(Table of contents) (See previous)
CUT TO BARD standing alone in an elevator. A quick look at a camera shows he somehow bent it away from the corner heās in.
As the elevator descends, time appears to slow a bit. BARDāS face turns more serious and contemplative, as he flexes his robotic hand a couple of times, studying how the joints move and react to his nerve signals. Heās gotten used to seeing it constantly for years, but sometimes he still has to notice the difference from what used to be there.
A plastic cup is spilled on the floor next to him, with soda and ice cubes leaking out. He picks up an ice cube in his left hand, his human hand, and holds it for a moment, feeling the cold. He switches it to his right, and keeps it pinched between his fingers with no discomfort.
BARD
(under his breath)
There are some things Iāve yet to learn to replicate.
He leaves the elevator, stopping on the second floor where the launching pads are. The alarms begin to blare in warning of a missing prisoner, and he walks faster to the door.
CUT TO soldiers rushing from the scene in the dining room, DR. JUPITER seeming to stay behind and watch as the chaos continues.
CUT BACK TO the landing pad. Thereās a magnetic badge pad to bypass the security system. He rubs his hand on it a bit, until the machine is confused enough to emit a green light. The doors open, causing more lights and sounds to go off.
BARD laughs, knowing heās already at his escape. He runs through the rain and storm to the nearest helicopter.
Lightning flashes. From the shadows, in front of him, appears JUPITER.
JUPITER
I wouldnāt recommend that.
BINARY BARD freezes. Being the one to be puzzled was not a situation he ever expected this prison to put him in.
JUPITER lifts a pair of pliers.
JUPITER
You may be able to learn how anything works, but you didnāt make these. I donāt think youād know if something was right or wrong from your first glance.
He walks toward BARD, completely nonchalant, and whispers in his ear.
JUPITER
You should have been more careful. Or have you already lost all memory of what happened the last time you tried to escape a prison in a damaged craft?
BARD’S expression turns from confused to frightened.
He runs, shoving JUPITER aside as he heads straight to the helicopters. JUPITER grabs him by his robotic arm, and sparks seem to fly out of nowhere. The man shows no surprise as BARD falls to the ground.
The guards rush out, circling the prisoner.
GUARD #1
Woah, what happened to him?
JUPITER
The electromagnetic energy in the air from the storm must have set off something in him.
With that, he calmly leaves the platform with a sly smile.
CUT TO MOREAU and D outside the lunch room, talking with the ASSISTANT WARDEN.
ASSISTANT WARDEN
This was ABSOLUTELY ridiculous and unexpectedā¦the conduct of these prisoners is unacceptable and we need your help!
DIRECTOR D.
Of course, of courseā¦this was all started by a food fight, correct?
The ASSISTANT WARDEN scoffs.
ASSISTANT WARDEN
It may ājustā have been a food fight, but this reflects on our prison! This is a place of both social and scientific progress!
DIRECTOR D. and MOREAU share a confused look.
MOREAU
ā¦scientific?
ASSISTANT WARDEN
Yes!…Did Dr. Jupiter not tell you anything? Thatās odd. I thought he hired you to help him with the experiment.
D. and MOREAU now look even more confused.
D./MOREAU
Experiment?
The ASSISTANT WARDEN responds with an awkward silence.
DIRECTOR D.
(Suspicious)
Why did you think he would need us?
ASSISTANT WARDEN
Itā¦it has to do with the human mindā¦I thought.
(He pales)
Uh, this is all confidential. I’ll…I’ve got something to do.
He bolts to the elevator, pushing one of DIRECTOR D.’s fake guards aside on his way to it.
MOREAU
Well, someoneās getting fired.
DIRECTOR D.
Wait a moment. Maybe other people here might think weāre in on it as well, we might be able to learn more first.
MOREAU opens her fan and twirls it in the air a few times, gazing at the elevator where the assistant disappeared.
CUT TO DR. JUPITER arriving at the top floor. He enters through a locked door, marked with multiple CAUTION and DO NOT ENTER signs. The room is in complete darkness, save for the glow from the tiny slit window in the door.
DR. JUPITER reaches for a large lever switch, and pushes it up.
The room flickers to life. Machinery begins to purr, and looking up shows multiple platforms. Thereās an assortment of computers, wiring, and even medical equipment. Suddenly, four more lights turn on, each in separate, large tanks placed two above, two below the platform.
MOREAU
(V.O.)
If it has to do with the mindā¦how does he plan to change them?
CUT TO BLACK.
END OF EPISODE 4.
Hello Poptropicans! Just a few notes before we end with this episode.
First off, I’m going to be aiming for a biweekly schedule on Tuesdays for this. Today’s was late and I can’t promise it will be perfect in the future as my life can get quite chaotic, but hopefully there will be some semblance of order from now on.
Secondly, so far every episode has been split into three parts (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, etc). I wanted to keep each episode at a decent length in total to reflect what it could be like for an actual TV show, but as I’ve thought about it, I realized that the full series will take…a long time. I don’t mind having a long-running project on the surface, but I do want to prevent burnout or stretching this more than I can do. There’s a reason actual shows usually have writing teams!
With that, future episodes will most likely be split in half, although I do plan on making exceptions for longer episodes (such as for season finales… š).
I’ll see you with Episode 5 or my next news post!
Castori honoremĀ ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles
š Poptropica Help Blog šŗ 
Cool
Thank ye!
Still a great story so far.