The kids are mine, except for Julie. And unfortunately, everybody else belongs to JE.

Part of the "After Distraction Series". This one takes place a couple months after "Kindergarten".

Batman vs. The Black Canary

Julie looked around the warehouse proudly. She had worked hard with Stephanie to make this year's RangeMan Halloween party even better than the years before. Having just started at NYU a couple months prior, Julie was finally close enough to make the trip to Trenton to celebrate Halloween with her family.

The exposed brick walls were covered with fake spider webs and the creepy antique looking pictures that changed from normal to ghoulish depending on the way you looked at it. There were fog machines at work in the corners and massive skeleton and monster statues set up throughout the room.

Tables surrounding the dance floor were covered with gauzy white and orange cloths and flickering bat shaped candles in the center. Ghoulish, moaning sounds were coming from the sound system and even though she had picked the soundtrack herself, Julie couldn't help but shiver at the creepy noises.

With a happy sigh, she turned on her heel and headed to an empty upstairs room to get ready. She didn't want to change at her father's house, knowing that he would freak out and try to make her put on something else if he saw her costume before the party.

It's not like he's never seen this costume before, Julie thought, grinning as she held up the beautiful 'Black Canary' costume that the Merry Men had given her before Julian's birth. This would be the first time she'd ever worn it in public. It had taken a few years, but she finally filled it out like she was meant to.

Julie quickly shrugged out of her jeans and sweater, pulling on the fishnet stockings and the black leather. The boots had wicked four-inch heels and made Julie appear even taller than her usual five foot seven. Once she had her long blonde wig in place and her brown eyes were lined with black, she stopped to admire herself in the mirror.

God, I look fucking hot, she thought proudly, taking a moment to preen in front of the full length mirror. She wasn't vain, nowhere near it, but she couldn't help but admire the way the leather clung to her body. Dad's gonna shit a brick when he sees me in this!

It was never her intention to freak out her father, but one day, he had to realize that she was an adult and not a little girl anymore. She loved him very much and respected his opinions, but if he had it his way, she'd show up to the party as Polly Pocket or Raggedy Anne.

It was hard for Carlos "Ranger" Manoso to face the fact that his firstborn daughter was a woman. A woman with the body of a woman.

He'd probably die if he knew I wasn't a virgin.

Yeah, she wasn't about to go there. It wouldn't be good if her father flew down to Miami to murder the guy who'd taken her virginity. He would do it, too. He could be scary like that.

Julie leaned closer to the mirror, applying a coat of 'Fire Engine Red' lipstick to her full lips. Costume complete, she stood back for one last glance.

There was a knock on the door and Julie jumped slightly, wondering who could be up there already.

"Who is it?" She asked, heading towards the door.

"Steph."

Grinning, Julie opened the door to find her beloved stepmother totally rocking her Medusa costume. Her wild curly hair had been arranged in tight twists around her head and her long, clinging black leather dress was trimmed in gold. Plastic snakes were wrapped around her shoulders like a cape.

"Wow, Steph! You look hot!"

Stephanie grinned, stepping into the room. "Thanks, Jules." Her blue eyes took in her beautiful stepdaughter from the top of her blond wig to the toes of her high heeled boots. "Wow, girl. All the men will be drooling after you tonight."

Julie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but they're all Merry Men. They're my uncles."

Stephanie grinned, raising her eyebrows teasingly. "Obviously, you haven't met Jason yet."

"Who's Jason?"

Stephanie walked further into the room and stood in front of the mirror, smoothing out her dress. "Oh, just some incredibly sexy twenty two year old your father just hired."

Julie smiled. "Sexy, huh?"

Her stepmother nodded, turning back to face her. "Definitely. Shaggy blonde hair, green eyes and muscles out to here," she held her hands out about eight inches past her shoulders. "Plus, he's incredibly sweet and polite and your father seems to approve of him."

"He approves of him to work for RangeMan, not date his daughter."

Stephanie chuckled. "True. But it doesn't hurt to look."

Julie smoothed out her leather and nodded towards the door. "You ready to head down?"

Stephanie gave her another sweeping glance and grinned mischievously. "Your father's gonna shit a brick when he sees you."

00000000

Julie took a deep breath before walking into the room. There was quite a crowd already and people were eating and drinking and dancing.

Her father was standing at the bar, dressed like Apollo in a flowing white robe, a gold sash, and solid gold wristbands. In his flowing black hair was a gold leaf headband. He wore thin brown sandals on his feet.

Stephanie stopped beside Julie, her eyes on her husband. Reaching up, she discreetly wiped away the drool forming at the corners of her mouth. Julie chuckled and shook her head. "You've been married for ages and he still makes you drool?"

Stephanie grinned. "But of course, darling. My grandmother still drools over him."

Julie wrinkled her nose as she looked around the room. "So where's this Jason at?"

Stephanie looked around for a minute, finally pointing in a far corner. "The one by the buffet table. Dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow."

Julie's eyes widened at the sight of the pirate. He was incredibly sexy and her stepmother hadn't been exaggerating when she said muscles. He wore the long brown dreadlocks with the brown pirates hat. Beneath the long, flowing brown overcoat was a white silk shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest. A thick dark leather belt held up a pair of brown pants that showed off the shape of the most deliciously muscled legs that she'd ever seen. On his feet were thick, brown boots that looked as if they weighed fifteen pounds a piece.

"Holy shit," Julie whispered, reaching up to discreetly wipe away the drool forming at the corners of her mouth. Beside her, Stephanie burst out laughing.

"And you picked on me for doing that!"

Julie shook her head, trying to clear the mental image of walking Captain Jason's gangplank. "Can't help it. He's fucking sexy as hell!"

"Told you." There was a pause and Stephanie muttered under her breath. "Oh shit, here we go."

Julie managed to pull her gaze from the pirate in time to see her father stalking towards them. And he did not look happy.

She stared into her father's eyes bravely, determined not to let him intimidate her into changing into something different. It wasn't easy, though. When his eyes turned black like that, anything was possible.

"I hope you forgot most of your costume at home and are about to leave to retrieve it, young lady," her father said in her ear, his voice low and disapproving.

Julie gave him her most innocent look. "You've seen this costume before, Daddy. You know what came in it."

He opened his mouth to argue when Stephanie sidled up to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "You knew she'd wear it someday, baby," she purred in his ear. "I know it's hard to see your child grow up, but she's an adult now."

Ranger closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, they were calmer, but he still didn't look happy. "What happened with our Raggedy Anne idea, querida?"

Julie chuckled. "If I remember correctly, that was your idea. Besides, a superhero has to dress the part."

He shook his head, clearly defeated. "It's not fair that my baby has to grow up."

Julie grinned. "Yeah, but now you have Julian and Sophie and they're still little and sweet and innocent."

Ranger grinned at the mention of his two other children. "Yeah, but you're still my firstborn. No matter how old you get, that will never change."

Julie leaned forward and hugged him tightly. "I love you too, Dad." She pulled back, glancing back over at the sexy pirate. "So tell me about Jason. Steph tells me he's someone worth looking into."

Ranger's eyes darkened again and Julie squealed, rushing off before he could send her to a third world convent.

Not the greatest, but I thought Julie deserved her own one shot. I'm sure she'll inspire me with more in the near future. Maybe a fic containing Captain Jason and his gangplank?