Max Avendir arrived at the site after he got the call. It was a dimly lit alley to the side of a liquor store. He saw the body laying there limp and lifeless, but not a drop of blood. Something was very wrong here, It wasn't a normal kill. It had to be done by something supernatural. Max walked over to the body, ducking under the police "do not cross" tape. He saw the police chief standing there with a sunken look on his face, as he motioned for max to check the body.

Max crouched down and ran his hand down the victims arm. The vision came to him instantly and he saw it all in split seconds. An imp like demonic looking creature, very gangly and wispy was controlling the body and as it lay lifeless, it appeared that the soul was being sucked out and put into a small cube-like box.

As instantly as the vision came it disappeared and a gust of wind gave a chill in the air. Max felt uneasy, like something was lurking, perhaps hiding in the shadows.

He walked over to the police chief and motioned him to come close. Max explained the vision and told him this was a job for none other than the task force. Max assured the chief that his force would get to the bottom of it.

Walking away, Max pulled out his phone and started punching numbers on the keypad. After a few rings, a voice answered. "Meet me at the coffee shop in 30. We need to talk. Something's come up and I'm gonna need the task force at hand. Get them all to come down. See you in 30."

Max hung up the phone and began to walk down the city block, turning and looking behind him every few minutes. He felt like someone was following him, but it wasn't a someone it was a something.

((OOC: Anyone of you guys can jump in and be the one Max was calling and speaking to. I didn't use names so as to leave it open ended.))

Jack was delicately working on one of his latest seals. One of soul binding. This time on the head of a suit of armor. Since he was only using a soul he trusted he could just bind it whenever he wanted. Like his pistol with its binding ritual to himself. The runes he had placed on it had bound it to his touch only. It would fire so long as he held it and willing wished it to be fired. This was just the protocol in case he was controlled by something evil.

This seal was for the reason that he needed to see if his ritual could effectively raise the dead. Chanting slowly he finished drawing the ward and it lit up. The helmet then began to fly around the room and singing something bawdy. Jack thought it was opera of some kind.

After a few minutes he grabbed the helmet and erased the ward. The singing stopped as his phone rang. It was Max. "Hello?" He said nodding as he listened. "I'll be there. " He said as he hung up. He grabbed his ward book and his weapons. As he left he texted the group to get to the coffee shop. Jack got on his motorcycle and sped off towards the shop.

Once there he would pull up and walk to coffee ship. He had beat Max here. How odd. He had given Max a ward of protection in case he needed it. He would be fine with out it though. He sat at the table and ordered a coffee.

The knife slid from her hand smoothly, slicing through the air and embedding into the target that just so happened to be a picture of some chauvinistic pig whose name currently escaped her. Henry was intensely satisfied when the knife tore through the big, bald head. The woman was tense and antsy, she hadn’t been able to work lately and she was starting to feel unproductive; she hated that feeling. She was itching to be out, killing sinister things. But no…she’s in her parents’ basement, throwing darts at a crappy picture. The situation could have been a tad bit better if she was allowed to practice at her apartment, but the neighbors had a problem with noise. Biting her lip, she threw another knife and it accidentally slipped, barely nicking her finger. Cursing under her breath, she picked it up and threw it harder than she had previously. Her phone began to buzz like those flies that you can never see, but you always hear.

Jumping, she prayed for a mission or anything! She unlocked her phone and the awaited message was staring back at her. Now, she will never admit this to anyone if they asked, but she squealed in excitement at the prospect of a new case. She quickly threw on clothes and boots before stomping her way up the stairs and to her vehicle. On the ride to the coffee shop, her fingers drummed eagerly on the wheel and her leg trembled with ecstasy. She had so much energy to burn; she was praying that it would be a good fight. She pulled up and parked the car into a spot before thrusting the door open and tripping out.

Max walked up to the coffee shop, still weary of what was trailing him. He felt better though once he walked inside because the thing that was on his tail certainly wasn't about to follow him in the coffee shop filled with all the patrons. Looking around, Max saw Jack at a table and walked over to him and pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Yo, Jack, what a day I've had. There's a new case we just gotta take, but I'll inform when everyone gets here. Lets just say I have a feeling this is the big one and its gonna be a doozy of case, but what's up with you?"

As he finished his last word and the waitress walked by, Max snapped his fingers. "Hey, be a doll and get me a double espresso and make it snappy. I have a feeling I'll be up all night."

With that, he turned back to Jack before he could answer the first question and he asked him another. "So you didn't feel anything strange when you got to the coffee shop did you? I mean I think some sort of thing was following me here. I couldn't be certain, but I felt its presence. Oh and you did tell everyone to meet us here, right? Cause there late and we need to get down to business."

At that moment the waitress put Max's espresso on the table. He snatched it up the second she put it in front of him and he took a sip. Ah, how Max loved his espresso.

Whilst Max walked into the shop Jack had been reading from his book. It was old fashioned but he was an old fashioned guy. He was going to bind a soul if it was the last thing he did. Or he would have to deal with a singing suit of armor forever. He would be the laughing stock of his family if he did that. It could be the soul being bound. He found it endlessly hilarious that the blood Mage was packing heat. He did not need the gun only his dagger.

Warning bells started to ring in his head as Max said they had to take the case. That usually entailed some Unspeakable Horror or creature of the night rising to eat the tasty humans. It would require the team to kick it back to whatever put it crawled out of and make sure it stayed.

He was going to answer when he was interrupted in the way only Max could pull off. If they were not friends things would be different. "You know what? I swore I felt something following me near my apartment. Odd. My protection ward would forbid that... Unless it could get past the wards...Never mind that. I was trying to bind a soul to a suit of armor. It failed. The damn thing started to sing Carmen at the top of its voice. "Jack grumbled. This was not his first failure while he was with the team. There was one where the armor tried to eat the team. That had been fun to fix... "I texted them, Max. They are just busy. " He said trying to placate his friend. Patience was not his virtue...

"Dare I ask what we are after? " Jack took a sip of his coffee. "A great Old One?" Jack joked."Oh maybe it is some creature from beyond the veil of time and space?" He saw Henry walking towards the shop.Jack waved her over to their table.

Max put down his espresso and looked at Jack. He didn't even know what to tell Jack about what it was they were dealing with, as he was unsure. The one thing he was sure of was that this was something big and it required the whole task force at hand.

"Honestly, I haven't the slightest, but after the vision I had when I examined the body, I got a really bad feeling way worse than any I've gotten before. It's kinda scary really. Plus the fact that I felt like I was being followed as I was walking here doesn't help my feelings."

Max picked up the espresso and took another sip. He just let the events settle in his mind, as he contemplated what was actually happening.

"Actually, Jack, you know what, I'm pretty sure this has hell written all over it. You know who runs hell don't you? That asshole Satan and he's sending his minions to work for him and what do you suppose I am proposing? That's right let's stop this fucker before he causes any more damage. You in?"

With that, he saw Henry walking through the door and he motioned for her to come over.

Henry strode towards the table and slipped into a chair happily. Though she tried to contain her excitement and hold her composure, it was obviously slipping through. She sipped at Max's espresso, something he probably didn't condone, before leaning forward and smiling.

"I heard there was a case in town." She grinned. "Am I going to finally be doing something productive?"

The woman was shaking with her anticipation and she held her breath, hoping this wasn't some stupid bonding thing. "Ah~ Waitress, please get me a caramel frappe, please." She called when the working woman walked by. No one said anything until the waitress had returned with the sweet drink which Henry began to guzzle.

Finnegan's phone buzzed. From his pocket, a crow croaked—the custom notification sound he'd set for texts from Jack. They had work to do. As he shrugged on his wool coat and slipped a few gadgets into its ample pockets, he debated driving there. In the end, he decided not to. Parking would be hell, and he was willing to bet someone else would bring a car. He hailed a cab.

Entering the coffee shop, he barely spared the others a look before striding towards the counter and ordering himself a coffee, black. Steaming mug in hand he dragged a chair from an adjacent table and sat down (with a clear view of the entrance) next to Max, Jack, and Henry. It was good seeing them.

"Right, children. I hear we've got work. I imagine our lass here is fair excited to finally do somethin' productive," he said, nodding at Henry.

Cassandra was practicing scanning magical objects when her phone rang and distracted her long enough for the spell to fizzle completely. "Oh… well, six times out of ten aren't bad." she gathered her supplies and put them away before checking her phone for any messages. The clean up took about twenty minutes, and when she checked her phone she realized she should have moved faster, because it was a call from Max. He probably had a case and they had been waiting on her at that coffee shop and everyone was already assembled and she was the last to arrive and they would be mad and-

She took a breath to push out her panic. If she hurried to the shop now, regardless if she looked a little like she'd been climbing in a chimney, she could still almost make the meeting. She quickly grabbed her jacket and locked her door, running down the street both because it was close, and because she refused to buy a car. At last she reached the door and quietly opened it.

She walked over to the table, sitting down in the nearest open spot. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry that I'm late. I didn't mean to and time got away from me and suddenly you called but I didn't think it was a case so I just put all of my spell supplies away and then I heard the message and ran here." she spoke very quickly and when she finished she was nearly hiding under the table. "I'm sorry… don't be mad…"

Max looked over at Cassandra. "It's quite alright, these guys just got here a few minutes ago themselves. I've not even told anyone what's been going on. But I suppose I should get on with the briefing then."

He grabbed his espresso and drank it down as fast as he could. Max basically told Jack, but the short version. Now he was going to spill the beans to everyone else.

"Alright, so heres the deal. I was called down to investigate what was thought to be a murder, but hell I don't think that's what it was. Well, not in the conventional means of the word. I checked out the body and the vision I saw basiclly leads me to believe that we are dealing with Satan. I saw a hell spawn minion and it seemed to be stealing the victims soul and putting it in a cube-like box. And then on my way here, I felt like I was being followed, by who knows what, probably another of Satans minions. So if my hunch is right, which most of the time I am, then we are dealing with the very likes of hell and we need to put an end to this shit. Lets send those fuckers back to where they belong. So who's with me?

With that, Max sat back in his chair and awaited for their responses.

Henry shifted away from Cassandra, a woman who she only sometimes got along with. The girl was super duper anxious and conformed to the chauvinistic view of women. It disgusted her, really. The feminist preferred to keep the blubbering girl at a distance, though she tried not to upset her either. She really didn't want any crying on her end.

When Max began to talk, Henry's full attention was on him. She was filled with adrenaline and she could feel her blood pumping: she wanted to be at that murder scene, not in this coffee shop talking about the object of her current desire. She hasn't had a case in a too long time, it felt like. The way Max spoke encouraged this antsy feeling in her, fanning the fire. Despite this, she tried extremely hard to keep her cool, even tried to look unimpressed.

When his speech was over and done, everything laid out on the table, Henry began to slow clap, just because the moment would be perfectly ruined and it made such a sweet feeling inside that battled the boiling fire. "Great inspirational speech, Max."

Cassandra noticed Henry's movement. Why did Henry dislike her so much? Did she say something wrong or have bad breath? Cassandra tried to get along with everyone, but maybe Henry was the only honest one in the bunch. Maybe they all hated her and only wanted her power. Just like everyone else she'd ever met. What was she doing wrong that upset Henry? Even though her emotional turmoil was tearing her up inside, the most Cassandra did was look at the table, and try to make herself smaller. She listened to Max's speech with half an ear.

When he finished his speech, Cassandra looked up at him and thought about it. She could take on Satan? They could stop the end of the world? Wow, that sounded really exciting and like it would maybe test her skills. She had to do it though, since she was part of the group for better or worse. Cassandra gathered her courage and spoke. "I'm in. No one deserves to die, no matter the reason." she was shaking a little, scared of being the center of attention. "Plus, I might have a few words to say to Satan."

With that, she sat down. She tried to calm down, and she didn't have her pen to doodle on the napkins, so what she did was touch the counter and make a little frost. It spiraled out and made crystalline swirls on the counter. Cassandra calmed down, taking a deep breath and relaxing. They weren't the same as the others. They weren't expecting so much of her, and she could do this. If they faced off against Satan, then she could practice her ice/water spells, if they didn't it wouldn't be a shame. She could do this.

"It would be a shame to watch you go, Max"

The voice came from a man who had been sitting at the counter the entire time, sipping on a mug of coffee silently, listening to the entire conversation. He took a big gulp as to finish his cup, got up from the counter and began walking toward the group revealing himself to be Christopher McAllister, "We all know you're Satan's favorite minion" He said jokingly, with a smile. Christopher grabbed a chair and sat down with the rest of the task force.

Turning, Max looked over and saw Christopher. "Nice of you to finally join us. How long were you going to sit there before coming over? Well no matter, we're all here now. I think our first order of business is to double back and scour the area near where the murder happened. Maybe we can find some clues, but I didn't see much when I was there. And the odd thing too, there was no blood, just a lifeless shell of body. Strike me as strange. We should probably get the show on the road cause the longer we wait, the more things are likely to be totally fucked up for us and I don't need another fuck up. Not like the last time. So lets blow this popsicle stand and get a move on."

It wasn't even a split second after the last word left his lips, that Max's phone started ringing. He took it out of his coat pocket and looked t the caller ID. It was Police Chief Hardy. Max answered it. A minute or two later he hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. He got up and with a distressed look on his face he addressed the task force.

"That was police chief Hardy. We got some freaky shit happening. The body I just examined, well it just started moving. Looks to me like Satan has some sort of reanimation ritual going on. Lets get down there right now and stop this asshole from turning that body into something manipulated by hell. So much for trying to have a semi quiet evening."

Max git up, turned and walked a few steps towards the door. He turned back around and motioned for the group to come.

"Come on we've got some ass kicking to do."

The dead moved! Well he had been hoping for nameless horrors. Anything would be better than the living dead. The dead did not have much in the way of working circulatory systems/ So he would have to make a ritual up on the fly to contain it. That was his use right? Containment. Though what if it was some sort of reanimation ritual for use as something evil.

Jack grabbed his book and followed after Max. "Away! To put a body back in its grave! This should be a lot of fun..." Jack grumbled as he went out the door.

Henry leapt from her seat and followed after the two, stumbling excitedly. She backtracked once she got to the door and returned to the table to grab her drink before following again. Ideas were circling her head, theories of what could have happened when she felt the familiar cold numbness rush over her. Everything went black around her when a dribble of red appeared in front of her. And then more red. And more until a splatter of crimson was everywhere. Warmth began rushing back into Henry's limbs as well as the color of her original surroundings. Swallowing, she decided this premonition was better kept to herself and she exited the coffee shop.

Christopher followed Max, Jack, and Henry out the door. He pulled a cigar out from within his jacket, lighting it with a match, and took a puff. He then began checking his 9mm and Revolver, double checking the barrel and ammo, as was standard procedure before investigating the supernatural, or really anytime he was going anywhere at all. Returning his weapons to their holsters Christopher took another puff from his cigar and awaited Max's lead.

Cassandra was the last out, carefully wiping the table clear of her frost spell. She rushed outside, barely noting Henry's weird little stop. The dead guy was moving again, and even though it was likely that Jack could use his powers to contain it, she liked to imagine that freezing the body might also be an option. It would kind of hard to move when all of your limbs would be frozen to the point that moving would snap them in half. Then maybe she could investigate the spell and perhaps replicate it if it was even possible. Yet, at the same time she hoped that she wouldn't go overboard and freeze the head. If the dead guy could talk then maybe she could get some answers out of him. Cassandra pulled herself out of thinking for a moment to reply as the others had. "Okay. I'll need a ride though... I sort of... ran the whole way to the coffee shop..."

Right then, the Dark Lord himself. No wonder Max was eager to get going. In the years Finnegan had spent ridding the world of various supernatural threats—both alone and on Max's team—he'd encountered a tremendous amount of bad stuff. Vampires, insane covens, ghouls, but he'd never had to deal with the boss from bloody downstairs. This was big.

He finished his coffee as the others got up. Outside the coffee shop, he put his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Hold up, lad."

Taking a few steps to bring himself in front of Jack, Finnegan began to pull back his left coat sleeve. Several tattoos adorned his forearm.

"I'll bet you're twisting yer head sideways trying to find a way to bind something whose blood doesn't pump. I think I might be able to help you." He pointed to a circular design close to his wrist. "Got this some years ago. Prevents a couple different types of reanimation once I kick th'bucket. Needless to say, we're not gonna tattoo the bloody thing, but you might be able to scale it up, hold it in place 'til we figure everything out. I'll text ye a picture of it on the road."

He looked up and raised his voice slightly to address everyone: "Now, does someone want to give an old man a lift to our destination?"

Max went out the door and surveyed his surroundings. Almost as soon as he stepped foot outside, the uneasy feeling returned. Whatever was following him on his way to the coffee shop was back. It's as if they waited for him, just so they could trail him once again. This bastard was at it again and Max wanted this thing dead, or at least sent back to the very hell it came from.

He looked at the group and urged them closer. He spoke very low almost at a whisper. Max didn't want whatever it was to hear him. "I'm getting the sense that the very thing that followed me here, is at it again and on our tails once more, so we must be on the lookout. In the meantime I'll be needing a lift to the site. I walked all the way here and this sword is starting to kill my back."

The sword strapped to his back was rather large and over sized, but that's the price you pay when you request a buster sword. Max wanted to get it off his back just even for the few minutes it took to get to the site.

He stepped back a moment and looked around just checking out the area, trying to feel how close the hell spawn was, but he couldn't get a direct bearing on it's location. All he knew, was that it was close.

"Now who's going to give me that ride? The faster we get there the faster we can deal with whatever it is that's playing reanimation games with the corpse."