The Arkham Records
2. Otis Flannegan- Ratcatcher
Arkham City
Taken from the confidential files of Hugo Strange:
Otis Flannegan is not very high on the capture list, nowhere near as important as Mr Dent or Miss Kyle. Even Batman does not seem bothered enough to go after him, he's still busy investigating me. Nevertheless, I decided to keep some TYGER guards monitoring him and his exploits around Gotham City. Ratcatcher seems to have set up shop in the sewers, commanding his rodents to steal small time goods from shacks around the city and then sell them as his own.
That seemed to be his plan, until last week.
Last week, Mr Flannegan seems to have decided to change his business ventures. He decided that the business of finding trash and selling it as his own would be profitable in a damned place like Arkham City. As a result, TYGER guards spotted him and his pesky rats digging a hole directly underneath the walls of Arkham City. I let him have his way, and somehow those rats of his managed to dig a hole deep enough for Mr Flannegan to crawl through and enter Arkham City. \
According to my guards, he seems to have set up shop in the Bowery district, near Penguin's Iceberg Lounge. I could only have imagined how he would have fared.
It had barely been a week, but rumors were spreading about Penguin's supplies being "stolen." Some of Cobblepot's goons reported rats carrying away guns from behind the museum. Penguin seemed to know exactly who it was, as he and his gang ventured out into the streets and followed the rats.
The last anyone saw of the Ratcatcher was him bruised and bloody, being dragged through the streets of Arkham City. According to sources, he was bound and thrown in the icy waters. But, some TYGER guards found pieces of rope washing ashore. The ends seemed to be gnawed off by rats.
Post-Arkham City
Ratcatcher carried whatever rats he could in the cages and scrambled to the small hole he had dug underneath the walls. So far, he had managed to avoid the helicopters raining down hellfire on Arkham City.
"Benji? Benji?!" exclaimed Otis, frantically looking around the cages. That's when he noticed a large rat scramble up to his legs, gnawing at his torn pants.
"Benji! Benji, thank god," sighed Otis, placing him in the cages as he crawled underneath the hole, running as far as possible from the wall before being shot.
Reporters had gathered all around the place, some mentioning how they had seemingly reported Batman scaling the mighty Wonder Tower.
Ratcatcher ran around the crowd, making sure not to be seen. Everyone already seemed to be preoccupied by the carnage unfolding within the walls.
Otis ran to a parked car and broke open the driver's window. He placed the cages in the passenger seat and hotwired the car, driving off away from Arkham City as the top of Wonder Tower exploded in a fury of flames.
Arkham Knight
Otis couldn't believe what he was seeing on his small television set. Scarecrow had seemingly returned, and issued a threat against Gotham.
"Seems like they're evacuating," said Otis, reading the news on his phone. He knew he had to get on one of the buses.
"But I…can't take you guys," said Otis, looking at the rat cages. He walked up to one cage and let out one rat.
The big rat crawled up Otis' arm and onto his shoulder.
"Take care of them, Benji. I promise I'll be back as soon as this all blows over," said Otis, stroking the rat's back as he placed Benji back inside the cage.
He packed up some essential items and covered the cages with a tarp. He switched the television channel to one of a unicorn on the screen.
"I know you guys love this music, I'll keep it on till I come back home," said Ratcatcher, with tears in his eyes. He picked up his bags and walked away from the small shack, ready to board one of the evacuation buses.
Post-Arkham Knight
Scarecrow did it. The Night of Fear happened.
As soon as Gotham opened up to the public again, Otis jumped onto the first bus to the city. He didn't care about Bruce Wayne being Batman, he didn't care about residual Fear Toxin in the air.
He just had to know if his rats were safe.
"Of course they're safe. They're rats, not humans!" rationalized Otis, in his head.
He jumped off of the bus and made a beeline for his shack, which was ironically near the GCPD. He saw the cages, with the tarp still on it.
He breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that no one had tampered with the cages.
He lifted the tarp, and it was as if his heart was ripped out of his body and crushed. His soul had been pulled from his eyes and snuffed out.
The cages felt like gory crime scenes. Rats were lying dead, their innards hanging out of their stomachs. It was as if they had clawed each other open.
Not out of anger.
Out of fear.
Otis fell to his knees, but that's when he heard a squeaking from one of the cages.
In the corner of one of the cages sat Benji, huddled up and shivering. He was scratched all over, and one eye of his was missing.
"Benji! Oh god, Benji!" shouted Otis, opening the cage.
Benji didn't move. He looked back at Otis, and his eye was a blood red. His teeth were stained with dried blood of the other rats.
Almost instantly after he saw Otis, Benji's body fell limp. It was as if he was waiting to see Otis for a final time before he gave out.
"Benji? Benji, no," said Otis, carefully pulling out his body and cradling it.
"Please, Benji. PLEASE!" shouted Otis, clutching Benji's lifeless body, pleading for him to wake up.
But it was too late.
Ratcatcher walked up to the doors of the GCPD, only to be met with police officers training their guns on him.
"Well, if it isn't the Ratcatcher himself. Heard you died in Arkham City," said Aaron Cash, walking up to him with a pair of handcuffs. He wanted to taunt him further, but noticed his broken look.
He placed the handcuffs on Otis and placed him in a holding cell.
"Last time a guy just surrendered here, police officers were under mind control. So tell me, why'd you suddenly show up here?" asked Aaron.
Otis sniffled, before sobbing uncontrollably.
"I lost a friend."
End of record.