“Is everything in place?” Eleni asked Magdalena.

Magdalena took out her phone and tapped on it. “Everything’s ready,” she confirmed. “The trucks are in position.”

“And the cargo?”

Magdalena grinned. “Hungry,” she said.

“I’m going down there now,” Eleni said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver foil ticket like the one the reporter had shown. “I want to be there in person when those stupid women see what’s coming for them.”

She exited the room, leaving the television on. Magdalena sat down on the bed and continued to text on her phone as Sam watched the feed from inside the hotel’s arena. Questions swirled around in his head, and when he couldn’t stand hearing them buzzing in his brain any longer he said, “What is it you’re doing?”

“Finally,” Magdalena said, putting her phone down. “I can’t believe you waited so long to ask.”

She walked over to the desk and picked something up. Coming back over to Sam, she held a brochure out so that he could see it. “‘Cirque des Étoiles presents the Battle for Earth,’” he read. “‘A celebration of human triumph.’ That’s the show they’re doing. I get it. But what does that have to do with you?”

“Everything,” Magdalena said. “How do you think it feels seeing the worst moment in your people’s history turned into a spectacle to entertain audiences? Especially so soon after it occurred.”

Sam looked at the arena filled with people. “It’s no different than having a parade,” he said. “Like the Fourth of July.”

“It’s very different,” Magdalena said. “But since you’re on the so-called winning side, I don’t imagine you can really understand.”

“So much for wanting to be friends,” Sam said.

“I didn’t say I blame you,” Magdalena told him. “I understand it was a war. And in every war there’s a winner and loser. I also know what part you and your friends played in that fight. Everybody does, of course.” She paused and looked at the TV. “But maybe the war isn’t quite over yet.”

“What do you mean?” Sam asked. “What’s this about?”

“Haven’t you wondered why you’re here?” Magdalena said, indicating the hotel room. “And not somewhere more, you know, not here?”

Sam of course had been wondering that very thing, so didn’t bother answering.

“This is what it’s all been leading up to,” Magdalena said.

This Sam didn’t understand. “All what?”

“Everything,” said Magdalena. “The drugs. The experiments. The camps for the runaway kids. All of it.” She waited for a reaction, then said, “You still don’t get it, do you?”

“Maybe your parasite ate the part of my brain that figures out riddles,” Sam said.

Magdalena rolled her eyes like a bored teenager. “It’s all part of ‘the plan,’” she said, making air quotes around the final two words. “First, we got humans hooked on that drug that makes them think they have Legacies. Honestly, that was mostly just for fun, but it had the added bonus of making people suspicious of Legacies themselves, and particularly of the people who have them. You know, because people started hurting themselves trying to be like you. That’s bad PR. Then we figured out how to make a serum to actually give us Legacies. I think it’s obvious why we would do that. And tonight, well, tonight we’re going to remind humans why it is they should fear us.”