"So that's what happened."

Howard had only told Tony about the misunderstanding involving the theft of the Pym Particle technology. After all, it was highly likely that Hydra, which had already infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time, was behind it. But when it came to Janet, he didn’t say much.

Tony, who hadn’t looked into it before, was just now learning the full story.

On the other side, Darren suddenly understood everything too. This was also his first time hearing about it.

"In that case, maybe we should focus our research on developing new materials that can shrink even further. That might be more practical than working on something as broad as the quantum realm."

After Darren spoke, Tony glanced at him. He knew why he said that. The man clearly wanted to help solve Hank’s biggest problem, so he could win more of the old man’s trust.

Tony didn’t reject the idea. Studying materials for the Pym Particles was indeed more practical than the vague and expansive field of quantum technology.

"Alright. Then we have a clearer goal now. Let’s shift our focus to this direction. It works out, since even with the recent research, most of it is still applicable if we adjust our approach.”

Meanwhile, Reed and Doom remained silent. The former was not interested in the conversation at all. He was fully immersed in his research. The latter, however, already knew everything. He just hadn’t mentioned it before.

"Hey, Reed. We’re changing the research direction. Save those files for now."

Doom walked over and gave him a reminder. Only then did Reed snap out of his intense focus.

"Did I space out?"

"You did," Doom replied calmly.

"So," he added, his voice low and deliberate, "how does it feel? Having a brain that stretches infinitely, gaining boundless intelligence?”

Reed smiled. He could give up all other abilities without hesitation, but this particular one was different. Once he noticed how his mind now had seemingly endless potential, how inspiration flooded in with every problem he faced, even he became reluctant to let it go.

"This feeling... it’s incredible. Addictive, even..."

"Oh? You want to keep this power?" 

Doom leaned in and spoke softly. For a second, Reed instinctively wanted to nod. But at the last moment, his rational mind kicked in. He took a small step back, feeling wary.

"No... wait. What do you mean by that?" 

He narrowed his eyes at Doom. "Are you saying I can't keep this power?"

The man nodded knowingly. "Yes. You are not qualified to hold onto this ability. Right now, you only have elasticity. You can reshape your body at will. That kind of power, sure, it's fine. But this one… this ability gives you limitless wisdom. That's dangerous."

His words carried a clear warning.

"Ragardless of whether it's me, Luthor from LexCorp, or even that guy, none of us would ever allow someone with creative thinking to possess this kind of ability. Intelligence does not prevent mistakes. And the smarter someone is, the bigger the fallout when they do make one.”

An abundance of intellect doesn't make a person perfect. It's knowledge that helps people avoid failure. 

Reed was a genius. His knowledge ranked among the top on Earth, but that was still within the limits of being human.

With infinite wisdom, he could use science to achieve almost anything. Whether it was amplifying the Silver Surfer's cosmic energy to the point of killing Galactus or creating portals through time and space, if he had the idea, his intelligence could make it real.

All roads lead to Rome. Relying on endless intellect, Reed could accomplish anything using just Earth's technology. But if his knowledge was flawed or incomplete, it could still trap him in a dead end.

When an ordinary person is mistaken, it's a simple failure of thought. But when someone with unlimited intelligence steps into a false path, they keep going deeper, failing again and again, until the whole world pays the price.

And the best example of this was the zombie universe’s version of Reed. After losing his son and daughter to the undead, he became obsessed and twisted, believing that the zombie lifeform was the next stage in human evolution.

That eventually led to the fall of humanity's last stronghold. Even Tony Stark, one of the few who had a chance to end the zombie crisis, was infected. The virus did not just destroy their own world. It used a space-time travel device to spread and destroy other realities too.

Multiple universes were trapped in endless cycles of death. Their futures erased.

That was exactly why Reid had chosen to abandon the man from the beginning.

And now, it was the same. It was fine for Reed to possess this ability for a while, but he couldn’t hold onto it forever. In fact, it was not just him. Anyone with creative thinking, Reid wouldn’t allow them to keep that kind of power.

"Uh..."

Reed was incredibly intelligent now. Of course he understood what was being said. But since it involved him, he couldn’t fully accept it.

"Why can’t I be the one person who doesn’t make mistakes?"

Doom smiled faintly. "Then let me ask you. Do you know that science is not the only thing that exists in this world?”

As he spoke, green lightning sparked quietly in his hand.

Reed’s eyes widened at the sight. Doom wasn’t wearing his metal armor. That meant the lightning hadn’t come from any device… it came from the man himself.

"I’m not a mutant. And this... is magic. You don’t even know magic exists, let alone understand how it works. So how can you claim you would never make a mistake? Just ten seconds ago, didn’t you already make the mistake of thinking 'Victor can’t produce lightning'?”

No one, except a truly omniscient and omnipotent god, could ever say they’d never be wrong.

Even Reid could not guarantee he would never make a mistake. So technically, he had no right to take Reed’s power away.

But unfortunately, the world didn’t run on reason alone.

Reid had the huge LexCorp empire behind him. He practically controlled the entire United States. That was his strength. That was his power, his momentum. So even if he was not all-knowing either, when it came to him and Reed, he still had the upper hand.

"You can try to resist, Reed. But as long as you are still on Earth, no matter how far you push your intelligence, you will never be a match for LexCorp. You will not even be a match for me."

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