I know there was a ridiculously long wait for this. Hope it's up to par, and I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, DC comics, or the DCAU.

"I hope you realize the predicament you place me in, my twisted testament to the timeless tricksters..." Edward sighed. Penguin, always with the dramatics...and the alliteration. The umbrella pointing to his nose he could do without, but business was business. He clicked his cane on the floor of Penguin's office and sighed. "Don't you roll your eyes at me, oh King of Question Marks. Here I am, attempting to run a respectable business, and-" Penguin suddenly found his umbrella-gun swatted away, and the tip of Riddler's question-mark cane tickling his monocle.

"Riddle me this, Ozzy. Why does a bat go after a bird?" Cobblepot groaned. Did everything have to be so convoluted with Nygma? "No guesses? Too bad. The answer is that he doesn't have to. He has a Supergirl and magic boy do it for him." Scowling, the shorter man nodded, before cleaning his monocle.

"Ah yes, so you heard about my run-in with those two petulant, pint-sized pests?" he grumbled, moving behind his desk to sit facing the smirking man in the green suit. There was something about that smirk that was so irritating. The man was so cocky and arrogant. While he did have quite the reason to be, it still ruffled his feathers, metaphorically. "What of it."

"You see," Nygma went on, "I'm running an operation here in town. Can't tell you what it is. Plausible deniability of course. You are a respectable businessman, after all. I merely find myself in need of a distraction to keep the dark knight off my true objective. And I think the Justice League's newest recruits fit the bill quite nicely." Now Penguin was intrigued.

"Go on..." he pressed, waving his webbed hands in anticipation. If Riddler was interested in them, it would mean that no matter what, the two of them were going to be in a world of trouble, and that would mean many a laugh for the bird-themed baddie.

"I could place those miscreants into a nice little...situation, that would not only serve to distract the bat, but in the event that they're as dumb as the pictures make them look, it will also keep them out of your hair...permanently," Edward said, dropping back into his seat, twirling his cane along-side. "But while my info wells are over-flowing, I find myself...er, lacking, in the monetary department. You supply the funding for my puzzles, I place your annoyances is death traps, and I'll cut you in for ten percent of the profits from my endeavors..." Penguin stroked his chin, finding the whole thing rather intriguing. Like all investments, there were risks, of course, but the Riddler was a genius, and so long as the bat was kept busy...

Pouring two glasses of wine, the stout little man handed one to Nygma, taking a sip himself. "I want thirty." Riddler raised a brow, but smirked none-the-less.

"fifteen," he countered.

"Twenty-five," fired back Penguin.

"Twenty, and I'll throw in any toys that manage to kill a cape. Keep it for a trophy, or you can sell it for a hefty price. I'm sure something that offed Supergirl could fetch several hundred-thousand," Nygma said, sipping his wine contentedly. Penguin thought on it for a moment, before holding out his hand, which Nygma took.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Naruto whistled, slightly impressed, as he took a few steps into the Iceberg Lounge. It was the first time he was actually in the club itself, having previously only acquainted himself with the Penguin's office. The girl on his arm pulled him in close, and he looked to Kara, masked by the glamour she wore on her left wrist. Her long, blonde hair had been replaced by raven-locks, sculpted into a pixie cut. Barbara was right, the white dress definitely looked better, and let Supergirl show off a bit of leg. "Swanky place...see anything unusual?" Kara scanned the room as the two were led to a table.

"Hey, I'm not Batman," she whispered under her breath. Between the music and how quietly she spoke, there wasn't much chance anyone but her boyfriend could hear. "When I know something, you'll know something." Naruto, like herself, now sported dark, black hair, jelled back, and his whiskers were concealed. He pulled at the collar of his tux. He never was one for dressing up. But between the glamour and Naruto's skill with the transformation jutsu, nobody would ever suspect that the two weren't of age. Looking across the room, he gave a nod to Dick and Barbara, who managed to get in on reputation alone. The Commissioner's daughter and the ward of Bruce Wayne. Penguin would eat his umbrella before turning away guests like those. Dick nodded back, smirking a bit as Naruto again tugged at his collar.

"Trust me, I've been there," rang Nightwing's voice in Naruto's earpiece. "You get used to it."

"Kami, I hope not..." Naruto announced, and both Kara and Barbara giggled at his discomfort, though Supergirl at the very least leaned across the table and gave Naruto a peck on the cheek. "Keep those coming, cause you owe me big for having me wear this damn tux."

"Small group, coming in the back entrance," Kara whispered suddenly, her eyes slightly aglow as her x-ray vision penetrated the walls of the building. "Gross, what happened to this guy's face?"

"Let me guess, exactly half of it looks mangled and melted?" Nightwing asked, getting a confirmation from Supergirl.

"I take it that this is the famous 'Two-Face' Harvey Dent?" Kara asked. "Woah, there's another group coming in, and this guy I don't know..."

"What's he look like?" asked Barbara, using her menu to hide her eyes and moving lips.

"You know anyone that wears a creepy-looking, black skull mask?" Nightwing and Batgirl both cursed under their breath, knowing exactly who Kara was describing, narrowing their eyes as the lights narrowed as the entertainment made their way onto the stage.

The three young ladies each stepped up to a microphone. One with fiery-red hair down to the small of her back, wearing a very tight, green dress, took center stage. Her two companions, a blonde in a matching red dress, and a brunette in a gold dress, each stood on either side of her, and slightly behind. Naruto stared at them. There was something off about them, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. The lead girl turned to the live band and with a wink, practically whispered into her microphone. "Take it away, boys..." As the band began to play, Kara's eyes lit up. "Put your tongue in my ear, it's queer, but kinda fun..." the lead singer started.

"Oh man, I love this song," Kara practically squealed, and gripped Naruto's hand, dragging him out on the dance floor. Seeing this, Dick just smirked while Barbara desperately had to keep from laughing, despite the seriousness of the mission.

"Think we should tell 'em that the entertainment has been replaced by Clayface?" Dick asked, he and Barbara having noticed almost immediately due to the effect the hot spotlight was having on the three, disguised hunks of clay. Barb looked down at the dancing couple, hidden in plain sight, then back to the three-in-one baddie.

"Let 'em dance for a bit. Kara's probably spotted their lack of bones with her x-ray vision," she replied. "I'm more concerned about Black Mask...What's he doing, skulking around. He's normally more direct. I'm surprised he hasn't started shooting the place up by now." Dick just shook his head.

"He does that, and not only does Nygma go running, but his gang goes to war with Cobblepot. Sionis is a hot-head, not an idiot." Barbara just nodded, finding the deduction reasonable.

"Still, that's a lot of guns. Maybe Bruce and Wonder Woman should have gone in instead of us four," she replied. "Kara can hold her own, and Naruto can do his 'smoke' thing, but there's a lot of people here, us included, who could get caught in a crossfire."

"Then let's not get caught in it," Dick said simply. "Batman and Wonder Woman are staking out the museum down the street, a tip about Inter-gang planning to steal the Rosetta Stone while it's in town." Barbara raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"What would they want with the Rosetta Stone?" she mused, prompting Dick to shrug his shoulders.

"Any idea on how to clear the room?" asked Nightwing, before his eyes widened in alarm at the sudden scream. All eyes suddenly shot to the door, Penguin's security being thrown across the floor by a group clad in gas-masks, a greenish-grey gas beginning to filter in. "I'm not the World's Greatest Detective...but I'm pretty sure that that's Scarecrow..."

"That's four, not counting Nygma and Penguin themselves...but at least it's getting the room cleared," Barbara said, watching the panicked guests, influenced by Scarecrow's fear toxin, flooding out any building exit they could find. She gladly took the offered gas-mask from Dick, who had pulled it from the pocket of his utility-belt, hidden beneath his tux. Each nodding, they ducked beneath the tables, using the tablecloths to hide their costume changes.

Kara took a deep breath and held it, while Naruto used the gas to his advantage, smoking and blending in with it, unseen by the screaming masses, or the Scarecrow and his goons. "Well shit, looks like we got a party after all," chuckled Black Mask, he and his own thugs entering from the back. One of them activated the ventilation system, to begin clearing Scarecrow's fear-toxin from the room. "So which of us is the crasher, here?"

"That would be me." Sionis heard the gun being cocked and quickly ducked low, slamming his elbow into his attacker, before turning, grabbing him by the shoulders and tossing him several feet through the air, crash-landing through a table. The would-be assassin stood, revealing his identity to Sionis, who gained a cocky smirk beneath his mask.

"Dent," he greeted, placing his gun-free hand into his pocket.

"Sionis," replied Two-Face, who quickly flipped his coin. He too smiled slightly upon seeing the result. "Coin didn't wantcha dead, anyway."

"I assume we're all here for the same reason?" Turning, the two gangsters watched Scarecrow, made up to look like the corpse of a southern preacher, approaching. On either side of him, two of his own henchmen. "Unfortunately, you'll both have to wait your turn. Nygma is mine." With a snap, his bodyguards trained their automatic rifles on the two gang-leaders, who in-turn aimed their guns at Scarecrow, and each other. The rest of their flunkies followed suit.

"Sorry, Crane..." growled Sionis. "But it ain't fun torturing someone who's already been tortured...takes the sport out of it." Two-Face snorted.

"Please. I got two good reasons why I should get the runt first," he announced, pulling out a second gun, cocking it as well. "One between the eyes for both of you." Before he could pull the trigger, a whirring noise filled the air for a split second, before two objects slammed into Dent's hands, knocking his aim to the floor, and causing him to fire.

"Looks like we got a good ol' fashioned Mexican Standoff." Nightwing and Batgirl dropped, landing on stage, behind where the separated Clayface was pretending to be cowering on the ground. With a mighty backspin kick, Batgirl sent the three flying at the rival villains. "Can't we all just learn to get along," Dick finished. Knowing they had been spotted, the three girls' colors faded into a muddy brown color, and as they landed on the enemy gangs, they connected and stretched, snagging as much of the group in clay as was possible, before from the writhing mass off mud and clay, a lumpy figure began to rise.

"Ok, Bird-boy, I'll bite...how'd you know it was me?" he asked, slamming his foot down on the chest of a struggling gunman, cracking a few ribs.

"Are you kidding, Gruesome?" asked Batgirl, putting her hands on her hips. "You were practically baking in that spotlight. I'm surprised you had enough moisture left to move as much as you are now."

"In fact, let's bake you some more..." Clayface screamed in agony as within a split second of the voice, he was engulfed in a searing heat. Turning, he took a step back as he came face-to-face with the glowing red eyes indicating Kara, her glamour removed, was using her heat vision. Rearing his arm back, he slammed it into the girl of steel, surprising her with his strength, sending her crashing into the cold water of the lounge's pool. Stunned enough to lose concentration, he wasn't able to hold his captive, who hastily backed away, while training their weapons on the young heroes.

"Two Bat-brats, two of us," Black Mask announced, inching closer to Dent. "Just your style, Harv." While the unblemished side of his face remained neutral, the scarred half twisted into a grin. While Clayface tried to take on Batgirl and Supergirl, with numerous goons trying to shoot the girls, Scarecrow went in with a wicked looking scythe, swinging wildly at Nightwing. Holding up his pistol, he took aim.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Hearing the gunfire and screaming from his office, Penguin's eyes narrowed. "It would appear that a few of our old acquaintances have learned you were back in town, Eddie..." he announced, slinging his umbrella over his shoulder like one would a rifle. "And they seem to be fairly upset with you. I do hope they don't cause too much damage to my little Nest Egg."

"Indeed," replied the Riddler. "They're actually here a bit later than I would have thought. Though that being said, my name is Nygma, not Fugate." Sitting down, leaning forward on his cane, he smiled. "I'm sure our guests of honor will arrive soon, if they are watching you as closely as I suspect they are. But for now, perhaps you should go out and entertain."

"Indeed," Cobblepot replied, echoing Riddler's sentiment from moments before. If either noticed the smoke begin to drift in from the ventilation duct, they certainly paid it no mind. Once Penguin had left the room, the smoke had collected and solidified, leaving Naruto standing right behind the Question King. Soon enough, Riddler had a kunai at his throat, and a smug Naruto, smiling beneath his mask, leaning in over his shoulder.

"Edward Nygma, I presume?" he asked, half expecting the suited man to wet himself. But alas, no such luck. At most, the man just fidgeted with his cane.

"And I suppose you're the great apprentice to Doctor Fate? The very boy who threatened to carry my business partner into space?" At the question, Naruto just nodded. "Riddle me this, then," Riddler continued in an almost sing-song voice. What's the difference between you and Batman?" Before he could answer, a sharp stinging was felt in his thigh. Leaping back, he watched Riddler stand as the room began to swim. "No clue? Typical," Riddler sighed. "The difference is, while it pains me to admit it, at least he's quick to see the point." To punctuate his sentence, he held the tip of his cane close to the disoriented boy's face, showing him the retractable hypodermic needle dripping some sort of liquid.

Acting quickly, Naruto attempted to smoke himself. But it did him no good. He managed to get his hands and most of his right arm to go, before losing his concentration. "What the hell did you do to me?" he slurred out, dropping to his hands and knees. Riddler twirled his cane, before cradling it beneath his arm as he walked up to the boy, gripping his hair and pulling his head up to look him in the eyes.

"Just injected you with enough tranquilizer to take down a bull-elephant. The sedation no doubt is keeping you too out-of-focus to dematerialize, yes? And even if it was not, you'd be stuck as a cloud of smoke for a while. Being in your bloodstream, I'd imagine it will stay there even through the process of transforming to smoke and back again."

"You're a bastard," the magical ninja spat, before the darkness claimed him. Once Naruto was out-cold, Riddler, for good measure, gave him another shot. Any ordinary man would have been on the floor well before even realizing they were injected. Not only was this kid magical. He was strong. But he'd make good bait.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Both Two-Face and Black Mask stood back to back, fighting off Scarecrow's men, while simultaneously dodging thrown projectiles from the two vigilantes. Supergirl wasn't much of a problem, as she was busy dealing with Clayface. Most of their own men had been knocked out early, Nightwing and Batgirl working in perfect tandem. Scarecrow's, however, had been given injections to boost adrenaline, allowing them to ignore pain and continue fighting. Taking cover, needing to reload, the two made small talk.

"Two Ruger Double-Action .22LR's. Very Nice. I take it you're a Russian Roulette kinda guy?" asked Sionis, peaking out from cover, but ducking back down to keep from taking a bullet. His assailant couldn't get another round out, after Nightwing threw one of Two-face's remaining men into him, causing their heads to smash into each other.

"Only when the odds are fifty-fifty," he replied, finishing reloading, snapping the chamber of his revolver back into place, ducking further as yet another gang-member went soaring over their heads.

"Why the hell have we never worked together before?" mused Sionis, firing a round into the left shoulder of one of Scarecrow's goons.

"I dunno," replied Dent, voice dripping in sarcasm. "Could be that you had a Five-million dollar hit out on me back when I was still the DA..." firing both guns at once, the two-toned man struck both feet of another one of Crane's men.

"Boy, can you hold a grudge," Sionis chuckled. He prepared to fire a few more rounds, when an explosion rocked the room. Looking up, everyone, hero and villain, took note of the irritated little man, holding the umbrella that just fired an RPG into Clayface, knocking him into the pool.

"That will be quite enough of that," the stout little man demanded. "It's already going to cost a pretty penny to properly pay for damages. All of you, out!"

"Not so fast, Ozzy," Two-face demanded. "Where's Nygma." Penguin pulled out his monocle, whiping it clean on a rag.

"How exactly should I know? He came here to attempt to procure funding for his endeavors, but by now, he's long gone. I'm afraid you've come for nothing...all of you," he replied, emphasizing the last bit as he glared at Batgirl, Supergirl, and Nightwing. "If you leave now, I'll forget the whole thing. Otherwise, I'll be forced to call the police." Growling, the three leaders collected their wounded, before limping out.

"That includes you three," Penguin announced with a sneer.

"We're waiting for someone," Batgirl responded, though Kara was just looking confused, her X-ray vision active.

"Guys, Naruto's gone," she said. "I can't see him anywhere in the building."

"Naruto, come in," Nightwing said, trying the com-link, before shouting in pain and ripping the device from his ear. Kara could hear the high-pitched signal being broadcast, meaning his com-link was being jammed. And he hadn't used the shadows or his clones.

"Something's wrong," Kara announced, shooting past Penguin, much to his displeasure, to enter his office. The only thing out of place was a toppled chair. "Where are you," she whispered to herself.

Chapter End

Sorry for the long wait. Had a lot to deal with recently. And also, to anyone not aware, I recently found out that I'm going to become a father for the first time. Myself and my GF are expecting a little one, due in the middle of April. It's a very exciting time for me, but also very hectic.

Peace to all my Fans

Fan of Fanfics.