Marvel: Superman's Survival Guide

**

Even though the electricity costs had been reduced, the revenue generated was still considerable, thanks to the low production cost. The Osborn Group had already surpassed Stark Industries in market value. However, despite Link's personal assets being highly valuable, his personal investments were minimal, and his privately owned assets were few. Other than a few cars, he only owned one apartment, where McCall and Frank currently resided.

Link had little interest in investing or purchasing properties because he genuinely didn't need to. The Osborn Group was already immensely wealthy, and they didn't even need to take out loans, which left banks anxious but helpless.

Link simply didn't like borrowing money. To him, the power companies were just lambs waiting for slaughter, and the timing of the strike was entirely up to the Osborn Group. There was no need to take out loans.

The group's shareholder structure was simple—Link, Osborn, and Stark Industries were the only shareholders, apart from the publicly traded stocks. Without loans, other capital groups couldn't manipulate the situation financially. Any attempt would be futile.

Norman Osborn was also safe because Osborn wasn't his anymore—he was just the CEO, and his shares were relatively small. Targeting him wouldn't bring any benefit and would only offend Link.

And Link wasn't the type to show mercy. His title as the Grim Reaper wasn't earned lightly.

Now, Osborn Group had built itself a protective layer. To touch it, one would have to go after Link, as he was the only one controlling any significant value. This was the safest structure, one that Link had designed deliberately.

He placed his shares in Jessica's charitable foundation, so he didn't need to allocate any to her. After their marriage, Jessica would have inheritance rights. The key point was simply the position of legal representative of the foundation.

It wasn't about inheriting all assets, but as the legal representative, she would have full control over all the resources and avoid inheritance taxes.

Currently, Jessica was earning a monthly salary of one million dollars, a figure determined entirely by Link. Everyone else's salaries fell within reasonable limits, and some even received dividends, like Matthew Murdock and Foggy Nelson. They earned salaries, while profitable business from the law firm allowed them to earn commissions. Legal aid, however, was covered by the charitable foundation.

Link gave Jessica such a high salary because he couldn't just hand her pocket money all the time. That wouldn't comply with U.S. law. So, he simply opted for a high salary. After all, managing assets worth billions certainly justified it.

...

With Link's reassurance, Jessica decided to invite her foster mother, Dorothy Walker, to the wedding. She also had a plan in mind: by giving Dorothy a monthly allowance of $100,000, it would prevent her from bothering Trish. This, Jessica hoped, could help improve their strained relationship.

With the guest list finalized, Link began making arrangements for the wedding. He didn't plan on inviting any priests; instead, their wedding would be witnessed by the Sun itself—yes, the very source of his power, the yellow Sun.

In this Marvel Universe, no one knew his secret. The reason he hadn't yet punched Thanos to death was simple—there was no yellow Sun near Thanos.

The solar system near Titan, Thanos' home, didn't have a yellow Sun, and the location of his stronghold was easy to find. Heimdall could tell him. But without the power of a yellow Sun, Link wouldn't dare go. He wasn't invincible; he had to protect his secret.

So far, only Jessica knew that he was Superman, but even she hadn't realized the significance of the Sun.

She had no idea that suns across the universe came in different colors.

...

Meanwhile, Steve Rogers had proposed to Peggy Carter, and she had accepted. He excitedly shared the good news with Link. Together, they started planning their weddings and soon announced it to everyone. Everyone congratulated them, though Stark grumbled that they didn't wait for him.

Of course, Stark wouldn't hold his wedding in space. His wedding couldn't possibly be as low-key as Link and Steve's. The Stark family had been prominent for quite some time, with a vast network of connections that couldn't simply be disregarded.

Link and Jessica's social circle was much simpler, and Steve and Peggy needed true privacy. So, holding their weddings together in space made perfect sense.

While the number of guests was small, the atmosphere was wonderful. Each couple had their own witnesses. Stark attended despite being injured, but fortunately, Link could open a space portal for him.

The other guests arrived aboard the Avengers' ship, and for now, the secret of the space rings was known only to the Avengers. It wasn't going to be revealed to the public anytime soon.

...

After Link and Jessica got married, there weren't many changes in their relationship. Their lives continued much as before, having already lived together for some time. The only difference was that they were no longer just boyfriend and girlfriend—they were husband and wife now. It was a formal relationship, both legally and emotionally.

Link, with some free time, suddenly thought of Killian. Why had there been no movement from him lately?

He had previously collaborated with Hydra, though it was clear that Killian had kept himself hidden, only sending some Extremis soldiers to the front lines. He hadn't personally made an appearance, nor had Maya Hansen surfaced to warn Stark.

What was going on?

After checking, Link discovered that A.I.M., Killian's company, had become nothing more than an empty shell. It didn't even have a listed office anymore, let alone any sign of Killian.

Link didn't want Stark to pull strings to investigate Killian's military collaborations, and so far, there hadn't been any more reports of human explosions.

It was as if Killian had vanished completely. He hadn't even created a Ten Rings organization to spread rumors and distract everyone. He seemed to have gone underground.

Was he still researching the Extremis virus?

Had he secured funding?

Link couldn't help but wonder. If Killian truly managed to perfect the Extremis virus, the consequences could be severe.

But for now, Link had no way to locate him, though S.H.I.E.L.D. was certainly searching. After all, Killian's men had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill wouldn't let go of that lead easily, especially considering the peculiarities of those soldiers, such as their rapid healing abilities. Hill wouldn't give up the pursuit.

The only remaining clue might lie with Hydra—but which faction of Hydra remained unclear.

(End of Chapter)