Within the opulent walls of a large mansion overlooking a cliff in malibu, a man sighed in disappointment and took another sip of his coffee, as he read an online news report. The report was about the development of Fazbear's Fright, a horror attraction based on the once popular family restaurant known as Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. At first, It was a pleasant surprise to hear about this place once more after so long, but the more the man read, the worse the story sounded.
For a few minutes, Tony Stark was neither a multi-billionaire industrialist, nor the high-tech armored superhero Iron Man. Instead, he was a seven-year old boy who smiled and laughed, awestruck by how characters that should only exist in cartoons were now suddenly coming to life on stage, singing for the amusement of both himself and the other children present.
There were three of them on stage...Bonnie the bunny, Chica the chicken, and of course, Freddy Fazbear himself. Young Tony cheered along with the other kids when each musical number was completed, and cheered once more when they began a new song, prompted by Freddy's eyes lighting up and playing what Tony now knew to be called the "Toreador March." Then there was Foxy the Fox, a pirate that had a show of his own for the children in an area of the pizzeria called Pirate Cove, telling stories of his adventures on the high seas. Little Tony and the kids would listen with rapt attention as he spoke of sword duels, stormy seas, and treasure chests heavy with gold and jewels.
Being both an intellectual prodigy, and the son of Howard Stark, a man who worked with machines constantly, it didn't take long for Tony to realize that Freddy and his companions were, in fact, animatronic. While some kids might have been a bit disillusioned by this revelation, Tony was instead rabidly curious as to how these machines worked. A curiosity easily sated by Howard, who convinced them to allow Tony backstage to be shown how the machines worked. Fascinated, he learned everything he could, the profound experience helping to inspire a passion for technology that would serve Tony well in the years to come.
This was what Freddy Fazbear's was supposed to be. A place of joy, fun...and, for a few, self-discovery. Now...it was a haunted house. A story to scare people. A legacy of terror instead of wonder.
"Like Hell." Tony spoke resolutely.
"I don't like this, Tony." Pepper Potts spoke bluntly.
"Come on, Pepper, don't you remember how great this place was?" Tony asked in his usual light-hearted tone.
"I remember watching news reports about missing children and one of the animatronics nearly killing someone." Pepper retorted.
The two of them were in Tony's lab, discussing his grand plan for resurrecting a decades old family restaurant, while he reviewed various holographic schematics of the facility and animatronics he had in mind to construct. Needless to say, Pepper was unconvinced of the plan's success, and for good reason.
Tony stopped for a moment to address his executive assistant. "Don't you think this place deserves another chance?" He asked, his tone more serious.
"From what I understand, it's already had other chances." Pepper responded, "They wanted to make it a horror attraction for a reason. There's just too much stigma here, Tony...too many bad memories. Maybe it's just time for this place to die with whatever dignity it has left."
"I don't believe that for a second." Tony said, turning around to look Pepper in the eye. "For every bad memory this place has, there are a hundred good ones. When I bring this place back, I'm going to do it right. I'll make sure people see those good memories, and do my damnedest to make sure there's never another tragedy associated with this place again."
There was silence for a moment. Eventually, Pepper sighed, then smiled softly. Whether it was the conviction in his words, the good heart she knew he had, or the simple fact that he was persistent and stubborn to a fault, Pepper finally decided to stop arguing and let Tony do what he desperately wanted to do.
"I remember Foxy the Pirate. He was always my favorite." She said.
Tony smiled in return. "Mine, too."
He pointed to a nearby holographic schematic, which just happened to be the intended design for the new Foxy. "You know I pride myself on quality where machines are concerned. In the extremely unlikely event of a malfunction, I'm going to install hardwired safeties and shutdown switches to keep the patrons safe."
He switched to another holographic image. at this latest image, Pepper made an incredulous expression. "Is...that what I think it is?"
Tony looked back at Pepper briefly, clearing his throat. "I...might have made a deal with Hasbro."
Pepper said nothing, looking sideways at Tony and smiling a bit wider as she remembered the links she found on his computer and the shows scheduled on his digital recorder.
"Everybody loves them. It'll be great for business!" Tony said.
Pepper raised an eyebrow, her smile remaining.
"Don't judge." Tony said, resuming his work, reviewing the schematics for six variations of colorful equines from a certain family cartoon show.
Pepper held up her hands, now grinning. "I won't, but don't be surprised when the public starts calling you 'Brony Stark.'"
Tony rolled his eyes, currently reviewing a schematic of a pony with a poofy mane and tail.
Pepper's smile faded as she felt the need to ask about another important factor in the project. "What about the human element?" She asked, "Malfunctions weren't the only problem."
"We'll screen all employees, of course, and even then, I'll have state of the art security measures in place everywhere, including face\body recognition software, tru-def video, and full lockdown protocols. Besides..." Tony replied, "If I remember correctly, they caught the guy responsible for the missing kids."
Matt Murdock sat in his modest office, located in the area of New York that would always be known as Hell's Kitchen. The buyout of all things related to Fazbear Entertainment by Stark Industries, and the subsequent efforts to build what would soon be known as Freddy Fazbear's Family Fun Center, was big enough news to be broadcast over the airwaves, where it would quickly reach the hyper-sensitive ears of the lawyer.
The news brought with it memories of one of many sad times in Matt's life...
He was eight at the time, only recently recovered from the fateful accident that took one ability away from him, but gave many more, allowing him to one day become the vigilante Dardevil. A man named Bob "Bull" Taureg had been an old friend of Matt's father, pro boxer Jack Murdock, often training with him at the gym they shared. Matt and Jack both admired Bob, as he was a good man that was strong and easygoing, except where others needed to be protected, in which case he fought fiercely to do so.
Despite his ambition to be a fighter like Jack, Bob simply didn't get the same breaks as Jack did, despite being a decent fighter in his own right. He took multiple jobs, usually in security, as he had always had an instinct to protect people. Recently, he had acquired a new job, likewise in security...a day shift guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Things had went pretty well for Bob there, especially considering how well he had gotten along with everyone there, adults and children alike.
Then, the unthinkable happened. Bob had been arrested for the alleged murder of multiple children.
Matt remembered attending the trial with his father. Before, during, and after the trial, Bob maintained his innocence, his lawyer requesting a polygraph to confirm his claim as part of their defense strategy. Matt, learning how polygraph machines worked during that time, would soon apply his own unique talents to this concept, and know for a fact that Bob was telling the truth. Unfortunately, try as he might, for multiple reasons both legal and personal, he was unable to do anything to help.
Which made it all the more difficult for the boy when Bob was found guilty of all charges, and sentenced to life in prison. Despite the skill and drive of Bob's defense attorney, the circumstantial evidence simply could not be ignored. From there, it was a downhill slide. Despite numerous pleas, Bob's appeal never came through. He died in prison after only a scant few months, beaten to death by other inmates...the ultimate fate of many who committed such heinous crimes against children.
This tragedy helped to crystallize in his mind what Matt would ultimately choose to do with his life; To not only put the guilty in jail, but to keep the innocent out.
In an effort to clear Bob's good name, even if only posthumously, Matt would often revisit the case, looking for either new evidence, or new ways to review old evidence. He'd made some progress over the years, but not enough to achieve his ultimate goal.
"Matt?" Foggy Nelson spoke, "You okay?"
Matt lifted his head, aroused from his thoughts by his old friend and law partner. With a smile, he replied, "Fine, Foggy. Did you hear about Stark trying to bring back Freddy Fazbear's?"
"Yeah, I heard about that." Foggy said with a sigh. "So...am I correct in assuming that we'll be working on Bob's case some more?"
Matt nodded. "Yes, but I'll be doing it on my own this time, no need to drag you into it again."
"You sure?" Foggy asked, glad to not have to go over the same decades old evidence for the tenth time with a fine tooth comb, but still concerned for his blind friend.
"Positive." Matt replied.