A Masked Game

Game Over

Cutscene: Mistakes Were Made

3 months after Bastille Day

The electric buzzer announcing their presence was drowned out by the deafening clanging of the barred door sliding open in front of them. With a quiet sigh, they walked through – hand in hand – before being guided to a small, windowless room. A plain metal table with four chairs, all secured to the floor, were the only furnishings.

The meeting room of La Santé Prison was purely utilitarian, designed to give prisoners little to no opportunity to cause mischief or escape. It was an ugly room, but considering their reason for visiting, Ladybug found that to be appropriate. Three months later and it was all still so fresh. So much had happened in such a short space of time and she was struggling, really struggling. Her hormones were all over the place, and after the attack on her – and on her baby – and then almost losing Adrien, her mental health was plummeting. Each day was getting harder to get through, getting out of bed being one of the major issues.

After waiting a few minutes, Ladybug and Chat Noir were joined by a tall, grey haired man. Chat Noir stood slowly to greet him, still feeling tender from his stabbing injury, while Ladybug remained seated, her hands suffocating each other in a vice-like grip. Shaking Chat Noir's hand, the gentleman moved to the opposite side of the table and sat facing the heroes.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Ladybug, Chat Noir. I am Jordan de Launay, the director of this facility. I am hoping you can help me with a problem we are having."

"We will do what we can. So, what's happening?" Chat Noir asked, although both he and Ladybug already knew. There would only be one reason, one person, that would require their attention in the prison.

"I think we all know why you're here, so let's cut straight to the point," Director de Launay said. "You know Luka Couffaine is currently being held here, awaiting trial. The issue we are having is his abilities with magic. Since being transferred here, he has made nine separate attempts to escape. In total, he has injured over half the guards, with five of them almost being killed."

Ladybug winced at the Director's words. Her shoulders tensing as flashbacks to the murder scenes ran through her head. Blood. So much blood. Chat Noir reached out, taking her hand in his and bringing it into his own lap.

"We just don't have the ability to properly contain him. We have him restrained in the infirmary at the moment, but it is only a temporary measure. We can't keep him like that for more than a day, it would be illegal not to mention cruel."

"Cruel in what way?" Ladybug asked, the tremble in her hands being calmed by the soft stroke of her husband's thumb.

"It will be easier just to show you, but first, is there anything you can do to help us? If not, I'll thank you for your time and have my staff escort you out."

Ladybug and Chat Noir shared a look. "There might be a couple of things we can do. I'll know better when we've seen him and know what he's done," Ladybug stated.

"I suppose that'll have to be enough. Follow me."

Director de Launay stood and walked to the door, which was opened by the guard stationed outside. As she stood up with Chat Noir, Ladybug winced and clutched her hands to her belly. Chat Noir grabbed her shoulder to keep her steady, and gave her a questioning look. Ladybug gave him a reassuring smile and straightened up, both of them now ready to follow de Launay.

de Launay led them through corridors, up a flight of stairs, and into the Prisons Infirmary. All the while, he detailed what had transpired during each of Luka's escape attempts. Some of the details were quite gruesome, and it seemed only sheer luck had prevented any deaths and his escape. She didn't know if she could do this, and if she were alone, she would have turned around and ran out.