[i]The presence… I can no longer feel it. [/i] The Clockwork Man thought quizzically. Considering the nature of his opponent, he expected some further form of camouflage which even he was not able to detect. That meant they were making their move, most likely to strike at him, he hoped they took the bait.

His plan succeeded in part, when he became immediately aware of the technology he was growing familiar with a very short distance behind him. He span quickly round to his right, his feet sliding as he turned 180, to face the oncoming threat, but he had misjudged at what speed his opponent could move. Luckily for him, his reflexes and perception were way beyond an ordinary human, because death would have been likely if that were the case. As his opponent struck at his neck from a crouch, they had a significant distance to cover to reach him, providing his low hand the opportunity to bat away the foe who he had quickly judged was likely a woman. His palm should swat away her own hand from underneath, and provided she did not attempt some kind of twisting motion in mid-air, which seemed unlikely, her blade would only slash up and past the Clockwork Man’s face, cutting a significant groove across his right ‘cheek’. Assuming this were the case, her momentum would likely cause her to overextend just enough that as he turned fully, his left hand could swing round and give her a powerful shove underneath her right arm, hopefully knocking her back or at least unbalancing her to give the Clockwork Man time to manoeuvre.