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Chapter 7 - The Successor Chapter 7

The sixth, seventh, and eighth episodes of The Successor show a paintball competition between the groups; or more specifically a woodball competition.

The competition takes place in a large wooded area where players must attempt to eliminate opposing players using a paintball marker filled with paintballs. Every team is equipped with standard, mandatory paintball equipment: markers, paintballs, harness/pod belts, and protective masks/goggles. The teams also have access to military-type items such as camouflage, combat boots, and ghillie suits.

A superhero needs to have above average physical fitness, combat skills, and situational awareness. A "hands-on" superhero will make the public feel safer, and these episodes are to build confidence in the contestants' physical abilities; that way no one would feel that a "superhero is wasting his superpowers".

In the sixth episode, the mentors' teams compete against one another in a round-robin elimination tournament.

In the seventh and eighth episodes, a mentor's team will attempt to defend a compound from the other three teams simultaneously attacking it.

Surprisingly, the Rejects were able to take second place in the paintball competition.

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When these episodes aired, the producers still allocated the least number of scenes to the Rejects; causing the viewers to miss a lot of pertinent information. The major question on the internet was "just how did the Rejects prepare for the onslaught of the other teams?".

This missing information caused widespread dissatisfaction among the audience.

The audience felt that the producers looked down on the Rejects and did not pay any attention to them; that Alex's team achieved good results but was being treated unfairly.

Therefore, in the ninth episode of The Successor, the Producers caved into Internet demand and gave Alex's team more screen time. This time the audience will be able to see the whole process of the Rejects' preparations.

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The ninth episode of The Successor is called "Rescue Plan".

A specific scenario is given by the producers; a group of the "Followers of the Rot" cultists have captured some hostages, and the contestants have to examine the situation and come up with a feasible rescue plan.

The contestants don't actually have to personally implement the rescue plan they came up with, instead the New Amsterdam SWAT Team will conduct drills in accordance to the formulated rescue plans.

Superheroes often have to participate in similar rescue operations. If a superhero blindly barges in, he may make the situation worse: either harming the hostages or causing more damage to the city.

A superhero who can think and minimize collateral damage is popular with the public, and this Challenge is to test the contestants' ability to think.

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Pre-Rescue Plan, the Rejects room.

Tony T, a masked black-haired man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and flip flops, is arguing with Tyrone and Berig about the merits of their proposed rescue plan. The other three members of Team Rejects lounge around dispiritedly.

"Clowns," says Tony. "This ain't going to work. As soon as we pop out they're going to gun us or the hostages down."

"Got better ideas?" Asks Tyrone.

"I hear problems but no solvution," Berig states.

"I'm just saying the current plan is no bueno," Tony refers to the paintball Challenge. "Remember how defended the compound was? We'll get slaughtered. They have more men and a defensive position".

The contestants seethe with frustration.

"Gentlemen, can I say something?" Alex interjects. "How about the sewers? The Challenge occurs in a full replica of that neighborhood."

Diego, an urban expat... umm immigrant from Mexico, perks up from his sleepy demeanor and says, "finally. A good idea."

"Sewers vould be stinky," Berig points out.

"It should be mostly unused," responds Alex. "But why does it matter? You're not the one going in it."

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The Rescue Plan Challenge .

The New Amsterdam SWAT Team ran drills based on the different teams rescue plans. With Alex's idea to take advantage of the sewers, Team Rejects' plan performed the best. Consequently, Team Rejects took first place in the Challenge.

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The rest of the episode is interviews of various contestants.

The Sidekicks room

"During the Selection phase, you mentioned that you wanted to become a hero for 'Justice'. Can you please elaborate on that?" Asks Maria.

"Sure," chirps Scales - a masked voluptuous woman wearing a red and gold spandex costume.

Scales narrates, "I'm mixed. My great-grandfather, he was Japanese-American; a Nisei - that's a child of Japanese immigrants. He was born and educated in the United States."

"Mhmm," nods Maria.

Scales continues, "he loved this country, but he was shipped off to an internment camp. It sucked, and I'm not sure I should go into that..."

"I'm sure your fans would appreciate your candor," Maria prompts, "but please keep it PG."

"I'll just say that when his family was in the internment camp, no one was left to work the farm. When they got out, they found that the farm was auctioned off - for pennies on the dollar- because no one paid the back taxes," Scales clenches her fist, "I want to become a hero to prevent injustices like that from occuring in the future".

"A lofty goal," Maria says noncommittally.

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The Rejects room

"During the Selection phase, you mentioned that you wanted to become a hero for 'Justice.' Can you please elaborate on that?" Maria asks.

"Ya. I can do that," Tyrone responds.

Tyrone narrates, "my great-great-grandpa owned a peanut farm in Georgia. But they lost it. Lost it to hate and racism. Programs, like the New Deal, left out farmers of color. Committees, made up of all white people , limited the amount of crops we could grow. We were given less land to grow than white folk . The FHA denied us loans, the government sold our land for pennies on the dollar when we died. This isn't even getting into different prison terms for crack vs. cocaine. I want to change all that... For justice."

"How do you expect to change that?" Asks Maria.

"I don't know yet," Tyrone dejectedly says.

"But. If I become a top superhero. People can't silence me. I'll finally have a voice," Tyrone says more to himself than to the audience.

"Top superheroes are definitely one of the most powerful people in the entire United States, and I don't just mean personal power," Maria nods.

"Ya," agrees Tyrone. "I hope I can change things."

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While a large consortium may sponsor many superheroes, these superheroes are not their lackeys; rather it's more like a symbiotic partnership. The consortium will pay the heroes and in exchange the heroes will advertise the consortium's products and services. Occasionally, the heroes will also take on certain "tasks" for the consortium. The tasks have to be "above board," because almost no hero is going to risk his reputation and powers for mere cash.

While the Malger family can be regarded as a wealthy family in New Amsterdam City, they have not reached the level of being "above the law," and do not have strong control over the superhero class.

The Malger family can only sponsor and indirectly control some relatively weak superheroes.

The American people do not allow superheroes to become lackeys of large consortia, so there are many restrictions on the system.

For example, while a large consortium can provide funds and sponsorship to superheroes, it must be voluntary and indirect. This allows the consortium to exert some influence on a superhero, but the superhero would always have the final say on his or her actions.

Additionally, the more powerful superheroes are backed by not only one consortium, but by a group of consortiums. These consortiums act as checks and balances against each other. Additionally, superheroes can easily cite "the will of the people" to reject unreasonable requests.

If a large consortium is known to be corrupt, a sponsored superhero will most likely cut ties with him; and if the consortium persists in their "wanton illegal actions," the formerly sponsored superhero may even personally bring the corrupt executives to justice.

In summary, while the upper class as a whole exerts control over the superhero class, a specific rich man (or family) may find himself as the target of a superhero's campaign of justice.

The top ranked superheroes have powerful combat power, great influence, and even hold vast wealth; they are themselves part of the upper class and have all of the advantages of the top 0.0001%.

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After the ninth episode aired, the audience can see that Alex played an important role in the preparation process; he hinted and instructed his team, giving them ideas and inspiring confidence instead of directly making a plan for them.

As a result, people's opinions of Alex changed.

While Alex is still a rich playboy born with a silver spoon in his mouth, his true temperament is very "down to earth," making him relatable to the "common man."

Additionally, Alex possesses great insight into many difficult problems. Unlike many "egg-heads" and absent-minded professors, Alex can easily articulate and describe solutions.

Of course, Alex still has his doubters and haters, but the voices supporting Alex grew stronger and stronger each day, completely drowning out their voices.

After all, Alex's performance on The Successor has already given a strong impression on many people. Those who still question Alex are easily labeled as "jealous losers."