DISC.: I don't own Jonathan, Eddie, or Gotham.
For once, Jonathan Crane had slept well. He awoke slowly and stretched luxuriously as he did. Ah, today would be a good day, he could feel it. He'd just get up, make breakfast, and maybe take a walk. Then he'd have dinner at that quiet little diner a few blocks from the lair. Yes, today would be peaceful, nice, and…
"!"
A scream echoed down the hall.
Now normally, Jonathan, being the Master of Fear, liked screams. But he happened to recognize this one. It was coming from a ways down the hall, where the Riddler had been staying for a while after a long, nearly cataclysmic chase from the Batman.
Sighing, Jonathan got out of bed.
Eddie was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, shaking, and staring down at something in his palm, eyes wide. Jonathan sauntered up to him. "Alright, what's wrong?"
Eddie's eyes widened further still in horror as he stared at his hand.
"It's…it's…"
"It's what? Spit it out, Edward."
"It's….GRAY HAIR!" the Prince of Puzzles wailed.
Jonathan rolled his eyes and glanced down at the Riddler's palm. Three gray hairs lay across it.
"I'm getting oooold!" Eddie howled. He whirled towards Jonathan, shoving his hand in the taller man's face.
"LOOK AT IT!"
Jonathan pushed his hand back down. "I see it, I see it…just calm down. It's just a little gray hair. You're not going to die."
"Yet…" Eddie added mournfully. "They say the hair's the first to go."
The Master of Fear rolled his eyes again. "What about all the people that are prematurely bald?"
The Riddler blinked and lowered his hand slowly.
"You think…" he started softly, "…you think I'm…going BALD?"
The Scarecrow threw up his hands. "No! I just think you're overreacting. People lose hair all the time. Look…" he ran a hand through his hair. "See?" he asked, holding out his hand. Eddie stared at the few hairs that lay on it. Then he gasped. "It's happening to you, too!" The Master of Fear smacked his palm against his forehead and turned. "I'm going to make some breakfast."
"Oh, sure!" the Riddler called after him. "You go make some breakfast while I have one foot in the grave!"
Jonathan ignored him and sauntered into the kitchen.
The rest of the day went by as normal, or as normal as a day can go for a rogue. Eddie went out around noon and wasn't back until late. Jonathan smirked, assuming that the Riddler had gone out to mope about his untimely graying/hair loss. In Jonathan's opinion, nothing was wrong, it was just Eddie being…Eddie. So he went about his daily business and went to bed as usual. What awaited him in the morning would be anything but.