Marvel Draft #2 Grayson Whitlock (repost)

A lot of you seemed interested in a marvel fic, so I went ahead and dug up this old marvel draft I did before I started writing The Average DC experience as I'm sure you could tell from the name. 

Anyways, I won't start a new story anytime soon as I said, but I wanted to show this to you guys and see how y'all feel about it. 

Unlike Grayson from DC, who comes to this world and was hella confused and lost this one had a lot of time to adjust to the world so his character development would play out differently and in another direction. 

And yeah, I will change the MC's name if I go through with it, but I'm too lazy to do it right now. 

Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy and don't forget to share your opinions with me. 

...

"16 years..." I muttered as I stood away from the docks, watching as numerous iron man suits emerged from the night sky, heading straight Towards The Norco oil tanker.

That's how long it took me to prepare... I had no idea how I came to be in this crazy world nor why they brought me here.

All I know is that I went to sleep and woke up in the body of a seven-year-old kid living in an orphanage with nothing but three bloody crystals and the knowledge I was now in the Marvel universe.

It didn't take me long to realize I was in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after a bit of digging and seeing the faces of celebrities from my past life, but it didn't perfectly match the MCU either.

Apparently, mutants also exist in this world. That complicated things as I knew little about the comics.

'But there's a chance there too...' I mused, looking away from the explosion dotting the night sky above the harbor, and turned to look at the white, transparent crystal in my hand.

Greed essence crystals. I instinctively knew their name and function. To devour and stabilize.

I started making my plan to gain power and rise beyond my stations the moment I realized what world I found myself in. I won't get into the details, but it starts by getting my hands on Extremis.

Extremis was most likely one of them, if not the best super-soldier serums available for consumption in the marvel universe. Healing factor, super strength, firepower, and more, Extremis had it all.

Sure it had the downside of possible death by exploding thanks to its unstable nature, but that's where the crystal comes in. I merely needed an Extremis-enhanced individual beaten to the point of unconsciousness or one that was willing to part with it.

Both options will be available once Iron Man and Pepper Potts deal with Killian, but I've already decided what choice to take long ago.

Extremis would provide a massive boost to my strength, but if that were all it could provide, I wouldn't have bothered wasting one of my precious crystals to acquire it.

I smiled as I watched Pepper Potts single-handedly take care of Killian, saving Tony Stark's ass, and made my way toward the harbor.

...

"Am I gonna be okay?" Pepper asked as she stood in front of tony, panting for breath after taking care of Killian.

"No. You're in a relationship with me. Nothing will ever be okay," Tony snidely replied with a deadpan expression, getting a smile from Pepper for his effort.

"But I think I can figure this out, yeah..." he added, trailing off at the end of his sentence. He wanted to keep assuring Pepper that everything would be okay. However, he suddenly stopped talking and stepped forward to stand in front of her protectively.

"There's just no end to you people, is there?" Tony remarked, frowning as he looked at the young man who suddenly appeared and started walking towards them.

"I'm not an enemy," the young man replied, putting on a disarming smile and raising his hands to the air. "It looks like the lady is in a bit of trouble... I can help," he added while gesturing at Pepper with his chin, his hands still reaching for the sky.

"And what makes you think I need your help?" Tony scoffed, giving the young man a thoroughly unimpressed look.

"With your genius? You probably don't," the young man replied, shrugging his shoulders as he stroked the inventor's ego, to which the latter grinned in satisfaction.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out given enough time, but you already know about the nasty side effects Extremis has. So why leave anything to chance when I can immediately solve your problem?" the young man added, smiling as Tony visibly faltered.

"By the way, do you mind if I lower my hands? My shoulder is getting a little stiff..." he asked, looking at his raised hands with a troubled expression.

"I'm not pointing a gun at you now, am I?" Tony snidely replied with a question of his own, to which the young man chuckled and dropped his hands.

"Who are you, anyway?" Tony asked, shooting the young man a suspicious look that spoke of his lack of trust in the latter.

"Would you take my word for it?" the young man replied, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Good point. Jarvis, tell me everything about this man," Tony replied, nodding as he instructed Jarvis, the artificial intelligence, to investigate the young man.

"Men..." Pepper muttered under her breath, heaving a sigh and rolling her eyes at the back and forth between Tony and the young man.

"Grayson Whitlock, an orphan with no known relatives, graduated Jefferson high five tears ago to serve in the army for four years and was honorably discharged for unknown reasons..."

Jarvis sounded from Tony's earpiece, but the young man didn't seem surprised, as he merely nodded, confirming Jarvis' words.

"Well, Mr. Whitlock, as impressive as your military record sounds, there's nothing on your profile that suggests you're able to remove Extremis..." Tony replied as he took in the young man's intrepid appearance with a frown.

"Do you mind explaining how in god's green earth are you gonna do it?" he asked, his tone heavy in mockery as he gave the young man a provoking look.

"Matter of fact, I do," the young man replied, with a shrug of his shoulder, causing Tony to swallow whatever rhetoric he prepared to spout.

"Then how do you expect us to trust you?" Tony asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You don't need to trust me. Trust in my common sense not to fuck with the only man who knows how to create an Arc Reactor under the eyes of so many spooks," the young man replied, waving a hand to the side.

"And what do you exactly hope to gain? You can't expect me to believe you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart, do you?" Tony asked after a second of thoughtful silence.

"It'd be real awkward if you did. Cause I'm not," the young man replied with a chuckle, shaking his head. "I want the blueprints to your Arc Reactor-" the young man added, but Pepper quickly interrupted him.

"No," Pepper flatly refused on behalf of Tony, causing the young man to smile.

"Thought as much, but it was worth a shot..." the young man replied, seemingly expecting the answer as he didn't sound particularly disappointed.

"In that case, 100k and a favor from Tony Stark that I can call on anytime and your word to keep the process confidential," the young man remarked, making Tony frown. "If I ask you for anything against your morals, you're free to refuse," he added to assuage the couple's worries, and they visibly relaxed.

"Do we have a deal?" the young man asked after giving Pepper and tony some time to think. Tony was the first to try to speak, but he was interrupted by Pepper clearing her throat.

Tony sheepishly turned to face Pepper, who had a bemused look on her face and cleared his throat.

"Well, you heard the man, babe. The final decision is yours," Tony said as he put a hand on Pepper's shoulder. "There's a chance this guy is telling the truth, but he isn't our only option. I can fix this," he added, locking eyes with Pepper.

"I know you can..." Pepper softly replied as she reached to hold Tony's hand on her shoulder. "But it will take too long, and I wouldn't be able to dedicate as much time into managing Stark industries... we can't afford that. Not now," she added, shaking her head as she resolutely turned to face the young man.

"So you've made your choice, Miss Potts?" the young man said, smiling even as Tony sent him a suspicion-filled glare.

"I have. So how are we going to do this?" Pepper replied, nodding her head while sending Tony a calming smile, to which he sighed and nodded as well.

"Let's start by going somewhere private. I don't feel like giving a free public performance," the young man remarked, giving the couple a meaningful look.

"Fair enough. I'm not an exhibitionist either. Follow me," Tony replied with a nod, still sounding reluctant, but he had no other choice but to play along.

...

"That's a nice place you have here..." the young man, Grayson, remarked as he leaned in a wall inside a room with no windows, inspecting the surroundings.

"Of course, it's nice. I designed the Stark Tower Complex myself," Tony dismissively replied, waving his hand. "Pepper should come back any minute, so let me say this while I have the chance..." he added, crossing his arms.

"I don't know what you're plotting, but if you hurt Pepper, then I'll hunt to the ends of the world," he flatly concluded, his face a perfect example of resting bitch face.

"Like I said, I don't have a death wish, and you don't have to trust me for this to work," Grayson replied with a casual smile, unphased by the threat.

"You only need to trust your ability to make me regret crossing you. That's more than enough deterrent," Grayson added with a chuckle, to which Tony's frown only deepened.

Tony still wanted to say a few more words. However, he had to swallow his words as Pepper interred the room.

She didn't say anything, merely nodding at Grayson to indicate her readiness to get this over so she could get back to her work.

"I don't know whether the process will be painful or not. All I know is that it's completely safe and guaranteed to succeed," Grayson said as he approached Pepper, returning the nod.

"That's fine. Let's just get this over with," Pepper replied, taking a deep breath to prepare herself. "What do I need to do?" she decisively asked, straightening her back.

"Just give me your hand," Grayson replied as he reached for Pepper with his right and took out a transparent crystal to hold with his left.

Pepper hesitated for a second, but she quickly got over it and held Grayson's Hand. He sent her one last questioning look to find out her resolve and immediately crushed the crystal once he was sure.

Pepper's body glowed in an orange hue, her body emanating a searing heat as a pained expression surfaced on her face, much to Tony's dismay as he tried to interfere.

However, he had to swallow his complaints again as Pepper turned to give him a stern look, to which he sighed and kept his distance.

Soon the glow on Pepper's body began to dissipate, moving to the hand in contact with Grayson as the latter's veins bulged, and his eyes glowed an ominous red.

Soon Grayson let go and heavily heaved for breath while leaning on his knees.

"Are you alright?!" Tony exclaimed, shooting towards Pepper as he held her shoulders, a concerned look on his face.

"I'm... I think I'm okay?" Pepper replied in a daze as she looked at her hands, opening and closing her palms. "I don't feel the Extremis... It worked!" she added, excitedly holding Tony at the end of her sentence.

"It looks like my work here is done," Grayson said after gathering his bearing and straightening himself. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. I can show myself out," he added, taking the briefcase full of the chase and moving to leave.

"Just like that?" Tony asked, sounding skeptical as he still held Pepper while shooting Grayson a confused look. "You know I could easily renege on that favor now that you've done your part," he added, making the Grayson pause at the door.

"You won't renege..." Grayson replied as he sent a knowing look over his shoulder toward Tony.

"And why is that?" Tony asked, frowning.

"Because the favor you owe me represents how much you value, Miss Potts. I did save her life, you know?" Grayson replied, sounding oddly sure of himself as he reached for the door.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with some spooks waiting to ambush me outside..."