Gilbert's power is very specific, and that matters here. He can tune into an energy signature, locate it, and take that energy into himself. That's why these apparently scattere…

Gilbert's power is very specific, and that matters here. He can tune into an energy signature, locate it, and take that energy into himself. That's why these apparently scattered stops around the world are part of one operation. They're following what remains of Proteus. As Gilbert absorbs more, his body becomes increasingly distended. The energy has to go somewhere, and the story keeps showing the physical consequences instead of letting him function like an unlimited storage device. Harness keeps demanding more anyway. There's also a difference between absorbing Proteus' scattered energy and already having Proteus' abilities. Gilbert begins this story as an energy absorber. The reality-warping threat comes out of what happens when that collected energy and his own existence become bound together. It would skip a pretty important part of his story to describe him as a smaller Proteus from the beginning. And Gilbert is a victim throughout that process. He isn't travelling around with his mother because he has some grand plan to remake the world. She's forcing him through the collection, with A.I.M.'s project behind it. By the time everyone understands what she's gathering, stopping the next attack is only part of the problem. They have to figure out whether they can safely get the energy out of a boy who's already absorbed far too much. Just getting Harness away from him won't empty his body or reverse the damage.