Chapter 153: Mutual Exchange

Thump, thump, thump!

Following Sean's call, a boy of about twelve or thirteen quickly ran out from the second-floor room.

Seeing the Fantastic Four downstairs, Argyle’s cheerful steps faltered, and a trace of timidity flickered in his eyes.

Fortunately, Sean waved to him in time and said softly, "Don't be afraid, Argyle. These people are all my friends. Come over here."

Hearing this, although still a bit reserved, Argyle slowly walked down and cautiously leaned close to Sean's side.

Seeing this, the four members could tell that Argyle was shy around strangers, so they all put on friendly smiles and greeted him carefully.

Keeping Argyle by his side, Sean patted his head and said to the four of them, "This is Argyle. He's like a younger brother to me, and he's a mutant."

"His mutant ability is the power to suppress all superpowers within a ten-meter radius. Therefore, what suppressed your superpowers wasn't some special energy field, but his mutant ability."

"Argyle's mutant ability is quite unique. Once outsiders find out about it, it will undoubtedly cause massive turmoil and even attract the malicious gaze of those with ill intentions."

"That's why I hope you can keep today's matter a secret. Now you know why I said this method was only temporary, right?"

Hearing this, the other three were fine, but the Thing clearly looked somewhat disappointed.

If it were because of the house, he could easily buy it or rent it so that he could at least return to normal at home.

However, since this ability came from Argyle, there was simply no way around it. It wasn't as if he could just buy someone else's younger brother.

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone about what happened today. But, when you said you could return Ben to normal, were you planning to use Argyle's mutant ability to suppress his power?" Mr. Fantastic asked.

"No, no, no, it's not like that," Sean shook his head.

"I merely used Argyle to prove that I have the ability to restore Mr. Grimm to his original state, nothing more."

"Of course, what you mentioned is also a possibility, but Argyle's power isn't omnipotent. It has a time limit and an upper limit, and it cannot achieve permanent suppression."

"Although it might not be obvious right now, the truth is that your potentials far exceed your current abilities, and your superpowers have not yet completely fused with your bodies."

"As you continuously adapt, your powers will grow stronger and stronger, eventually reaching a point where even Argyle can no longer suppress them."

"Therefore, if you want a permanent solution, you still need to use a different approach."

Saying this, Sean lowered his head and glanced at Argyle, "However, that doesn't mean it has nothing to do with Argyle entirely. Once I am ready, I will still need some help from him."

"I'll definitely help Big Brother Sean properly," Argyle said in a low voice upon hearing this.

Sean smiled when he heard this and didn't say much, simply patting the boy's small head.

Seeing Sean speak with such certainty, the four of them finally believed that he genuinely possessed the ability to turn the Thing back to normal.

Mr. Fantastic said, "Then please prepare thoroughly, Mr. Sean. We hope you can restore Ben to his original appearance as soon as possible."

"If you need anything in the future, don't hesitate to ask. As long as it's something within our power, we will definitely not refuse."

"Yeah, yeah, exactly. Please," the Thing had also shaken off his disappointment by now and nodded repeatedly at those words.

"Then thank you in advance. Come to think of it, I actually do have a small matter I'd like to consult you on. I heard that Mr. Richards has a certain level of research in the aerospace industry. I have some questions regarding spacecraft here, and I was wondering if Mr. Richards might be able to help me solve them," Sean said.

"There's no need to be so polite. We're all friends here, just call me Reed," Mr. Fantastic replied.

Seizing the opportunity right away, Sean immediately chimed in, "In that case, you shouldn't call me Mr. Sean either. Just call me Sean."

"Alright then. You just mentioned having questions about spacecraft. What kind of questions?"

"It's like this..."

Sean hurriedly picked and chose some information regarding spacecraft to share with him.

Reed Richards truly lived up to his genius reputation. Even without seeing what the spaceship looked like, and despite Sean's fragmented explanation, he was able to discuss a great deal after a brief moment of contemplation.

Structures and mechanisms, guidance navigation and control, thermal control, power systems, measurement, control and communications, data management, landing and recovery, environmental control and life support—he rattled them all off like a connoisseur naming the treasures in his collection.

From the total cabin gas pressure to safety guarantees during malfunctions and emergency states, he covered every minute detail. He could even reconstruct a portion of the spaceship's design from the piecemeal information, leaving Sean endlessly amazed.

Although most of it sounded like celestial gibberish to him, Sean still perked up and memorized every single word.

Even if he couldn't fully comprehend these contents, he could easily transmit them to Chase and Alex. He believed that with Mr. Fantastic's detailed explanation, they would gain an even deeper understanding of spacecraft.

Not just Mr. Fantastic, he planned to do the exact same thing with Iron Man on his side.

While the two men were deep in an enthusiastic discussion over here, the other three were gradually warming up to Argyle.

There was a reason why they were the most popular superhero team in the comic universe.

Whether it was the sweet and kind Invisible Woman, the sunny and handsome Human Torch, or the humorous and witty Thing, as long as they were willing, even a child as guarded as Argyle could quickly become familiar with them.

Just moments ago, he had been timid and didn't even dare to look at them twice, but now he was sitting right on the Thing's shoulders.

The three adults and one child even started playing a childish game of pretending to fly an airplane, their laughter briefly interrupting the conversation between Sean and Mr. Fantastic.

Seeing the fragmented information being pieced together bit by bit by Mr. Fantastic, although Sean still wanted to extract more details from him, he ultimately didn't want Mr. Richards to find out too much, so he had no choice but to wrap up the conversation.

Although still somewhat unsatisfied, from Sean's description, Mr. Fantastic could already deduce that the other party possessed an alien spacecraft.

Seeing that Sean didn't want to elaborate further, he stopped pressing and simply said that Sean could come to him anytime if he had other questions.

To thank Mr. Fantastic for his unreserved guidance, Sean also imparted some knowledge on how to control one's own abilities to him.

The current Fantastic Four were still a far cry from the superhero team of the future that would battle Galactus and traverse the multiverse, and their application of their own powers was quite rudimentary.

The knowledge Sean shared would allow them to master their abilities much faster, preventing situations like the ones in the original storyline where their powers would spin out of control or trigger a backlash at the drop of a hat.

After such an exchange, both Sean and the Fantastic Four had profited immensely, and the relationship between both sides had grown much closer, truly making them friends.