[color=lightblue]?![/color]

What startled him wasn't the fact that he was caught off guard.

Well, yeah actually it was, kinda, but less of that, and more of the fact that he suddenly felt heavier. A lot heavier.

With the hop, he landed nice and steady, which was when he felt the weight increase. Physically, he felt fine, he knew his body extremely well and he hadn't put on any weight as far as he could tell. That meant only one thing.

His opponent possessed some sort of power that could influence his weight.

Well he could fly, perhaps his ability was that he could modify a person's weight?

Whatever the case, he was caught quite off guard by the left kick. By instinct, instead of continuing with the axe kick, he instead curled up his leg and brought it closer to himself, pivoting slightly to the left on his left foot, presenting the meatiest part of his thigh for the offending kick to collide with, which it did, pushing him backward and sending him quite off balance. Not quite fast enough to block all of it, but it sent him sprawling onto the floor. Johnny twisted in the fall and landed on his front, body angled to the right to catch the floor with his right shoulder. With the momentum of the fall, he flung himself over and round, turning the fall into a roll that he got out of on two feet, backing up slowly to gain distance from his opponent so he could think.

However, Johnny struggled to rise. Instead of having to lift his own weight with his legs, he was now lifting one and a half times it, though he didn't know exactly how much it was. All he knew was that by jove he felt heavy, and surely it was affecting the room too. He had a quick glance, and yes, several of the ballroom's patrons were on the floor not by choice but by force. The band, however, mysterious as they were, were strangely not affected by this whole thing, still playing music as per normal without noticing a thing.

Of course, no one in the room did realise that the whole ballroom was an extradimensional space in itself, and the band and its patrons were merely pawns in a multidimensional game, unwittingly being used and abused by the players, who currently were two men named Johnny and An, on either side of a cosmic chess game being played by mysterious figures that watched with all-seeing eyes, each contemplating every possibility when their opponent made a move, considering counter attacks, blocks, other moves, slowly manipulating their subject to enact their will.

Of course, none of them knew this.

Right, back to the now.

Johnny squared his shoulders, gave them a roll and straightened his jacket and hat. If this guy was going to play with powers, then he'd play with powers too. He flexed and tensed his right leg, his thigh aching from where he'd been struck.

[color=lightblue]Damn, this guy is good.[/color]

Currently he estimated that he was at least ten to twelve feet away from his opponent. He could cover that in two strides easy, but with him feeling this heavy, that would lengthen to three. Slow, easy to catch.

He had to accelerate the process the only way he knew how.

He began tapping his foot again, but this time, he let the magic within his legs and shoes flow. It would look like nothing, but he could feel power now fill and well up in his legs and feet.

Johnny waited.

Tap tap tap.

A moment passed. Then two.

Tap tap tap.

He sprung.

Johnny gathered the air beneath his heels and sprung up and forward slightly, curling up in midair, bringing his knees close to his chest as he focused his might into his lower legs and feet. Then, just before he landed, John kicked downwards with all his might, the soles of his feet clacking [b]loudly[/b] on the polished wood floor.

Of course, not before they compressed and popped two bubbles of compressed air beneath his feet.

The amplified vibration shot straight from his swift downward stamp, through his feet and into the floor, making the whole room jounce and sway as if it were caught in a short earthquake. No doubt his opponent would be caught up in trying to keep his balance. Being in the epicentre of the shockwave, Johnny had it easy. This wasn't a Crash, nope, just two big Beats done simultaneously. The Crash was something he saved for when he was outdoors, else he'd risk injuring himself if he crashed a room to pieces.

Around him people began screaming and panicking, some trying to open the doors to escape only to find them jammed shut from the force of the vibrations that shook the room. Glasses fell and shattered, the lights flickered and the windows wobbled in their frames as the room took the full brunt of his next attack.

As the floor itself curved and rumbled and shook from the force of the kicks, Johnny steadied himself. Now was the perfect opportunity to strike. Gathering his energy again, Johnny lashed out with his right leg in a snap kick aimed straight at An.

Of course, he was no where within striking distance.

However, during the kick, he gathered a bubble of compressed air and, as his leg extended the whole way, he stretched the bubble out and then flicked it off with the ending of the kick, creating a long, curved vertical blade of air that shot straight for his target with an audible [b]thoom[/b].

And that wasn't all. He twisted on his left foot, spinning around counterclockwise as he switched the foot he was spinning on from the left to the right. He cocked his left leg, gathered another air bubble, and swung a reverse roundhouse kick that shot another blade of air at An, this one horizontal at around chest level.

These air blades worked akin to huge air wedges or rams. Being made entirely of compressed air, when they come into contact with a solid surface, they instantly expand, blasting a long crater into whatever they impacted. Each of these air blades held the same concussive force as a bullet, though not the speed of one. That's how Johnny had honed his explosive kicking skills.

And now two of these blades were hurtling towards An.

Johnny kept his distance. He was sure that his opponent would try something to counter, and he needed this distance to ensure that he didn't get hit again.