ISSUE 104: Welcome to BIONA. Hope You Survive the Experience

“**ISSUE #104: Welcome to BIONA. Hope You Survive the Experience**” is the fourth episode in season one of *Raising Dion*.

## Plot

### Overview

As Nicole tries to track down the person behind an ominous photo, Pat takes Dion to BIONA, where they see a few things not on the official tour.

### Full Plot

The episode opens in Clarke County, Alabama, at the farm of Walter Mills. He and his son Brayden are preparing to reap the harvest. While getting their tools, Brayden notices his mother’s rose bush has been uprooted by an animal. Walter, who is revealed to have the power to grow plants, restores the bush. An aerial shot then reveals the crops on the farm are growing much better than those on surrounding farms.

Back in Atlanta, Nicole shows Pat a photo of the mysterious storm creature. Pat is currently having migraine, but doesn’t want to see a doctor because of BIONA’s strict health policy. Kat drops by to give Dion his birthday present (an Ipad), since she will miss the actual party. She notices a piece of Lego stuck in the wall, but Pat quickly claims that was his fault. After Pat and Dion leave the house, Kat confesses that she talked with Willa and thinks Nicole should see Kwame for a job at the dance studio. Nicole assures her she already has five other job interviews that day. But first, she goes to Malik and asks him if he can track down where the photo of the storm creature came from, promising to give him dance lessons for his upcoming dance party in return.

Since Dion’s school is closed for the day due to a teacher workday, Pat takes him to BIONA. On the way there, they discuss Dion’s powers and Pat assures Dion he won’t end up being homeless. At BIONA, Dion first inspects the aquarium at the front desk, and is disappointed that his favorite fish, Greeny, is gone. Since he has no access to laboratory L5, Pat instead takes Dion to Suzanne Wu’s office and shows him the many monitors there that track extreme weather worldwide. Suzanne catches them in the act, but when she learns Dion is Mark Warren’s son she offers to show him around the facility.

Nicole meanwhile has no luck with any of the job interviews, and is forced to call Willa and ask her if Kwame is still willing to see her, which he is. After a pep talk from Pat, she goes to the dance studio, and gets a job at the front office. Shortly afterwards, Malik texts her that he found something.

At the Mills Farm, Brayden tries if he has plant growing powers, but nothing happens. He notices a mysterious black van parked on their property and warns his dad. Walter gets his rifle and chases the intruders off. Brayden is disappointed that his father didn’t shoot them or use his powers on them, but Walter scolds him for even thinking like that.

At BIONA, Suzanne has given Dion some ice cream, but now she has to get back to work. Dion spots a room with a reindeer, and can feel the animal is in pain, but the door closes before he can enter. Despite Pat’s insistence that they can’t enter the room since it’s restricted, even for him, Dion uses his powers to disable the security camera’s and telepathically steals Suzanne’s card to open the door. Reluctantly, Pat agrees. Inside the room, they find multiple animals from Iceland, all kept in glass cages. Pat discovers a set of monitors, keeping track of various people that witnessed the Aurora Event, including Walter Mills. Dion is horrified to learn the animals are being experimented on, and wants to set them free. When he spots an injured and clearly sick fox, Dion uses his powers to heal the creature.

Nicole has been given the identity of the woman who posted the photo, Wendy, and seeks her out. She believes the ghosts Nicole saw at the lake are being held captive by a malevolent force, but she also believes the lightning guy (as she calls him) himself is David Bowie, which is a sign for Nicole to end the conversation. Wendy quickly tells her the Lightning Guy has been spotted all over the world, including Iceland.

At BIONA, Dion spots a hermit crab, while Pat tries to search for info on a computer, but accidentally tries to access a restricted file and triggers an alarm. They have to leave, but the door of the lab has closed behind them. Dion uses his powers to shut down the power in the entire facility, causing the emergency power to kick in and the door to reopen. Several BIONA agents come to the lab to investigate the power outage while the building is evacuated. Dion and Pat manage to use the commotion to sneak out, with Dion secretly bringing the crab along. Once outside, it’s revealed that Dion caused a power outage in the entire city.

Back at the apartment, Malik and the neighborhood kids use the power outage to throw a party in the street. Dion video calls his friend Andre to discuss their upcoming birthday party. Pat tells Nicole how he found out BIONA is tracking the people that were at the Aurora Event. Dion admits he brought the hermit crab home, to Nicole’s dismay. Nicole demands he brings the crab back, but Pat reminds her that will raise a lot of questions about how Dion got the crab out of a secret lab in the first place. Reluctantly, Nicole allows Dion to keep the crab, which Dion names Pinchy. Later, in his bedroom, Dion uses his powers to fill the room with sparkling lights so he and Nicole can have their own dance party.

The following day, at the Mills farm, Walter finds Brayden outside, staring at an incoming storm. Walter realizes the danger and sends Brayden inside. He then uses his powers to cover the whole house in thick vines, while the storm attacks and kills him.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Alisha Wainwright as Nicole Warren
* Ja'Siah Young as Dion Warren
* Jazmyn Simon as Kat Neese
* Jason Ritter as Pat Rollins

### Recurring Cast

* Ali Ahn as Suzanne Wu
* Griffin Robert Faulkner as Brayden Mills
* Marc Menchaca as Walter Mills
* Kylen Davis as Malik
* J Harrison Ghee as Kwame
* Diana Chiritescu as Jill Noonan (cameo)
* Victor Sho as Rashad
* Justice Leak as Lars
* Manny Magnus as Andre Patel

### Guest Cast

* Antonia Gentry as Wendy
* Teddy Cole as Stoner
* Payden Fallis as Biona Chief Security Officer
* Laurel Halpering as Receptionist #1
* Brandon Valley Jones as Receptionist #2
* Joaquin Montes as Biona Tech
* Charles Orr as Security Guard #1

## Trivia

* Esperanza does not appear on screen in this episode, but she can briefly be seen chatting with Dion in the Reptile Repo game.