The unlikely threesome of Hornet, Poison Ivy and Teri Melton are still trapped in a cabin behind a steel door. They’re recovering after their first night together in the Hacker’s psychological experiment to see the true story of three former lovers (at different times, of course), picked to live in a cabin and have their lives taped for one man’s amusement, and find out what happens when people stop being polite (as if any of these three ever were), and start getting REAL.

Hornet exits the shower and surveys the room. At least the two women aren’t at each others’ throats. It’s been a cold war made up of non-interference and ignoring each other. Ivy is on the phone as Teri makes a show of working on her nails. She and Hornet exchange pleasantries as she gathers up some things and heads into the bathroom for her shower.

It was a long night. The “Red Midget show” fiasco went on for hours, followed by Burt Bacharach love songs blaring through the television set, until Ivy found a way to pry the non-working buttons off the TV and actually activate the volume control, with the help of a hairpin, a Q-tip, and some MacGyver-like skills.

Then there was the decision of where to sleep. Teri, of course, offered to share the bed with Hornet. Ivy calmly offered to tear out Teri’s hair extensions, and then tossed her boots on the bed, barely missing Teri’s head. That settled, Ivy took the bed, Hornet took the floor, and Teri ended up relegated to grabbing a pillow and a blanket and bunking in the bathtub.

The morning came too early. Ivy was up first, digging PowerBars out of her bag and tossing one on Hornet’s head to wake him. The two sat in silence, chewing their processed protein bars, attempting to act like they haven’t been held hostage in this twelve-by-twelve room for almost sixteen hours. Teri had climbed out of the bathtub shortly after. Hornet offered bathroom time to Ivy first, but she declined, picking up her cell phone.

And so here they are. In the middle of a little place called denial. The discussion of the Hacker’s takeover of the ship (and their lives) and the reappearance of the Red Midget had been a brief one. These three have been around the CSWA for a long time, over forty years combined… they’ve seen stranger things, sadly.

And then the television comes back on, volume restored to its annoyingly loud level. Ivy wraps up her phone call… apparently Adrian hasn’t had any luck figuring out which cabin they’re in or how to get them out. Hornet stops probing the ceiling for any point of weakness, and Teri stops blow-drying her hair.

The production feed of VERSUS plays on the television, as Sean Stevens launches into his promo… one that features Hornet prominently. The target of the tirade settles in to a spot on the bed directly in front of the TV. Shortly after the Triple X interview, the television goes blank again.

Hornet turns to Ivy.

“Can you take video with that camera?”

“Of course.”

“Turn it on. And then we’ll see if you can find a way to get it to the production truck.”