stared behind each other while trying to walk toward the door at an angle.
"Sorry guys, this gentleman is owned by Sharp Development and you're not allowed to take him anywhere without our permission." She appeared in front of them again. They didn't waste any time and began firing at her. This time, she didn't disappear, but the bullets went through her instead and she giggled. The two men were so intent on firing that the leader didn't realize he was the only one left firing after a moment.
"Obviously, this was just a distraction," she said as the image faded away. The leader turned and realized he was the last one standing.
"What the hell are you?!" he yelled. He'd been on the wrong side of the law most of his life, and it came easy to him. In a panic, he grabbed Ryan and put the gun to his head. "STAY AWAY OR I'LL KILL HIM!" The girl appeared in front of them again and she burst into laughter, accompanied by Ryan.
"Dude, I think you forgot why you were kidnapping me," Ryan chuckled.
"To answer your other question, I'm in a hurry!" she said. She blinked out of existence one final time, and that was the last time the gunman saw her. He would wake up in a jail cell later.
"Thank you, Liberty," Ryan waved at her, and she smiled.
"No problem!" she waved and threw a black card on the floor to open a portal. Then, she jumped into it without hesitation. "Happy new year!"