Harvey Dent rubbed his temples again. It had been several nights since he had had any sleep. Early polls were coming in regarding the election for Gotham mayor, and things weren't looking to pretty to the district attorney.

Ever since Bruce Wayne left town on a business trip two weeks earlier, Harvey had seen a downfall in his political campaign.

Former loyal voters were now switching to the side of Harvey's opponent, Samuel Miles, because of Bruce's leaving and the ceasing of his support ads to Harvey's campaign. Even the support of current mayor Hamilton Hill was not enough to have Harvey gain enough extra support.

A knock sounded on Harvey's door. The DA sighed, slowing his rubbing. "Come in."

The door opened slowly and Commissioner James Gordon, head of the Gotham City Police Department, stepped in. At his side were officers Renee Montoya and Joshua Green; many considered them to be the final "good cops" of the GCPD.

Gordon was holding his hat in both hands, digging his fingers into it. "Mr. Dent," he said quietly. "Good day."

Harvey stood up, offering a fake smile and his hand. Gordon accepted both and shook Harvey's hand, smiling back. "Hey, Commissioner." As the two stopped shaking, Harvey slumped back into his chair. "How's the fight against crime going?"

Gordon sighed, placing his hat on Harvey's desk. "Terribly. Criminals have taken an advantage with the disappearance of the Batman."

Quietly, Montoya butted in. "He certainly helped a lot."

The three men nodded in agreement. "Yes," Gordon said. "And the corruption of most of the GCPD hasn't helped in many ways."

Harvey looked up to the commissioner. "You can't do anything about it?"

Gordon shook his head. "No. If we got rid of the corrupt members of the department, we'd lose at least three quarters of our officers. And God knows how long it'd take to get replacements in. They'd probably be just as bad, and the crime rings in Gotham would take this chance. At least the image of these cops we have now will make them take notice, even though many are slipping to the wrong side."

Harvey cupped his hand around his chin. "Is there anything we can do?"

A small smile flickered across Gordon's lips. "Yes." He turned to Montoya. "Renee, give him the setup."

The younger officer stepped forward, resting her hands on her shapely hips. "Commissioner Gordon has come up with a plan: gather together a team of vigilantes—similar to the Batman—to fight crime in Gotham."

Harvey raised his hand. "Vigilantes? As in anti-heroes?"

Montoya nodded. "Yes, sir."

"But most of them probably have criminal records!"

"Maybe so, but who better to face criminals than other criminals?"

Harvey stroked his chin. "I don't know…it could be risky. What if these 'vigilantes' turn out to be doing this as double agents? They could turn against us in a flash." He snapped his fingers just as he uttered the final word.

Gordon answered the DA. "I feel that's a risk we may need to take."

Harvey thought on the matter for a moment. He finally answered: "All right, do it. I just hope that this thing doesn't go south."

Montoya grinned to Gordon as she turned and strode back to Green's side. The commissioner grasped his hat, nodding to Harvey as he tugged it on. "Thanks, Harvey. We'll be sure to keep this in line."

As Montoya and Green exited the room, Harvey beckoned to Gordon. "Jim," the DA muttered, standing. Gordon stepped towards him. "Yes?"

Harvey rested his open palms on the desk before him. "There's just one proposition I need to make."

Bang!

The gunshot slammed right into the forehead of Batman. The cloaked figure toppled over onto his back as the Joker stepped forward, a smoking revolver in hand.

The Clown Prince of Crime gave the limp dummy a kick to the side, sending the stuffed body rolling. "What a shame the Bat's gone and disappeared!" he exclaimed, blowing the smoke away. Quickly, he tossed his weapon aside and ran a hand through his messy, green hair. "I had so much I wanted to do to him."

The pale-skinned criminal turned on his heel, stepping towards an old battered desk stashed in the corner of his office. Actually, it wasn't much of an office—just an old room in the back of his worn-down warehouse home.

The Joker grabbed a stack of papers, shuffling through them. On each one, a picture was displayed alongside rows of characters detailing the person it was for. Each one was to a freelance thug or hitman. The Joker beamed with a wide, toothy grin.

"I'll just have to draw him out, I suppose," he continued, rubbing his pointed chin. His red lips tugged upwards into a wild smile as a cackle emitted from his throat. It echoed throughout the warehouse for a minute before it quieted down once more.

The Joker had a plan.

Well, here it is. The beginning of Defenders of Gotham, my Batman SYOC. I want to thank everyone who submitted a character for this story—I got a great cast for this adventure, and I cannot wait to start the stories of each and every one of these heroes and villains. If you have any questions, send them to me in a PM. And please, leave a rating and review! Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you in the next chapter, where the new characters start to roll in.