The next couple of days were surprisingly quiet around Grid Battleforce. It was a welcome change. The team weren't optimistic enough to believe that Evox didn't have the means to launch any more attacks. In fact, in the short time since Blaze and Roxy's avatars had been created and they had allied themselves with Scrozzle, they'd managed already to steal over a dozen barrels of Morph-X, which meant they had enough to last them quite a while. The more likely explanation was that they were taking time to consider their next move and their next target carefully.

Devon was well aware of the fact that they likely weren't wasting their time. He'd played enough real-time strategy games in his time to know that the biggest mistake a lot of players made was to spend far too much time just concentrating on their own small areas of the map. The games were called "real-time" for a reason. The computer AI had just exactly the same time to plan and build as the player. They didn't stand still in select areas waiting to be "aggro'd" when the player walked into the zone that triggered their attack patterns. They were building, they were making moves, and it wasn't the first time a player was so busy focusing on their own area they had no idea the enemy had built up their own forces and defences to the point that an unstoppable army suddenly turned up on their doorstep.

He was lying on his bed, waiting for some inspiration. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about Blaze and Roxy he was missing. He had his suspicions about some of the things they were doing. Still, he wasn't entirely sure what it meant. It was easy to think that Evox had just created copies of Blaze and Roxy because of their skills, because they were powerful Ranger candidates, but he also knew when there was something more to a situation that could be used.

When he had first played Final Fantasy VII, he'd had a little trouble with the character Rude, a strong enemy that would act as an obstacle at certain times of the game. However, he had found out through a conversation that was overheard in the game that he had a crush on one of the main protagonists, Tifa. When he and his friends talked about it afterwards, they noticed a strange thing that kept happening, if Tifa was chosen to be in the party, then Rude wouldn't attack her as long as anyone else was still standing!

It was a little-known fact at the time, but it did mean that it was possible to create a whole strategy around building Tifa as a glass cannon for any fights involving him, giving her upgrades that would increase her damage output to the maximum possible and completely ignore her defence, while setting up the other characters to be damage sponges. All they needed to do was not die while Tifa could take him out in only a couple of turns!

He already knew that he couldn't very well rely on that being the case with Blaze and Roxy. Blaze had been more than a little sadistic before he became an avatar, as for Roxy…he winced a little on the bed. It still made him uncomfortable thinking about what Roxy had done to Zoey, who had been one of her best friends. He'd only seen her after she had been brought back to the infirmary and patched up, but from what he had heard from Nate it was more than a little bit of a horror show when she was brought in. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something. There was something weird going on with them, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He heard a knock on the door. He looked across to see the door opening and his dad coming in.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked. He didn't sound like he was using a sarcastic tone, despite finding his son lying fully-clothed on top of his bed at the unforgivably late hour of 10:00AM. It was a little hard not to feel like it was a shot regardless, given the number of times they'd clashed heads over…in all honesty he wasn't sure he could remember when they weren't fighting. It just felt like so long. He just sat up and gestured his dad in. Mayor Daniels came into the room and sat down with his son, looking around. He was fidgeting a little.

"Something I can help you with?" Devon asked him.

"No, no, I was just…wondering if we could catch up a little." He told him. "You know, just…talk."

"Just talk?" Devon asked him. "About what?"

"I don't know, it's just, it's been a while and it feels like some things have changed and I just wanted to see if everything is alright." Mayor Daniels told him. "Like…that bike in the driveway. One day you come home and you're riding a motorcycle? Where did you even get it? When were you into motorcycles?"

"I've always liked them, I just never got round to getting one." Devon told him.

"Where'd you get the money?" He asked. Devon just rolled his eyes.

"You think I ripped it off?" He said in an irritated tone. Mayor Daniels just held up his hands defensively.

"No, no, I didn't…I didn't say that." Mayor Daniels said, realising what it had to sound like. "It's just, it looks like a nice bike and I was wondering how you got it."

"A friend gave it to me." Devon said semi-truthfully. He hadn't been thinking the first time he rode his bike back to the house. After that, when his dad hadn't said anything, he just kind of got into the habit of riding Cruise home. Thinking about it now, it wasn't really the best way to keep a low profile or a secret identity. He didn't have a job, something his dad was annoyingly aware of, so how else would he get it? Nate had given him Cruise, so that part of the story was true but it was definitely stretching it to the point of complete distortion.

"Nice friend." Mayor Daniels commented, but he sucked his teeth as soon as he said it. "I didn't mean that how it sounded. I meant, if someone gave you such a nice gift, they must be a good friend. Was it one of those people I met you with in the woods?"

"It was." Devon answered. Again, this was largely true. Nate had been there and had indeed given him Cruise. He just didn't think his dad needed to know that he had given him a transforming robot that was the control system to a highly classified and extremely powerful weapon's system.

"Well, it's nice to see you out there making friends." Mayor Daniels said with a smile. "I met Nate before…Zoey too, she's nice. Very driven. Where'd you meet the rest of them?"

"They all work for Grid Battleforce." Devon told him. Mayor Daniels just looked to him a little curiously, at which Devon realised his mistake. "Um…Ravi was teaching some of the karate classes I was taking at Riptide, he works on the base. I met the others through them."

"Well, that's…that's good." Mayor Daniels told him. "You and Zoey are you…?"

"What? No!" Devon rushed out. "I mean, she's nice and everything but no, we're just friends."

"Sorry, I was just curious." He said as he started to fidget. "So, now you have a vehicle. That's a big responsibility."

"Dad…"

"You need to keep it fuelled up, keep it in parts, pay insurance…" Mayor Daniels told him. "All of that quickly adds up."

"Dad…"

"Just hear me out." Mayor Daniels said to him. "It's a nice bike, and it'd be a good thing to be able to keep it that way. So, maybe having a little extra money wouldn't be a bad thing?"

"Dad, not this again!" Devon groaned, getting up and pacing. Mayor Daniels realised he had let this get away from him. He just got up.

"Look, I have a friend, he was one of my first bosses actually. He owns a car wash." Mayor Daniels told him. "It's called Sudsy's."

"Sudsy?" Devon sniggered. "Is that his real name?"

"What do you think?" Mayor Daniel asked in response. "Look, he's looking for new people. I thought maybe if you helped him out a little, it could put a little extra cash in your pocket and you could get to clean that bike of yours while you're at it. I'm sure Sudsy would be happy to…"

Devon didn't want to wash cars. He'd never had any desire to do so. However, he did also appreciate that his dad was trying to reach out to him, and he had also been acting pretty strangely lately. Coming home at odd times, disappearing for the whole day at a time, turning up with a brand-new racing bike and no apparent way of having paid for it…he saw the hopeful look on his dad's face and breathed a sigh.

"Fine, I'll swing by and talk to him." Devon responded. Mayor Daniels smiled brightly.

"You won't regret this son; I promise you won't." Mayor Daniels told him. "I'll call Sudsy, tell him you'll be around tomorrow."

"Never mind that, I don't have anything better to do today." Devon said, gathering up his jacket. "I'll swing by now, check it out. Introduce myself."

"Thank you, son." Mayor Daniels said. Devon just smiled, before heading out. He had hoped to spend some time pondering the mystery of Blaze and Roxy, but if he was honest, he was drawing a blank on that right now anyway. He had found himself solving a lot of problems by coming back to them after resting for a little while and coming back at them with fresh eyes. If in the meantime he could earn some Brownie points with his dad, perhaps it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Over at Grid Battleforce headquarters, Zoey and Ravi were in the gym sparring. Zoey was grateful for Nate's technology, and the healing benefits of their Ranger powers. By all rights she should have been facing weeks, perhaps even months of recuperation after the beating she took at Roxy's hands, but here she was only days later, working out again.

Ravi was helping her with her training now. He was officially a physical training officer on the base, he had a vast knowledge of anatomy and exercise that made him ideal for the job. He was able to push Zoey while also being able to understand the limits to prevent her hurting herself further. It was just as well, the enthusiasm with which Zoey was throwing herself into the training was so much if he didn't rein her in, she'd probably put herself in a full body-cast if she was left to her own devices.

"Nice." He complimented her as they parted a little. "Want to take a little break?"

"Actually…"

"Let me rephrase. We're taking a break!" Ravi chuckled. "Remember, in here I outrank you. If I ever go to the laundry, I'll listen to you, but in here you follow my orders."

As they stepped off the mats, Jax and Smash were waiting for them.

"Ravi, you want a drink?" He asked. "I have all sorts of juices and waters and…"

"Smash, it's fine, just water will do." Ravi assured him. Zoey took some juice from her bag as she sat with Jax.

"Nice work Zoey, you were crushing it out there!" Jax complimented her.

"Doesn't feel like it." Zoey answered.

"No, he's right, you've been coming along great." Ravi assured her. "You were pretty much run through only a couple of days ago."

"I just really want to be ready if Roxy comes back." Zoey told him. "So, what are we doing next, sir?"

She saluted him, which made Ravi smile a little. He still felt responsible for Zoey's injuries. She'd only even taken on the fight with Roxy because she knew Ravi would find it almost impossible to fight back against her if things got tough. She'd been trying to spare him and it had almost cost her life. He was grateful to her, and wanted to do whatever he could to pay her back.

"I think we've done enough sparring for the time being." He told her. "I was thinking we could hit the weight room for a bit."

"Oh, because that's fair." She chuckled.

"Hey, it's more frustrating than anything for me." He admitted. "I used to love weight training, now I know I have to limit myself. Do you know what it's like knowing I can bench about 800 pounds but if I do, I might just end up tearing half the base apart?"

"Tell you what, if you want sympathy, come speak to me if you face-plant into the floor because you skipped lunch." She answered as they headed to the weight room. "Then maybe I'll play you the world's smallest violin."

"Oh, it's like that now is it?" He asked as they headed out. "Just for that, now I'm really going to push you!"

Elsewhere in the city, Devon pulled up outside the car wash. It wasn't too hard to find. The owner, "Sudsy", had picked a location pretty central to the business and retail districts, just off one of the freeways. He got a steady trade not only from passing traffic, but also from the numerous businesses that wanted to keep their fleet of working vehicles looking their best. Delivery vans, trucks, even a few bikes were regularly passing through on long-standing contracts. As he parked up Cruise, Devon pulled off his helmet and looked around.

"This looks nice." Cruise said to him. "Oh, is that a wax-machine?"

"Cruise, you know most people's vehicles don't talk to them." Devon said.

"But you promised…"

"I said if we were allowed, I'd get you a good wash." Devon replied. "But I need to find Sudsy first. Shouldn't take me too long."

As he approached, he saw a limousine parked up near the office. There was a man with a beard and blue overalls looking over a stack of papers held by a man in a suit. Devon figured this was Sudsy and started to head over. As he got closer, he could hear the discussion.

"Look, it's a generous offer." The man in the suit said. "This is way over the market value for this site."

"That's as may be, but I'm afraid the answer is the same. It's just not for sale." Sudsy said, turning away from the man. "I'm sorry, but I'm very busy…"

"Please, just consider what we're offering." The man pressed on. "I understand how daunting it can be to start over at this stage in your life…"

"This stage in my…? I'm only fifty-two!" Sudsy yelled at him.

"All I'm saying is perhaps we can work something out." He continued. "Early retirement is a dream for many. Imagine how much more time you could spend with your family."

"It might be a dream to some, but I like my work!" He replied. "You can tell Mr Winchester thank you for his kind offer, but my answer is the same. It's not for sale!"

The two men got into the limo and drove off, narrowly missing Devon on the way. He just smirked.

"You'd think being able to afford a car like that they could afford some manners." Devon joked. Sudsy just smiled.

"You…you must be Adam's boy!" Sudsy announced with a cheerful tone. Devon just nodded. It was a little unusual to hear anyone refer to his dad by his first name. Most people, even those that worked closely with him, generally referred to him as 'Mayor Daniels'. Sudsy reached out, crabbing Devon's face and inspecting it. "You've got more hair, but there's no way anyone could deny that mug!"

"Dad said you might have some work…"

"Oh, I've always got work." Sudsy declared, gesturing to Devon to follow him. "I don't have much in the way of rules here, in fact all I have is two. One, all I ask is a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. You do right by me, I do right by you."

"And the second rule?" Devon asked. Sudsy threw a set of blue overalls at him.

"Everyone wears a uniform." He told him. "Now, I don't want to hear any complaints about how it's not stylish or how it looks stupid or…"

"You want me to dress as Mario?" Devon interrupted him with a shrug. "Cool. I can live with that."

"Good. Then you start now." He replied, patting his shoulder. "Get started, if you have any questions, ask one of the others or I'm just in the office."

As Sudsy walked away, Devon went to get changed. He didn't really want to wash cars for a living. He could think of many things that he'd much rather be doing, but he figured if he worked here for a couple of weeks then perhaps his dad would find something else to concern himself with. There was always something going on in the city that would mean more meetings and press conferences to distract him.

He was just about to grab some cleaning supplies when he heard his communicator going off.

"Great, that's just…" He started to say, before answering it. "Devon here."

"Devon, we need you for an urgent team meeting." Commander Shaw told him. "The General himself is going to be here."

"Look, I understand but I've…"

"Devon, this meeting is mandatory!" She put down flatly. "I'll expect you here right away!"

Devon knew better than to question or mess with the Commander. His position as Red Ranger, and as the mayor's son did afford him a little leeway…at least enough that she hadn't already had him arrested on charges of espionage for breaking into Grid Battleforce, but he did know that he couldn't take it for granted that he couldn't push his luck too far.

"I'll be there." He told her, looking around and hoping that no one saw him, before heading over to Cruise and riding away.

In the Cyber Dimension, Scrozzle came to find Blaze in his workshop, looking through some of his things.

"You know, I think I liked it better when I didn't have a couple of avatars making themselves at home, helping themselves to my equipment." He whined as he saw Blaze carelessly tossing around some tools. "Hey, watch that!"

"Relax Scrozzle, you'll live longer." Blaze replied.

"I don't suffer ill effects of stress like humans." He reminded him. Blaze picked up a circular saw and pressed the button, revving the engine a few times.

"Who said anything about stress?" Blaze asked him.

"Where's Roxy?" Scrozzle asked him. Blaze just shrugged.

"Don't know, don't care." He responded in an off-hand way. "She's still working on whatever nonsense she was talking about after the last attack."

"Master Evox asked to see us!" Scrozzle informed him. Blaze just shrugged again.

"Then I guess we go." He replied, heading for Evox's chamber. "If he's pissed with Roxy, that's no skin off my nose."

"Hey, bring that saw back!" Scrozzle called out as he ran after him. "HEY! Bring that back!"

A/N: Yes, changed the order a little. I fully intend to adapt "Digital Deception", I haven't skipped it, it is one of my favourite episodes! But I felt the order works a little better this way for the story I've got in mind. Hope you enjoy it.