The day after Genji and Mercy had arrived back at the Overwatch headquarters in Japan had felt like a year, at least to Angela (Genji had been asleep for essentially the entire time). She hadn't once had a second to breathe, let alone do something as trivial as sleep. Genji had been put under anesthesia as soon as they had gotten back, and his surgery had begun almost instantly. Even with all of the effort she had gone through, he was still only barely clinging onto life. As of right now, Angela had managed to salvage his limbs, though they would never quite be the same if he survived. Both his arms and his legs would have minimal feeling and terrible scarring, and they would only be able to be used for the most menial tasks, if at all. She wasn't sure if he would be able to get around without a wheelchair. Probably not.
While it was relieving that they wouldn't have to resort to amputation, what wasn't great was the fact that it might not matter at all if she didn't come up with a life support system for him. His wounds were stubbornly refusing to heal, no matter how much of her medical knowledge she applied to the situation at hand. It was almost beyond her, and nothing was beyond the capabilities of Angela Ziegler. She refused to believe it so.
But as it was, Genji was strapped up to every machine that could fit around his bed in an effort to keep him alive. A room similar to this was where every extremely critical patient that Overwatch found came in, and Angela was always the one to work on them (assuming she was in the correct country at the time). She had demanded a large space to work wherever she went due to the time she tended to spend with her patients, and Overwatch had more than willingly complied. Back when she first joined the organization they had done anything they could to ensure that she would stay around. Her pacifistic nature worried them in regards to her loyalty, and with good reason. Angela could recall dozens of times off the top of her head that she had almost quit when the only reason she stayed was how willing the organization was to accommodate her.
She had fitted the larger than normal hospital room with a desk and a small sofa so that she could work without losing site of her patient; she never liked to leave a patient in a dire situation alone, even if it put a great strain on her mental well being to stay cooped up in the same room for what could often turn into days. That was why she had been able to be in the room with Genji since he had arrived, studying pages of notes while waiting for the anesthetic to wear off so that she could discuss his situation with him. She felt an obligation to speak to him about his condition in person and to not just have an assistant do it. After all, she was the one who found him and who worked on saving him; it was best if she talked to him as well. Not only that, but she was the only familiar face that he had at the moment. There was always some comfort in familiarity, no matter how small that comfort might be.
Her state of pouring over her notes was interrupted by a low groan from the middle of the room. Angela's head snapped up, eyes quickly focusing on the bed behind her. The pages on the desk were quickly forgotten as she stood up and walked towards Genji's bed, peering at the patient. His amber eyes were hazy and had yet to focus, but they were definitely awake. Angela sat next to his bed and waited for him to notice her before she began speaking. She needed his full attention for what she wanted to say.
Eventually, Genji fully woke up. His first conscious thought was of how much pain he was in. Every inch of his body felt sore, even though it wasn't as bad as he had expected it to be. He then tried to stretch his fingers and toes. Nothing. No matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to be moving. Okay, so that wasn't very good, but things could still be worse. It was after that he noticed the presence at his side. Looking over, he spotted Angela's quiet figure. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, clearly the same one that it had been in when she found him, considering over half of it had fallen and was now framing her face. Her eyes were tired and restless, dark circles clearly showing below them, a sign of the entire day she spent without sleeping. But even though it was clear that she had experienced no rest in a while and that she was troubled, the dutiful smile on her face still comforted Genji, perhaps more than it should have.
"Welcome back, Genji," she said sweetly, still being careful to talk in Japanese. He appreciated the effort; he could understand English, which he knew she was aware of, but it wasn't his strong suit. This was much easier for him, even if she pronounced almost every word incorrectly. "I'm sure you've probably noticed the, ah, lack of feeling in your limbs," she added quietly, a resigned sigh escaping from her lips. "I suppose there is no point in avoiding the subject. I've saved all that I think I can, and even with that you're still in an extremely unstable condition. I'm sure you won't want to live in a wheelchair your entire life, and that's certainly not what I want for you either, Mr. Shimada. But it would take extremely drastic action to get you moving again, and I'm not sure that you'd want to go through with that option, even if I was fully confident in my abilities to perform it."
He thought for a moment on this. A wheelchair for the rest of his life? She was right, it certainly wasn't what he wanted. He couldn't imagine never being able to stand up again. And she hadn't even mentioned his arms, so what about those? They seemed just as immobile as his legs. "What's the other solution?" He finally asked. Even if she wasn't confident in it, was it not his right to know what his options were?
"Ah, yes. That," Angela glanced back at the desk she had so recently been pouring herself over, notes and diagrams a blur of white and black at this distance. Or perhaps that blur was just her eyes begging her to get some rest. Probably best not to think about that. She began pacing up and down beside Genji's bed, talking animatedly with her hands when they weren't running through her hair, creating more of a mess of it than it already was. It became immediately clear to Genji that she was less talking with him than talking at him. 'As long as it relieves her from a little bit of stress and helps her think,' he thought quietly, noticing the anxiety seemingly pouring out of the doctor.
"I believe I might have told you this, though I wouldn't blame you if you've forgotten, especially considering the trauma you were going through at the time, but I'm the head of the medical department here at Overwatch. I made a massive breakthrough in the study of nanobiology and cell repair that gained me notoriety a few years ago, which is the technology that I used to save you. Unfortunately, the type of medicine that I've been working with is extremely complex and intricate, and machinery is so integral to the entire process that most doctors have no idea where to even begin when trying to learn it or use it, and it is even more difficult to get research done when you consider how new the entire field is. So not a lot of progress is made aside from my own personal work. The good news is, I've been working on projects in my free time here that consolidate biological medicine to technology, with the end goal of repairing augmented humans more easily by being able to meld their mechanical body parts with their human ones. This has had a recent breakthrough, and I've made significant process on consolidating those two very things, humanity and machine. I think, with just a little bit more time and some better plans, some help from Winston and a potential miracle, I could create a way to sustain human life solely through a mechanical body." She paused, tapping her finger with her lip as she stared thoughtfully at Genji. "It may not be ideal, but I could use mechanical augments to support you. It isn't going to be easy, honestly I'm not even sure it would work - it might be more harm than help in the end - and heaven only knows how I'll scrounge up the funds for it, but the mechanical augments would let you walk and use your arms and legs."
"How augmented would I be?" He asked hesitantly. It was an offer that sounded almost too good to be true, even with all the risks attached.
"In your state, entirely. I think you would need a full bodysuit to keep you stable at all times." She shook her head, sighing. "I just wish that I had more advanced tech to work with. Nanobiology is so new, and I know if it was just a little older and more established I might have a solution that would recreate your body and make you look as good as new." She thought back to the picture she had found of him in the file that he had at the base. She had read the whole thing through, and she could tell from the information there that he had likely been a vain person, proud of his physical fitness and features. His looks probably had a lot to do with the playboy lifestyle the file mentioned had put him out of good graces with his clan. His bright green hair had complimented his eyes quite well, and his face had an air of pride to it, full of haughty arrogance. Now he was sitting in front of her, green hair black at the roots and his once attractive face scarred and burned beyond recognition. She knew that he'd probably have a heart attack the first time he saw what was left of his face, which was why she had yet to mention it. Another sigh escaped her lips; this was turning into one sad, unending nightmare for her. It was one of the first times she had felt so useless. "But I can't recreate your body; I'm practically the only one on earth capable enough to research the subject, and with my necessity on Overwatch field missions my time for that has been dwindling day by day. The most I can promise is an attempt at making your life somewhat normal, and even then it's just an attempt. I'm sorry."
A long moment of silence passed between the two. Angela spent her time studying his face, or rather what had become of it, and Genji spent his time lost in thought. He wasn't sure what exactly it would mean for him to have his body altered so drastically. He couldn't imagine it being worse than the situation he was currently in, but even so, his entire body? It was too much for him to grasp at the moment. "Could I have some time to think about it?" He finally asked, deciding he at least needed to sleep on a decision this important.
"Of course!" Angela exclaimed, seeming almost relieved at his lack of decision. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Please, make sure you've thought about whatever you choose long and hard. I'll be willing to do whatever you decide." With that, she turned around and made her way back to her desk, immediately picking up her pencil and beginning work on another diagram. Genji eyed her curiously; had she been here this entire time?
"Miss Ziegler, have you slept?" He asked, slightly amused.
"Oh, I probably couldn't sleep right now even if I wanted to." She said with a kind smile, as genuine as could be. "Too much on my mind, you know? I live and breathe this kind of thing, so as much as every case worries me, I get a sort of rush whenever I get close to a breakthrough. Just don't mind me. Also, call me Angela or Mercy. Miss Ziegler makes me sound much too old for my liking."
He chuckled at this. "Alright Angela, but I still think you should sleep, at least a little."
Her scoff was poorly concealed, which caused Genji to genuinely laugh for the first time in a while. She was easy to mess with, similar to his older brother in that regard. That was one of the only things good about his older brother, really. His laugh was short lived, turning quickly into a fit of painful coughing, but it pulled a genuine smile out of the two of them all the same. Angela began humming absentmindedly as she worked while Genji considered his options. He was far from understanding what exactly he wanted, and even further from knowing what the implications of his choice could be. However, he did know that he could get used to spending time with someone as pleasant as this Mercy was.