The next few months flew by quickly, and by the beginning of summer Tommy had made great progress with the Dino Gems. The Dino Gems slowly revealed their secrets to him…. Tyranno was the older sibling and leader of the gems and had the power of super speed. Tricera, the Blue Dino Gem, would give his master armored skin that would help protect themselves in battle. Ptera, the Yellow Dino Gem, would give her mistress the "Ptera-Scream", a blasting sonic screech, that she could use to protect herself and drive away any attackers.

Due to Brachio and Drago still missing, Tyranno revealed Brachio's power was invisibility, while Drago's power was camouflage. Tyranno revealed that Drago was extremely powerful on his own, and if he were ever corrupted, the person that he bonded with would be turned to evil as well. That warning brought Tommy flashbacks of his Evil Green Ranger days, and Tommy hoped that he could find Drago and Brachio before a villain did.

The Dino Gems gave Tommy permission to use them to create a new Power Ranger team… the Rangers would be needed to defend the earth as a new threat would soon arise.

Tommy had no clue how to create a Ranger team, or how to give this future team access to their powers. He wished that Billy still lived on Earth…. Billy had always helped his teammates with their ranger tech, and even helped maintain the Zords. But Tommy knew of one genius who could help him… he just had to tell her the truth about his ranger past, and hope that she would be willing to help.

Tommy decided to invite Hayley over so he could tell her the whole story… Hayley would be the only person besides his friends that would know the truth about his ranger past. He was honestly nervous that he would lose Hayley's friendship over this.

Hayley came over all excited to visit with Tommy… she was looking forward to seeing him as she hadn't been able to spend much time with him lately due to the hectic nature of both of their jobs. She also couldn't wait to tell Tommy of her upcoming plans… while living in Reefside, she noticed the seaside town needed a safe spot for the local teenagers to hang out after school besides the local mall. She remembered Tommy's stories of Ernie's Youth Center and Juice Bar and felt Reefside could really use a place like that. But she wanted to add more to that concept… she wanted to have a huge stage for live entertainment to give young performers a chance to play for an audience, and a huge computer area for the kids to be able to use for fun and studying. While her job paid her well, Hayley was wanting to do some good for her new community… she needed a change of pace from her hectic job and was honestly looking forward to being her own boss.

After a long day at work, Tommy was happy to see Hayley drive up. Smitty was being a pain in his ass again as the two were working together on the Bio Zords and the Tyrannodrones… these were two major projects Anton wanted completed for the military, but the two rivals were butting heads on every aspect of the projects. While the two had made progress on the Tyrannodrones (which were going to be powerful foot soldiers that could help protect human soldiers in battle), Tommy and Smitty were struggling on the Bio Zords. The Dino Gems revealed that it was vital that the Bio Zords be completed… they would be able to infuse their powers into their Zord counterpart, and their masters would be able to use the Zords to protect the city. Thankfully, the two managed to compromise… Tommy was able to use his designs (the Dino Gems were adamant that the Bio Zords would be their physical embodiment), and Smitty was able to add the necessary technology that would make the Bio Zords as powerful as the old zords Tommy piloted in his youth.

Tommy was just relieved that he finally made progress with Smitty… it was honestly draining working with his rival. Smitty seemed determined to undermine his authority, and never wasted an opportunity to make himself look better in front of Anton. It was like talking to a brick wall, and Tommy could sense that Anton was growing frustrated that his two protégés were having this much trouble. Now that they made progress, Tommy couldn't wait to finally complete these projects and have Smitty return to working on his own projects.

While Smitty challenged him and had done a brilliant job with all the tech, Tommy honestly wished he had Hayley's brilliant mind. As his research continued with the Dino Gems, Tommy knew he needed an intelligent and trustworthy ally to help him. Despite his nerves, Tommy knew he was making the right decision to be honest with his best friend.

Hayley used her key and walked into the living room with pizza, and immediately set it down on the coffee table… Tommy was still changing out of his work clothes, so she hollered, "Tommy, hurry up! I brought pizza, and I'm starving. I'm going to start eating without you if you don't come downstairs soon!"

Tommy rolled his eyes and yelled back, "Hayley… I've had a long day. I'm just getting comfortable… go ahead and get some drinks for us. And you can start eating if you're that hungry!"

Hayley just laughed and went ahead and helped herself to Tommy's fridge to get the drinks. She was honestly comfortable being at Tommy's… the only thing she didn't like about his place was that it was too dinosaur oriented. The house really could use a female touch to soften the look of the place… if only her best friend wasn't such a terminal bachelor.

Hayley felt a little sad for Tommy… the man was kind, loyal, and a wonderful friend but he was so guarded when it came to his personal life. She knew about his relationships with Kimberly and Kat, and how each relationship ended. Tommy did not like to talk much about Kimberly… that was a highly painful and sensitive subject as he still had a lot of hurt and regrets when it came to that relationship. There were times Hayley honestly wanted to find Kimberly and force her to talk to Tommy so the poor guy could get closure… the way Tommy acted whenever the original pink ranger was brought up made Hayley highly suspect that he never quite got over her.

Tommy finally came downstairs to find Hayley plopped on his sofa, already digging into the food. He laughed, "I knew you would start eating without me… hope you saved me some. I'm starving… I didn't get to eat much at lunch since I had a meeting with Anton and Smitty."

Hayley managed to finish chewing and asked, "How are things going? Smitty still being a pain in the ass like usual? You really need to have a talk with him."

Tommy just sighed, "I've tried… you know how Smitty is. I just want to shake him and remind him we're no longer in college, and I do my best to treat him with respect. But it's like talking to a brick wall."

Hayley laughed, "Oh, I bet… just be patient. There's a reason Anton chose you to lead the research team over Smitty. You care about your work, and you are not trying to impress your boss to get ahead. All I can say is just ignore Smitty's petty attitude… continue to work hard, and I know you'll succeed in completing your research with the Dino Gems."

Tommy managed a small smile at that, "Thanks, Hayley… I needed that. I've just been so stressed with work… it's nice to be able to vent with my best friend."

Hayley gently gave Tommy's shoulder a reassuring pat, "It's no problem… you know you can always talk with me about anything."

Hayley then noticed Tommy shied away at that… she had a sense that Tommy had a lot on his mind and wasn't sure what to say next.

Tommy took a deep breath to get his courage, "I know that… but this is hard for me. Hayley… I have a past that only a few people know about. You know I grew up in Angel Grove, and how that was the home of the original Power Rangers."

Hayley nodded, "Yeah, I always thought it was cool that you grew up there. I'm sure your high school years were interesting growing up in that area."

Tommy playfully rolled his eyes at that, "Oh, you have no idea." He reached into his pockets and pulled out his original Dragonzord morpher. "Hayley, I just didn't grow up there… I was a Power Ranger. In fact, I was a ranger until I gave up my powers to go off to college."

Hayley stared at the golden morpher in amazement… she couldn't believe that her best friend had been a Power Ranger. Honestly, she wasn't surprised that Tommy had been a Power Ranger… she was kicking herself for not figuring out sooner.

Hayley managed to regain her voice, "How the heck did I not figure it out that my best friend was a Power Ranger? No wonder you are a karate expert… I'm sure you had to use those skills as a ranger. I now get why you are so secretive when it comes to your high school years… while I'm glad you're being honest with me, why are you telling me about your ranger past now?"

Tommy sighed, "Hayley, you are the one person besides my ranger teammates that I can trust with this secret. I need your help… the Dino Gems are powerful, and I have a feeling the Power Rangers are going to be needed in the future. The Dino Gems are connected to the Morphing Grid… and the Grid is what gives a ranger access to their powers. The Dino Gems warned me that there is an evil threat coming, and Reefside is going to need protecting."

Hayley's mind was reeling at the news, but realized her best friend truly needed her help. "And you need a tech genius to help you. Tommy, looking at this old morpher… this tech is out of your range, isn't it? You want to my help to make ranger tech for a future team."

Tommy nodded, "I wouldn't be asking if I didn't have faith that you could do it. Will you help me?"

Hayley was flattered that Tommy had that much faith in her abilities. Looking at Tommy's original morpher, she could see that it was a powerful piece of technology. But as she studied the morpher, she was confident that she could develop something similar.

Hayley replied, "Your morpher is an amazing piece of tech… it's going to be complicated, but I can develop something similar. But what's going to be the source of power? If I'm correct, each ranger has a unique power source."

Tommy managed a small grin… he was relieved that Hayley seemed to be okay with the bombshell he just dropped on her and seemed willing to help, "Yes, every ranger has a specific power and color unique to them. I had several powers before I retired as a ranger. For this future team, we will have to use the Dino Gems as their power source."

Hayley grinned, "Well, if you want my help, I need to hear the whole story from the beginning. How did the Power Rangers start?"

Tommy's grin grew wider and begin to tell Hayley of his history as a Power Ranger. Tommy went ahead and started at the beginning… that Zordon of Eltar and Alpha 5 chose five teenagers to become the original Power Rangers so they could protect the Earth from the evil sorceress Rita Repulsa. Jason, Billy, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly were a great team, and they managed to best Rita and her goons time and time again.

Hayley was enthralled as Tommy shared how he joined the team. Tommy had just moved to Angel Grove and entered the local karate competition. Tommy had trained in karate from a young age, and always loved competing. In the tournament he faced off against Jason, the original red ranger. The two teens were evenly matched, and their match ended in a tie.

Rita noticed the match, and frustrated with her defeats, decided that she needed her own evil ranger to defeat the Power Rangers. Tommy was on his way to meet Kimberly and the others after school (Kim had invited him to hang out after he had defended her from Bulk and Skull, and Tommy was looking forward to making new friends) when Rita kidnapped him, and performed her spell to transform him into the Evil Green Ranger.

Tommy was a formidable match against the rangers, and nearly defeated them. Thankfully, Jason destroyed the Sword of Darkness and restored Tommy to his true self. Tommy was ashamed and didn't feel worthy of his new powers, but with convincing from his friends, he agreed to join the team as a way to atone for his evil acts.

Hayley was amazed that Tommy had been a Power Ranger throughout his entire high school years, and that he had carried several powers. She was amazed that Tommy had been the Green Dragonzord Ranger, the White Tigerzord/Ninja Falcon Ranger, the Red Zeo Ranger, and the Red Turbo Ranger. She quickly realized that Tommy's closest high school friends had to be former rangers themselves.

After Tommy finally finished his story, Hayley shook her head and managed to say, "Here I thought my news was going to be a big deal. Finding out that your best friend was a Power Ranger trumps my news that I'm planning to start my own business."

Tommy smiled at that news, "Hayley, that's great! What kind of business are you starting?" Tommy was happy for Hayley and wasn't too surprised that the genius redhead wanted to start her own business.

Hayley chuckled at Tommy's enthusiasm, "Well, I want to start a Cyber Café… make it a safe place for the kids to hang out. Kind of like how Ernie's was for you and your friends back in Angel Grove. While I like the pay of my job, I'm not liking all the politics right now. I'm ready for a change… I'm still saving up money to start out and need to find a great location for the café, but hopefully I can get my café open by next year."

Tommy replied, "Since you're helping me out with ranger tech, I'll be more than happy to help you with your business."

Hayley teased, "Yeah, you better. You owe me big for agreeing to help you. You're going to need a base for this future ranger team… any ideas on where you are going to build a ranger headquarters?"

An idea quickly came to Tommy, "Hayley, how about we build the base here? The house and woods are perfect for a ranger team to train and operate in secret. I have a huge basement that I can add onto and develop into a high-tech base… I got plenty of ranger contacts that can help us build it."

Hayley agreed, "We've got a lot of work ahead of us. We're going to be busy creating this base and with my new business. How far along are you with your Dino Gem research?"

Tommy revealed, "It's been a process, but it helps that the Dino Gems trust me. They could sense I had a connection to the Morphing Grid and will only reveal their secrets to me. And a lot of the projects I'm working on, a future ranger team will be able to use them in battle."

Hayley's mind began to work, "You're going to have to tell me about all the different tech rangers use… I'm sure I can develop quite a lot of things."

Tommy gave a sly grin at that, "Oh, I'm sure you will… with your help, I know we can get this done. I don't know when the Power Rangers will be needed, but when the time comes, I know we'll be ready for it."

Tommy and Hayley quickly went to work… it was going to be a lot of work developing a Power Ranger team, but Tommy was relieved that he had Hayley's help. Hayley was truly a great friend, and Tommy trusted that they would be able help and mentor the future rangers.

Hey, I'm finally back with a new update. Things have been kind of crazy for me... I just recently had surgery, but thankfully my recovery has been going well. Hope everyone enjoys, and I hope I'll be able to update soon!