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

A lone figure ran through the dim, narrow streets, sticking to the shadows. Her footsteps echoed faintly, uneven and rushed.

She wasn't sprinting anymore, she was stumbling.

Eventually, she turned into an alley behind a locked-up storefront and collapsed into a crouch, her back pressed against the cold wall.

Her hands trembled.

Her breath came in short, uneven gasps.

Slowly, she reached up and removed the mask from her face, letting it fall beside her.

It was Eva.

She didn't move for a moment. Just sat there, shaking, trying to pull herself together.

She hadn't stepped into that situation tonight because she was brave. Or because she was some noble symbol of justice.

She did it because she was a vigilante. A metahuman acting without license, without approval, technically illegal in most parts of the country. No government backing or official protection.

Just her.

She had discovered her powers years ago, but it was only recently that she decided to do something with them.

She didn't care about fame or headlines. She just wanted to help people, even if it meant working outside the law.

But tonight had shaken her.

Her powers… had flickered. Not completely. but just enough to make her doubt. In all the years she'd had them, they had never failed her. Never once given her reason to hesitate.

Until now.

Eva swallowed hard, chest tightening.

She forced herself to take a breath, then another, trying to slow her heartbeat.

She had almost…

She didn't finish the thought.

Eva reached out toward a glass bottle lying near a pile of broken bricks.

Her arm was steady, but her breathing wasn't. She stared at it, waiting for something to happen.

Her power, Force Pulse, was supposed to react by now. The bottle should have shattered or been sent flying across the alley.

That was why she tried to shove those men earlier. She wasn't relying on strength or bluffing. She had expected the force to activate.

But it didn't.

The bottle didn't move. It just sat there.

She kept her arm out, fingers slightly tensed, hoping she could still feel it build in her chest like before. Hoping something would rise. But there was nothing.

Her eyes stayed locked on the bottle. She didn't speak. She didn't even blink much. Her jaw tightened. Her lips pressed together. Still, nothing happened.

She didn't lower her hand.

Tears started to build up in her eyes. They blurred the bottle, but she didn't wipe them away.

Her shoulders were tense, her back pressed to the wall, legs drawn up slightly. Her body shook as her breathing became shallow.

This wasn't just a failed attempt.

Her power had never done this before. She had trained with it, tested it, learned how to manage it.

It was always consistent and had never gone completely silent. Not like this.

This was the first time she felt powerless.

She kept her arm out as if the ability would return if she just waited longer. As if the weight in her chest would change into pressure again.

It didn't.

Her hand trembled slightly. Her breathing stayed unsteady. But she never let her arm drop.

She didn't know if it was stubbornness or fear. Maybe both. But something was missing, and she knew it wasn't just her strength.

She didn't cry loudly. The tears just fell while she stayed still.

The bottle never moved.

Eva pulled her knees close and rested her forehead against them. Her shoulders shook as she cried. It wasn't loud or dramatic. She stayed curled up, and the tears kept coming.

She didn't know how long she sat like that. The cold concrete pressed against her legs.

Her palms were sweaty, and her fingers kept twitching. The feeling of failure settled deep in her chest.

How did this happen?

She tried to think clearly. Something had changed. She hadn't been hurt. There hadn't been any major incidents. No fights. No metahuman encounters. Nothing that should've interfered with her powers.

She forced herself to retrace her steps.

Nothing unusual happened over the past few days. She kept her routine. She trained. She stayed quiet. Except—

Her thoughts stopped.

Jace.

She met him recently. He had no idea she was a metahuman. They spent one night together, talked, shared space, but he didn't know anything about her other life.

Still, he was the only person she had been close to.

The only one she had touched that deeply.

Eva sat still for a moment, thinking. There was no evidence, no real reason to believe he had anything to do with it.

But something felt off. Her instincts weren't giving her answers, but they were giving her a direction.

And that direction pointed to Jace.

The more she thought about it, the more it started to make sense.

She didn't sleep around. Last night had been the first time in months, maybe longer. And even back then, her powers had never reacted to physical closeness.

But now, less than twenty-four hours after being with Jace, her powers had gone silent.

The connection felt too direct to ignore.

At first, she tried to be rational. Maybe it was stress. Maybe something was off in her body. But that didn't sit right. She hadn't felt

tired. She hadn't been pushing herself too far. Nothing about this felt natural.

And Jace... he had been different. Not in a bad way. But something about him had always felt slightly off, even if she couldn't place it.

Now, her mind kept circling the same conclusion.

He did something. He caused this.

Her jaw clenched.

The more she believed it, the more her chest tightened. Her anger began to rise, slow but steady.

It wasn't loud or explosive, but it built like pressure behind her ribs. Like something that wouldn't go away until it was confronted.

If Jace had something to do with this, he would pay for it.

Her powers were the only thing in her life that ever felt like they belonged to her.

After growing up in orphanages, tossed between homes, and abandoned by the people who were supposed to care, her abilities were the one thing no one gave her and no one could take.

Until now.

She wasn't about to let some guy strip that away.

Especially not someone she trusted, even for one night.

She had never heard of anyone who could take a metahuman's powers. Not through touch, not by accident.

Abilities didn't just disappear like that. They faded with age, trauma, or severe injury. None of those things applied here.

This wasn't natural.

It felt planned.

But why her?

She didn't stand out. She wasn't in the news. She didn't wear a symbol or call herself a hero. She worked under the radar, small actions, small victories.

So why now?

And why him?

None of it made sense. But she was done crying. If she couldn't figure it out by thinking, she'd get her answers directly.

From Jace.