AUTHOR'S NOTE Nothing really to say to this chapter, except this is where the crossover really begins. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER Don't own them…otherwise I'd be rich.

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Chapter Eleven: In Which Buffy and Max Face Off

Warehouse

"Buffy!" Willow rushed out of the warehouse. "Oh my God. What is that thing?"

Buffy and Angel just silently carried the dead creature between them. They passed Willow and Spike, who looked at the thing curiously. Illyria ignored everyone and continued to wander around the edge of the warehouse, carefully examining every inch of it.

After they set the creature down, Buffy sank against the wall, interrupting Illyria's pacing. She glared at the Slayer, but said nothing. Buffy looked up at Willow with tear-filled eyes. "I killed it. It wasn't a vampire," she muttered.

"What?" Willow looked at the dead thing. "What is it?"

"We don't know," Angel replied. He struggled to keep his vampiric visage submerged, but the smell of the fanged creature's blood was stirring his inner demon.

"It is dead."

"Yeah, thanks Illyria," Buffy snapped. "We realize that."

Willow approached the body. It was upside down on the floor. "Hey, look at this."

"What?"

"It has a tattoo or something on the back of its neck." Willow pointed to what looked like a bar code on the back of the thing's neck. Her eyes widened. "Buffy, this thing was from Manticore!"

"What?"

"How do you know?" Spike asked.

"Travers showed us a whole file of information on Manticore when Buffy and I were first given the mission," Willow explained. "All of their creations were marked with bar codes on the back of their necks. It's like an identification thing."

"Looks like they got their jollies mixing in vampire blood too," Spike commented.

"Do vampires have DNA that can be spliced into other cells like that?" Angel asked.

Willow nodded. "In theory, I suppose so."

Buffy stood up. "Willow, is there anything you can learn about it from studying it?"

Willow glanced at it doubtfully. "I have no research material, no equipment, nothing. It's made from vamp DNA, definitely, but there can't be much. Otherwise they'd have yellow eyes, eyebrow ridges, stuff like normal vampires have when they…" She trailed off and looked over at Spike. His face was shifting in and out of the vampire's face as he looked hungrily at the former Manticore soldier.

Buffy saw it too. "Will, Illyria, let's go." She turned to Angel and Spike. "Go ahead. We won't bother you."

Angel gaped at her. "What?"

"You're hungry and it's already dead. Go on." Willow and Illyria stared at her as she led them out of onto the quiet streets. Behind them, two pairs of feral yellow eyes glinted in the darkness.

Crash

Max stared absently into her mug. Sketchy and Alec were at the bar, while Logan and OC finished their drinks and got up from the table. "Hey Boo, you up for a game of pool?" OC asked. Max shook her head dejectedly. OC looked over her head at Logan. Logan shrugged.

"You sure, Max?"

She looked up from the amber depths of her glass. "Yeah. I'm fine," she said. Logan looked at her skeptically, but nodded. "I'm gonna go," Max said quietly.

Logan looked desperately at OC. She followed Max out of the bar. "Max, wait."

Max turned around. "What?"

"Boo, you can't keep doing this to Logan."

"Doing what?"

OC gave her a look. "Treating him like he don't exist just cuz you can't touch him."

Max opened her mouth, but didn't say anything. She just looked at the ground. When she finally looked back up, she said, "I just don't know what to say. How do we get through this?"

OC took her by the shoulders. "You and Logan will figure it out. I promise. It's just gonna take a little while."

"Yeah," Max replied doubtfully. "I guess. Look, I'm just gonna go home. I'm beat."

With a sympathetic glance, OC just said, "Okay Boo. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later."

Only a few steps away, Max suddenly heard a crash and movement in the alley. "Sorry!" came a whispered voice.

Max crept slowly toward the noise. "Hello?" The movement stopped. "I know someone's there, now get the hell out here!"

Slowly, a blonde girl walked out of the alley. Max's eyes bugged out. "You!"

Buffy tilted her head. "And…you."

"You were on the news!" Max said. "You jumped that roof."

Buffy blinked, surprised. "That was on the news? Wow. I feel like Brad Pitt."

"Who?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Right, 2020. Brad Pitt, one of the hottest men ever."

"Whatever. I've been looking for you."

"You've been looking for me?"

Max nodded. "Since I saw you three jump that roof. You know, you really should try to keep a lower profile. We don't need to draw attention to ourselves."

Buffy looked at Max suspiciously. "Ourselves?" she repeated.

"Yeah." She turned around and flipped up her hair. Buffy's eyes widened when she saw a bar code on the back of her neck. "I'm Max, designation X5-452."

"X5 what?"

"452. You must be X5 too, right?"

Buffy's brain was working overtime. Travers's words echoed in her head. "Together, the two of you are the only thing that can take down this deranged anti-soldier. This X5-452." "You're her. You're the one who let all the Manticore soldiers escape."

Max's face softened. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Yeah, you should be!" Buffy snapped. "You're the reason I got pulled out of my happy life and got dragged here."

"Excuse me? Manticore life happy?"

"You're the reason those Watcher morons made me their time bitch!"

Max's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

Buffy crossed her arms and glared. "I'm not much for small talk. Why don't we just fight and get it over with?" She pulled a stake from her jacket sleeve. "I'll take care of you like I did the other thing with the bar code and then I can go back home."

Max's blood boiled. "What do you mean, 'the other thing with the bar code'?'

Buffy shrugged. "I'm done with this."

She threw a punch, but Max dodged it and retaliated with speed that matched any Slayer's. They traded blow after blow, Max's speed matched with Buffy's supernaturally enhanced fighting skills. She managed to aim a few well-timed blows at Max's chest, knocking the X5 to the ground, struggling for breath. Buffy started with a glib victory remark, but was cut off sharply by Max's sweep. She landed hard on her back and lay there for a moment in pain.

"Not much behind that big fight talk, is there?" Max asked.

Buffy replied by swiftly leaping to her feet and punching Max in the nose. "There are things about me you don't get."

Max glared. "We'll see."

But before either girl could throw another strike, Max's eyes widened. Buffy heard low growling behind her and turned to see the yellow eyes of Angel and Spike, as well as Willow and Illyria. "You've got friends," Max said. She noticed Spike and smirked. "Oh look, it's Rat Boy!"

Spike was extremely glad that, having no moving blood in his body, he was unable to blush. Buffy looked confused, but then noticed a group forming around Max as well. "She's not the only one with friends," Logan replied, as he, Alec, and Original Cindy glared at the Slayer.

"Buffy," Angel said warningly.

Buffy nodded. "We'll see you again soon," she said before the vampires led the girls in melting into the night.

"Count on it," Max muttered. She started after them, but Alec's gentle but firm grasp on her arm stopped her.

"Later Max," Alec said. "Come on."

She reluctantly let Alec lead her off, every once and a while stealing a glance back into the darkness.

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No Trivia Question Last Chapter to Answer and No Trivia Question Today

Next chapter will have one, I promise!

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Review Responses

Anna I guess Buffy's just been cooped up too long. The transhumans that I'm talking about were shown in Freak Nation, I think. They look just like Buffy vampires, except they have no brow ridges and normal eyes. And yes, it is part vampire, as shown in this chapter, so Buffy's slayer sense would have kicked in.

Samantha Oh, she feels guilty, but knowing that it is part demon rationalizes it for her.

LittleDrusilla Oh they do their fair amount of teasing. Unfortunately, neither of them come into play too much until Buffy and Company arrive at Terminal City.

Mari I'm a huge Buffy/Angel shipper. And the Council sends Buffy to prevent all the transgenics from escaping, as they've been breeding them for their own personal use.

General Mac Here you go!