No Land for Men

Mindhunter {EP-3}

Inside the mind of a killer, a serial killer, Julian Day, The Calendar Man.
One of the smartest and most methodical killers Gotham has ever seen, he would put famous criminals like Jack the Ripper to shame. His technique is in the name, he would focus on dates, time, and holidays, anything that was special to someone. He would research and memorise national holidays and events, and at first, he would kill his victims in a way that resembled the holiday. For example, Ground Hog Day, he once fed a man to wild hogs piece by piece while still conscious. For President's day, he strung up pieces of a victim on the Lincoln Memorial. Every death would have a hint, almost like a gimmick added to it, and the police were getting quicker at figuring out where his next victim would show, getting immensely close to capturing Day.
That was until he changed things. He decided to research more than just American holidays, and he would claim a victim for every single one, ignoring the added gimmick to reference the day, instead, he would kill multiple times a day, leaving a sticky note on the body with the name of the holiday that the body represented. He went on like this for an entire year, it's safe to say that Gotham, and the rest of America, the population went down because of him.
He was, in fact, one of the first of the Rogues to be captured and imprisoned within Arkham Asylum by The Bat. The institute at the time was a shambles, not as secure as it was now. He had been imprisoned there ever since and had grown a fondness for Poison Ivy, almost an obsession, actually it was an obsession. He would draw her on his walls, masturbate to mental images for her, but now she was gone, out into the dangers of a wrecked Gotham, and he, instead of following, went to her cell, looking for anything she left behind.
The smoke within the room cleared a little, Grayson nodded to Jase on the way past, heading through and into the room. Within the centre was a clearing in the mist, a cocoon of some kind was in the centre, almost like a nest or pod of some kind. Some sort of natural birthing chamber, and inside was Gotham's greatest serial killer. It was silent in there, aside from the sound of vines slowly slithering around the floor by Gray's feet.
Jason followed him into the room slowly, assault rifle pointed towards the pod just incase.
Grayson found it astonishing that Jason, his fellow school student, had adapted to using a gun so easily. As if he was a born natural or had been training and respecting guns for years. Perhaps he had, perhaps he hadn't, it was difficult to get through to Todd sometimes.
Nightwing approached slowly and took out his escrima stick, charging it up before jamming it inside the pod, sending an electrical current through, if Day was still alive then he'd certainly reach to that.
Suddenly, large plants shot out, bursting with a huge eruption, transparent gunk and juices covered the room, the force of them threw Jase and Gray back against one of the cell walls.
"Gr-Nightwing?! What the hell just happened in there?" Orac;e gasped a little, watching it happen through the camera feed.
"I uh, yeah uhm... big plants... big big plants..." He said as he hauled himself up slowly. Vines swiped past his head and pinned Jason's body against he wall, vines wrapped around his throat, wrists and legs, keeping him pinned back, a vine was even pinning his gun to the wall firmly.
Gray grabbed his Escrima sticks and approached slowly to the pod where the plants had exploded from, there were leaves that unfolded, and in the centre was Julian Day, his eyes wide but pure white, the vines and stems from the plants were threaded through his ears, poking through his fingertips and the bases of his feet, as if he was strung up like a puppet.
"Day? Are you in there? Can you hear me?" Grayson asked hesitantly, in a stance that would make it easy to dodge any surprise attacks.
"What are you doing here little bird?" A female voice, distorted and loud came from Day, also as if it was coming from the plants themselves, the sound almost vibrating through the room from different directions.
Jason's hand was managing to wriggle free, stretching over to the gun trigger the best he could. "Ivy? We're after Calendar Man, he was here, in your cell, and now it looks like he's a part of your hive." Grayson spoke to her through the plants, there was a brief silence before the vines shot out of Day and dropped him flat on his face.
"I do not want to hurt Gotham or it's remaining people. I wish... to be free." The female voice said to him as he rushed over to the killer who appeared to be out of it, blood pouring from his nose. "My regeneration pod... it was violated."
"That was Day, I think he's in love with you!"
"Who could blame him?"
There was a very small pause, Nightwing realising that he should probably watch his words.
"Ivy, where are you? Are you able to heal Julian?"
There was no reply for a few minutes before the vines swept Day off of the floor, dropping him back into the pod which resealed itself, and soon after, a hand covered in the juices tore through it, soon followed by a much younger looking man.
"I... I feel amazing..." He panted, crawling out of the pod, drenched in liquids that stuck to him, he was much younger, he was how he looked when he first began killing, fresh and new, but the same person, the same amount of experience. "Oh bird boy, how I've always wanted to dance with you." He said as he stood slowly, his asylum jumpsuit was a little baggy on him since he had lost weight in his regression through age.
"I'm afraid to break it to ya, but I've always sucked at the Tango." Nightwing said and folded his arms. Day reached behind him to a large thorn on a stem and yanked it off, lunging at Grayson, the two falling to the ground but NW (Nightwing) had managed to kick him off and to the side of the room. Day was much quicker and energetic, getting straight back up and lunging again, however, this time he was met with an Escrima to the face as NW fought back, the charged power of the stick sent Day barrelling against a wall and a pile of nature in the corner.
"Stupid baby birds. Birds must learn to fly before they-" He was cut off by a gunshot, Grayson leapt, deflecting it with his Escrima "No shooting Jason!" he yelled at him, Jason had managed to get his hand free and was now shooting pot shots at Day, NW was deflecting bullets while fighting off Calendar Man.
Oracle was still watching it all pan out, she hacked through to Jason's earpiece and overloaded it, sending loud sounds into his head, causing him some discomfort, enough to make him lower the weapon. NW following up a jab to the throat with a sharp and quick roundhouse kick, knocking Day tot he floor before he smacked with an Escrima, knocking the male out, following up with a large sigh, glancing back at Jason, he headed over and cut him lose, refusing to say anything to him. Todd stormed out of the room, pushing past the guards that were outside, heading off to sulk.
NW hauled Day's body into one of their cells, it had a huge glass window so they could keep an eye on him. When the male woke, NW was staring at him, his nose against the glass, Day approached, pressing his up against the glass opposite Grays'.
"You're gonna help me Julian."
"I get to teach the bird how to fly?"