I’m Not a Villain, I Just Absorb Women’s Powers

Jace blinked rapidly as the pain throbbed through his face. His vision was blurry, his head spinning from the sudden hit.

When it cleared, he stared at the doorway in disbelief.

"Eva?" he muttered, confused.

She stood there, breathing hard, her eyes sharp and full of rage.

Before he could say anything else, she stepped forward and kicked him again, this time straight to the jaw. His head snapped to the side, and he felt his teeth sink into his lower lip, nearly splitting it.

He hit the floor, dazed, a metallic taste filling his mouth.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?" she shouted. Her voice was loud, filled with anger and something deeper, fear, maybe, but all Jace could do was stare in confusion, ears ringing.

He coughed, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"I don't, I don't know what you're talking about," he managed, his voice hoarse.

Jace hadn't been in many fights. A few school scraps, mostly when someone made fun of him for being adopted, but nothing serious. Nothing like this.

And now, Eva, the same woman he had spent the night with, was standing in his apartment, yelling, shaking, and looking like she was ready to kill him.

Jace slid back across the floor, his palms scraping against the tiles as he tried to put distance between them. His mind was spinning. None of it made sense.

He saw her moving toward him, fast.

In seconds, Eva was on top of him. He barely had time to raise his arms before her fists came down.

As attractive as she had been last night, that softness was gone. The same woman who had been in his bed was now straddling him, not in passion, but in fury.

She threw punches.

Wild. Controlled. Focused.

Each one landed with a question behind it.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?"

Smack.

"WHERE IS IT!?"

Crack.

"GIVE IT BACK!"

Jace tried to block them, arms raised, but she was stronger than she looked.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he yelled, voice strained.

Blood ran from his nose, lip, and cheek, but he barely felt it. He was more stunned than hurt, caught between panic and confusion.

He had no idea what she meant.

As she raised her fist for another blow, Jace grabbed her wrist, his voice cracking as he shouted, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

In that instant, a pulse of force shot out from his body.

Eva was blasted off him.

The kinetic burst flung her across the room. She hit the wall with a sharp thud before collapsing to the floor.

She let out a soft yelp, then nothing.

Silence filled the apartment.

Jace lay there, chest rising and falling, staring at the ceiling. His face throbbed, his body ached, but he didn't move. He slowly turned his head and saw her lying still on the floor.

Unconscious.

He let out a long breath and dropped his head back down.

Everything was quiet again, but nothing felt normal.

[Jace, why didn't you fight back? This human intended to kill you. If you can't defend yourself, I can transfer combat knowledge directly into your mind. You'll still need to train it, but knowing is better than being oblivious.]

Jace groaned, still lying on the floor. His face hurt, and his lip was still bleeding. "I… was raised not to hit women," he muttered.

There was a pause.

[That is a foolish mindset.]

Jace frowned but didn't interrupt.

[The female gender is equally capable of taking a life or causing harm. According to your species' biology, the male body might have some physical advantages on average, but a skilled female can close that gap easily. And while I have no stored records to confirm it, I can confidently state that somewhere in the universe, there exists a female-dominated race.]

Jace exhaled slowly and shook his head. "You sound more human than I expected for an AI."

[I was built to adapt to logic and survival. Emotion and fairness are only secondary, Jace. If someone wants to kill you, your gender rules and hesitation won't protect you.]

He sat up slowly, looking at Eva's unconscious body.

He didn't disagree with Zin, but some part of him still couldn't bring himself to swing first.

"Do you have any idea why she thinks I stole something from her?" Jace asked, pushing himself to his feet. "I left her place in the morning. I didn't take anything… definitely nothing that should've made her react like this."

[...]

There was no immediate answer from Zin.

Jace moved carefully across the room and looked down at Eva. Her face was bruised from the impact, but what caught his attention was how dry her cheeks were, like she had cried for a long time before showing up.

Her breathing was steady. She was unconscious, not injured badly.

He crouched, hesitated for a second, then gently picked her up. She didn't stir.

He carried her to the sofa and laid her down slowly, adjusting her so she was comfortable.

He stepped back and stared at her for a moment. Everything about this situation made no sense, but her face told a different story than her fists had. She looked angry before, but now… she just looked hurt. And tired.

Jace walked to the bathroom, turned on the tap, and splashed water on his face. The bruises weren't too bad. A cut lip, a sore jaw, and a bit of swelling, but nothing broken.

He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, then sighed and took a deep breath.

When he walked back out, Eva was still unconscious. He stood there for a few seconds, just watching her breathe.

[I think we should kill her.]

Jace didn't react right away.

"I'm not surprised you think that."

[If she's after your life, it's logical to end hers before she wakes up and ends yours. You were lucky your kinetic force activated. You haven't trained fighting with it. You haven't experienced a real fight. She was serious, and she'll come at you again.]

Jace crossed his arms and stayed quiet.

He didn't disagree with the logic. Zin was right, if that burst hadn't knocked her out, he could've been seriously hurt. But even with all that… the idea of killing her felt wrong.