The Power Ranger Chronicles: Jurassic World
Prologue:
One Can Never Truly Leave the Ranger Life Behind
For the first time in a long time he was finally able to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. The many years he'd spent as a ranger, a college student, a teacher, and then a ranger again has taken a toll on him. He would finally admit to himself that he was tired; that it was time to take a step back and lead a simpler life. Maybe he could look into a new hobby or even take his mother's advice of finding a nice girl, settling down, and having a few kids. Though it seems unlikely for the time being, it's what she would like to see eventually. The thought of settling down and having a few children of his own made him both chuckle and groan at the same time. Now that his days as a ranger were over, he liked the idea of having a simple and uncomplicated life; he didn't see where a wife and children would fit in with his current situation. Besides, relationships were not exactly his strong suit. Nope, Doctor Thomas Oliver knew as much about relationships as he did about major league baseball – nothing. There was a time when he thought he had a good grasp on what it meant to be in a relationship but then he received that letter. Tommy groaned again, the very thought of relationships always circled back to her, his first love, Kimberly Hart. Sure he dated a few times after he received the letter but those were nothing compared to what he thought he had with Kimberly. Even after all this time he still harbored feelings for her and he felt that he always would. But rather than drudge this all up again he realized that he was already running late. His age and appearance may have changed but some things would always remain the same.
Doctor Tommy Oliver may be on summer vacation but he has to submit final grades before going away for his break from school. He also had to finish packing if he was going to make it back to Angel Grove on time for dinner with his parents. Tommy's parents, Grace and James Oliver lived in a modest two story house on the outskirts of Angel Grove. Moving to Reefside only placed him 3 hours away from the house that would become his parent's permanent home. The couple moved around a lot when Tommy was a young child as James was in the Army. When the couple moved to Angel Grove they knew that they had found the place they wanted to be once James retired from active duty. The trio had taken a picture in front of the house when the purchase was finalized; a copy now adorns Tommy's desk. Putting the frame down, Tommy finished packing up his bags and made his way out to his Jeep; with any luck he would only be a few minutes late.
As Tommy's parents house came into view he looked at the time, it was 5:57 pm, he had three minutes to spare! Tommy smiled as he pulled up the driveway and found a place to park. He pulled down his sun visor to look into the mirror. Cutting his dark brown hair short meant more potential for his hair to become unruly – he at least wanted to look like a civilized human for dinner. Reaching into the back seat he grabbed his suitcase and laptop case and got out of the Jeep. It was unseasonably cold for the first day of summer vacation, Tommy chose to wear a light black sweater with his khaki slacks. As he made his way towards the front door, it opened before he was able to reach the handle.
"Oh Tommy, my boy you're home!" His mom, Grace Oliver exclaimed. She pulled him into a bone crushing hug as she and James hadn't seen him since he moved to Reefside. She was of average height wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt, it was a deep green which made her bright bluish green eyes and red hair shine vibrantly in the afternoon sun.
"Mom...it's. So...good." Was all he could manage between breaths.
"Okay, Grace, it's not like he's returning from war. It's high school, not the armed forces." James Oliver said while attempting to loosen Grace's grip off from their son. "At least let him get in the door and put his stuff down." James maybe retired but he still had the stance of a soldier. His brown hair was longer these days but still neat, flecks of silver began to line the sides of his head behind his ears. James was wearing jeans with a light flannel shirt rolled up at his elbows.
"Thanks dad, it's good to see you," Tommy said giving his dad a much lighter hug. Tommy walked into the living room and set down his bag by the shoe rack while he removed his boots.
"I'm sorry hunny," his mom said feeling a little embarrassed, "it's just been a while since you've been home." She tucked a stray strand of red hair behind her ear.
"It's okay mom, I missed you too." Tommy said stepping up to her and kissing her forehead. "I'm just going to take my things to my room and wash up for dinner."
Once they were all at the dinner table they settled into easy conversation. Grace discussed her job at the hospital while James talked about how much he enjoyed retirement. They also talked about life at home and asked Tommy about teaching at Reefside. Of course he had to tell them stories about Hayley, Kira, Ethan, and Conner which provided them with a lot of laughs. "Well Conner, Kira, and Ethan remind me of a few teenagers we used to know back in the 90's" Tommy's father said chuckling. "It's no surprise that they took to you so well, mischief seems to follow you where ever you go. Poor Hayley sounds like she has to run a lot of interference for the four of you" They all laughed.
"You have no idea dad," Tommy said taking a sip of his water.
"I'm sure those three keep you on your toes. That Kira certainly sounds a lot lik-" Grace stopped herself before she finished the sentence. She was about to apologize when Tommy stopped her.
"It's okay mom and yes she is very much like Kimberly," Tommy said, he knew that Grace missed Kim. The two had become close when Tommy was dating her and he also knew that they reconnected after Kimberly returned to Angel Grove for College. Grace was never able to have children of her own and had always wanted a daughter. When she and James adopted Tommy, he required a lot of care given the circumstances surrounding his birth. They never would have the opportunity to adopt another child. When Kimberly came into the picture Grace was finally given the chance to know a little of what it was like to have a daughter. Tommy did not want his mom to feel as if she had to choose between the two of them, deep down he knew Kim was genuinely a good person. "Mom, I know you still talk to Kimberly and I am fine with that," he said taking her hand in his.
"Really? It's not weird?" Grace Asked.
"No, I mean it's been what 17 years?" Wow 17 years!? He thought, is that even possible? "I've moved on and I am sure she's moved on as well."
"Well...ish," Grace started, she wasn't sure if she should continue talking about it.
"What do you mean by ish?" Tommy couldn't help but ask.
Well he asked, Grace began, "sweetheart she still asks about you and we've talked a little about the, well you know, the letter. I keep telling her to reach out because the two of you need to discuss this and I really didn't want to bring this up during your vacation," she was starting to ramble and she knew it. She looked apologetically at her son and then back at her husband who nodded his approval – I mean the dam had already burst. "There's a lot more to it than we originally thought, but first and foremost is that she regrets it. I think it's mostly because she misses your companionship, and besides that I feel like she's gotten in over her head by taking that job on the island and could really use your help." Grace wanted more than anything for the two of them to rekindle their friendship if nothing else. She was also really worried about Kimberly and her new job.
"I don't know mom," it had been a long time since he really thought about the situation as a whole. "I mean I guess I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss her in that capacity a little bit. But as far as help goes I don't...wait," Realization was starting to take root in his mind, Kimberly couldn't possibly be working there? "What island are you talking about? You can't mea-" Tommy's question was cut off.
"She's taken a job with InGen as the Park Operations Manager on Isla Nublar for the newly redesigned park, Jurassic World." Grace said, she knew her son hated that organization, especially after what happened with the first park and in San Diego. She also knew that Kimberly was a strong girl and could take care of herself but still, she worried. It's not like Caroline Hart was an active participant in Kim's' life either, what parent chooses a man over their own child? Tommy's question brought her out of her reverie.
"They're calling it Jurassic World?" He couldn't believe that InGen was really going to go through with this...again, "let me guess this place is going to be twice the size of the original park...what is she thinking joining up with that disgraceful organization? They're worse than Mercer Industries. People need to realize that even though they are not real dinosaurs, they are still living breathing animals that can't be controlled." Tommy felt his face getting warmer by the second and took another drink of his water.
James joined the conversation, "Tommy, we know you have always had reservations about this place, but Kimberly felt very strongly about being involved. She wanted to make sure that the right people were in place to ensure safe operations so that the mistakes from the original park are not repeated. You and Kimberly have always had that protective nature, especially for those who cannot protect themselves. It's why your mom and I feel that maybe you should think about reconsidering InGen's offer regarding the Raptor Program. No one knows the velociraptor like you do, at least if you were involved you could ensure the safety of both the people and the animals."
Tommy didn't know that anyone knew about the offer from InGen – Jason assured him that the conversation would go no further than between the two of them. Looks like Jason would only keep it quiet if he got his way and Tommy came on board. He was at a loss for words, all he could muster was, "how did you guys find out about that?"
James stated, "Jason stopped by the other day, we had no idea what he was up to nowadays so we asked. Turns out a lot of your former gang works for InGen in some capacity. It's interesting to me that InGen would actively recruit all of you given your past experiences with dinosaurs." He said giving Tommy a pointed look. Grace was also looking at him expectantly, he began to wonder where the conversation was headed. There was no way they knew.
"What do you mean by experiences?" Tommy asked, failing to keep the anxious tone out of his voice.
"Sweetheart, honestly," Grace said with a note of sarcasm in her voice. "Though you all tried, the lot of you were less than discreet in covering up your time spent as the rainbow warriors of Angel Grove. Then to see a new group turn up in Reefside the same year you became a teacher, it wasn't that hard to figure out. We might have been born at night Tommy but it certainly wasn't last night."
"You forget Tommy, we've also been to a lot of your karate matches, you have a fighting style that's kind of hard to miss," his father added with a touch of humor in his voice. Both of his parents were getting a kick out of the confused and almost crushed look on their son's face.
"Why didn't you tell me you kn-wait did you really just call us the rainbow warriors!?" Tommy asked turning to face his mother who was trying hard not to laugh. Tommy looked at his father who was looking down at the table to avoid eye contact because he thought it was pretty funny too. Tommy gave in and began to chuckle too, because he thought he had been so careful about concealing that life from his parents.
The rest of the night would consist of them talking about the good old days and Tommy's tenure as a power ranger. They never steered the conversation back to Jurassic World, which Tommy was thankful for. Now there were some things that he had to figure out before he could move on from the offer from InGen and the newly constructed Jurassic World.
Tommy would eventually retire to his room where he could perform some simple katas before going to bed. He hadn't told anyone about the offer from InGen because he figured it wasn't important, especially since turning it down. As it turns out there was more to the story. He couldn't help but wonder about the things his father said at dinner in reference to some of their former group working for InGen in some capacity. Was it a coincidence that some of them ended up on Isla Nublar working with dinosaurs or did someone else know about their past? It was a question he couldn't leave unanswered. In the morning he would contact Jason and try to figure out what was going on. So much for the promise of a peaceful summer. His father was right about him, he couldn't avoid his protective nature. Being a ranger was more than just the ability to morph and wear spandex. Part of it was ensuring that those in power acted responsibly and that their actions do not place innocent bystanders in harms way. As Tommy finished up his stretching he pushed everything out of his mind so he could get a good nights sleep, he could worry about this again in the morning.
Once morning broke over the hills in Angel Grove, Tommy found himself well rested and ready to tackle the day. He wasn't sure if Jason would even answer his phone but was pleasantly surprised when Jason answered on the second ring.
"I knew you missed me too much to let this opportunity pass by," Jason said when he picked up, while there was a note of sarcasm in his voice he really was relieved that Tommy called.
"Good morning Jas, nice to hear from you too," Tommy said, he was already starting to feel annoyed.
"Yeah whatever, I can only assume you're calling me because you talked to your parents last night. They told me you were coming for a visit once school ended for the summer," said Jason.
"I thought the offer was going to remain between us only?" Tommy asked. "I didn't want anyone to know they offered me a job: One because I'm a school teacher and I'm happy where I am, two because the research used to develop the Raptors was stolen from me, and three because I've told you it will never work, it's too dangerous!" Tommy felt his temper flaring.
"Tommy it's already in motion, the eggs are incubating and you need to be there when they hatch. I figured you of all people would want to see this thing through and be involved to ensure the project has the proper controls and safeguards in place." Jason couldn't understand why Tommy didn't want to be involved, this was his baby after all. Plus potential lives are at risk. "You're the only person I know that's trustworthy enough to do the right thing, especially when it comes to the safety of others. You took an oath as a Ranger, do you really think that ends when the power goes away?"
Tommy could feel himself wearing down, Jason was right, he couldn't just walk away now. He had tried and failed to destroy the research he'd done as an intern for Anton Mercer but it was stolen from him before he had the chance. Now it was in the hands of InGen's genetic engineers and already being put to use. He feared that if he didn't get involved that it would eventually lead to a situation that was beyond control. Besides, could he really go back to Reefside knowing that what he discovered in his research was possible and even happening at this very moment? It really was going to be a long summer, he thought. Tommy made up his mind, "Jason, I'll give you two months, if this situation begins to get out of control then we will have no choice but to put the Raptors down and terminate the program."
Relief flooded over Jason. "There he is, that's more like the Tommy Oliver I remember. Did you really think I called you because I thought the Raptor Program was a good idea?" Jason asked sarcastically. Taking a more serious tone he said, "Tommy, the plan was going to happen with or without us, why do you think I influenced the higher ups to hire former rangers? We know what these animals are capable of, even as being genetic replicas of the actual dinosaur. I'd never be able to terminate this program without you if it started to go South."
Tommy relaxed a little, now that he knew Jason's true intentions he felt a little guilty for being so standoffish. "Sorry Jas, I didn't realize you had as many reservations about this as I did. When would you like me there."
"No worries man, spend the rest of the week with your folks and meet me at the Angel Grove airport on Monday," Jason replied, he was starting to feel a lot better about this whole thing. "Rest up old man, we've got a lot of work ahead of us," he hung up before Tommy could respond to being called an old man.
The next year would move at lightning speed. As it turned out the Velociraptors were more manageable than anyone believed possible. Since Tommy was their main handler they would go where he went. Tommy really didn't want to give up teaching so in the fall he was allowed to return to Reefside much to the displeasure of his direct supervisor. When the owner, Simon Masrani found out that Tommy had access to hundreds of acres of secure property (the area in the deep woods where the Dinozords had been housed previously) he had no problem authorizing the movement of the Raptors. This allowed Tommy and Jason to have complete control over the project. It also provided them with safe training grounds that had the latest technology in place to protect the animals and to prevent others from stumbling onto them accidentally. They had until the following summer to prepare the animals for their first field test which would take place back on Isla Nublar at Jurassic World.
Authors Notes: Well that's it for the prologue – what did everyone think? This is my very first fanfiction, it was a story I've been thinking about for a little while now. I finally found the nerve to try writing it. Reviews and constructive criticism is welcome. Happy reading friends :-) ~ SJStarke