Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Charge. This story is fan-made.
Author's Note: This is an follow up to "A Broken Heart" that seemed to resonate with a lot of people. I love Kendall as a character, so this is my chance to dissect her a little more. Hope you enjoy it!
With a new fossil came a lot more work. Kendall spent a bunch of time working in the museum as part of her cover job. With her lab deep under the museum, Kendall needed a reason for being in this location every single day and having to work for the museum was a great cover. One Kendall, admittedly, loved very much. Her job consisted of examining the mysteries of life, and putting together the giant puzzle that was Earth. She studied everything from the origin of life itself, all the way up until now, when man dominated the planet. She studied how life had affected the Earth, and how the Earth itself affected life. What was the first organism to walk, or float, considering life started in the water, the Earth? How did that organism come to be? And if we all stemmed from that single individual, how were there so many different species walking the world today?
These were all questions people had asked her, and they were questions for which she had some, but not all the answers. Every new fossil discovered was another piece of an ever growing puzzle. She might not ever be able to figure out the meaning of life in her lifetime, but she wanted to contribute as much as she could to the research.
Kendall removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. Her work was fascinating and it was her passion, but there was always a time for rest. Checking her watch, she realized she had stayed way past the museum's closing hours. It was almost midnight and she needed to get home. She put her work in her bag and started to make her way out to the car.
Her mind never really rested. She never liked when it did. She had just finished a full day's work at her cover job, but her real job, the one she still couldn't believe she had landed, needed her even more. Sledge and his army were getting tougher and tougher by the day, and while the Rangers were handling him and his monsters brilliantly, they needed to be a step ahead. That was her job. She was the one who came up with their new weapons, their new modes, and in some cases, their plans of attack. She had a smart team of Rangers under her thumb, but more often than not, she had to be the brain for all five of them.
And they appreciated her work. After all, it was her work that had saved their lives in battles countless times. However, there was not a day off to be had. Evil never rested, so she couldn't either.
With her mind preoccupied with coming up with something new to send Sledge, Fury, and the monsters running, Kendall made it home in what felt like no time at all. She grabbed herself a quick bite to eat and sat down on her couch. She was going to let her mind drift back to working for the Rangers when she saw an unfamiliar sight. Her cell phone, which she had placed on her coffee table, was telling her someone had left her a voicemail.
Surely it had to be a mistake. No one called her. She had no family to speak of, and her coworkers only ever talked to her at work. The Rangers had their Dino Coms, so there was no need for her to have a cell phone. In fact, she didn't know why she still had it around. Perhaps it was so that she didn't feel like even more of an outsider than she already was.
Curiosity got the best of her, as it did for any scientist, and she reached for her phone. She accessed her voicemail, which took her an embarrassingly long time for someone who was supposed to be one of the most brilliant minds of this generation.
Her voicemail indicated the message had been left for her hours before. Obviously whoever called didn't realize she never checked her phone. They were lucky, in fact, that she realized a message was waiting for her within the day. Finally, the message was played for her.
"Hi... um, I hope I've got the right number. I saw you worked at the museum and tracked you down that way. I... well, I guess I should introduce myself seeing as it's been so long. I'm Tom Morgan. Your... uh... well..."
Kendall shut off her phone and threw it across the room once she heard the name. Just from the voice, she knew this was someone she had met once before, but the name was one she could never forget.
She wanted desperately to find out what he wanted. At the same time, she wanted nothing to do with him. He had neglected her for over a two decades now. She wanted nothing to do with him.
But curiosity was a funny thing, especially in the mind of a scientist. Curiosity always pushed her to investigate; to find the answers to the big questions.
Kendall had answered a lot of big questions in her career. But the biggest question of all was something no fossil could answer. It was a question in three parts that she had tried to push from her mind.
What was wrong with her? Why had he left her? Would he ever come back?
The final question seemed answered on the surface. But without knowing the answers to the other two, Kendall was still left in the dark on all accounts.
Her father had returned: Why? What did he want?
She curled up on the couch, staring at her phone across the room like it was the monster she used to believe was hiding in her closet as a little girl. The monster her father used to chase away before bed – until he left.
She wanted answers. She wanted to confront her father. At the same time, she wanted nothing to do with him. He had abandoned her; he shouldn't have a second chance.
The battle between her curiosity and keeping her heart protected tore her up. Tears slipped down her cheeks. She pulled the blanket down from the back of the couch, wrapped herself up in it and cried herself to sleep.