Okay, wow. This was an unexpected turn of events, but inspiration has struck in the form of another OC Ranger story, this time for Dino Thunder with the youngest sister of Ryan and Dana Mitchell! And really, it makes sense because it's the first season of Power Rangers where I was introduced to the character of Tommy Oliver as a whole. So I guess I'm working on two dino-centric stories in the franchise of Power Rangers right now while I bounce around everything else in between with real life and my stories. (chuckles slightly) Oh well. I'll work around it as best as possible. Let's do this! (pulls the Disclaimers over)

Disclaimers: I don't own Power Rangers, as it is a product of Hasbro as of May 1st, 2018.

(Hadley Rae's POV)

This was kinda surprising to me to have a whole new story of my own. Before I start explaining though, I should really start with where this all began and who I am.

My name's Hadley Rae Mitchell and my older siblings Ryan and Dana are Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers. Surprising, yeah. But I didn't have the chance to become a Ranger like them during their tenure. I was still pretty young, like 13 years old. Yes, I get that there was a kid about my age who became a Ranger, but my dad is pretty strict due to him being the former captain of Lightspeed. He was willing to let Dana be a Ranger, and he allowed Ryan to use the Titanium Morpher should he choose his path of justice, but me? I was the baby of the three. No way he was letting his youngest daughter go fight monsters.

That didn't mean I wasn't willing to go into the field and help out anyway. Often, I helped Dana evacuate people while she piloted her Zord, or I was ensuring that everyone was out of danger when a demon attack happened. Heck, half the time, I even alerted the team to a demon attack wherever I was.

But ever since Mariner Bay was saved from the demons by the team, I was more often helping Dana in the hospital as a junior assistant or creating something new mechanically with Ms. Fairweather, so you can't say I don't have a good variety of abilities of my own. But for the longest time, I wished I could be a Ranger like my siblings, and when I moved to Reefside, I finally got my wish in the most unexpected way.

But let's get started on the better part: My first day of school. I had left home with Dad, seeing as he had pretty much retired from his job as captain at Lightspeed, and after we had moved to our new home in Reefside, I was registered for my final year at highschool at Reefside High, and today I was going to be joining others about my age.

I looked out at the building that loomed over the vehicle and gulped nervously before I looked at Dad. "Dad, do I really have to do this?"

He looked at me and placed a hand on my shoulder calmly. "Hey, think of it like this: You're going to be among others your own age for a change, instead of being homeschooled at the base and learning from the other Rangers, so maybe normal kids can help you with learning more about being a kid rather than having to be a hero."

I smirked slightly and chuckled a little. "I guess that's fair. I suppose I could use a break from all the chaos of monster battles."

We shared a giggle before I kissed his cheek and got out of the car, shouldering my bag and starting towards the building, looking around and seeing several teenagers seeming to be interested in their own things, like a punk rock looking girl who was writing in a notebook while singing and a brunette guy who was dribbling a soccer ball like a pro.

I sighed softly and brushed my own auburn hair back as I kept meandering down the path and dodged some more students, even an African American boy who looked like he was nose deep in a programming thing.

As I made my way to the doors, I noticed a familiar face from Carter's description who was coming towards me, which put a smile on my face. "Dr. Oliver?"

Tommy looked over and smiled, jogging over immediately. "Hey, you're Hadley Mitchell, right?" He extended his hand to me.

I shook it with a smile. "It's an honor to meet you, sir. I've heard a lot about you from Carter."

He chuckled slightly. "I'm not surprised. Fellow Rangers always know each other. Surprised your dad actually let you go to school now."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, he and I both agree that it's gonna be a good change for me, being away from all the hero stuff."

He nodded. "Trust me, I can agree with that. I've had enough Ranger adventures to last me a while."

We laughed together before he held the door open for me, allowing me inside first as we headed down the hallways, greeting the students in passing.

"Dr. Oliver, Ms. Mitchell." A woman came to us, looking extremely professional and confident in her job, yet also stoic in a way. "I'm Principal Randall."

"It's nice to meet you," Tommy told her, extending his hand to her, but she didn't take it and my thoughts immediately went to something being off with her, but I kept quiet as he withdrew his hand while asking her, "It's, uh, your first day too, isn't it?"

"Yes, and I'm still trying to figure out why a doctor of paleontology would come all the way to Reefside to teach science to teenagers while an assistant nurse would come from Mariner Bay, one of the most prevalent demon hotspots, to study here." She mused curiously.

"Guess we're looking for some peace and quiet," Dr. O said.

I nodded in agreement and added on, "We kinda earned a chance to get away from the chaos in our respective cities." I smiled sheepishly, knowing all too well what we were both talking about.

"So you both decided to join the alumni here. That doesn't make a lot of sense, now does it?" Principal Randall stepped aside to face us.

I shrugged slightly as Dr. O proposed, "You know, maybe we should get together sometime, so you can fill us in more on what you expect of us."

I gave him an incredulous look at that moment. Asking the new principal out on a date on the first day? Yuck! Besides, from what I heard, he already had two kids with different women! No way he could be serious!

Thankfully, the principal caught on to my look as she said, "I expect you to make the year, if at all... painful for all of them. If they smile, you know you're doing something wrong. Now, I'm off to find my first truant. We'll talk later." She brushed past me, handing my schedule over to me as she did so, and walked off.

I blew up my bangs slightly and shook my head. "Well, sure seems like she's done this before."

He looked at me and nodded with a sigh. "Yeah."

As we reached the science lab, Tommy once again opened the door for me and I walked inside, looking around at my classmates curiously as they made chaos. "Okay, this should be fun." I went to a table and took a seat near the blonde punk rock girl as Dr. O reigned them in.

I looked at her and smiled shyly. "Uh... hi. I'm Hadley Rae. It's nice to meet you." I extended my hand to her.

The dirty blonde girl smiled at me and shook my hand. "Oh yeah, the new girl, right? I'm Kira. It's great to meet you too."

I felt happy with meeting Kira before I noticed a blonde girl stand up from her seat with a question for the good veteran Ranger, leaning towards Kira and whispering to her, "Who's the cheerleader?"

Kira snickered at the question before responding, "Cassidy Cornell, Reefside High School's resident gossip master and anchorwoman for the school's TV station. She gets the deets on everyone, no matter what it takes her. The brunette sitting next to her in the cap is her cameraman Devin. They may have their differences, but they're pretty decent with their investigative reporting."

I nodded a bit, feeling slightly nervous about the whole situation but refocusing as Dr. O spoke to the class, "For now, let's talk about you guys and what you expect of yourselves in this class, cause that's truly important." He looked around and noticed an empty chair. "Is, uh, someone missing?"

I looked over at the empty chair nearby and thought over what classmates I had for this class before remembering a certain soccer player. "I think I might have an inkling."

As I was sitting in the courtyard later on, I was busy doodling in my sketchbook, looking up occasionally and glancing around the vicinity for a good glance at everything before returning to my work. I had developed some good artwork practice from my days in the Lightspeed base and I often liked doing sketches in various areas.

As I kept sketching, I glanced up at Kira, who was singing to a small group while being the main focus of my latest sketch. It was kinda different to find a friend like her who understood my need for freedom, but it was cool to just listen to something other than any pop garbage.

As the music stopped, I immediately noticed Principal Randall coming over and quickly put my stuff away, getting up from my spot under the tree and standing straight upright as she came over to me and said, "Enjoying a little air time outside, Ms. Mitchell?"

I nodded to her in response, "Yes, ma'am. I'm just relaxing and trying to focus my creativity." I pulled out my sketchbook and showed her the pictures I had done.

She adjusted her glasses and took a look through them curiously, Kira and the soccer player looking as well as the elder woman said, "My, my. This is exquisite work."

Kira smiled at me. "Yeah, no wonder you're taking art classes. You're a whiz at it, Hads!"

I blushed slightly out of pride, and muttered, "Well, I'm still improving, of course."

Ms. Randall nodded and passed my sketchbook back to me with what was a surprisingly genuine smile. "Well, I do believe you have potential. Keep at it and you might be a best seller of art. But if you don't mind, I'd actually like you to join us, please. I need a little assistance rounding up some of your classmates who are breaking the rules."

I didn't want to argue, so I nodded and put my stuff away before I followed her and the others, the boy looking at me and scoffing slightly as he muttered, "Principal's pet."

"Oh, you wanna repeat that, kid? Because I could have sworn I heard you distinctly call me a principal's pet!" I snapped angrily, rounding on the boy.

He immediately raised his hands in surrender and laughed nervously. "What? Who said that? Definitely not me."

I nodded slightly. "Mhm. That's what I thought." I turned around, snapping my ponytail in his face and starting to walk with Randall and the other two before we all got sprayed by the sprinkler system, making everyone including myself scream out of surprise and head for the cover of the driest areas.

I got out of range and looked at my sketchbook, groaning as I found all of my artwork soaked from the water. "Oh great. All of my best drawings ruined! This is gonna really set me back!" I looked over and saw the African American boy walking past with a blue umbrella keeping him dry and scowled furiously. "Ugh. Of course it's the tech whiz who causes the whole situation. Some first day this is turning out to be, huh, Ms. Randall?"

The principal scowled angrily as she responded to me, "I couldn't agree more, Ms. Mitchell."

As we walked inside, she looked at the others and snapped, "Sit!"

They all took their seats outside the principal's office as the boy in blue spoke up, "Principal Randall, I just want to say there's absolutely no hard evidence linking me to that unfortunate sprinkler incident."

"No, there isn't." I told the boy before yanking out my wet sketchbook and showing it. "But there's the aftermath of your joke which ruined my sketches! I worked for hours on these, days even!! And now they're all destroyed!!! Thanks a lot for nothing!!!" I threw the sketchbook at his feet before storming off to try and calm down, leaning against a nearby wall and letting tears run down my face as I muttered to myself, "I hope Principal Randall tears into them good."

As it turned out, she gave them all detention for the whole week, starting that first day, which to me felt better than nothing.

As we waited for the teacher in charge of detention after school, I walked back over and gathered up my drawings, throwing them in the trashcan nearby and wiping away any remaining tears as the African American boy, who I learned was Ethan, walked over to me. "I'm sorry about making your artwork a wreck. I didn't even realize the new student wasn't gonna appreciate a prank."

I shrugged nonchalantly, no longer saddened by the incident, and I looked at him. "Don't worry. I can always get another sketchbook and do some more art. It's no big deal."

The brunette, Conner, walked over and looked at me. "Yeah, sorry I called you principal's pet earlier. I guess it's only fair you were trying to make your first day as best as possible without any trouble."

I smiled a bit. "Hey, at least Principal Randall likes one of her new students. The newbie, at that."

That elicited a chuckle from all four of us, but we all fell silent as we saw our detention watchman, my eyes widening in surprise as I recognized Dr. Oliver. "Okay, that's unexpected."

Tommy looked at me and sighed softly. "Didn't really have much choice in the say."

"Wait, you two know each other?" Kira asked me out of intrigue.

I smiled a bit. "Let's just say my siblings back in Mariner Bay have some seriously amazing friends in crazy cool places."

Tommy nodded before he looked at us all and asked, "So you guys like museums?"

It took us a while to get to the museum, but we eventually made it and got out of the jeep as Ethan said excitedly, "Whoa, check out the T-Rex!"

I hopped out the back easily and followed the others, seeing the chains in front. "That's strange. I wouldn't think the museum would be closed."

Dr. O looked over at us. "I'll tell you what. Why don't you guys have a look around the grounds? If you guys can find anything prehistoric, I'll cancel detention for the rest of the week."

That made the others happy with the deal, but I still had my reservations, and I walked over to Tommy, whispering quietly, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

He nodded in confirmation. "Something's up, and it's definitely not normal." He reached into his pocket and passed me a purple stone, muttering quietly, "Keep that with you. It'll be a big help later." He gave me a subtle wink, which I nodded in response to immediately, catching his hint: A big villainous storm was brewing and he was gonna have to recruit some new Rangers.

I pocketed the stone and stepped back, asking in a normal voice, "What'll you do, Dr. O?"

"I'm gonna see if I can find someone who can tell me when they're opening up," he responded in kind.

I nodded and looked at the others. "Come on, guys." I started leading them into the woods near the museum.

As we walked, Ethan asked us about the guy who had fallen into a giant sinkhole. "It was on all the urban legend websites."

"You know, I think I've heard of that one. I also heard about a forest in Briarwood that's supposedly haunted. One of my friends was doing some research for her older sister for when they decide to move there after she graduates this year." I mentioned to him.

"Really? I heard about the haunted forest too!" Ethan said excitedly.

"Dude, you know this isn't computer club, right?" Conmer asked with a bored tone.

I looked at the brunette in annoyance. "Oh, and I suppose soccer is cooler than art or technology?"

Ethan was kinda in line with me at that point. "What do you do when you're out of school?"

"Me? I hang out with girls." Conner said casually.

"Oh, I get it now." I stopped and pointed at the boys in turn. "Lady's man of soccer, techno whiz kid," my finger moved to Kira after that, "singing rockstar and cool girl friend."

Kira smiled at the compliment I gave her before she joined me in continuing to walk through the forest.

"All I'm trying to do is give you guys the heads-up. Stuff happens out here." Ethan explained to us.

I turned and looked at Ethan calmly as I walked backwards. "Look, I've been through a bazillion demon versus hero battles back in Mariner Bay. I think I can handle a little sinkhole."

But I should have watched my words, for at that moment, the ground gave way beneath me and I shouted in surprise, dropping to all fours on the dirt below.

But I wasn't the only one who dropped down, as the other three collapsed through as well, Conner and Kira landing on top of me and making me faceplant in the ground. "Ouch! Okay, whoever's boney rear end is on my spine, get off before I start kicking some butt!"

"Sorry!" Kira got up, as did Conner, both of them helping me up a second later. "Surprised you aren't badly hurt."

I smiled a bit. "Always gotta be prepared for anything." I looked at the walls and tapped one cautiously, shaking my head a bit. "Doubt this'll be stable enough to climb back up. Only other option I see is to follow the path." I pulled out a flashlight and clicked it on, the light illuminating the path ahead.

"You really are prepared for anything." Ethan said in amazement.

"That's my kind of girl." Conner smiled in relief.

I smiled back and started leading the trio through the tunnel, cautiously checking around every corner for any signs of trouble while I listened to Kira's singing. Thank God I had made friends with her because her songs soothed my soul and kept me calm.

"Babe, can you keep it down?" Conner asked her. "I'm trying to stay focused here."

"Dude, not the smartest choice of words." I reprimanded him, and I was proven right a few seconds later as Kira rounded on him. "Listen, my name is Kira. Maybe you should write it on your hand or something so you remember." She turned and followed me in a huff.

As we pressed on, we soon came across a dinosaur skeleton in the wall and I tilted my head curiously. "Weird. Normally dino skeletons wouldn't be out this far."

"This screams Jurassic Park to me." Kira commented in a preturbed state.

Conner chuckled slightly. "This'll get us out of detention forever." He reached out to grab the skull, but instead he moved the jaw which opened a secret door, surprising us all as we saw a hidden base being revealed as the door opened.

I slowly walked in and looked around the vicinity, not hearing the comments from the others as my own mind was... well, less than impressed by the set-up. "This is a secret base? The Lightspeed base I was practically raised at for part of my childhood was so much bigger. And it was underwater, not underground."

"Lightspeed?" Conner looked at me in surprise. "As in Lightspeed Rescue? The heroes of Mariner Bay?"

I looked at him in surprise. "You've heard of them?"

He nodded and smiled. "I always thought the Red Ranger was cool for just barreling into fires like he does."

I chuckled slightly and smiled. "Well, it might interest you guys to know that I'm the youngest sister of the Pink and Titanium Rangers."

Ethan looked over in shock. "You're kidding!"

"Nope." I confirmed proudly, crossing my arms.

Conner looked at Ethan, both boys sharing an excited grin before they looked at me in amazement, both of them speaking after a moment. "Okay, no more messing with you." "Definitely."

Kira walked over and smiled as she looked at me. "I knew you shouldn't mess with her from the beginning, but knowing your history makes it all the more understanding about your kinda attitude."

I chuckled and brushed my hair back shyly before I noticed three glowing gems similar to my purple gem on a pedestal. "Guys?"

They looked over and went to the pedestal, making me wonder if this was gonna be a good idea to let them take the gems, but I didn't make any arguments as I watched them take a gem each, coordinating with their respective colors before Kira asked the million dollar question: "Well, what are they?"

Ethan shook his head slightly. "I can look it up later."

I looked at the group and spoke up. "Maybe Dr. O would know something about them? I mean... these don't scream prehistoric to me." I knew I had one as well, but I had to cover my tracks as best as possible.

Conner nodded slightly. "Worth a shot to ask him. But first, we'd better get outta here."

I nodded and turned my flashlight back on, leading the way out of the base as they pocketed their gems.

A few minutes later, we all dashed out of an opening and saw that our options were limited.

"Got a compass in your bag of tricks, Hads?" Ethan asked me quickly.

"I think so." I quickly opened my fanny pack, but before I could grab it, I felt a harsh breeze and looked up sharply, sensing danger afoot.

"What was that?" Ethan asked again, this time more nervous.

"Nothing good." I said with alertness, pushing the three behind me as I stood ready for action. Seemed like the monsters weren't giving up yet on my life.

Suddenly, out of a green light, a platoon of what looked like T-Rex headed soldiers teleported in, surprising all of us and making me stand ready to fight.

"Don't move." Conner whispered to us in a low tone.

"Great idea, make it easy for them." Kira chastised him.

"Plan B: Fight!" I snapped, immediately taking control and rushing forward, starting to battle the weird minions with everything I had been taught, surprising the Tyrannodrones and my new friends as I flipped around and knocked the soldiers down easily.

Once I finished off the last Tyrannodrone and landed, I panted slightly and looked at the others with a smile.

Conner was in disbelief. "You really are a Lightspeed trained woman."

"Told you." I smirked slightly before I heard another teleportation and looked around to see more Tyrannodrones. "Jeez, whoever's sending these must want us dead pretty damn bad!"

"New plan: Run!" Ethan shouted, leading the pack away from the drones, and this time I wasn't arguing.

As we ran, we hopped a ditch where I caught Kira and helped her out before we continued on, but the two of us tripped and hit the ground.

Seeing the drones almost on us, Kira did the only thing she could do: Scream. But her voice came out like a Pterodactyl screech and sent shockwaves at the drones, knocking them away.

I winced slightly as I got up, my hearing almost completely gone from the scream. "My ears!" I got helped up by Ethan as he asked incredulously, "How'd you do that?"

"I have no idea." She admitted before noticing a bright glow from her pocket and pulling out her Dino Gem, looking at it in surprise.

"Guess we know what those gems are for now." I said breathlessly.

We didn't have any more time to worry because the drones were back on their feet, and I immediately got in front of the trio. "Split up! I'll hold them off!"

They immediately obliged as I returned to fighting the drones, roundhouse kicking one back before I ducked under another that sailed past me as Kira rejoined me back to back and explained, "Don't know how, but I think I can fight!"

"Then let's get these bozos off our backsides!" I commanded, the two of us starting to fight the drones, and for a beginner, Kira was surprisingly keeping up well.

Unfortunately, a surprise attack knocked me away and I was left on my own, but I wasn't afraid of anything from these clowns. Just as I was attacking another drone, suddenly my punch knocked it flying through a tree, literally.

"Whoa, what the?!" I was stunned by the power before I noticed a bright purple glow and pulled out my Gem, getting a vision of a purple robotic pachycephalosaurus and smiling slightly before I hid my Gem and went to the others as Conner called out, "Over here!"

I rejoined the group, deciding to keep my abilities hidden from them for the time being as I asked, "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah./I think so./Yep." The responses came quickly as we panted slightly before I looked at them. "So we know Kira's got a sonic scream." I turned to the boys. "What about you two?"

"My skin turned into a dinosaur's thick skin." Ethan reported. "I'm guessing it's invincibility."

"I ended up with superspeed." Conner responded in kind, smiling in amazement.

"What about you, Hads?" Kira asked me curiously.

I smiled a bit. "I don't really need any civilian powers. My martial arts is more than enough." I figured if they didn't need to know I was secretly recruited already, then Dr. O would at least know who were my three teammates on the Rangers.

Speaking of, the good doctor ran over to us as they hid their gems, and he was asking, "You guys alright?"

We all shared a nod as I noticed the shaken nerves. "You okay, Doc? You look like you got chased down by a bear."

"You could say that," he admitted. "Better get you guys back."

We nodded and followed him out of the woods quickly, me more quickly than the others as I whispered to Tommy, "I think I already have my teammates as a Ranger."

He nodded and whispered back, "Then you need to be ready to suit up." He passed me a cuff for my Gem and I accepted it, heading back to the Jeep quickly.

The next morning, I was with the gang, my Morpher now online and ready as Conner spoke, "Okay, so we all agree we don't tell anyone about this."

"About what? That there's a possibility you guys could become secret superheroes?" I muttered quietly and smiled playfully as I got an incredulous look from him. "Kidding! I'm not gonna tell a soul!"

Kira looked at me and shook her head. "I'll do one better." She pulled out her Gem and placed it in my hand. "I'm out of it. Just forget I was here and I'll do the same."

I looked at Kira and shook my head slightly. "Kira, there's not much of a choice in the matter. Once you gain your powers, there's no going back from that."

Kira shook her head slightly. "I don't care! I didn't want any of this in the first place! I just wanted to make music and focus on college!"

"You think any of you guys wanted to find these and become heroes?" I held up the gem and shook my head, taking Kira's hand. "Listen, Kira. There's something I learned from my family: Sometimes being a hero isn't about just having powers. It's also about doing the right thing when you need to."

Kira pursed her lips slightly before she nodded a bit and sighed softly. "Okay, I'll think about it. But the gem's staying with you three for now." She turned and walked off, but before she got too far, a sudden breeze hit us again.

I looked up and pocketed the Yellow Gem quickly. "Oh, you can't be serious."

Yep; as soon as I said that, suddenly Tyrannodrones appeared and attacked Kira.

"Kira, hang on!" I immediately rushed over with the guys to try and help, but they all vanished before we could do anything.

"Okay, we need to get help now." I told the two, grabbing Kira's bag and heading to Conner's car. "Let's head to Dr. Oliver's place! He'll know what to do!" I hopped in and called my dad quickly, speaking with him and telling him to meet us all at the Dino Base, managing to hang up just before the boys jumped in.

A little while later, we arrived at Dr. O's place, in the woods just like yesterday, and we immediately went to the front porch, Ethan knocking on the door as Conner looked through the window.

I walked over behind Ethan and twisted the doorknob experimentally, opening it up as Conner joined me and asked, "Why would he leave it unlocked?"

I shrugged slightly, coming up with an excuse. "Maybe because he pretty much lives alone, only the animals as his neighbors?" I smiled and walked inside, looking around. "Dr. O? It's Hadley, Conner, and Ethan! We need to talk! It's urgent!"

Conner went to touch a dino statue on a nearby table, but Ethan stopped him as he asked, "Remember what happened the last time you did that?"

"What are you talking about?" The jock asked. "The guy's a teacher, not..." He pushed the jaw down and unfortunately for me, the secret hatch opened up behind me, making me lose balance and fall backwards with a shout of surprise, resulting in me tumbling down the stairs into the Dino Base, landing in a backwards roll as I shouted, "OW!"

"Sorry!" Conner called down to me with a grimace on his face before he and Ethan joined me downstairs and helped me up, all of us looking around as I asked, "Anyone else getting a sense of deja vu?"

"Well, if you mean to ask if we're freaking out, then yeah. We are definitely freaking out." Ethan responded to me.

"If you guys are looking for extra credit," Tommy spoke up behind us as he appeared, "you're in the wrong place."

The three of us gave each other a look of "Oh crap baskets".

(To be continued...)

Whew, that was a long beginning! Hope I can keep you guys entertained throughout though. And in case you're wondering, yes, Hadley knows about the Rangers and the whole situation. She's just playing dumb with her friends and she's gonna be a secret Ranger ally to the group until Episode 4 of this season. But until next time, read and review like always!