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I learned later that what I saw in those moments of freefall -- my father, a big, red button, the world exploding -- it didn't happen. Or, maybe it almost happened? And it wasn't just me. All of us, in both vehicles, saw it somehow. Maybe I did it. I know my... gifts, or whatever. They blasted open when we went over the cliff, and I linked with Oliver, and we brought everyone down safely.
Or maybe it did happen, and this is my chance to fix it.
Smith coughed as he pushed open the back door to the van, dust from the impact hanging about in the air. "Mom?" he asked. "London? You two okay?"
He glances behind him. His mother nods as London frees her hands; London, his sister, how fucked up was that? "We're good," his mom assured him. "Check the other car?"
Smith nodded, throwing a glance back at the Three Brainwashed Musketeers -- unconscious, somehow. Not from the impact, they'd hit too gently for that. Did I do that? Smith wondered, before leaving them for now and stepping out of the van. Already, Oliver and Stella were moving towards him; The Messiah was just getting out of the car himself. "What just happened?" Smith asked. "Because that was... What was that?"
Oliver shrugged. "I think you just activated your gifts," he explained, stepping forward. A shy smile stretched across his face. "Uh, hi, Smith. Did you-"
"I got it, yeah," Smith said, nodding. His brain was full with information, gleaned from Oliver's while they were linked. "When we were... doing whatever we just did. Some of it, anyway -- the Resistance thing."
From behind them, in the van, London's voice rang out. "Less flirting, more tying up our kidnappers?" she suggested. "I don't know what you did to them, Smith, but I don't think it's going to last long."
Thor was already groaning softly, Smith realised, as he and Oliver joined London. A quick glance over his shoulder told Smith that Stella was with his mother. "Here, hand me that rope," he said. After London gave it to him, he looped it around Thor's wrists, and with a quick thought fused it together. He paused. "How did I know how to do that?"
"It's your gift," Oliver explained, taking another length of rope and holding it out for Smith. When Smith took it, Oliver snipped a third. "Some of us need to be trained to use it, but the more powerful you are, the more you just get by instinct. Not all of it, all at once, but you'll get bits and pieces as you need them."
Smith fused the second piece of rope around Rex's wrists, and then the third around Hunter's. Oliver handed him another length, and he got to work on securing their feet, too. "Hey, so-" Smith cut himself off when he looked up and saw London staring at him, eyes wide. "... Yeah, so it turns out that I have kinda freaky powers," he explained. "There's this whole... thing."
"Freaky powers," London repeated. "Right. As if this day wasn't weird enough already."
"Listen, London," Smith started. He was about to tell her, 'I want you to take my Mom and Stella and get somewhere safe,' but Oliver's eyes widened and a burst of thought opened up in Smith's head. Creepy, but that was going to be really useful. "Can you go tell The Messiah that he needs to take my Mom and Stella somewhere safe?" he asked instead. "I don't think we all need to keep going with this."
She nodded, and Oliver sighed with relief as she moved out of immediate earshot. ::I'm not sure why, but it's important she come with us,:: he explained, speaking directly into Smith's mind. ::It's not a premonition, exactly, but it feels like things go wrong if she stays behind.::
Smith nodded before turning back to their three captives. "So what are we going to do with them?" he asked. "We can't just leave them here."
"Take them with us?" Oliver suggested. "Or... There's three of us. Three people, with your mom, Stella, and The Messiah. And three of them. Maybe it means something?"
"Maybe..." Smith shrugged. "I don't know how we'd figure it out, though. Not unless you're getting anything?" Oliver shook his head, so Smith decided to let that sit in the back of his head for the time being. "Do you think... I'm just wondering. Do you think London might have powers, too?"
"It's possible," Oliver agreed, nodding. "I don't know if she's ever been checked, and latent powers don't show up the same way that active ones do. I could look, but it would take a little while."
"We'll try it later, then. I want to get out of here soon."
Oliver nodded, and he and Smith started pulling the three no-longer-animal-masked guys out of the van. "We really do need to figure out what to do with them," Smith said, sighing. "We can't... I mean, can we just leave them here?"
Before Oliver could answer, Rex started to groan, shaking his head as he started to come to. "Wha- Where are we?" he asked groggily. "What just happened?" He looked up, and his eyes fixed on Smith. "Whoa, dude, we-" Rex pulled as his restraints. "You've got us tied up? What's going on?"
There was something poking at Smith in the back of his head, and he opened himself up to his new senses. "... Oliver," he said, looking over, "are you getting what I'm getting here?"
Oliver stepped closer, bringing two fingers up to his temple; his skin glowed briefly where he touched it. "He's clean," he said, shocked, taking a step back. "He's -- there was brainwashing there, and it's gone. Whatever you did knocked it right out of him. Hang on, I'll check the others, too."
Smith knelt down in front of Rex, whose eyes were wide, scared; opening himself up a little more, Smith smiled softly, reassuring Rex. "Hey, it's okay," he said. "We're not going to hurt you now. What's the last thing you remember?"
Rex swallowed, his wrists straining once more at the rope. "We were driving, in the van -- we had you guys tied up in the back, right? I remember thinking that it was important, but it's hard to think about why. Like I had a really clear idea then, but that's crazy, seriously, what those people told us, it's crazy."
"You remember how some of us have powers, right?" Smith asked, and Rex nodded slowly. "Do you mind if I... I think I can take a look at your brain, if you let me, I think I can figure out what they did to you." Rex nodded again, cautious and worried, but Smith felt him acquiesce, too. Bringing his hand up to Rex's forehead, Smith let his new instincts guide him.
Rex's brain was... The only word Smith could come up with was 'damaged.' It felt like someone had taken a hacksaw to it, cut away connections between different pieces -- critical thinking, Smith noticed, had been completely cut off. But everything was still there, which Smith counted himself lucky -- and there were already new connections forming, some of them fully formed already, all with a tingly signature to them that Smith recognised, somehow, as his own. Rex shuddered. "That-- That feels kinda weird," he said. "What are you doing?"
"Hang on," Smith ordered. "Just give me a second." He could see what he'd done already, what he must have done during freefall. It didn't take long to figure out how to replicate it, and as he guided it consciously, how to make it more effective and efficient. "I'm healing you," he explained absently, distracted by his work. "What they did to you, it was someone with powers like mine, so I can fix it."
It didn't take long, either; most of the work had already been done in the initial, unconscious burst, so after a few more moments Smith stood up. "How do you feel?" he asked. "I'm going to let that settle for a moment, and then see about untying you."
Rex rolled his shoulders, stretched his neck. "That... I feel like I'm awake." Smith felt him running back through his memories. "Aw, fuck, man, I can't believe -- I am so sorry. It's like I remember everything... I know exactly why I thought it was right to do everything we did, but it's -- I'm so sorry."
Smith shook his head. A quick thought, and Rex's wrists were free. He was certain enough that they could trust Rex now. "It's okay. You weren't in control, not really. But what do you want to do now?"
"What about Hunter and Thor?" Rex asked. "Can you do the same thing for them?"
Smith glanced at Oliver, who nodded. "I felt what you were doing," he explained. "I can't replicate it, but they're in the same state already. Shouldn't take much to fix them the same way."
"Okay, so I want you to fix them, and then I want to help you guys. These people, they... They need to be stopped."
"It'll be dangerous," Smith reminded him, stepping up to Hunter to start the work on him. "Are you sure?"
Rex nodded. "And I bet they'll feel the same way," he added, nodding at Thor and Hunter. "So... Yeah. We'll help."
In the past few hours, Smith had learned that his father was a crazed psycho cult leader bent on destroying the world, his most recent lover was his sister, he was destined to be the Chosen Son, and he had weird, freaky, and incredibly strong powers that he was just beginning to understand. And he got driven off a cliff.
Looking at Oliver, Smith grinned. "We can do this. We can actually stop them."
Oliver smiled back, reaching out for Smith's hand. "We can."
They didn't have a plan. They had two -- maybe three -- people with powers, and three recently-healed-of-brainwashing cult members to help them get in, but they didn't have a plan, or weapons, or any experience with taking down cults, despite Oliver's experience in the Resistance.
But, standing there with Oliver's hand in his, leaning, mentally and physically, on Oliver for support as he healed the damage done to Thor and Hunter's minds, Smith thought: ::We can do this.::