GUNSLINGER GIRL: Skin and Chrome

Transformers and all related characters and IPs are property of Hasbro. Gunslinger Girl and all related characters are property of Yu Aida.

Chapter 1: Jonathan Darby

Iraq– several years ago

"Here's to us, who's like us?" a man in a US Army uniform with a head of brick-red hair said, shamelessly holding a glass full of a turquoise liquid garnished with a paper umbrella.

"Damn few, and they're all dead!" came the mass reply.

Nestled in a distant corner of the battered bar was a man with steel-blue eyes, a can of cheap beer he had no intention of drinking, and a photo of him alongside a woman and a young boy.

"Hey, John? You okay?"

The man looked up to see another soldier, this one bearing a close resemblance to him (albeit with brown eyes).

"I'm fine, Kev," the former said. "Just…thinking is all."

"Family?"

"Yes."

Kevin sat down next to his cohort. "Listen, bro," he said, "it's just a few more days. June and Zoe'll be there at McCarran with their little whiteboards, we'll spend a couple days on the Strip, and then it's back to Jasper."

John rolled his eyes and gave a slight chuckle. "Still got Mom's optimism after all this time in the sandbox," he said.

Just then, an Asian-looking man approached the two. "Darby," he said, a distinct Missouri drawl to his voice.

"How's the lip, Tommy?" Kevin replied.

"Fine," the other man said. "Listen, about that job offer…"

"Still not interested," John replied.

"Look, I'm not saying you have to move to Tokyo! We're opening an office in Vegas next y–"

"Still too far for my liking."

The other man pondered. "Weekend flights back to Jasper on the company account?"

"Tommy, quit pestering the man!" another voice proclaimed.

He huffed. "Offer still stands," he flatly said before walking off. No sooner had he left than another man– this one black– approached the twins.

"Lonzo Wilkinson, I presume?" John asked, a twinge of good-natured sarcasm in his voice.

"You were expecting Jacqui Benton?" the man replied. "Seriously though, turning away a sweet gig like that?"

"What can I say? I'm a family man, no ifs, ands, or buts."

Wilkinson frowned. "Well then," he said, "when was the last time you talked to them?"

"Wrote to 'em a couple weeks ago. Why?"

"That internet café a few blocks down? A little birdie told me they just got some fancy new webcams."

Approximately one hour later

"Hey there, Junebug," John said as his wife materialized on one of the computer monitors. "How's everything going?"

"Fine," June said over the video link. "Except for the part where they're running us ragged over at the hospital…I swear, I've been running on nothing but coffee and caffeine pills for three days."

John flashed a smile. "Prescription from Doctor Feelgood?"

"Hardy har har," came the retort. "Anything else?"

"Considering there's probably going to be a line forming behind me, I've gotta ask– where's my boy?"

Right on cue, a pre-teen boy walked up to the webcam at the Nevada end of the call. "Hey, Dad. Where's Uncle Kevin?"

"Waiting right outside the building– promised him a turn after I wrapped up. So, how was school today?"

"Same as ever."

"Vince still a problem?"

Jack sighed. "Yeah, he is. Told me that you're never coming back because you're in a war you can't win."

John sharply inhaled. "Don't you worry about that punk, son. As soon as I get back, I'm gonna teach him a lesson he'll never forget."

"I'm sure you will."

"Anyways," June said as she slid up to the camera, "when are you coming home?"

"Probably in a few days. General wants us to do some sweeps before the IGs come in, make sure there aren't any nasty surprises waiting for them." He clucked his tongue. "Because God forbid they get their hands dirty."

"Just be careful, okay? After what I've seen on the news…"

"You worry too much," he said, trying to hold back laughter. "I managed to make it this far, didn't I?"

As if on cue, the familiar sound of a nearby IED detonation hit his ears, followed a few moments afterwards by the shockwave wrecking the café and knocking him to the ground. Dazed, he tried to get back on his feet…only to fall back down as a burst of agony rose up from his leg and raced through his system. A quick look down soon revealed the cause– a piece of shrapnel piercing through his knee.

"Kevin?!" he screamed. "You there?!"

Silence.

"Kevin?! Answer me!"

Silence again.

"KEVIN!"

Present day

"KEVIN!" a sweat-covered John screamed, his heart racing as he flung himself upright and jumped out of bed. "Oh God oh God oh God oh God…"

Just then, he heard the phone on the nearby nightstand began to ring.

"What the…" he said to nobody in particular as he closed the distance and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Sir, we've got a train to catch, remember?" a young girl's voice said.

"…what?"

"7:30 to Florence. The rogue PS officers."

"Oh, yeah– that train. What time is it?"

"Six."

"Thanks. You got your weapons prepped?"

"Just finished cleaning them."

"Excellent. Meet you in 30 minutes, Elsa."

And with that, there was a quiet click from the other end, and the sound of a dial tone began to fill the air.

And thus begins another day at the EPBS, he thought as he hung the receiver up before making his way to the shower.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Seeing as how my rewrite of LuisJM's "Rebirth" seems to have been met with overall positive reception, I figured I might as well tackle another one of his fics– namely the Gunslinger Girl crossover known as "John and Elsa". For those not in the know, Gunslinger Girl is an anime and manga focused around the "Social Welfare Agency", an Italian counter-terrorism organization that, under the guise of an institution for rehabilitating the physically injured, maintains a number of child cyborg assassins "recruited" from little girls who've been traumatized or abandoned and subsequently taken into their care.

As for who "Jonathan Darby" is, he's Luis's interpretation of Jack's missing father from Transformers Prime proper– though seeing as how that version didn't even have a name, he might as well be an original character. On that note, a word of warning for any fans of Luis's version: this fic will be heavily diverging from the original "John and Elsa" at multiple points.

Also, for the record, I will be using the Social Welfare Agency's Italian acronym "EPBS" (short for "Ente Pubblico per il Benessere Sociale") in this fic on account of it just having a better ring to it than "SWA". And to round things out, see if you can't spot the references to other Hasbro properties in this chapter.