Editing The Elite (section)

==Modus operandi==
The Elite do not pursue traditional villainous enterprises, instead seizing an area on the economic or political level before undermining local opposition using sabotage, connections to organized crime and blitzkrieg-style strikes while remaining consistently off the public’s radar by subterfuge or careful manipulation of the media.<ref>The Elite does not pursue traditional villainous enterprises, though they may temporarily maintain connections to organized crime if it suits their purposes.  If they have any pattern, it is to seize an area on the highest level -economic or political-, then undermine local opposition on the fundamental level with sabotage, blitzkrieg-style strikes, remaining consistently off the public’s radar by subterfuge or careful manipulation of media. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Swjz8BZZNE4bq6lTkHanTK4sJ-K_xVlFudxA16mYjH4/edit#heading=h.ry6hr0z1e3p2 PRT Quest (Anchorage)]</ref> Although they would start with the recruitment of rogues and independent heroes in some cases.<ref name="R2.4">If and when they made a move on Brockton Bay it would be part of their initial plays on the East coast (and would follow their securing of the entire western coast of US/Canada from Alaska to California). Parian would get an offer like 'Here's an astonishingly good deal, including access to resources, everything you need to get your feet under you on the fashion front, and fantastic pay. You have twenty-four hours to say yes, or we're going to crush you." Other independents might get other offers, New Wave might get brought on board as a corporate team that is really under the Elite's umbrella, and so on. Then a brief peace followed by the striking out of the larger and more obstructive villain groups. - [https://redd.it/5h4rzv Reddit comment] by Wildbow.</ref>

The Elite then force other villains and villain groups to be beholden to the Elite and nobody else.<ref name="villain_rogue">The Elite expect villains and groups to be beholden to the Elite and nobody else, Rogues are folded into the organization, and resistance is systematically crushed.  Once an area is firmly under control, these resources are leveraged to expand elsewhere. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Swjz8BZZNE4bq6lTkHanTK4sJ-K_xVlFudxA16mYjH4/edit#heading=h.ry6hr0z1e3p2 PRT Quest (Anchorage)]</ref> [[Rogue]]s are folded into the organization<ref name="villain_rogue"/> to function as performers, [[Thinker]]s, designers and innovators,<ref name="I21">The Elite, a villain group expanding a subtle control over the western seaboard of America, putting pressure on rogues to bring them under their thumb as performers, thinkers, designers and innovators.  He could see the numbers, extrapolate from the data to gauge their rate of growth.  They were developing too slowly to be useful, not developing fast enough to outpace the predicted end of the world.  They’d reach Brockton Bay in about a year.  There would be time to decide if countermeasures were needed in the meantime. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/interlude-21-donation-bonus-1/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 21.x]]</ref> while the Elite also control a lot of [[Corporate]] 'hero' teams from behind the scenes.<ref name="R LA">Being on the West Coast, LA is caught up with the Elite, which is the second largest cape group in the US and the largest villain group, though it's villainy is ambiguous. I won't say much more, but they appear in brief in Worm. Long story short is that they snap up all of the rogues (ie. if Brockton Bay were on the west coast, Parian would be leveraged into joining one of the Elite's subsidiaries) and they control a lot of corporate 'hero' teams from behind the scenes. They're organized crime with an emphasis on organized and a varying emphasis on crime, depending on the city. - [https://redd.it/50g7x6 Reddit comment] by Wildbow.</ref>

When the Elite take control of an area, resistance is systematically crushed.<ref name="villain_rogue"/> The Elite use sweeping series of plays, constantly moving around members, preventing opposition to gather accurate information to adjust or counterattack.<ref name="R2.3">As an entity, they're most effective when they're heavy hitters - they show up and they crush any opposition in one sweeping series of plays. You can't do what you do for most major players, study up on the opposition, adjust, and counterattack, because 50-75% of the people who made the initial moves will be gone before you've finished the information gathering, and the next batch of Elite are now in the mix.  - [https://redd.it/5h4rzv Reddit comment] by Wildbow.</ref> Once an area is firmly under control, resources are leveraged to expand elsewhere,<ref name="villain_rogue"/> although they are careful not to spread themselves too thin, giving them an advantage against the PRT.<ref name="R2.5">But they don't move on Brockton Bay because they're smaller than the PRT and their advantage is that they don't need or want to spread themselves that thin... they can maintain a strong stand against the PRT's interference or investigations so long as they outnumber the PRT in those locations... which means staying concentrated and keeping their numbers more tightly packed. - [https://redd.it/5h4rzv Reddit comment] by Wildbow.</ref>