Eden was torn between running for shelter or staying close to Weston's house. If she went to far and by some miracle Coulson did come looking for her, she shouldn't run off into the woods. But her stamina was running lower than her moral. She forced back two Shades with a loose post she ripped from the porch railing and gave herself enough room to jump and take hold of the roof's ledge. The adrenaline rush gave her just enough energy for her to hoist herself out of reach. She kicked the gutter hard, knocking it loose, so if they did jump high enough there would be nothing to hold to. Eden then clambered up to the top of the front eave, and looked over the yard.

The Shades let out frustrated howls and groans. She saw Weston's Shade leave the rabble and head to the garage. A few Shades followed him there. To her horror they returned with gas and oil canisters. Weston slammed shut the hood of the old truck and got in the driver's seat. The Shades poured the gas and oil on the front of the house while the truck made struggling noises, not quite turning over.

They were going to set the house on fire. No, they were going to try to blow her off the roof. There was a gas heater in the living room that would surely explode on impact. Eden scrambled to her feet, trying to keep her balance as she scaled the roof to another eave. The truck roared to life, the chugging rumble echoing in the covering of the barn.

"Oh god," she breathed, "oh god."

The engine revved twice before Shade Weston peeled out into the yard. Some of the Shades didn't make it out of the way in time, but that helped the truck propel over the muddy yard. Eden hunkered low, bracing for the impending explosion. The cold metal roof numbed her limbs and weakened her grip. She feared beginning knocked out into the yard more than being ripped apart in the blast.

Then it came. The truck demolished half of the porch on its own before the fire ignited, and a few long seconds before the gas leaking into the air and old wood of the house, and Eden's body was showered with sparks and wood fragments. Her hands and face were sliced by the shrapnel and the smoke made it impossible to breath. She had managed to hold on, but if she stayed up there any longer she would surely die. Above the flames she heard the Shades moaning her name, beckoning her down. Those that weren't incinerated or still burning had moved around so that at her back was the fire and before her, the zombie mob of old friends and childhood acquaintances. The heat on her back was nothing compared to the burning cold that nipped at her fingers as they clung to the slowly heating tin beneath her body.

Eden looked behind her, into the fire. She wondered how much it would hurt if she jumped into the flames. Not to die, but to escape. Surely she could do it. Surely she had just enough willpower to conjure a shield to protect herself. With all the Shades here at the back of the house, she would have just enough time to run free into the street. Coulson had taken the others to Owl River. If she ran down the street, maybe she'd catch up to them…if they were coming back for her.

But that was silly. Why would they? And there was no way she could run very far. She was too tired. Too weak. If she used up her energy to make a shield that protected from flame she would have nothing left to carry her down the road. There was no haven for her here, even if she escaped the fire and mob.

Eden lay her head back on the roof, resigning herself to death, when she noticed that some of the Shades were leaving. No, not leaving; they were returning to the front yard. Eden pushed herself upright and turned around, but the only thing she saw through the fire was lightning on the ground. The hot air caught in her throat.

"Thor!" She drug herself along the roof, towards the fire. This was it. She had to at least give this last bit of effort. She could hear Thor, yelling, and the girls screaming. There were gun shots. Eden thought she could hear Coulson calling for her. She forced herself upright, and stood as close to the flames as the roof's stability allowed.

"I can do this," she whispered to herself, before jumping into the fire. It hurt, a lot, but Eden forced herself to focus. The inferno encircled her body and she let it. She envisioned herself becoming part of the blaze. She imagined her body being a flame. She leapt from the opened walls of the house, into the yard, where before her she saw Thor electrocuting a string of Shades. Loki was keeping a few at bay while Jane and Darcy tried to climb on top of the car. Coulson was emptying clip after clip into the horde.

Eden's hellish reappearance caught the attention of two Shades who approached her with caution. One threw a burning beam at her, which she ducked away from and returned with a blast of embers from her hand. The second Shade tried to run from her but she grabbed it by the shirt and forced it on the ground. She moved the fire over her body to her hand, and made a brief but desperate attempt to purify the struggling boy beneath her.

It didn't work. He burst into flames, and Eden pushed him away from her. She hadn't the heart to try it again, and instead used all the negative emotions building up inside to fuel a brilliant firework display of hot white energy that burned through the last of the Shades. She collapsed to her knees, gasping for air, waiting for another onslaught, but the Shades were either dead or on the run. There were none to be seen. Eden looked to the burning house, full of emotion but numb to it all. Coulson ran to her and grabbed her shoulder, turning her towards him.

"Oh my god, Denny," he said, turning her face to look at the festering lacerations running from her forehead to neck.

Eden let out a few dry sobs before pulling herself together, enough to share what she had learned.

"Weston—" she gasped, "The Shade in Weston said that they are looking for a way to make new bodies to possess. He said they were almost finished, but I don't know if that means they were almost finished getting ready to make bodies or if they'd finished making bodies…"

"Okay," Coulson said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay now, Denny. We'll get this sorted out."

"It's not okay!" she said, a little louder than she intended. "I-it's like the plague! I just saw all my childhood friends like they were zombies. I just killed people who might've been savable! I-I should b-be able to make this stop but I….I…"

She looked at her hands helplessly. "Now they know I know what their plan is. Weston— Shade Weston said that there was only one Shade in charge of this entire sordid affair. They'll know I'm still alive. They'll try to speed up their plans, for sure."

"It's going to be fine," Coulson reassured. "Let's get you back somewhere safe, and get you taken care of. I'll have Jane re-look at her data and see if there are different anomalies she can trace."

Eden hugged herself and nodded in reluctant agreement.

"We should spread out and make sure none escaped into the forest," Thor instructed.

"There's nothing we can do in the dark, Thor," Loki chided.

Jane and Darcy both came to Eden's aid with a medical kit. They worked with Coulson to swab the wounds on Eden's body, but the damage was extensive.

"We have to get her to a hospital," Jane insisted. "She needs professional care."

Coulson agreed. "Thor, can you—"

But the god of Thunder was a step ahead, and hoisted Eden off the ground. Darcy took the wheel so that Coulson could call in a clean-up crew.