Rewind With A Superstar System-Chapter 75: Recording Studio

<🎧 Song Recommendation: The Thrill by Wiz Khalifa, Empire Of The Sun>

...

Von recoiled slightly in shock, wondering how possible it was was for a talking cat to exist.

But then, normal cats didn’t hatch from obsidian eggs summoned from an invisible inventory.

He had died, regressed, and possessed a system that gamified his life. A talking cat was just another Tuesday.

He crouched low to have his eyes on the small creature.

"Wow... You talk. Like, actually talk. So... what’s your name?"

The creature sat up straighter, puffing out its small chest. It lifted its chin with an air of regal arrogance that seemed ridiculous on a kitten-sized animal.

<Name me>

Von was taken aback by the request. He didn’t back down from the challenge though.

"Hmm," Von mused. "You’re a creature of the void. How about... Voidy?"

The cat’s ears flattened and it looked at him with profound disappointment.

<Nah. I don’t approve.>

Von blinked. "You don’t approve? It’s literally what you are."

<It lacks imagination... Try again, human.>

Von sighed, feeling ridiculous for arguing with a newborn kitten. "Okay, fine. How about Midnight? You hatched at night, you’re black, so it fits."

The cat tilted its head, considering it for a moment, before shaking its head dismissively.

<Not that either. It is too shallow for some reason>

Von let out a groan of frustration, throwing his hands up. "Well, since you hate all my ideas, why don’t you name yourself then? Huh?"

The cat’s eyes widened immediately, glowing with a sudden flare of violet light. It seemed pleased by the surrender.

<Well, that is perfect! From now on, human, I shall be known as Loki. Goddess Loki!>

"Loki?" Von raised an eyebrow. "Like the trickster god? Isn’t Loki a guy?"

<Gods transcend gender, and I transcend your limited understanding of mythology,> Loki replied haughtily, licking a paw. <Besides, Goddess has a better ring to it. It commands respect.>

Von found himself smiling wryly.

"Okay, Loki, so the System said you have a skill. Shadow Morph. Can you show me?"

Loki stood up and stretched, her tail flickering like a flame.

<Observe, mortal.>

She began to circle him and moved closer to his left hand, where he was wearing a simple, cheap black cord bracelet he’d picked up during the shopping trip.

Loki leaped. But instead of landing on him, her body dissolved mid-air into a cloud of black smoke. The smoke swirled around his wrist, tightening and solidifying in the blink of an eye.

Von looked down at his hand.

He was now wearing two bracelets. The new one was indistinguishable from the old one.

"Is that you?" he asked internally, feeling foolish talking to his wrist.

<Yup. Who else?> Loki’s voice resonated clearly in his mind, though the bracelet didn’t move. <I can become anything you wear, so I go where you go.>

"Wow," Von breathed out. It was undeniably cool. It meant he could take her anywhere without needing a carrier or explaining why he had a cat.

The bracelet soon dissolved back into smoke, reforming into the kitten on the floor. <Now, enough parlor tricks. I require sustenance.>

Von checked the time on his phone. 11:45 PM.

"I have to feed you?" Von asked.

<Of course, did you expect me to survive on air?>

"Well, I just moved in and there’s no food available. Maybe we can go shopping tomorrow morning," Von gestured to the empty room and laid down to sleep.

Loki did not accept this.

She opened her mouth and let out a sound that wasn’t a normal meow. It was a high-pitched, resonant wail that sounded like a violin being murdered. It vibrated against the walls, echoing in the empty room with clarity.

<MEOOOOOOW!>

"Shhh!" Von hissed, panicking about the neighbors. "Okay! Okay! Stop!"

But it didn’t stop, it only kept meowing louder and higher, and Von could bet the sound would have woken some people already.

Realizing he wasn’t going to win, he grabbed his hoodie and keys. "Fine. But you’re walking."

<I think not,> Loki said, scrambling up his leg and perching on his shoulder. <Mush.>

Twenty minutes later, Von found himself walking down Ditmars Boulevard in the dead of night, looking for anything open. He eventually found a late-night sushi spot that was closing up. He spent $40 on two orders of premium sashimi.

He sat on a bench under a streetlight, watching a shadow-kitten devour high-grade tuna while he ate the complimentary ginger.

"This is my life now," Von muttered with sleepy eyes. "Spending my fortune on cat food."

By the time they returned to the apartment, it was past 12:30 AM. Von barely had the energy to roll up his hoodie for a pillow again.

He collapsed on the mattress, dreading the morning. Thankfully, Loki seemed satisfied. She curled up into a ball of darkness on his chest, her purring acting like a heavy, rhythmic sedative, and Von finally drifted off.

***

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

The vibration against the floor sounded like a jackhammer in Von’s skull.

Von groaned, blindly reaching out to silence the noise. He missed, hitting the floor, before finally grabbing the phone. He squinted at the screen, his eyes were burning.

It was Emily.

He slid the icon to answer in a voice filled with sleep. "Hello?"

"How can you still be sleeping?" Emily’s voice cut through the speaker immediately. "Didn’t you see my text message?"

Von rubbed his face, sitting up. The apartment was filled with morning light. "Which one?"

"The one I sent you last night," Emily snapped. "The one reminding you that we have a session at 7:00 AM? It is currently 7:36."

Von’s eyes shot open as he recalled. He scrambled to his feet. "Damn. I’m sorry. I overslept. I hope it isn’t too late?"

"Well, not yet," Emily sighed. "Traffic is light coming over the bridge. You better get ready quickly. I’ll come pick you up in exactly ten minutes. Do not make me wait, Von."

She hung up before he could respond.

Von stared at the phone for a second, then let out a long, ragged sigh. "Why is life this difficult?"

He tossed the phone onto his clothes heap and turned to run toward the bathroom.

A small, blurry black shape blocked his path.

Loki sat there, looking bright-eyed.

<I thought you wouldn’t wake up,> she projected, sounding amused. <So what’s the agenda today? You wanna start cooking? I could go for some salmon.>

"No," Von grunted, sidestepping her. "I want to take a bath. I have work to do outside..."

<Ah, I see,> Loki trotted after him. <Well, have your bath quickly. I’ll be waiting so we can go.>

Von stopped at the bathroom door, looking down at her. "We? Who is we? You’re staying behind. I’m going to a recording studio. I can’t take a kitten around."

Loki narrowed her eyes. <I love music, too. So I belong there. Also, there is no food here, and I refuse to starve in this empty box while you play musician>

<Or, I can scream until the neighbors call the police thinking you are torturing someone. Your choice.>

Von glared at the cat. The cat stared back without blinking.

"Fine," Von groaned in defeat. "But you have to use the skill. Turn into the bracelet. I can’t explain a kitten."

Loki let out a huff. <Being a bracelet is boring. I prefer the vantage point of your shoulder.>

Von couldn’t even argue anymore. He couldn’t believe he was being bullied by his supposed reward.

He rushed into the shower, scrubbing off the sleep in record time. He dressed quickly in some new outfit from yesterday, black cargo pants, a fresh white tee that hugged his frame, and the heavy combat boots. He threw on the leather jacket, feeling slightly more like a rockstar and less like a tired teenager.

He grabbed his keys and ran downstairs just as the familiar black van pulled up to the curb.

Von slid the door open and climbed into the passenger seat. "Sorry, I’m here. I’m ready."

Emily looked at him, her eyes scanning his outfit approvingly. Then, her gaze drifted up.

She raised an perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"You got a... cat?"

Perched on Von’s shoulder, looking like a demonic parrot, was Loki.

Von froze. He had prepared an answer for this, but saying it out loud felt ridiculous.

"Uh, yes..." Von cleared his throat. "I found her... on the streets. Last night. She was hungry. Her name is Loki."

To his surprise, Emily’s face softened. The sharp, shark-like agent expression melted away.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "She’s adorable. Does she bite?"

"I don’t think so... She’s friendly... well I think she is."

Emily reached out and scratched Loki behind the ears. Loki leaned into the touch, closing her eyes and letting out a purr.

"She’s so soft," Emily cooed, before snapping back to reality. She pulled her hand away and started the engine. "Alright. She can come. Just keep her away from the mixing board."

"Let’s go," Von said in relief. "Where to?"

"Long Island City."

The drive was short, a quick hop over the bridge into the industrial heart of Queens. They pulled up to a block that looked completely abandoned.

Warehouses with rusted corrugated metal sides lined the street. There was no signage, just grit and grey sky.

"We’re recording here?" Von asked, skeptical. "This place looks like where you go to get murdered in a movie."

"This is The Bunker," Emily said, cutting the engine. She led him to a heavy steel door with no handle, just a buzzer and a security camera taped over with duct tape. "Don’t let the exterior fool you. This place has birthed more platinum records than Uptown ever will."

She pressed the buzzer and a moment later, a loud clack signaled the lock disengaging, and the door swung open.

The smell hit Von first. It was the smell of marijuana. They walked down a narrow, dimly lit hallway lined with records that were cracked, dusty, or hung crookedly on the walls.

At the end of the hall, the space opened up into a control room with a massive SSL mixing console dominated the room, flanked by walls of analog compressors, patch bays, and towering monitors.

Sitting in a spin chair, feet up on the console, was a man who looked like a wizard who had given up on magic for bass frequencies. He was lanky, wearing a t-shirt that read Analog or Die, and his dreadlocks were tied back with a rubber band.

"Patch," Emily called out. "Wake up."

The man spun around. He had a gold tooth that glinted when he grinned, and his eyes were bloodshot but sharp.

"I’m awake, Emily. Just meditating on the frequencies," Patch said in a deep voice. He turned his gaze to Von. "So this is the special kid that made you come out of retirement, huh?"

Patch’s eyes narrowed as they focused on Von, then drifted up to his shoulder. He stared at Loki for a second too long.

"And he brought a familiar," Patch muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "Interesting energy."

"Von Varley," Von said, stepping forward to draw the attention back to himself. He extended his hand.

Patch didn’t shake it. He stood up, surprisingly fast for a stoner, and slapped Von’s hand aside, pulling him into a rough, aggressive half-hug.

"I hate this industry, kid," Patch whispered into his ear. "But I hate crap music more. So if you suck, you’re fucking out of here without a refund. Capiche?"

Von felt the forceful grip, but he didn’t buckle. He simply released himself from the grip with a firm, controlled shove, creating space.

Patch stumbled back a half-step, surprised by the solidity of the teenager.

"Let’s get started?" Von said, adjusting his jacket.

Patch grinned in approval. "Okay. Kid’s got a spine. I like that."

He spun back to the console, his fingers flying over the buttons. "I ripped the audio from the finale broadcast. The beat the house band played was trash so I rebuilt it last night. Stripped it down. Made it mean something."

Von was curious. "Let’s hear it."

Patch clicked the spacebar on his keyboard and the speakers exploded.

It was the same melody as Masquerade, the same haunting intro, but Patch had injected it with steroids, it felt more menacing and a lot more noticeable.

And to Von, who owned the song, he knew instantly. It was 10x better than the former version!