Okay so I've been reading this middle-grade book series called N.E.R.D.S. bc I'm a child at heart and it's actually pretty fun. The basic concept is kids being super spies (like Codename: Kids Next Door), but they're all considered social outcasts bc of their various quirks. EXCEPT their quirks are then upgraded into special abilities--the girl with a thousand allergies can now detect danger with her allergies; the guy who eats paste can now Spiderman all over the place because his hands and feet are always sticky (from the paste); the girl with athsma now uses her upgraded inhalers to not only breathe easier but also fly around and blast enemies with fire. Cool stuff.
ANYWAY, (spoilers for the fifth book if you wanna read it)
The villain is currently bent on destroying our heroes, and she's decided that the best way to do so is build a time machine and go back in time to stop them from ever being born. Which works. In the present, the NERDS start disappearing one by one, and when they realize what's happening, they start building a time machine of their own to go stop her. But their headquarters were recently destroyed, so right now they're operating out of (and I wish I could say I was making this up) a run-down pizza place with an arcade and animatronic animal mascots.
And guess what part of the restaurant they use for the time machine.
THE HECKING. BALL. PIT.
Besides that, this book came out in 2013, not only predating Into The Pit by six years, but also predating ALL OF FNAF.
Like--
Did Scott get the idea from Michael Buckley's N.E.R.D.S.??????
