MLP crossover

Convergence

In between his other duties as both lawyer and vigilante, Matt put in whatever time and effort he could into re-examining Bob's case. Fortunately, significant progress had been made with only a few simple phone calls.

After doing some research and legwork, Matt learned that before they were bought out by Stark, the people working on Fazbear's Fright had made an unprecedented discovery: A walled-over secret room that seemingly had no record with the company...nothing open to the public, anyway. Further research into company records implied that this room was meant to be an old "safe room" of sorts, for reasons that were neither clearly disclosed nor easily given up. Something was clearly fishy around here, and Matt Murdock had finally reached hurdles that he couldn't leap over.

Fortunately, leaping was one of Daredevil's many specialties.

Silently and swiftly, a figure wearing a dark red suit with small horns adorning the cowl landed in an alleyway beside an all too familiar building that was now recently marked as condemned. At Matt's request, Tony Stark had postponed the demolition of the old Freddy Fazbear's Pizza building just long enough for his fellow super hero to investigate the premises "off the record."
Finding a way in was child's play; within moments, Daredevil moved silently throughout the ruined building, paying no mind to the detritus and macabre imagery of what would have been the Fazbear's Fright attraction. Instead, he paid attention to walls, floors, and ceilings, pushing his radar sense to it's fullest to make out any rooms or corridors that didn't match the original floor plan of the building. Hypersenses picked up many small noises...dripping pipes, squeaking vermin...

Suddenly, he stopped, noting something large moving in the corner of his "view." He looked about, seeing nothing. He then remembered an interesting tidbit from the creation of Fazbear's Fright: Legal action taken by a whistleblower regarding unsafe air quality; some combination of malfunctioning ventilation and gas leakage causing hallucinations. Because of this Matt was momentarily concerned about going into the building himself, until he read that the one initiating the action was a disgruntled ex-employee, and thus shrugged it off as an exaggeration, to say nothing of the fact that all gas, water and power had been shut off prior to the building's condemnation. Despite all this, he still sensed something; therefore, he moved more cautiously and paid better attention to detail.

Finally, He came upon a recently excavated wall, and the room beyond. This was it! He grimaced as he entered, a ghost of a disturbing scent wafting into his hypersensitive nostrils amidst the normal stenches of a dilapidated building...

Rotten flesh.

He began to rummage around the room. There wasn't much inside; it had become something of a catch-all for old and outdated equipment, including arcade machines and an interesting kind of animatronic. Inside were springs, wires, and framework reminiscent of animatronics, but compressed and locked against the sides of the suit. The size and dimensions of the empty spaces led Daredevil to surmise that it was meant to be worn as a suit as well as set up as an unmanned machine; cutting edge tech for that time. It was in the form of a bear, and slumped in a sitting position with it's head laying to one side and it's arms dropped to either side. The vigilante couldn't help but note how similar it looked to a man deceased.

He continued looking, finally finding a desk. He searched through the desk, finding some paperwork, but mostly empty. He also pulled out each drawer, running his hands around each one, focusing his senses for any kind of sound, feel, or smell that was of interest. Finally, he found something. The bottom drawer he pulled out had something duct taped to the bottom. Pulling it free, he found it to be an old video tape. The vigilante nodded. This HAD to be worth something! Finding nothing else, He took the video tape, deciding that now was the time to leave.

The vigilante stopped suddenly. He heard a sound that wasn't right.

Footsteps?

Now twice as vigilant, Daredevil quickly realized that someone else was here as well. A police officer or a security guard? No, there were no sounds to indicate keys, batons, or other such equipment; nor was there a reason to warrant police or guard presence. A Thief? Unlikely. Everything of value was already removed, and no self-respecting burglar would sound this clumsy...like they were shambling or limping; maybe it was a simple attempt at smash and grab from an amateur who didn't know any better? Easy enough to deal with if they ran into one another. The best possibility was that this was a homeless person or some other soul down on their luck, perhaps seeking a place to rest for the night.

Whatever the case may be, Daredevil would have his answer quickly enough, as he heard it looming closer. He furrowed his brow at the odd combination of sounds...the creaking, groaning and snapping of metal and springs, the occasional ripping fabric. His nose suddenly picked up scents; moldy fabric, rust, and...rotten flesh?

No sooner did this thought click in his mind that he heard a chilling hiss nearby. He looked about, reaching out with his radar sense. A shocking figure met his senses...a figure moving in his direction! It couldn't be readily identified, moving like something human, but shaped like one of the animal-like props and parts from the horror attraction...a costume like the one he found earlier, maybe? Any normal person might have ran in terror, or simply been petrified where they stood, at this thing's mercy...

The Man Without Fear, however, reacted far differently. Knowing that this thing was most definitely not a hallucination, and realizing it's hostility immediately, Daredevil leapt against a nearby wall before vaulting himself into a kick that smashed into the creature's head, knocking it off balance long enough for the vigilante to ram into it with his shoulder, causing it to finally topple. As it struggled to return to it's feet, Daredevil used hypersenses to determine what this thing was; it wasn't making a lot of sense. He smelled the mummified flesh and heard no heartbeat; clearly there was something dead inside that bunny-shaped suit. The mechanisms he heard were old, broken, and far from high tech; something wasn't adding up.

He decided he'd have plenty of time to figure it out later, as the monstrosity was on hands and knees, getting to it's feet. Before it could, The vigilante kicked it, knocking it back to the ground onto it's back. "What are you!?" Daredevil demanded. The thing offered no response other than hissing and growling with anger and pain.

Daredevil fully understood three things at this point: He had no idea what this creature was, the creature itself was unable or unwilling to inform him, and whatever it was, it wasn't natural. Being ill-prepared for the supernatural, He decided that his only recourse for now was to somehow immobilize or contain this thing until he could get further assistance. The superhero decided to try leading the monstrosity into a room, where he could then bind it with the strong cable of one of his batons before barring the room. To enact this plan, Daredevil allowed the creature to get to it's feet, slowly backing up near the chosen room. Unfortunately, the monster had other plans, giving one final screech before turning around, and summoning up whatever reserve of strength it had left to actually run and hurl itself out the window behind it!

Daredevil prepared to go after it, but then heard a curious sound beside him...

"Hi." Spoke a child's voice.

The vigilante looked to the source of the voice, only to instantly roll to one side as something resembling a child-like animatronic lunged at him with a loud hiss! The hallucination vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving the hero startled and confused. Before he could once more attempt to follow his more corporeal nemesis, his senses were assaulted once more; this time an image resembling the face of a puppet or marionette dominated his "vision," while a strange, aggravating sound overpowered his hearing.

Finally, after a minute or so, this hallucination likewise faded to nothing. Shaking his head and blinking to clear his perception, Daredevil raced to the smashed window, leaping outward and into a roll. He looked around, scanning with radar and hypersenses to find the creature.

Nothing. No sound...no movement. Daredevil quickly moved around the building and to nearby blocks to find any trace of his opponent...Still nothing. Cursing under his breath in frustration, he finally left the area, deciding that his best recourse was to go to someone he knew who was more capable of finding and defeating a clearly supernatural foe.

***************************

"Mister Schmidt?" Tony Stark spoke, motioning to a limousine parked at the front entrance of Mount Sinai Hospital. "May I have a word, please? I'll take you wherever you want to go."

Gabe Schmidt, stopping in his tracks, looked at both Tony and the limo for a moment, before sighing and walking to the car. Being careful of his left arm, presently in a sling, Gabe sat down. A few seconds later, Tony got in on the other side. As the vehicle began moving, Tony began, "So how bad is it?"

"A sprained elbow and a concussion; they say I'll be okay in about six to eight weeks." Gabe replied with a shrug. "Look, Mister Stark, I'm not going to sue or anything, since my bill's being covered by worker's comp..."

"It's okay, it's not about that." Stark said, "I'm investigating what happened that night...personally. I had failsafes upon failsafes in there." He motioned to Gabe's sling, "Yet this still happened."

Tony took a bottle of scotch and two glasses from a small compartment nearby. After pouring a bit of the dark liquid in both glasses, he handed one to Gabe, who accepted it with a quiet "Thanks."

"I've read the reports, seen the footage..." Tony continued, "Something's not adding up. I'd like to hear your perspective personally, Mister Schmidt, to see if I've missed anything."

Gabe met Tony's gaze, and in that moment, Tony saw something in the young man's eyes that said he did indeed know more than he let on. Gabe looked away, took a drink from his glass, and finally said, "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

“I'm Iron Man, Mister Schmidt." Tony said, "Try me."

Gabe looked at Tony, then looked at the floor briefly once again before giving a small nod to himself, and telling his story...

"First, they activated and started moving on their own, breaking their restraints. The alarms went off then, and I thought it'd be okay when they shut down..."

Tony nodded at this. The emergency shutdown was hardwired into the Fazbear androids, a plug-pulling solution for when their programmed safeguards completely failed. This, at least, had worked normally. What he knew came next, however, was where the mystery truly began.

Gabe continued, "Then, suddenly, they just came back on. They roamed the whole place, destroying the main power and communication systems. When the generator took over, I followed protocol; put the office in Panic Mode, tripped the secondary alarm, armed myself and holed up until help arrived. Then...they found me, started attacking the door with everything they had; it didn't last long. When Bonnie came after me, I tried to hit him with the taser maxed out, but he knocked me over the console and into the wall. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Freddy picking me up by my jacket."

Tony remembered the rest from the security footage: Roughly fifteen seconds later, at precisely 6 AM, the androids suddenly shut down once more, falling over and dropping Gabe. A minute or so later, the police arrived, tending to the man while keeping an eye on the machines. "Do you know why they kept going?" Tony asked.

Gabe sighed. "Like I told you when we first met, my family has a history with that place. My dad, Mike Schmidt, worked there back in the eighties. He'd just gotten out of jail, you see, and as a condition of his parole he had to hold down a job. He never liked to talk about what happened those five nights that he worked there as a night guard. I'll never forget that time; he wanted to leave after the first night, but he had to wait for permission to do so or he'd go back to prison...so he didn't have a choice. He HAD to keep going back."

Gabe drained his glass as he remembered, "Dad looked more and more exhausted and haggard every morning when he came home...uniform messed up, sweaty, smelling like a men's room. He'd apologized over and over for all the wrong stuff he'd done, pray and swear up and down that he would change his ways, go to church every week, spend more time with his family. Before he left, he'd hug mom and I both for like five minutes. It was obvious how utterly terrified he was, but he'd never tell us why. Then...there was that fifth night. I don't know exactly what happened, but he'd ended up in the hospital."

Gabe leaned back in his seat. "They finally let him get a new job after that. He did everything he said he would; turned it all around, worked to make a better life for himself and us, and made sure mom and I never went within a hundred feet of Freddy Fazbear's. He told us then that it was just some thugs trying to break in and they worked him over. but a few years later, he finally told me the truth...a story about animatronics trying to kill him every night. I said I believed him, but I really didn't; it was just so crazy! I just blamed it on PTSD or something and let it go. I guess one reason I took this job was to prove to him that things were different, that everything would be okay…” Gabe lowered his head, “He was right all along."

Gabe looked at Tony, then, and said, "Mister Stark, I think I want to tender my resignation...effective immediately. There's a curse on Freddy Fazbear's...no matter where it is, no matter what new shape it takes, the evil's still there. My father saw Hell...and I think I've seen Hell 2.0."

Tony sighed. "Mister Schmidt, can I ask you a favor? Don't make any decisions just yet. Take your two months off on the company dime, and give me a chance to sort this out. You see, I've seen Hell before, too...and fought against it. If there is a curse, then I know someone who can break it."

*******************************

A ring on the doorbell stirred Stephen Strange from his meditation. Already floating a few feet off the ground, he simply allowed his feet to touch the floor before making his way to the front door, passing multiple unusual artifacts and ornate decorum. Not expecting visitors, he donned a robe over his silk nightwear and a pair of slippers..

Upon opening the door, the sight that greeted Doctor Strange was proof positive yet again that no matter how much he knew and learned about the realms of all things both natural and supernatural, said realms would always find new ways to surprise him. At the door stood none other than Spider-Man, along with a gathering of what appeared to be four foot tall equines of multiple hues and a diminutive dragon.

“Evening, Doc!” Spoke the arachnid-totemed young hero with his usual air of jest, “You’ll never believe what happened to me today!”

There was silence for a moment, as Stephen raised an eyebrow, his face conveying confusion and a hint of amusement. After a few moments, he merely stepped aside, motioning inside. “Please...do come in.” He spoke.

Twenty minutes later, ponies and humans alike had adjourned to Stephen’s living room, making themselves comfortable before an ornate fireplace upon either well crafted furniture or the floor. The unicorn named Rarity seemed quite impressed by Stephen’s decor, commenting on the fabric of the drapes or how the occasional artifact complimented the room. The Alicorn named Twilight Sparkle seemed more interested in the myriad artifacts and unshelved books and scrolls that could be seen, a gleam in her eye and a smile on her face.

A small spread of tea, crumpets and fruit had been placed on the coffee table, which some of those gathered had chosen to partake of, including the pony wearing the Stetson named Applejack (she complimented the quality of the apples) and the pink pony aptly named Pinkie Pie (she ate most of the crumpets). Sitting in his wingback chair, Stephen listened intently as Twilight Sparkle told the tale of their impromptu journey to this world via the apparent malfunction of a device of both science and magic that she designed herself.

“I just don't understand how it could have failed!” Twilight said, “I tested it so many times!”

Stephen thought for a minute or so before he asked, “How is this device able to know where to open a portal to?”

Twilight explained, “It utilizes a combination of runic coordinates and sympathetic magic to direct the portal to the desired destination.”

“Precise or approximate location?” Stephen asked.

Twilight replied, “It depends on the strength of the sympathetic magic connection. The stronger the relationship between the item and our destination, the more precise the location.”

“We were going to a city called Manehattan.” Spike added, “Since we were going to a comic convention first, the item we used was one of my comic books...Avengers number 214 by Stag Lee! It's the issue where…”

“Wait, wait...” Spider-Man held a hand up, realizing what he had just heard, “Did you just say ‘Avengers?’”

“Uh...yeah.” Spike replied, “It's a team of superheroes…” He counted them off on his claws, “Captain Equestria, Iron Horse, Master Mage…”

Suddenly, Spike’s eyes becomes saucers. “WHOA! I THOUGHT I recognized you guys!” The dragon pointed to Stephen, “YOU'RE Master Mage!” He then pointed to Spider-Man, “And you're Arachno-Colt!”

Doctor Strange and Spider-Man exchanged inquisitive looks; quite a feat for the latter, as he still had his mask on.

“So you're saying that we've ended up in some weird comic book universe?” Rainbow Dash interjected, “Again?”

“Not per se…” Stephen spoke up, “It's possible that one universe's fiction is another's reality.” He studied the Equestrians for a moment. “In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the lot of you are from a cartoon show found on our world...fascinating.”

Twilight spoke then, “While this is a good start as far as an explanation goes, it doesn't solve everything. Even with the connections between our world and this one, the connection to Equestria still should have been stronger; to say nothing of the runic coordinates helping to keep us on the proper course!”

Stephen walked to his study, returning with paper and pen. “Can you remember any of the runes that you used? If so, can you draw them please?”

Twilight nodded, taking the pen in her magic and drawing the proper runes onto the paper. Meanwhile, Stephen stood up, looking at Fluttershy. “If you'll follow me, my dear, perhaps we can take a look at that wound?”

Fluttershy nodded, and moved to Stephen's side, Rainbow following close behind.

Spider-Man looked to Spike. “So...Arachno-Colt, huh?”

*********************

After cleaning Fluttershy’s wound, Stephen applied a salve before placing a gauze pad and a fresh bandage over the pony’s leg. “There we are.” He said, “Provided the salve works properly, you should be fully healed by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” The pegasus replied with a smile. Stephen smiled in return, happy for the opportunity to be what he was prior to the Sorcerer Supreme; a healer.

Just then, his door chime went off again. “Excuse me.” He said, before approaching the door. He opened it to reveal a figure in a certain red suit standing at the door.

“Daredevil?” Stephen spoke, noting the serious look on the man’s face, “Is everything all right?”

“No...it isn't.” The vigilante answered, “I’ve encountered something tonight...some kind of undead creature, as best as I…” He stopped, his hypersenses detecting a gathering of heartbeats and voices that he hadn't detected prior...part of the perception blocking enchantments he knew the good Doctor kept around his sanctum. Spider-Man he recognized, but the others…while their voices sounded human, their heartbeats and breathing didn't seem quite right.

He continued, “I’m...sorry to interrupt whatever's going on here, but it's important that I find and stop this creature before it hurts someone.”

“Of course.” Stephen asked, “Please, come in, and...try not to be shocked at what you perceive.”

Daredevil sighed as he entered, “After what I’ve dealt with so far, I think I'm beyond being shocked at this...point…”

His radar sense gave a series of images he most certainly did not expect, his previous encounter that night notwithstanding. He heard Spider-Man say, “You were saying?”

“So who’s he supposed to be?” Pinkie asked Spike, pointing a hoof at the new arrival.

“Um…” Spike mulled before snapping his fingers, “Death Defier! He's this blind superhero who gets his other senses really powered up! He's the second most popular comic hero among bat ponies…”

Ignoring the strange conversation, Daredevil sat beside Spider-Man on the couch. Just as Stephen himself was about to sit back down, his phone rang. Sighing, he walked over to the phone. “Wow, I'd hate to see how busy he gets during a full moon.” Spider-Man commented.

“Hello?” The Doctor answered, “Yes, Tony, how can I help you?” After a listening to the voice on the other end of the line for a few minutes, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Really, is that so?” He said flatly. “No, actually, I’m not surprised...believe it or not, this is par for the course tonight.” Another silence as he listened for a moment, then spoke, “I’ll be there shortly.” He hung up the phone, then returned to the living room, where Spider-Man asked, “Going to make a house call?”

Stephen extended his hand, causing his signature cape to move to his hand from a wall hook, flowing in an unseen breeze. He responded, “As a matter of fact…” The cape obscured his visage momentarily, a moment later draping itself over his shoulders. In that instant, he had become garbed in his usual uniform. “Yes.”

The ponies and dragon were visibly impressed by this trick, whereas the other two superheroes took it in stride. Doctor Strange looked to Daredevil then, asking, “This creature you encountered, where was it?”

“The old Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza building.” The vigilante replied.

The Sorcerer Supreme nodded thoughtfully. “It seems that Tony Stark’s having some...difficulties at the new Freddy Fazbear’s location. What you’ve just told me confirms that the two incidents are most likely connected.” He then looked to Twilight, “Also, I can’t help but think that these developments somehow coincide with your arrival here. Therefore, I believe we should all go. Are there any objections?”

Everyone looked at each other. No objections were uttered.