The unexpected gig

Earth DC-69008

"Shit, shit, shit... where's the opener? We've got five minutes before they go onstage!" Barbara sputtered as she looked over the schedule in front of her.

"No idea. I've sent their singer like fifty text messages, and I haven't gotten a single response," Dinah shrugged.

"Argh! My first night on the job, and this happens... of course something had to go wrong," Barbara griped. "And it's not the just the singer, it's the entire fucking band!"

"Relax. It's not gonna kill the gig," Dinah assured her. "I'll go out there and explain things. Some people are gonna be disappointed, but this shit happens sometimes."

"I guess... I just feel we gotta do something," Barbara sighed. "We invited a lot of people. I was kinda hoping this would go off without a hitch..."

"It never does, Babs," Dinah pointed out. "I'll admit that not having an opener is a bigger-than-usual problem, though. Well, we might as well tell the crowd and get it overwith... it's not like an opening band is gonna fall into our laps."

As if on cue, MJ, Gwen, Felicia, Betty & Glory appeared in a flash of light in front of Barbara and Dinah. Dinah's jaw dropped -- a group appearing in front of them holding instruments? Way beyond concidence, right?

Still, Dinah wasn't in a position to question what had just happened. They needed a band, and apparently they found one. She could ask about everything later. At the same time, Barbara remembered Madame Web's words -- was this 'her direction becoming clearer?'

MJ, Gwen, Felicia, Betty & Glory looked around. Did... did they just teleport to some backstage area? There was a pretty raucous crowd out there... who was it for?

"What the hell just happened? Who're you--" MJ began.

"--I can explain later," Barbara interrupted. "Can you guys play those things? You're a band, right?"

"You've got a really impressive grasp of the obvious," Felicia quipped.

"OK, OK. I get it -- you're a band. Can you girls get out there and play?" Barbara pressed. "You'd be doing me a huge favor..."

"Um, sure?" MJ shrugged. "But I kinda need an explanation afterwards..."

"I think I have an idea of what's going on," Gwen interjected.

Barbara gave the drummer a curious look -- she obviously knew something as well. Was she visited by that mysterious woman too? "Looks like we've got a lot to talk about... later. Get out there!"