Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) Vino-Lerrej on Deviantart (vino-lerrej . deviantart . com)
Design of Drawback by me
The noise was deafening; a cacophony of screams, pleas, roars, and other animal-like sounds. It enveloped the room, leaving no possibility of escape. And it was never ending. Since the moment Drawback had been lowered into that lightless room in his clear, tube prison, the sounds had filled his head, taken over his mind, pushing out any thoughts and all his focus. He had retreated against the back of the tube, knees pressed to his chest and arms wrapped around his head to cover his eyes and ears as best he could. He hadn't even tried to look around to see where he was. He sensed the darkness as he descended, and knew he wouldn't be able to see even if he tried, even if he wanted to. He hadn't moved from that position in … days? How long had it been? It was impossible to keep track of time in such a place. It was hard enough trying to keep the noise out and even that was proving futile.
This is ridiculous, he thought to himself, trying to focus on his own breathing. How can this be happening? And why am I not doing anything about it? I need to get out. I need to get to Karai. I NEED to make Shredder PAY!
He opened his eyes, not expecting to see anything. But it wasn't as dark as he thought it would be. The room had no light sources at all, so it would make sense for there to be nothing but a solid wall of darkness around him. However, he could see shapes and figures, all of which looked inhuman and animal in nature. It must have been the mutation. Whatever Shredder had turned him into, he now had nocturnal vision. He unwrapped his arms from around his head and reached out in front of him, his hand and one claw making contact with the front of his glass, tube prison. He took his other hand, making a fist, and slammed it into the glass. His fist bounced back, almost to a painful angle. He winced, drawing his arm close to his chest.
The glass must have some vibration absorption properties, he thought. He had never encountered, or even heard of, shock proof glass of this strength. He could feel his pincher fangs twitch and his mouth curl into a snarl at his anger. He curled his fingers and his clawed hand scratched against the glass. A snarl was building up inside him, threatening to push up his throat and escape his lips as a bellowing roar. He couldn't let that happen; couldn't let himself become like the others, lost in their screams. He forced himself to relax, to breath. He unfolded his hand and pressed it against the cold glass again. He suddenly raised his head, trying to look at the glass. He ran his hand along it and felt the divots his claw had made. Strange that the glass could resist his fist but not his claw. But Drawback didn't question it too much before he began digging at the glass with his large claws. The glass was thick, but he believed he could claw his way out.
...
Raph stood in the sewers that led to their home, just underneath a sewer grate. He and his brothers had ordered a pizza, and it was Raph's turn to wait at the pickup. The water sloshed against his ankles as he leaned his shell against the tunnel wall; his T-phone was pressed to his ear. He had dialed Kitkat's cell number just a moment before, and now he waited as it rang. She and her family had gone on a mission to another dimension, but she had told him that her cell still worked because of the tech her genius Uncle had put into it.
"Hey, Raffle!" her voice came through the phone, along with sounds of a fight in the background.
"Uh, is this a bad time?" Raph asked, hoping she'd say no and talk longer.
"Nah, just some Skrulls," she replied. "Not sure what they're doing in the Negative Zone, though. But that doesn't matter. We're still kicking-HEY!" Raph heard what sounded like a laser blast by the phone speaker.
"Whoa, what happened?" Raph asked, worry seeping into his tone.
"Stupid, pointy-eared gremlin tried to blast me, but I got him back," came her reply, sounding miffed at the alien menace she was fighting. "So, what's up?"
"Oh, uh, nothing really. Just waiting for pizza," the words fumbled in his mouth. "I just wanted to ask how the mission was going."
"It's awesome! I know my Uncle wanted me and Krispie to come along for safety, but I didn't expect him to let us fight too! Sue wasn't too thrilled about the idea, but Uncle Ben insisted 'they're just Skrulls'," she told him excitedly. "I kicked one so hard, it flew right out of gravity!"
Raph chuckled, "Not too hard to do with your super strength."
"That's not the point. You should have seen its face," she shot back. "So, what about you? What have you been doing while I'm gone?"
"Well," Raph began. "Karai … found out about Splinter. That he's her real father." There was silence on the other end, save for the battle sounds. "Kitkat?"
"Karai is Spinter's daughter!?" she bellowed, obviously surprised at this news. Raph thought he could hear Krispie in the background, making a comment about Kitkat's exclamation.
"Yeah," Raph confirmed. "And when she went against Tigerclaw, he took her back to the Shredder. We haven't heard from her since."
"Okay," she took a long pause. "It may have been a bad time for all that info. Splinter must be just, … oh man."
"Yeah. He hasn't been out of his room a lot lately." He heard her grunt, no doubt throwing a punch or kick at another Skrull.
"I'm real sorry about that, dude. Wish I was there."
"Don't sweat it. We'll work through this."
"Yeah, but," she paused. "Friends make it better."
Raph opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a call outside the grate, "hello? I got your pizza."
"Our pizza's here," Raph told Kitkat, pulling the money out of his belt.
"I'll let you eat, then. I'll see you when I get back, 'kay?"
"You know it. See ya," he said before hanging up the phone. He waved the money out of the grate to get the pizza guy's attention.
