"How do you figure I'm not a good leader?!" Buffy demanded to know.

"Because you put all your emphasis on thinking only people of power are good enough to be actual contributing members of your group. Humans have ways of making up for lack of power that equalizes and even puts them ahead of powered people. Humans are more dangerous then vampires, Buffy. You just refuse to acknowledge that fact. Halloween, did Ethan Rayne come to town?"

"Yes, he turned us all into our costumes." Alex told him. "Except Cord, who didn't get anything from him."

"What did you go as?" He asked her.

"Zoe, from the tv show Firefly."

"Good choice! Another unapologetic kickass bitch Queen that scares the Hell out of most men. How much of her knowledge did you retain?"

"All the general knowledge, nothing personal."

"Did Spike and Drusilla put the Judge back together?" He continued questioning.

"Yes and yes, to anticipate your next question, I came up with the plan we used to stop it."

"And what did you come up with?"

"Cord and I stole a Ma Deuce from the National Guard Base. It worked too."

"A Ma Deuce! Holy gods, that might just beat the idea I came up with, a rocket launcher."

"Nice, rocket launchers are cool too."

"My point, Buffy, is that humans are smart, adaptable and have invented ways of killing that could do considerable damage to vampires and demons. The very first reality we ended up in, Cordy called it an example of a good reality with no Buffy in it. A group called the Protectors, augmented humans, of which Cordy and I were part of, along with Jesse, who did Magic and Willow who never did Magic and was a researcher, kept Sunnydale safe. But only because the military can't operate on civilian territory. The military had a branch known as Demon Command. Humans, who since the Civil War, had done considerable damage to vampires and demon populations worldwide, even inspiring other governments to have similar programs. Usually using conventional, not Magical weapons. You severely underestimate what humans are capable of because you use power as your measuring stick. Sooner or later, humans are going to cause you a problem and you won't know how to handle it, because you'll simply assume, it's not a big deal, they don't have power. And you'll be wrong and people will be hurt because of it. You're very narrow minded, Buffy. But part of it can be laid on the Watchers Council for their attitudes. They feed your superiority complex after all. Telling you, you're Chosen and that's it's a 'sacred duty'. Whether they like it or not, it's not a sacred duty. Ask the Oracles."

"And Willow uses IQ as her measuring stick." Alex said thoughtfully. "Which is why she thinks she has more right to run my life then I do, because her IQ is higher then mine. Every class she takes is an AP class but because I need help with math, she ignores the fact that I take AP literature and history, right along side her."

"She did in my reality too." Xander told her. "And she got offers to colleges like Harvard and Oxford and turned them all down to stay in Sunnydale and study Magic, which might have been her own fears manifesting or might have been that thing influencing her so it could feed on the Magic she pulled. We may never know. But Buffy was happy she stayed and learned Magic, while she was pissed that I learned how to protect myself without her permission after Willow convinced her to kick me out of the group because some how she thought I would be safer away from the safety of a group all by myself in Sunnydale. Makes you wonder what Willow uses for logic."

"Without your Magic you wouldn't stand a chance against me, Xander." Buffy informed him. "Because I'm stronger then you are."

Remembering how fast and hard Duncan had put her down, Xander wondered if he had enough knowledge and training to do the same. Or would he need to hyena out to compensate. In terms of physical strength, no, he couldn't match her. But as he had pointed out, humans have ways of compensating. Buffy had no idea what he was capable of. But he'd been Buffy's training dummy plenty of times back home and he'd watched her and Giles train. Her ignorance and his knowledge might just be enough for him to take her in a straight fight.

"I can at least give you a run for your money, Buffy. Are you challenging me?" He asked.

"Yes." And she didn't hesitate, hoping to overwhelm him, she attacked. Like with his fight against the souped up preacher, Xander dodged the blows and moved fast. He hit her throat with the inside part of the side of his hand, stunning her, which had her reached for her throat. He hadn't hit her hard enough to cause damage, just stun her. He snapped kicked her knee, while she was touching her throat. She didn't expect it and stumbled trying to keep her balance and Xander followed up with a closed fist to the side of her head, avoiding her temple, even a Slayer could get brain damage after all.

As Buffy lay on the ground seeing little birdies flying around her head, Xander crouched down nearby and said. "You underestimated me, just like you always do. You really need to learn not to do that. Underestimating any opponent is a bad idea. And relying just on your strength, well I would have thought your Cruciamentum proved to you, knowledge can cause a whole lot of damage to a supposedly stronger opponent. Game, set, match."

Unfortunately Xander had been focused on the fight and not on his environment. Everyone else had also been focused on the fight. Consequently, no one saw Darla arrive just in time to see Xander put Buffy down. Not until she attacked Xander, going right for his own throat.

A/N A Ma Deuce or M2 Browning is the largest machine gun used by the military. Invented in WWI. It's usually mounted on a vehicle or aircraft.