Author's Notes: Welcome to my brand new story idea. I've been thinking about this one for a couple of weeks, running away with the idea and adding things in here and there. A few extra ideas merged with the original one, and I'll admit getting inspiration from some other stories I've read recently. Unfortunately, these same stories that I got my inspiration from appear to have been abandoned for many years, now. Some of my latest added favorite stories for that matter being the case. They are excellent story ideas that just never seemed to go anywhere. So I wrote up the seventh chapter of The Summer After and was still in the mood to write a little more, so I banged out this chapter. As always, comments and concerns are welcome, as well as speculation into some of the more mysterious things I've alluded to. This piece is one hundred per cent AU as far as the Dino Thunder series is concerned, and the only the barest of facts from the show are transcribed here. I hope you all enjoy my latest creation. I think it's slightly more inspired than my previous story. Oh, and don't worry about the fact that I have seemingly started a new story already, I have no intention of abandoning The Summer After any time soon. I have too many other ideas to go with it for me to give up on it so easily.
Disclaimer: Power Rangers is currently owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the story and words.
For all his life, there was a hole in his soul. There was something that he knew he was destined to do, but years of searching yielded nothing. Conner McKnight walked into his first class of his Senior year of high school early. It was uncharacteristic, but for the last month, that feeling of there being something greater for him to do was building. He couldn't shake it for anything, and decided that maybe he might find it that morning.
He found a seat at the table closest to both the front of the class and the door. A few minutes after he arrived, an African American student walked in, taking the seat across from him. He regarded Conner for a minute before speaking up, "You're Conner McKnight. What are you doing here so early?"
Conner gave the other student a funny look before replying. "Just felt like it today. Your name's Ethan, isn't it?"
"Color me surprised. You actually know my name." Conner frowned at this, then shook his head and held out his hand. Ethan looked at this hand for a moment before taking it and shaking it. In that moment, something intangible passed between them. They sensed each others' destinies for a moment, and the weight of them felt crushing.
They released their hands and stared for a moment before dismissing the feeling and turning away from each other. Several more students filed into the room, taking random spaces around the room. Soon a girl clad in black and yellow and wearing heavy makeup walked in and stopped moving. She scanned the room for a moment. Normally she would have tried to sit closer to people she actually knew, but something was pulling her. She chose the seat next to Conner, but couldn't fathom why.
The minutes ticked by, and their teacher was nowhere in sight. Finally, just before the late bell would have rung, Doctor Thomas Oliver made it through the door. He scanned his students and found three in particular that felt… emptier. One of them he recognized through the visions he's been having ever since he dared to touch the Red Gem. He took attendance and answered Cassidy Cornell's ridiculous questions as they popped up. As it was the first class, he questioned them on what all they've learned and gave them a basic idea of what they would cover over the course of the year.
Once class was over, he called Conner over to him. "Could you please come to my classroom after school is over. I'd like to discuss an after-school opportunity with you…"
Conner appeared to give this idea some thought before nodding to him. Acknowledging this, Dr. Oliver gestured for Conner to go to his next class and prepared for the rest of his day.
The day went by quickly and once the final bell had rung, Conner made his way back to Dr. Oliver's classroom. Dr. Oliver had been waiting, sitting at his desk patiently. Principal Randall had assigned him to detention duty that morning, but fortunately no one had been assigned detention that day. Conner took his seat and waited for his instructor to address him.
"Conner, I've got an offer for you. You don't have to do it, but I would appreciate it if you hear me out."
"Doctor Oliver… I only have one question…" Conner started. He looked to be concentrating hard for a moment before continuing. "Can you help me achieve my destiny?"
The professor smiled and nodded. He said, "Before we continue, I need you to promise me that everything you see and hear from this point forward is going to be kept in strict confidence. No one can know what we are about to do. Can you do that for me please?"
Another pause, before Conner made his decision. "You have my word. Whatever this is, I need to be a part of it."
"Good. Please get in your car and follow my jeep. I'll take you to your destiny."
Conner followed Doctor Oliver in his red Mustang convertible. The journey was not long, but the roads appeared to be all side streets, eventually taking him down a forested road. Their destination was a mid-sized cabin-like home in the woods. When they arrived, Conner approached his teacher and folded his arms, apparently wondering what they are doing here. Dr. Oliver simply gestured to follow him in, and walked him into his home. He silently made his way over to the counter in the kitchen on which rested a miniature T-Rex model and proceeded to pull on the jaw. A panel opened in the floor revealing stairs leading into some kind of secret basement. Conner continued to follow, wondering what he's got himself into.
Dr. Oliver stepped behind a pedestal that had a large black rock sitting on it. A light mist was emanating from the rock, and upon it sat three colorful gemstones. They were glowing softly, one each of Red, Blue, and Yellow. Conner came to a stop in front of the pedestal and looked upon his teacher expectantly.
"First, I'd like to welcome you to the Command Center. This will be our base of operations for the entire time that you will be working with me. Before you do anything, let me explain what I brought you here to do." He gestured to the gems that were sitting between them. "These three stones you see before you are called Dino Gems. They are highly powerful, containing the ancient power of the dinosaurs. The Red Gem bonded to the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Blue Gem bonded to the Triceratops, and the Yellow Gem bonded to the Pterodactyl. I have them for one purpose only: to make Power Rangers out of three chosen individuals. I tried bonding with the Red Gem about a month ago, but was not chosen by it. It's been plaguing me with visions of who would be able to bond with it. It was you Conner."
Conner did not flinch throughout the entire explanation. He somewhat expected something like this. It made sense to him. Still, there were circumstances. This might have been what he was waiting for all his life, but now he had other responsibilities. He had to explain this to him before accepting anything.
"I understand this is a great responsibility, Dr. Oliver, and I just know that this is what I'm destined to do, but there's something you need to understand…"
Conner finished his story and Doctor Oliver simply nodded. He was slightly disappointed in Conner's lack of foresight in his youth, but wasn't going to fault him for past mistakes. He said, "I understand your trepidation in undertaking this new responsibility, and will not look down on you if you pass it up. The Gem may not take to anyone else, but you need to know that this is still a choice for you. You don't have to take it up if you don't want to."
Once again, Conner thought long and hard about his fate, weighing the pros and cons of his impending choice. Finally, he came to a decision, and reached his hand out. He grasped the Red Gem, and felt a rush of energy, seeming to fill that hole that he's felt for so long in his life. Suddenly he was hit with a sense of purpose. Dr. Oliver smiled and sighed in relief, finally feeling the absence of the near constant visions of who the Gem belonged to.
Conner's eyes were closed and he seemed to be absorbing the feeling that the gem was providing him. Dr. Oliver walked over to a table lining the wall off to the side and retrieved a small metal case. He walked back over to Conner and opened it, displaying three wristbands with varying figures on them, appearing to be color-coded dinosaur heads. Conner opened his eyes and noticed the new objects in front of him. He reached once again and picked up the red bracelet with the Tyranno head, strapping it to his left wrist. He jammed the Red Dino Gem into the bracelet and looked up at his science teacher expectantly.
He closed the case back up and replaced it on the table. He addressed his new Red Ranger, saying, "On your wrist right now is what we call a Dino Morpher. To use it, you say 'Dino Thunder, Power Up,' and press the button. Go ahead and give it a try."
Conner nodded and took a step back. He held his left wrist right in front of him and opened the mouth of the Tyranno head with his right hand. He raised his left wrist up by the right side of his head, crossing it in front of this right wrist; his right hand making a claw formation. He cried out, "Dino Thunder!" Next he whipped his left wrist back over to his left side, his wrist turned inward with the Dino Morpher facing his torso; his right arm thrust outward. He shouted, "Power Up!" Finally, he brought his right hand back and pressed the button on the morpher, shouting, "Hah!" The eye glowed and the mouth closed on the Tyranno head. Conner was surrounded by an intense bright light, and a moment later was clad in the costume of the Red Dino Thunder Ranger.
Doctor Oliver nodded in approval, reminiscing on his past as he remembered the feeling of transforming into his previous Ranger uniforms. Conner reached up and popped the latches on either side of his helmet, taking it off and holding it to the side. He said, "Now that I've grasped it, what do I do now?"
"Now, we wait. You can go about your life like normal. You were chosen for this power because there is something on the horizon. An evil being known as Mesogog is after the Gems for some reason. I don't know where he came from or how he found out about the Gems, but he suddenly appeared on the private island I was working on three years ago and attacked. The island was destroyed and I barely escaped with my life… and the Gems. As all Power Rangers do, you wait for the villain to make the first move and counter them."
Conner nodded, understanding that superheroes rarely went on the attack. He gazed upon the other two, unclaimed Gems. He suddenly came to an understanding. His musings were interrupted by the suddenly blaring alarm. He looked about in confusion, but Dr. Oliver appeared to know exactly what was going on. He rushed over to his computer in the back and pinpointed the location of the disturbance. An image popped up on the screen, showing some strange looking robotic dinosaurs that were attacking two civilians; teenagers by the looks of it. Conner recognized them as the girl that sat next to him in science that morning and that Ethan kid. Dr. Oliver turned back to him and said, "Put your helmet back on and prepare to be teleported."
Conner did as he was ordered and felt a disorienting sensation. In the next moment he was on the location of the attack. He rushed to the aid of his fellow students and started beating back the strange soldiers using a combination of martial arts knowledge that he learned from an early age and some new, intuitive knowledge that apparently comes with the Ranger powers. After a few minutes of fighting, the opposition retreated, leaving Conner alone with the two. He turned to them and regarded them. They, too, gazed upon him, and the girl spoke after a moment. "Conner McKnight?"
Conner looked taken aback at the sudden declaration, wondering how it is that she knew who he was through the helmet. Ethan squinted at him, seeming to concentrate for a moment before his eyes got wide, and he exclaimed, "It is! You are Conner!"
The confirmation was too much for Conner, and while he knew it shouldn't bother him that they knew, it still did. He lifted his morpher to the front of his helmet and said, "I think you should teleport the three of us in, Doc."
"Are you sure about that, Conner?"
"Yes I am. They are the ones. It's probably why they were attacked."
"Whatever you say. Prepare for teleportation."
The other two looked at each other in confusion before they felt a slightly nauseating feeling. Their surroundings suddenly changed and they were in some kind of cave-like structure. The Red Ranger before them shouted, "Power Down" and was suddenly Conner McKnight. Conner approached them and said, "Don't freak out. You've been brought here for a reason. Have you ever felt it? That feeling of emptiness like there's something more out there that you're meant to do? I've felt that for my entire life, and haven't been able to fill that void until about twenty minutes ago. I've felt the weight of both of your destinies, and have seen them fulfilled."
They both looked at him like he'd grown two additional heads. Seeing this unblinking confusion, Conner gestured to the black rock on the pedestal, saying, "These two Gems here are the key. I've seen that you two are the ones they belong to; or more like, you are the ones who belong to them. Will you help me and stand by my side as fellow Rangers?"
They appeared to think on it for a few minutes, Conner fidgeting anxiously while he waited, and finally they both seemed to come to a decision. In the next moment, they reached their hands out to grab their Gems, and the Gems flew off of the rock and into their hands; the blue one into the hand of the boy and the yellow one into the hand of the girl. Conner let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and strode over to the table containing the metal case with the other two morphers. He opened the case and presented them with the bracelets, explaining, "These are your Dino Morphers. We use these to become Power Rangers. They need the Dino Gem to power them. In order to morph, you just need to say 'Dino Thunder, Power Up.' You'll know what to do when it comes time."
They reached out and took the correctly colored morpher, attaching it to their left wrists in the same way as Conner did. The dino head on the bracelet disappeared, leaving a hole where their Gem was to be placed. They jammed their Gems into the slot and watched as they glowed faintly for a moment before calming back down. They looked back up at Conner, who had replaced the metal case on the table that he found it on. The girl addressed him, "Where are we? I know you didn't do all this on your own."
Conner chuckled. He motioned to a place in the shadows, as if beckoning for someone to join them. "We're in the Command Center under the house of our mentor. He should be joining us in a moment…"
From the shadows that he gestured towards came a figure. Once the light revealed him, they saw their science teacher, Dr. Thomas Oliver. He smirked at their twin expressions of horror and disbelief. "Yes, I'm the one who prepared this place. Please let me explain what's going on…"
Conner interrupted him before he could launch into his explanation, "I've got to get home, Doc. You know…"
"Go ahead, Conner. I'll catch you up tomorrow after school."
Conner left through the house entrance and climbed into his car, preparing himself an explanation as to why he's getting home late. His two fellow students stayed with Dr. Oliver and got the full explanation of why they need to be Power Rangers and what the responsibility means. After getting their agreement that anything they see and hear is to be kept confidential to themselves, he teleported them back to a secluded location close to where they got attacked. From their they went home with the promise that there will be more explanations would be forthcoming the following day.