All I Want Is Everything

Hollywood

Springtime, and the acacias are blooming
Southern California will see one more day
Dreamland, and bus'ness is booming,
The birds are a singing as I drift away.

Eagles, Hollywood Waltz

Tony Stark's mansion was immense, seeming  like more of a set than a home. There was valet parking, even. Loki had bought a new Jaguar and teased her on the way about getting her own car. She was really enjoying driving but wasn't sure about what to get. She was torn between the need to be sensible like she'd been brought up to be, and being a rock star. Of a dimmer magnitude, anyway.

They'd arrived fairly early, but there was still a crowd. It was easy to find Mr Stark; he was at the center of a knot of people. Loki deftly inserted himself into the crowd and Ella followed. Sooner than she'd thought possible, Loki was shaking Stark's hand and bringing Ella around.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mr Stark," she said politely, and got laughed at.

"Mr Stark was my dad. Call me Tony," he said. "I'm glad you connected with Pepper. She loves a protege and she says you're sharp. This is a good opportunity to meet people who could be helpful to your career. Where are you living?"

"Chateau Marmont." He laughed again.

"Very rock star of you," he said approvingly. "But you'll be wanting to get your own place. Flash Thompson's invited, a realtor. He's a suckup and can be a bully, but he enjoys proximity to the rich and famous and he can get you a good deal on a nice property while keeping his fee on the lower side. Don't like the kid but he's good at what he does. He's not here yet, but I'll have him find you." He smiled at her. "Enjoy the party. Here's my card. When you're ready to shoot a video, I'd like to work with you again." He handed her the card, a thick, luxurious piece of paper engraved only with his name and phone number, before patting her shoulder and turning to a newly arrived guest.

Bemused, Ella and Loki made their way to the bar, where Ella got an imported beer in a bottle and Loki enjoyed Stark's whisky. They made plans to reconnect in an hour, see how things were going. It was flattering to be recognized, and everybody she spoke with was pleasant. She met executives across the entertainment industry as well as several actors, including Kevin Bacon, Lea Thompson, James Spader, Kyle MachLachlan,  Elizabeth Shue, Michael Biehn, Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, and Matt Dillon. Dennis Quaid was there too, and introduced her to his new girlfriend. That was ok, though, the last thing Ella wanted right now was someone else making demands on her. And she was giving out her location as well as getting phone numbers for both dates and hanging out. There were musicians, too, and she was a little less than thrilled to run into STRIKE again.

"Brock," she said after he'd grabbed her shoulder to turn her toward him. She stepped away and his hand fell away.

"Too bad you got dumped by your band," he said in faux sympathy.

"I think it might be for the best," she said coolly.

"They're going down without you," Drax said, coming up. Rumlow looked at him in irritation and moved closer to Ella, who edged away. "How stupid are they?"

Ella was a bit cross. She could call her ex-bandmates every obscenity in the book and a few she invented herself, but it didn't mean that she'd lost her protective instinct entirely, it appeared. She didn't like hearing them badmouthed by competition or at least, by this competition. "They'd have their reasons," she said, shrugging. "Up to them. Now I can explore and make the music I want to, no compromise."

"You guys wouldn't be trying to replace me, would you?" Ivan Vanko came up, a good way to being sloshed. They all were, actually, Ella realized, but Rumlow and Drax were hiding it better. "Ha ha." He did look a little scared.