Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters used in this story. I got this story idea from the TV show, Dino Squad. I loved the idea of high school teenagers able to shapeshift into dinosaurs and save the world and stuff. So please do read along and tell me what you guys think. Review or PM me if you feel like it.
311,200,000 BC
The Cretaceous Period
65.5 Million Years Ago
In the brightness of the jungle landscapes that cover the globe, the dinosaurs roamed the planet, hunting, and eating for the way of survival. Every creature new only one thing; that it was survival of the fittest. Meaning it was eat or be eaten. Larger apex predators hunt the smaller, defenseless dinosaurs for food. Mothers guard their nest of eggs, ready to defend and protect their soon-to-be born offspring from pesky thieves that like to steal and feast upon other dinosaurs' eggs. There were many carnivorous dinosaurs to be feared. But there was one known predator of all predators every dinosaur knew never to cross. The ferocious Tyrannosaurus-Rex, colloquially identified as the "king" or "tyrant" of all the giant lizards. The T-Rex thunders around, chasing and killing delicious prey and unleashing a terrifying and deafening roar.
There was also a newborn civilization created in God's image that have been evolved from the primates and are currently still evolving, known as the humans. Although, they are still thick when it comes to intellect. There were the neanderthals who lived in caves away from the predators outside and the Cro-Magnons, humans that have already adapted to obtain certain capabilities, who lived in villages. There was one particular neanderthal, calling himself "Zerk" that was trudging around the thick and vast jungle overgrowth with his spear and sniffing around the air, prepared for anything. But that's when he noticed a faint, white glow in the distance. It was awfully bright that it nearly blinded Zerk, making him shield his eyes with a surprised hoot. Curiosity getting the better of him, the unevolved caveman approached the are where he witnessed the otherworldly glow.
It led him over to a rather strange-looking rock-sized white gem on the ground. With a shocked look in his widened eyes, Zerk slowly reached a hand out to touch it and when he did, the gem slowly started to glow again, startling Zerk who jumped back with fright, startled by its odd properties. But he suddenly felt like he should pick it up and reached his hand out again. The gem glowed upon his action, but Zerk ignored the bright ray in his eyes and grabbed it, making its light diminish. Zerk picked it up and held it in his hands. He had never seen anything more beautiful sight in his life. As Zerk cradled it gingerly in his hands and basking in such a mineral's lovely shape, other caveman arrived at the scene with Zerk and wondered what he was holding.
One of them noticed the gem and curiously reached a finger out to touch it. But Zerk jerked it away from his hands, barking aggressively in his comrade's face, not willing to give up his prized discovery. The other neanderthals tried to have a look at the gem, but Zerk growled and roared at them, even fighting them off while keeping his treasure in his hands protectively away from who believed would steal it from him. But then suddenly, there came explosions from the heavens and balls of fire fell from the sky, frightening the caveman as an even larger fireball was heading straight for the earth. The caveman panicked and made a run for it back to their cave. Zerk ran, but dropped his gem in the process.
He ran back for it and quickly grabbed it before another fireball hit the ground before him. He ran and ran to the safety of his cave with the rest as the bigger fireball was nearing the planet and suddenly collided against the earth, creating a giant, destructive wave of fire and smoke. Zerk shielded his gem as he and the other cavemen braced from impact as the wall of smoke engulfed them in a blinding light.
March 20, 2018
Thar Desert, India
At an archeological dig set up in the middle of the Great Indian Desert, a team of archaeologists were digging up fossils buried underground left behind many years ago. But there was only one thing that they were intending to find. Suddenly out of nowhere, a helicopter was landing outside the digging site, creating a powerful gust of wind as it carefully landed on the sandy ground. On the side said "Hollocorp". A fellow worker, Brad Virkman approached the helicopter while holding onto his helmet so it doesn't blow away and opened the door for someone as the spinning blades slowly came to a stop. Stepping out of the plane was a tall, burly, square-jawed and tough-looking gentleman in a black suit and necktie with scowling eyebrows, smooth black hair and thick, yet perfectly combed sideburns wearing black shades as he stared emotionlessly at his employee. This was Dr. Logan Holloway, founder and president of Hollocorp, a multinational conglomerate organization that specializes in scientific research and study over ancient, extinct beings and genetic mutation.
"Dr. Holloway, sir!" cried Virkman with exaggerated pleasantries. "Glad you could finally make it."
"You're lucky I'm a patient man, Virkman." Holloway reminded him sharply in a deep, but authoritative tone that reminded Virkman that he was not in any mood for small-talk. "Have you found it yet? Yes or no?"
"We have, sir." Virkman affirmed. "We're currently digging it out as we speak."
"Show me." ordered Holloway.
Virkman knew his boss was the demanding and strict type so he knew not to waste his time or argue against his commands. So he brought Holloway into the site past the onslaught of diggers and the big man himself walked through with a cane and stood clear of the dirt so it doesn't get on his nice, clean suit. Finally, Virkman found what he was looking for and Holloway found himself staring at the fossilized skeleton of a giant man-ape half-buried in the wall of earth. Holloway gazed upon the glorious discovery with wonderment gleaming in his eyes.
"We're still trying to dig this bastard out as carefully as we can. It'll probably take hours to get him out." explained Virkman.
"No worries, Virkman." Holloway assured him in a calm, smooth voice. "I've found what I came for. The skeleton of the Gigantopithecus. Such magnificence. Such purity. Such…..beauty. He'll make a perfect specimen for our experiments."
"He? How can you even tell it's a he?" asked Virkman with a look of bafflement and confusion.
"I have an inking." answered Holloway.
"What exactly do you plan to do with a collection of old, aged bones?" Virkman asked.
"That's for me to know and you to find out when I feel like you should. Is that understood?" Holloway asked sternly.
"Yes, sir." nodded Virkman.
"Good. Get the crane" Holloway ordered him as he turned to leave for the copter. "Unearth him and scoop him up from the ground, but be careful not to break it. Each bone in that skeletal system is worth as much to me as a million dollar mansion on the hills. I want it shipped over to my headquarters by morning, Mr. Virkman.
"But sir-"
"By morning!" yapped Holloway snappily as he shut the helicopter door as it began for takeoff.
"As you wish, sir." sighed Virkman.
As the helicopter hovered into the air and flew out of sight, Virkman shouted out orders to the team to have the Gigantopithecus skeleton to be digged out of the ground by crane as per Holloway's orders. They knew it was risky, but whatever Holloway demanded, they had to obey no matter what. No one knew what he wanted with the skeleton anyway. Maybe he was going to put it on display at a museum or perhaps keep it as a trophy in his collection. It was certainly a mystery. Virkman had the construction team bring a crane and an excavator to extract the skeleton from the ground in a huge chunk of dirt with the bones still in it before they had it placed in a cargo plane and lifted out of the area into the sky.
Grimsby Bay, Florida
"Jack! Mom says it's time to get up!" shouted 10-year old Emma Overland as she knocked on her older brother's bedroom door. With that, a young, white-haired teenage boy shot up from the bed and got dressed in a hurry. Jack Overland got his things packed in his backpack. His homework, his textbooks, everything. He sighed and yawned as he left his room and went downstairs where his mother was.
"There you are. Thought you were dead." Mrs. Overland joked teasingly.
"Very funny, mom." Jack shook his head and reached in his backpack for something.
"Any chance of filling me in on the next basketball game?" asked Mrs. Overland.
"It should be next Tuesday in the afternoon." said Jack before handing her a sheet of paper. "Also, you need to have this signed. It's a permission slip for the field trip tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Mrs. Overland repeated with surprise, taking the slip. "To where?"
"We're heading to the history museum to learn about fossils and stuff." Jack said, slinging his backpack on his back.
"Hmm. A young junior athlete learning about dinosaurs. Go figure." Mrs. Overland smirked.
"I should get going now. Bye." Jack gave his mother a goodbye kiss and rubbed his sister's head, giving her a noogie. "Bye, baby sis."
"Jack!" Emma laughed, shoving his hands off her head.
"Have a good day, Jack." His mother called.
Jack walked down the front path of his house and noticed his neighbors, the Parr family, were going through their morning routine. The eldest daughter, Violet, peered out the window and saw Jack. She waved at him with a smile and he waved back. He hiked his way to Grimsby Bay Senior High School. And there, every teen were doing usual teen things like texting and FaceBooking on their phones, not a care in the world. There was also roughhousing as you would expect in a school like this. You had your jocks, your cheerleaders, the bullies and the cliques. One student named Fred skateboarded his way over to school, narrowly missing passing students in his path, almost knocking them over. Two students, Mavis Dracula and a boy known only as "Once-ler" for reasons unknown, sat together under a tree and spoke amongst themselves. One would say they were dating in a sense. Or rather, close to it.
Jack was in a paleontology class with Mr. Nicholas St. North as he found prehistoric times and dinosaurs pretty interesting. He entered the building to look for his locker. But then an arrogant bully deliberately tripped him and he wound up falling face-first in the toughest and fastest girl in the school, Gogo Tomago. She had an attitude that made few people understand that they should not dare to get on her bad side. But that doesn't mean she was heartless. Gogo was chewing bubblegum and blew a bubble when Jack tripped and fell into her, colliding their faces together. The bubble popped between them, leaving sticky gum on their cheeks. Jack pulled apart from her and wiped the stretchy gum of his face while Gogo was giving him one of her famous hard, stone-cold glares.
"Look at that! Overland's sharing with the Speed Demon!" announced the bully that tripped Jack to everyone, who then laughed at the unlucky two.
"Fuck you, Ben!" Jack cursed at him before rushing to class in disgrace, quickly apologizing to Gogo as he did. Gogo stared at him as he left down the crowded hallway with a raised eyebrow. Elsa Arendelle, queen bee diva and the prettiest and most popular girl in the school, watched the whole thing from afar with her clique, the Regals; consisting of her younger sister, Anna, and two friends, Rapunzel and Merida. Elsa smirked in amusement at seeing Jack get humiliated in front of everyone while her friends whispered rude remarks about it and giggling.
Jack got to his locker and unlocked it to put his stuff in. His friend, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a philosophy major and your average "nerd", was putting his own belongings in a next door locker.
"Ben getting to you again?" asked Hiccup.
"What gave it away?" Jack asked sarcastically.
"Hey, listen. My folks will be away this weekend and I was planning the biggest party ever." Hiccup explained as he held his books.
"Are you serious? Never took you for the party animal type." Jack mentioned while he walked to class. "And besides I got too much to do this weekend."
"Shame. I was really hoping we'd actually get our groove on. I mean, I can't spend my entire school year just doing equations and reading through textbooks. Sometimes you gotta live a little."
"We'll there's always the Rapture Overkill concert this Friday." Jack suggested.
"Yeah, I guess. So I hear you and Elsa broke up recently." remarked Hiccup in a knowing manner.
"It was a mutual breakup. But either way, I just can't stand sitting there while she gives snide comments to people and keeping others away from me so she could have me to herself. Power couple, my ass."
"Ah, well. I'd say I'm surprised, but I'm no liar." Hiccup responded.
They both entered the paleontology class and Jack saw Gogo sitting there in her seat. She gave him a sinister smirk and waved daintily at him in a sort of mocking fashion. The classroom wasn't that big and it had a minimum of fourteen students in total. There Mr. North was by the chalkboard. Fred entered the class with his skateboard.
"Mr. Lee. What did I say about bringing skateboards into my classroom?" demanded Mr. North in a Russian-accented stern tone of voice.
"Sorry, Mr. North." Fred shrugged as he just stuffed his skateboard into his backpack and sat down. The wizened teacher shook his head once the tardy bell rang.
"Hey." Jack turned to face Gogo who was looking at him.
"Oh, hey." Jack avoided her eyes with a blush.
"Listen, don't be embarrassed, okay?" She told him reassuringly. "I know Ben can be an ass a lot. I've been there before. And don't worry about the gum. I've got lots."
She waved a stick of gum around with emphasis to prove her sentence which she popped in her mouth and Gogo winked at him.
"Now I hope you remembered that tomorrow is our field trip to the Natural History Museum and I'd like your permission slips turned in to me today or tomorrow. If they're not turned in by tomorrow, well, you get the idea." Mr. North said to his class before turning on the overhead projector to put up a film about dinosaurs before turning the lights off. "Now as you all probably remember what we talked about from last week that apex predators, more commonly known as alpha predators, reside at the top of the food chain where they look down upon the creatures below it. Creatures who are otherwise defenseless and below their status in the food chain. Some predators, like wolves for example, often hunt in pack, usually to outnumber their prey. There are also bird of prey, like the bald eagle, who eat and kill smaller birds. As for the dinosaurs, the biggest carnivore was, in fact, the Tyrannosaurus-Rex. Dubbed the king of all the lizards, the T-Rex proves to be a more dangerous apex predator that would subdue any small dinosaur in its path. It's all about natural instinct. Like any predator, the T-Rex kills and eats other dinosaurs to survive, not because they enjoy doing it. It's just the way they are. Something that we'll probably learn in the museum."
At the school's swimming pool, two girls were in their one-piece swimsuits after getting out of the locker room. They were Penny Forrester and Riley Andersen, respectively and they were members of the varsity girls' swim team. Of course, Penny was the team captain and Riley was more a hockey player than a swimmer. She loved to swim, but she loved shooting a puck better. The duo were walking over to the pool diving boards.
"I feel weird." muttered Riley.
"It's just the feeling of cold air on your skin. You'll get used to it." Penny reminded her.
They both climbed up the ladders to both diving boards to prepare their dives. While Riley went up on the board that was about 5 feet above the ground, Penny was on the high dive, the one she enjoyed the most out of the other two diving boards. She approached the end of the board and peered downard at that water way below. She's done many dives this high before and she was never afraid. Many boys at the pool were ogling perversely at Penny, seeing her in her swimsuit.
"Oh, yeah! Show me the money, baby!" One of them shouted out in such a lewd manner that made her glare at them. Penny flips them off before she noticed Riley was hesitant while standing on the end of her own board.
"What's the matter?" She asked her friend with worry and concern.
"I'm not a big fan of diving off like this." Riley stammered her confession out. She had to raise her voice a little as Penny was about a quarter off the ground than Riley was in order for her to hear her.
"It's okay, Riles. Just watch me." Penny instructed before putting her arms out, keeping her back straight before taking a huge leap off the board and diving down head-first into the water with her hands up. Riley watched her friend create a huge splash as she disappeared into the water then swimming to the surface to take a deep breath.
"See? It's not so bad! Come on, Riley! Your turn!"
"Uh, okay." Riley nervously whimpered before taking a dive and into the water with a splash. Riley swam to the top and inhale deeply to bring oxygen back to her lungs.
"Not bad, Riles!" congratulated Penny.
"So the little shrimp actually grew a pair." remarked Elsa sadistically in her blue two-piece bikini and laughed at Riley's misfortune. The girl in question was beyond embarrassed to hear Elsa mock her that bubbles arose to the surface behind her. Penny gasped when she saw this and glared at the A-lister girl, who only laughed even harder.
"Maybe next time, she oughta take the high dive. I hear the sharks love the taste of sweat and piss." Elsa took her leave as Penny growled in hatred; her face turning red with rage, but she calmed down and put an arm around Riley to console her.
"Don't listen to her, Riles. She's just trying to get to you." Penny said comfortingly.
After school, Jack walking home from school as he did every other day. He didn't need to ride the bus or call an uber or even ride a bike, not that he has one anymore, since the school was already just a block down from his house.
"Hey, homeboy!" He heard a cry and saw Gogo running up to him. She didn't stop until she was walking next to him.
"Hello again." Jack greeted.
"Sorry if you don't know me all too well, but I'm-"
"Gogo Tomago. Yeah, I know." said Jack with a nod, cutting her off.
"Yep. Well, My real name's Ethel Tomago, but everyone calls me "Gogo", because of my need for speed." Gogo explained with a prideful smirk.
"I hear you're in the mechanics class." Jack added.
"You heard right. I work in motorcycles and other vehicles. But motorcycles are my best forte." bragged Gogo, blowing her bubblegum. "I even have the sickest motorcycle of my own back at home. I named her "Montana". You oughta come check her out one day."
"Would you mind telling me what an adrenaline junkie and motorcyclist is doing in fossil class?" Jack asked her indifferently, albeit jokingly.
"My dad suggested it. Thought I could learn something outside of my personal atmosphere." Gogo said with a heavy sigh. "I'll do baking, I'll do chemistry, but prehistory? Yeah, so not worth my time."
"My dad had a stroke three years ago." Jack said forlornly with his head down.
"Oh, sorry about that." apologized Gogo. "Anyway, I hear that you used to be Queen Elsa's "trophy boyfriend"."
Jack rolled his eyes at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name and the subject of him being her perfect beau.
"Then you must know I dumped my drink on her head during lunch."
"Then she had a huge bitch flip in front of everyone." Gogo cackled.
"Doesn't stop her subjects from trying to give me a hard time in retaliation." Jack said scornfully.
"Fuck that shit. They're just mindless followers. They'll do anything to please ole Miss. Priss." Gogo retorted, putting a hand to her chest in an exaggerated elegance, making them both share a good laugh together.
"You know something? You're quite alright." Gogo smiled. "So where do you live?"
"This is my house right here." He said pointing at his house now that they've arrived. Gogo looked at it with surprise, having seen that house before.
"Really? There's my house over there." Gogo pointed at the house across the street that faced Jack's own home, making Jack blink in shock.
"We live across from each other? Wow! Guess that makes us neighbors." Jack remarked with a smile.
"I know. What a coincidence." Gogo said.
"Bye now." Jack told her and was about to head up to the front door when Gogo grabbed his arm, making him look at her again.
"Hey, listen. I don't normally ask this, but would you, by any chance, want to come over and maybe ride on Montana with me?" She delicately asked, having not invited a boy over to her school before to hang out.
"Ride on a motorcycle with you? This isn't like a date, is it?" asked Jack with raised eyebrows.
"Uh, no!" Gogo laughed, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder. "It's just a little activity for us to do together. Just two neighbors getting to know each other, you know?"
"I don't know. I've never ridden on a motorcycle before. And I don't plan on riding one myself. They're too noisy and kinda dangerous." Jack hesitantly tried to refuse.
"Are you kidding? Danger's my middle name. But I promise you die in a crash and burn or anything gruesome like that. And besides, it's not like I'm gonna let you ride my Montana any time soon. Not that I don't trust you." Gogo explained. "You just sit behind me and keep your hands on me, but not in a funny way, you hear me?"
"I hear you." Jack nodded.
"So when can I expect you over?" asked Gogo with her hands to her hips.
"How about this weekend?" suggested Jack. "Maybe this Saturday."
"Sounds like a plan." smirked Gogo. "And don't worry your pretty little head. I'm an expert at motorcycles. I've ridden Montana a thousand times. I swear you won't get killed on my watch. Cross my heart, hope to die. You know what I mean."
"Okay. See you tomorrow in class." Jack said, waving at her.
"Likewise." Gogo smiled with a wink before strutting her way across the street to her own house. Jack, in spite of himself, couldn't help, but watch her leave. His hormones took over his thoughts as he let his eyes follow all over her thick figure. But luckily, he managed to snap himself free of such crude staring before he could think of anything inappropriate. Jack entered his home and wondered how the field trip tomorrow will turn out.
Hollocrop Fossils Incorporated Headquarters, New York City
Meanwhile at the Hollocorp HQ in New York City, the Gigantopithecus skeleton has been dug up completely from the chunk of dirt it was buried in and placed in a giant glass tube filled up with genetically-enhanced primordial ooze mixed with mutagenic chemicals. The skeleton was strapped and hooked to machines and nanotechnology while inside the tube by Hollocorp scientists as they analyzed the vital readings and calculations in order to perfect what Holloway was demanding of them.
"So, according to these readings, the DNA left behind on the bones are capable of reconstructing the biological gene, allowing it to reform its original physical shape and thoughts." explained Dr. Giles to Holloway as he read from his clipboard. "However, it would impossible for it to regrow muscle tissue, vital organs, body hair, especially the brain functions. You'd need some kind of miracle for that."
"I already have one." Holloway said, eyeing the skeleton with a look of amazement. "Ah, look at you. Wasted away after all these years. Neglected and alone until now. But don't fret, my pet. Soon you'll walk the earth once again."
"Umm, sir?" asked Dr. Giles nervously. "Pardon me for asking, but what's this all about?"
"Come with me, doctor." ordered Holloway as he led him to his luxurious office on the very top floor of the building. It was very wide, open-spaced and quite exquisite. Holloway had collections of fossils and bookshelves. There were portrait paintings on the walls with various men over the years from different eras. The kicker was that every one of them was the spitting image of Holloway. Perhaps they were relatives of his. And the plants around the place were no different and the lovely interior design of the very room they stood in. Dr. Giles looked around with wonder. He's never actually been in his boss's office before.
"Speechless, eh. Thought so." Holloway remarked with a chuckle. He pointed his cane toward a plant in a pot. "See this? This is a rare species of tree that been around and extinct since the Jurassic Era. The Araucarites sanctaecrucis. And that plant over there is the Archaeopteris. Used to grow during the Devonian times. And this…" He picked up a human skull from his desk. "...the skull of a Cro-Magnon individual. An old relic of modern humans back in those years."
He placed it back down and went to stare out the window, viewing the massive city beyond where he was now.
"Now you want to know why I collect ancient dinosaur fossils and skeletons, like the Gigantopithecus. Correct?" Holloway asked.
"I am, indeed, Mr. Holloway." Dr. Giles nodded.
"Well, Dr. Giles, it's quite complicated. But I'll spare the extended details." Holloway began, turning to face his employee. "You see, the world has evolved. But not in the most perfect way in my eyes. Modern humans today ruin the planet with their technology and horrid waste of biofuels and cell reception. Which is why I've dedicated my life to recreating the earth's image as it was millions of years ago. I intend to return life to the dinosaur populace and in doing so, returning their status as the world's most dominant species. Humans were never meant to walk this earth. But as a genuinely-evolved human myself, I have my standards. But mankind today have to least concern over how life should really be. Dinosaurs are the true inhabitants of this wretched earth. Humanity is just the second step in life. And I'm going to give it back to them."
Author's note: The only characters I own are Dr. Holloway and his workers. So there's the first chapter of the chapter. Stay tuned for more.