Steve wasn't sure how it happened. One minute he'd been on Team Poison's trail, and the next they'd jumped and captured him. It all happened so fast—faster than Diana, when she moved to deflect a bullet from him on the numerous occasions that he needed it. He never should've gone ahead of his team, maybe then he wouldn't have gotten captured. For all he knew, they were probably captured, too.
One of the soldiers (Kit, maybe? Steve couldn't tell while they were in uniform) gave him a harsh shove into the back of their chopper. He fumbled as he tried not to fall against the steel floor and let out a curse. The others soon joined him, and he tensed as Colonel Poison approached him. The devilish woman stared up at him and smirked.
"By all means, take a seat. It's going to be a very long flight."
He shot her a nasty glare. Boy, what he would do if his hands weren't currently cuffed…
Just as quickly as the grin had crept over her face, it vanished. She quickly turned away from him and approached the pilot, muttering something that Steve couldn't hear. Soon after, the chopper started to rise. Steve sat down and closed his eyes, hoping that Diana or Etta (or his teammates, if they weren't already captured) would swoop in and save his ass. The former seemed unlikely, though, as they were in the States and he was in some remote island off the coast of Japan.
He'd gotten intel about Poison's activity in the area. Something about an old base dating back to WWII. Poison had only come into existence when he was very young, but Steve wouldn't put it past them to either revamp the labs or try to retrieve any surviving data and use it for their own gain. He guessed the base wasn't fully operational, though, as the team was taking him somewhere else rather than just locking him up there.
The flight was long and silent. He half expected the soldiers to harass him, but aside from shoving him into the chopper prior to takeoff and making a quick remark, they made no acknowledgement of him. There was some bit of small-talk between the teammates here and there, but nothing like in his team. No in-depth conversations, jokes, or even showing each other random photos—for Team Poison, things seemed strictly business. Steve almost pitied them.
Roughly half an hour after his legs fell asleep, Steve felt the chopper descend. His heart raced as they went further and further down, and the situation hit him like a brick. Nobody had come to his rescue. He was going straight into the Lion's den, and he was completely alone. But the worst part was that nobody knew where he was. Even he didn't know where he was.
Oh man, how am I going to get out of this?
His heart was pounding by the time they landed. If any of the soldiers were speaking, he couldn't hear it over the ringing in his ears. They stood up and Steve barely made out the Colonel's orders.
"Ray, Kit, escort him!"
The two immediately moved him out of the chopper, marching beside him with their guns pointed at his face. Everyone else (save for the Colonel) moved behind them, probably for back-up in the event that his steel cuffs suddenly came loose or if Diana leapt down from the heavens to rescue him. As the team moved him behind the Colonel and they passed through steel gates, Steve observed his surroundings. They were just outside a large, multi-story home that bore the classic Japanese style architecture, surrounded by various trees and encased with large walls. Steve was expecting a bunker or maybe some office-style building, but this? This was not what he thought he would see. Just where had they taken him?
They moved further away from the threshold to the helipad and walked across the yard, closer towards what Steve assumed to be the back entrance of the home. There was a male soldier on standby, wearing a similar uniform to what the Colonel and her teammates were wearing.
"Colonel," he greeted in her native tongue.
Steve was grateful that he'd bothered to learn Japanese. Originally, he'd done it so he could watch undubbed movies and anime, but it came in very handy for situations like this. Situations he'd hoped he'd never be in.
Colonel Poison cleared her throat and responded back in Japanese.
"Tell the General that we have arrived with Steve Trevor."
General. Steve's breath got trapped in his chest like a fly in a web. This was much worse than he originally thought. They had taken him directly to General Maru—the founder of Poison.
He gave a quick bow and spoke into a device on his wrist. Steve heard a command from the other line, and the guard nodded. With that he opened the doors, and Kit and Ray led Steve inside. They moved quickly through the home until they reached a stairwell, not pausing even for a second to take in the surroundings. Steve could make out very little because of this but based on what he could see it was the sort of standard home he'd expect for a typical millionaire—nothing about it screamed 'murderous psycho' out loud. Steve figured the important rooms were probably beneath their feet, out of sight from the typical observer. There was probably some sort of torture room nearby, and Steve tensed at the thought. He'd already been shot in the leg by Colonel Poison in the past, but if they were going to go through the trouble of torturing him she would probably step her game up—force him to inhale various gases, or use him as a test subject for her biological weapons. He'd heard rumors about an enhanced strain of the Maru virus, and did not want the 'honor' of helping Poison in their breakthroughs. No, he would take two bullets to the leg over that…
Steve tried to push the thoughts of torture from his mind and instead focus on the various details in his surroundings. His captors had taken him up two flights of stairs, then made a sharp turn right. What Steve saw before him was an ominous door. Well, the door didn't look ominous, but Steve knew that whatever waited for him on the other side would not be good. Colonel Poison knocked on the door, and a gruff, masculine voice called from the other side.
"Come in!"
Steve straightened his posture as the Colonel turned the knob and opened the door. Kit and Ray nudged him with the barrels of their guns, and he reluctantly went in. What Steve saw was not a torture room. It was an office; equipped with a wooden desk, laptop, leather chairs, and a large bookcase in the back. A muscular, rectangular faced man sat behind the desk, sporting a gray suit. His black hair, infused with gray streaks, was slicked back and he had a short beard on his face. His eyes were very reminiscent of his daughter's: dark, focused, full of fire…
"I present to you the infamous Steve Trevor."
The General said nothing, but continued to eye him. His gaze hadn't left him since he'd first entered the room, Steve suddenly realized. The General's eyes moved down to Steve's wrists and a frown appeared on his formerly neutral face.
"Remove those. Steven is a guest."
The Colonel gave a frown but nodded towards her teammates. Kit pulled out some keys from her back pocket and released Steve from his bonds. He instinctively rubbed his wrists, enjoying the freedom to move. The General looked towards his daughter and her teammates.
"Thank you. Now leave us."
The three did as they were told, leaving Steve completely alone with the top dog. The General gave him a sincere looking smile.
"Please." the General spoke, switching to English, "have a seat."
Steve took the General up on his offer. It felt nice to sit on an actual piece of furniture after being cooped up in the flying metal box, but he was greatly confused by the General's gesture, as well as his demeanor.
"I apologize for my daughter and her crew. I hope they were not too rough."
Yeah, this definitely had Steve concerned. He almost wished the General were screaming at him—that would at least be expected. This felt more like the calm before the storm, and he sensed a great storm brewing under the General's 'kind' demeanor. The General poured some tea into small, ceramic cups.
"Tea?"
Steve eyed it carefully, wondering if it was drugged. The General frowned at him and picked a cup up.
"It's not poisoned. Here, I'll drink first to prove it."
General Maru brought the cup against his lips and took a long sip. He swallowed and placed the cup down.
"See? Safe."
Steve was still unsure, but, if there were some type of truth-serum in the brew, the General would have ingested it, too, and he didn't think the General would take that kind of risk. He grabbed a cup and took a sip. It tasted sweet, with a hint of flowers. It wasn't what he normally drank, but it wasn't bad, either. The General cleared his throat.
"So, you must be wondering why you were brought here. I have heard a great deal about you, and I wanted to meet you face to face."
He of course knew the General was probably toying with him, but Steve wanted to try and hold as much ground as he could.
"Oh? All good things, I hope."
The General smiled at him again.
"Yes. Time and time again you have beaten the best my organization has to offer, and you display skills and tact that rivaled my own when I was your age." There was a pause, and the General stroked his beard. "So, after hearing about you and doing my research, I made a decision to retrieve you, and bring you here so that I could offer you a position in my organization."
Steve's jaw dropped. He was positive they wanted information from him, or maybe wanted to use him as a guinea pig as payback for all the trouble he's caused. The General had to be yanking his chain.
"Is…this a joke?"
The General chuckled lightly and shook his head.
"I would not have ordered your retrieval for a joke, Steven. May I call you Steven?"
Steve's mouth continued to hang open. This was not the infamous General Maru he had heard rumors of. General Maru was supposed to be twice as skilled as his daughter, twice as cunning, and twice as deadly. He couldn't even imagine Colonel Poison offering him tea or a job or calling him by his first name, or chuckling lightheartedly, for that matter. Steve wanted to leave, right then and there, and never look back.
"Er, General…"
"Please, call me Hideki."
"…Right. Listen, I don't know what game you're playing, but I'm loyal to my current team, and I would never in a million years join yours."
Steve held his breath, expecting the General's kind façade to drop and for him to scream at him or even order his daughter to drag him out of the room for testing. Instead, the General tsked at him and waved his index finger.
"Now now, don't be so dismissive. I would like you to at least wait until I've made my case first."
Steve narrowed his eyes at him.
"Wait? Like you're actually giving me a choice in the matter?"
"I wouldn't want you to make a decision in haste. Besides, I will honor your decision."
Steve wanted to roll his eyes. He believed that about as much as he believed that the Maru's weren't suffering from a serious mental disorder.
"So if I say no, you'll just let me walk away?"
General Maru nodded and poured more tea.
"Yes," he said, picking up a cup. "But after I make my case, you will not refuse."
"Yeah, well I wouldn't bet any money on that."
The General grinned at him, then peered over his shoulder.
"Marina!" he called.
The door opened rather quickly, as though she'd just been waiting outside the entire time. Which, she probably had, Steve realized, since she was still in uniform.
"Marina, take Steven to one of the guest rooms."
The Colonel frowned, apparently being just as confused as Steve.
"The guest room, father?"
"That is what I said, child."
Colonel Poison continued to frown but gave a quick bow. She approached Steve and pulled out some cuffs, but the General spoke up.
"No, that is not necessary. Simply show him where his room is."
The Colonel looked up at him, then back at Steve. She put the cuffs away and grumbled.
"Follow me."
Steve stood up and looked back towards General Maru, who grinned at him.
"Please keep an open mind, and do enjoy your stay."
Steve intended to do neither but made no response. Instead he followed closely behind the Colonel, hoping that he could figure out some way to escape.
A/N: This is set in the DC Rebirth universe, though I will borrow some elements from the others. Let me know what you guys think so far.