My take on Dino Thunder

The season opens at the Nexus of Gaia (as seen in Wild Force and Terra Force) where a crack is forming in the ground. From the crack would emerge the white Dino Thunder Ranger. He would summon his zord and destroy the Nexus.

In the city of Stone Canyon, 3 dinosaur statues (well, technically 2 dinosaur and 1 pterosaur but even so) would begin to glow at a museum. 3 young adults (Ethan, Kira, and Conner) would approach the statues, because few things are as curious and dumb as people in their early 20s. A worker would warn them to step back but they'd touch the statues. They and the statues would all teleport to some sort of cave.

They'd meet a mysterious man named Aba. He says that one of Earth's first Power Rangers was once imprisoned deep beneath the Nexus of Gaia, but has gotten out. His escape triggered the awakening of the zords of the 3 rangers he killed. They ask him how he knows all of this and he just says that he's resourceful and that there's nothing to worry about.

The white ranger's zord would attack the city. Aba would hand them morphers. They'd morph, go into battle, and confront the white ranger. He'd tell them his story.

His name is Drago and 15,000 years ago, he and 4 other warriors stumbled upon some fossils, outside of the temple of the god Animus. The fossils gave them great power and turned them into the first team of Power Rangers that Earth had known. They used their powers for good and got the attention of Animus. Animus blessed them with zords to aid in their work. Soon, Drago left the team and conquered a nation with his powers. The other rangers found out about the conquest and went after him. He killed 3 of the rangers, but one got away and notified animus. Animus locked him away beneath the Nexus. Nobody knows what happened to the other ranger. He would reveal that he was released by a cult whose ancestors worshiped him as a god. Through the years, the cult's members have studied various magics so that they could bring him back. In doing so, they learned how to transform into monsters.

Drago wished to kill Animus but was angry to learn that Animus was already dead. So, he decided to settle with destroying the land he and his old team originally came from, Stone Canyon.

The rangers would defeat Drago, seeing that he's weakened and not quite at full strength. They'd go back to Aba and try to form a plan. Aba would tell them to just go about their normal lives and he'll take care of everything else. He'll alert them when they're needed.

The rangers would go back to their normal lives. They're all students at Stone Canyon University. Each one has a different major (not sure what) but they're all friends who regularly hang out together. Hence them being at the museum together.

There would be some character-building stuff, but nothing too deep. Aba would give them the various auxiliary zords and even the Triasic power up. The rangers would spend some time trying to figure out the truth about Aba, since he's so mysterious. They do some digging and start finding his face showing up in pictures throughout history.

They eventually confront Aba about this. He doesn't take it too kindly. He reveals that he's the lost ranger that Drago talked about. He says that after his friends were killed, he vowed to never morph again. Animus cursed him with immortality, so that a ranger could be around if Drago ever got out. He's been observing mankind for thousands of years, while also accumulating wealth and resources through various means. The rangers get angry at him for not joining in the fight with them, since an extra man out there would be helpful.

There's a new attack on the city and the rangers leave for the fight, still angry at Aba. During the fight, the rangers are severely injured. Aba comes out there and begins fighting, unmorphed. Drago shows up, calls off his monsters, and tells Aba to morph. Aba refuses. Drago says that he'll kill this team of rangers just as he killed the other, if Aba doesn't morph. Aba morphs and they fight. The fight seemingly ends with Drago thinking he killed Aba. For the first time in the whole season, Drago unmorphs. He laughs as he stands over what he thinks is a corpse, and he begins to walk over to the other fallen rangers. Aba sneaks up behind Drago and kills him. It's finished.

The season ends with the rangers going on to finish college, and Aba saying that he's going to help find more ranger operations, to make sure he dedicates his long life to the continued fight against evil.