The man stood before a mirror, examining himself.

His entire body was encased in metal, flesh-colored tendons peeking out here and there. Certain parts of his body glowed a bright acid green, but the particular feature that really took to him was his face. Where his face should be was a plate of steel vertically angled to the center, and a horizontal slit for his eyes which glowed green. He surmised that this was how he could see in the dark.

Wait. Eyes? Did he have them? He turned to the doctor standing to the right of him, watching him through the mirror. Those eyes. Pity? "Am I human, or an omnic?"

Wordlessly, she moved behind him and activated two twin pistons by his spine. There was the sound of gas being released, and the perpetual green tint of his vision blurred into multi-colored facets. He put his hands in front of him. They were blurry and ill-defined, but he could make them out. He looked up…

And immediately looked away. The face of the man that stood in the mirror was grotesque, to say the least. Despite his impaired vision, he could see the angry red gashes upon his face, and the two milky orbs which sat in burnt sockets. "I look to be in great pain. Why am I not in pain?"

"You were," said the doctor solemnly, "and the reason why you are not anymore is more due to the fact that the suit we put you in is systematically pumping painkillers into you. But do you truly have no recollection of what happened? None at all?"

He was deep in thought. "Please, remind me once more. Who am I?"

Winston, to the left, straightened his glasses. "Genji Shimada, of the Shimada clan. An infamous crime syndicate based in Japan. As of recent, reports have informed upon increased aggression, and the death toll alone for—"

"That's enough, Winston," interrupted Angela, noticing Genji's distress.

"Is that who I really am?" muttered the cyborg, still avoiding eye contact with himself, "a killer? A murderer?" He looked imploring to the scientist. "Was I better off dead?"

Genji felt his weight shift ever so slightly. He turned to see Angela embracing his middle-section, her hair obscuring her eyes. "Don't say that," she whispered, "nobody is better off dead. Nobody."

The next few moments were spent in silence. Genji felt an odd loneliness inside his metal body, unable to feel the warmth of the hug, but it warmed him all the same.

Winston coughed. "Uh… I suppose I should have mentioned first that though the Shimada is known for its ferocity, and cruelty—you in particular didn't participate in any of that," he finished quickly, noticing Angela's glare. "That's actually the reason why you're here right now, with the help of Doctor Ziegler." He nodded to her. "You were exiled."

The cyborg relaxed. "So I am not a murderer?"

Winston turned to the command center and pulled up archives of reports. "As far as I know, no. Your green hair would be mentioned somewhere, given how much attention it draws."

"I have green hair?" he asked, surprised.

"Well… used to."

The ape shrinked at the look on the doctor's face.

"Is that…" Genji moved toward the screens. "Is that me?"

"Ah, yes." Winston enlarged the picture to occupy the entire screen. "You were quite the looker."

Genji spent a long while studying the image on the screen, saying nothing. There was an air of confidence the man wore, and his eyes were vibrant and full of life. They were like a child's. He was clad in white robes accented in orange, with strange looking crests and objects which adorned it.

He turned to the doctor. "How much of me is still human?"

He immediately regretted his question when he saw how much pain and guilt became painted on her face as a result.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Genji," she sputtered, "the state you arrived in was absolutely terrible. You were barely clinging onto life and I had to… had to… I had to start the operation as soon as I could—your arms, your legs… I'm called the world's best surgeon, called Mercy, but what does it mean if—"

Genji silenced Mercy with a deep bow. "I have caused you pain. I am sorry."

"What are you doing?" asked the doctor in disbelief, completely caught off guard, "don't apologize! You didn't ask for any of this. You didn't ask to be brought to the door of death to wake up to a body you didn't know, to be mutilated by the hands of your family! You didn't ask—"

Genji bowed deeper and harder into the ground. The sound of metal on concrete resonated throughout the room. A stunned silence filled the air, practically daring someone to start laughing.

"Astounding," commended an impressed Winston, "his knees aren't even bent!"

"And you, doctor, did you ask for this?" He pulled his face from the floor and looked her in the eye. "You are not to blame. And even if you were, I would have forgiven you. For you have saved me."

Angela scrunched her face in defiance. "I—"

Impatient, the cyborg planted a finger on her lips, effectively quieting her. "Thank you, Doctor Ziegler."

Angela pushed his hand away, a faint blush on her cheeks. Her shoulders slumped, becoming visibly relaxed. "To think it would come down to you reassuring me," she commented, watching him carefully, "you're an interesting man, Genji. I would liked to have known you."

"Me too," agreed Genji, "I would like to know me too."

Mercy stared blankly at the cyborg for a second, then started laughing. It was a soft, quiet laughter. Genji thought of wind chimes.

"Oh, would you look at that," said Winston, looking out the window, "the crack of dawn."

"Already?" asked a surprised Angela, "I have yet to run system checks on you, Genji. Quickly, follow me…"

He grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. "Doctor, you must rest. You are dead on your feet." Genji looked behind him. "It can wait, or the monkey can do it."

"Scientist," the ape shot back, as fast as he could.

"Nonsense! I've been waiting for you to wake up to do it, have to make sure everything is running as it should…"

"Doctor Ziegler?" Genji said, alarmed by how much Angela was swaying.

"Have to replenish… replenish painkiller supply… reaffirm cognitive compatibility with artificial limbs and…" The world was spinning. "And…"

"Doctor Ziegler!" He caught the doctor before her body found the ground. She was breathing deeply, asleep. Her face finally showed some semblance of peace, after contorting itself between sympathy, confusion, frustration and laughter, all in the last few hours.

"Ah…" said Winston, "I was wondering when that would happen."

"We must get a doctor!"

"She is the doctor. I could call paramedics up here, but really, there's no need." Winston pulled out a piece of cloth from a drawer and began to clean his glasses with it methodically. "Don't worry, this happens on occasion enough for one to start expecting it. Simple exhaustion."

"Then why didn't you insist that she went to bed?" responded Genji, incredulous.

A haunted look came over his eyes. "I've learnt that it's better for everyone if I don't."

Genji adjusted himself and carried Mercy with both arms. "Then I will bring her to her room. It is the least I can do." She weighed almost nothing. "Doing this is so easy. I wonder just how much I can manage…" He glanced up to Winston.

Winston returned his look blankly at first, before understanding his implication. "No," he said flatly, "a scientist has his pride."

The cyborg continued making eye contact with the ape, the latter refusing to break it first. After a few moments, Genji picked up his visor from the desk, reattached it to his face, and walked out of the room with Mercy in tow.

Winston waited patiently. He listened to the sound of the cyborg's footsteps getting softer and softer. A brief moment of silence. The footsteps returned, getting louder this time. The cyborg returned to the door. The two watched each other.

"Doctor Ziegler has passed out."

"Yes," said Winston.

"She must be brought to her room."

"Yes," said Winston.

"To rest."

The two watched each other.

The ape sighed. "Follow me."