Colin watched every movement of the bouncing blades, waiting for the moment it would fly free, or the second Mannequin charged.  There would be no dodging that unscathed.

Yeah, probably not.

But Mannequin didn’t move.  The spinning slowed, and the whirling blades settled into a rhythmic bounce against Mannequin’s leg, until it had stopped entirely, the arm swinging gently.  The blades retracted.

So what was the point of starting it up? Was Colin onto something when he thought Mannequin was demonstrating his abilities?

Also, Mannequin is almost certainly here to talk, but can he talk, per se? He doesn’t have a mouth in the traditional sense.

Mannequin didn’t speak, he made no sound.

Long moments passed.

Well, this is awkward.

I guess Mannequin isn’t concerned about Armmaster getting reinforcements. He hasn’t visibly done anything to the cameras, and is taking his time.

“Talk to me, Dragon,” he murmured.  His voice shook just a touch.  Any second now, Mannequin would cut to the chase and attack, and he could die at this monster’s hands.

Does Colin just want to hear his Canadian crush’s equally real voice one last time before what he believes to be nearly certain death?

Or does he want to ensure that the connection is still working after what happened to the computer?

So if Mannequin asks Armmaster to come with him and try to join the Slaughterhouse Nine, what happens?

I’d like to think Armmaster cares about heroics on some level, but his attitude in Extermination suggests otherwise. What’s unclear is the extent to which he’s willing to fall from grace. If he truly only wants recognition without any thought to the morals of it, well, becoming a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine would certainly get him attention. But it might not be the sort of attention he wants.

Another thing to note is that he’d be turning his back on Dragon. How strong are his feelings for her?

Mannequin tested the rest of his body, while Colin slowly climbed to his feet.  Every joint was too flexible, and was capable of moving in every angle.

I guess that’s what happens when you’re not restricted by all that pesky meat.

For a moment, Mannequin’s fingers were like worms, each knuckle bending in impossible directions. 

I’m sure some fanfics had fun with this. *fails miserably at waggling eyebrows*

I love how casual Mannequin is being in front of the guy who just tried to attack him with a disintegration knife.

Was the killer hoping to intimidate him?  Nobody would test these mechanics in front of an enemy, so this was most likely a demonstration.

That’s another possibility, but mostly I think Mannequin just doesn’t see Armmaster as an enemy at the moment.

Mannequin raised one hand and placed it on the top of his head.  With a sharp twist, he snapped it into place with an audible click.

Pfft, nice.

He tested the range of motion, tilting it forward, backward, to either side, then spinning it around three-hundred-and-sixty degrees.

I like this guy so far. 😛

If he can keep that impression up until the end of the chapter, we’ll be four for four on Slaughterhouse members I like so far. They seem to be a quite interesting bunch.

“Dragon,” Colin whispered, “Are you getting this?”

I suppose it’s possible that Mannequin could have something installed that would let him sever the connection to Dragon, but if he was going to tamper with Colin’s equipment remotely, why not do that before entering?

“Help is on the way, Colin.”  The whole room was outfitted with speakers, microphones and microcameras.

Ah, nice. Though I’m not sure that’s a good idea, for the help’s sake.

Her voice came from the speaker directly behind him, so quiet that he would have thought he imagined it, if he didn’t know her.

I guess she knows how to “whisper”.

The chain retracted with a faint whirr, and the forearm snapped into place on the upper arm, which soon connected to the shoulder of the torso.

The finger chain’s connected to the hand chain,
The hand chain’s connected to the arm chain,
The arm chain’s connected to the shoulder chain,
Now shake dem mannequin chains!

The chain joining the two halves of the torso together reeled in and locked into place by way of some unseen mechanism, the seam between them almost invisible.

Nice.

Pull it together, man!

Colin felt a faint tug from his weapon as some electromagnetics kicked into effect.

Interesting. I suppose that might be part of how the chains are controlled?

The unattached arm and leg flew to the shoulder and pelvis and snapped into place.

Oh, or that. That works better.

Colin was two paces away when a telescoping blade speared out from Mannequin’s hand, straight at him.

“Stop right there.”

It was luck as much as reflexes that let him stop his run, his feet sliding on the smooth ground, before he ran into the weapon.  He dropped onto his back, instinctively rolling with the fall to reduce the impact.

See, here’s the thing about Armmaster:

He can be a douche at times, and he did some pretty nasty things. But he’s also damn cool.

Even in this moment where he’s stopped in his tracks, he manages to make it look pretty awesome, and he isn’t even trying.

The blade snapped back into Mannequin’s hand with enough force that the hand and forearm it was attached to recoiled from the impact.

Because he wasn’t actually trying to hurt Army with it, just stop the charge. If he was trying to hurt him, he could swing the blade at him now.

Unless of course he intends to use a different weapon.

It flipped into the air, and the blade snapped out again to impale the top of the door frame.

Hehe.

He knew this one from the briefings.  Mannequin.

Yeah. I would’ve been a bit surprised if Colin didn’t recognize him.

The realization of what he was up against spurred him to action, pushed him beyond that momentary paralysis that came with the grim sight of the internal organs.

Ah, right, there we go.

You are faced with a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine in a room you can’t escape (though at least you’re on the line with one person who might have the power to open the door). What will you do?

While Mannequin was incapacitated, he charged, clicking a switch on the handle of his knife to activate the disintegration effect.

> Strife.

Considering Mannequin’s presumably here to talk, and we need the Slaughterhouse members for upcoming plot, this won’t work.

Normally I’d criticize Army for believing he was equipped to do this, but it’s not like he has many other options. Talking is his best one, but he doesn’t have much reason to believe that Mannequin will be receptive to that.

Also, wow, the knife does have the effect? Isn’t that a huge security issue?

A static grey cloud formed around the knife.

Security issue or not, this remains a cool weapon.

Colin noted that the flat expanse that would join the left side of the chest to the right had a clear pane to it.

As in a central glass pane, like a window to Mannequin’s core?

Organs were inside, cut cleanly down the middle, and they pulsed with activity, throbbing wet against the glass or glass substitute.

Ew. Any particular reason you felt the need to make that visible, Mannequin?

There was technology in there too.  Regulators and filtration systems, and other gear that was designed to fit into the gaps between the most vital systems.  Weapons, tools.

Oh yeah, I suppose he would put weapons in there. Not sure why I didn’t think of that.

By the way, I love how this clearly living… construct, whom Armmaster might recognize as a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine, just shambled into his room in pieces, and Colin’s like “I’m gonna stand here and calmly study this thing’s appearance.”