The Demonrunners: Diabolus Ex Machina "The Demonrunners" is an alternate reality story based on a crew of motorcycle renegades. The backdrop of the story is set within a portrait of a surreal postmodern dystopia called "The City of Lost Angels," formerly known as Los Angeles. The Backstory: In 1986, an apocalyptic series of earthquakes of unparalleled magnitude destroyed the entire city of Los Angeles, sequencing as far north as San Fransisco and even occurring deep within the Pacific. This resulted in a barrage of tsunamis in the aftermath. In all, the chain of events racked the death toll deep into the hundreds of thousands. The Great Los Angeles Earthquake measured well over 10.0 on the Richter Scale, the largest known earthquake in recorded history, and the series of events in total considered to be one of the worst natural disasters known to man. This was the inevitable "Big One" as referred to by specialists and residents alike. After this cataclysmic disaster, the city never recovered to its original state. Most of the original downtown metro area still lies in ruin to this day and the city is a mere shadow of what it once was. This catastrophe had a horrific effect on not only the landscape of the city, but the chain of events that followed also had an impact on the economy. This ultimately gave rise to record criminal activity and police corruption. By the early 90's Los Angeles became the world's capitol for organized crime. This resulted in a constant state of violence and conflict fueled by territorial, cultural and racial dissonance. Ever since the construction of the "new" Los Angeles metropolitan area that was built several miles to the east of the original, the residents of the old city refer to the ruins as "The City of Lost Angels" or even "The Kingdom of Lost Angels" referencing the fact that the decaying city is ruled by self-appointed crime families. And although the City of Lost Angels still lies within Los Angeles County jurisdiction, the LAPD very rarely intervenes within its territory. What little official presence there may be, it is often bought out by corruption. Character Profiles: Name: Polvo Age: 35 Vehicle: Ragnarok V-Twin Affiliation: Vasquez Syndicate (1989 - 1994), Demonrunners (1996 - current) The man behind The Demonrunners is known only by the name "Polvo." He earned the nickname as a teenager in the late 80's for having been known to smuggle large amounts of cocaine into Los Angeles undetected while working for the infamous Vasquez Syndicate. An LA native, fending for himself and younger brother since early childhood, he developed keen instincts and usually acts on split second decisions without thinking twice. Intelligent, articulate and always in control, he has an uncanny knack for being able to exploit the flaws and weaknesses of his enemies, given the slightest chance. He is considered deadly even when unarmed, despite his lanky 6' 1" 170 lb. frame. Polvo learned survival in the streets of LA with his younger brother since the age of 8. By 1989, both he and his brother entered into the world of organized crime as a cocaine smuggler for the infamous crime boss Robert Vasquez. In 1994, he watched his younger brother killed for being suspected of stealing from Vasquez. Guilty by association, the suspicion was extended to Polvo soon after. With a contract over his head, he fled once again into the streets of LA and vowed vengeance against the Vasquez Syndicate. Using his knowledge of the organization's inner workings, he was able to methodically kill off every last member of the Vasquez family by 1998. This marked the beginning of the rise of The Demonrunners. Once Robert Vasquez was out of the picture, a war broke out between other Mafia families to gain control of The City of Lost Angels. Polvo and his crew took it upon themselves to set out and wipe them all off the map. Name: Kaz (Masami Kazuki) Age: 37 Vehicle: Cyclone R Affiliation: Various 'Bosozoku' teen gangs (1984 - 1986), Yakuza (1992 - 1993), Demonrunners (1996 - current) From his teenage Bosozoku years to his brief employment with the Yakuza, Masami Kazuki's life has been violently turbulent growing up in the dark underbelly of LA. Ever since early childhood, Kaz was always involved with motorcycles, racing, fixing and modifying them. During The Great Quake of '86, both of Kaz's parents were killed when their home collapsed and the world that Kaz knew was instantly destroyed. He spent the rest of his teenage years hustling unsuspecting victims out of their bikes in illegal street races until he amassed enough bikes, parts, and money to open his own underground motorcycle "laundering" garage by 1991. He eventually caught the eyes of the Yakuza who briefly employed him under one of their laundering rackets. In 1993, Kaz was gunned down and left for dead, yet somehow managed to survive the incident despite a 9mm slug fragment permanently engraving the side of his skull. He is said to have an unnaturally high tolerance for pain. Kaz and Polvo met in 1994. Both having been outcasts of the organized crime world (one marked for death, one left for dead), they had a mutual understanding for one another. Since co-founding The Demonrunners in 1996, Kaz is said to have a feared reputation amongst his peers for his unorthodox style of violence and intimidation. Kaz is a natural genius when it comes to machinery, namely motorcycles. He spends most of his free time building and modifying custom bikes. Name: Kyra Garrig Age: 22 Vehicle: Locust 600R Affiliation: Demonrunners (2007 - current) Kyra was born in 1986, the day of The Great Los Angeles Earthquake. Her father was killed on the way to the hospital during the quake. Miraculously the hospital survived and still stands to this day. She was put up for adoption when a year later, her mother suffered an emotional breakdown and decided to move back to her homeland of South Korea to escape the chaos of the aftermath. Kyra had a troubled childhood bouncing around from various foster homes around the US until at the age of 15 she ran away back to Los Angeles to live on her own. She supported herself for the most part as a strip dancer in illegal clubs. In 2002, she shot and killed a man for the first time in the back lot of the club when he became physically aggressive with her, assuming she was a prostitute. She was only 16 at the time. In 2003, She formed the all-girl punk band "Popkiller" with two friends. They recorded one album in 2004, after being discovered by punk icon Kathleen Halliday during a show in Portland. Popkiller found a hardcore underground following for a few years until the group disbanded in 2006 due in part to Kyra's escalating drug problem, then finally the fatal overdose of drummer and closest friend Julie Hirst. Some time after attending rehab in 2007, she met Kaz at an illegal street race and went head to head with one of the bikers there. She won the race and took her opponent's one-of-a-kind Locust 600R bike. Noticing Kaz taking an interest in her win, she jokingly asked him if he wanted to buy it from her on the spot. Ironically, Kaz then reveals to her that the bike was one of his old mods that he already sold in the black market several years ago. The two of them eventually developed a casual relationship and later that year she joined the Demonrunners cause. Name: Syd (Sydney Sterling) aka Special Agent Winter O'Hara Age: 32 Vehicle: Ducati 998 Affiliation: LAPD (1998 - 2000), CIU (2000 - current) Winter is an agent who works for the Criminal Investigations Unit. Founded in 1988, It is a federally funded special task force that has been organized as a response to the rapid increase in crime and police corruption, especially in LA. Raised by her single father after her mother died in the '86 earthquake, Winter developed a very close relationship with him. He was a well respected LAPD Sergeant who was shot and killed in the line of duty by one of Robert Vasquez' henchmen during a drug seizure. It was speculated, but never proven, that an inside man within the LAPD was working for the Vasquez Syndicate and deliberately compromised the operation. Winter was only a teenager at the time and her father's untimely death eventually drove her to the CIU, where she dedicated her life to fighting organized crime and police corruption. In 2004 she successfully infiltrated the The Demonrunners inner circle under the alias Syd Sterling, providing the CIU with an unprecedented look into the elusive organization. She built a rather extensive case file over the course of her career against the man known as Polvo, as she had meticulously researched the Vasquez crime family for several years prior. She has taken an almost obsessive cat and mouse relationship with Polvo, torn between her dedication to her work and her driving curiosity to the man who unknowingly avenged her father's death. Some may even speculate that it crosses into a seemingly romantic interest. This feeling of duality is further complicated by an internal conflict, on the one hand committed to her mission, and on the other hand finding herself identifying with The Demonrunners cause. This group, officially regarded as a criminal syndicate in itself, now appears to her as more of an independent vigilante family that opposes organized crime and seeks justice within a corrupt system that does not work.