"Yeah... yeah, I did. Thanks," Rowan said quietly between breaths as he got up and brushed himself off, wincing when he moved his left arm. Quickly shifting into himself to deal with his injuries, he turned his attention to the Chameleon fighting Alex and Eric. That abomination would crush her given enough time, and Eric wasn't helping very much.
Looking around frantically for something - anything - to get the Chameleon to let go of Alex, Rowan spotted something that could work: a heavy beaker with some kind of bubbling liquid inside it. He grabbed it, ignoring the mild heat coming off of the glass, and smashed it over the Chameleon's head. It promptly screamed, let go of Alex and clutched at its face, smoke rising from under its fingers as it drove the tiny shards of glass deeper into its skin. Evidently the liquid had been some kind of acid. But Rowan had no time for such musings as he rushed at the Chameleon, attempting to tackle it in the hopes of getting it away from his friends. Unprepared for the assault, the Chameleon fell backwards, landing hard on the floor with Rowan standing over it.
In that split second of time in which everything pauses and a man can think clearly in the heat of combat, Rowan thought over his next actions. He never fought to kill, but evidently Richard had done so when he took out the first one. 'One should only kill if someone is attempting to do the same to you. Never harm someone who is just doing their job.' That was the way Rowan thought when it came to violence, but it was necessary this time. The Chameleon intended to kill him, and the rest of the Society members present. It was merely an extension of Cadizki's will. The scientist wanted Rowan dead: the final conclusion of a failed experiment. And Rowan couldn't let that happen.
Time sped up to normal levels, and Rowan acted on his thoughts. He plunged his glass weapon down hard into the chest of the Chameleon, and felt something give under his attack. He drove the broken glass in again and again, not giving the creature time to repair itself by shapeshifting, and eventually sliced its throat open with the ruined beaker once he was sure the Chameleon was dead. Hands shaking slightly, he threw the improvised weapon aside and turned to Cadizki, who was still holding his bizarre device.
"Drop whatever that thing is, Cadizki, you've lost. By my authority as a member of the Society of Justice, you're under arrest for attempted murder," he ordered, his voice surprisingly stable given the fact that he had killed something that was once human.
"I think not, Mr. Ward," Cadizki shot back as he stepped forward to stand a few feet from Rowan, device raised. "If I go down, you're going with me." With that he pulled the trigger built into the weapon. Its needle shot forward, catching Rowan in the chest through his shirt, and the tank of liquid began to drain itself, pumping into Rowan's body. The shapeshifter dropped to his knees, shocked, stunned and choking, before collapsing in a heap on the floor.
The small tank drained itself dry within a few seconds, and Cadizki retracted the needle, throwing the device aside. "Now it's over, failed subject," he stated before turning to the other Society members with hands held high and a triumphant look in his eyes.
