Chapter 25 - Trial

Today was the day. The day when Gabriel Agreste would either be freed or locked in jail. Adrien couldn't stay still. He wasn't sure what he wanted. Sure he didn't want his father to be locked in jail, but he didn't exactly want him to be free either. Because that would mean he probably would have to go live with him again, which he certainly didn't want to do.

Marinette was just as nervous as she hurried around her room getting ready. Though it didn't really matter since she would transform anyways and the transformation would do everything for her. Either way, she got herself ready and headed downstairs and ate a quick breakfast.

"Maman," Marinette was leaning on the counter in the bakery. "I'm going to go out with my friends, okay?"

Sabine smiled, "Of course honey. That's fine. Just make sure you eat something at lunch at that you tell me if you're coming home late."

"Yes, Maman." Marinette nodded and headed out the door.

As soon as she came to a place where she could hide, in this case a side alley, Marinette transformed. Now as Ladybug, she jumped towards the court where the trial is being held.

When she arrived she saw that Queen Bee was already there waiting for the rest of the heroes.

"Hey, Bee."

She jumped up, startled. "Ummm…. Hi!" She looked nervous.

"Relax, it's just me," Ladybug smiled.

Queen Bee didn't exactly relax but she gave her a little smile.

They waited together, sitting at the edge of the building, hanging their feet off the edge. Not much later Chat Noir arrived. He quietly went to sit down next to Ladybug who took his hand and squeezed it. She gave him a small kiss and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Queen Bee was in awe of how much they loved each other as she watched the small exchange.

Five more minutes passed and by then the whole team was assembled. Together they came down from the building in their own ways and met up at the front entrance. The security guards let them in and inside they were instructed where to go by a receptionist.

They did as the lady had said and followed the large corridor until they arrived at a door labeled "Court Room". The room was surprisingly big. The floor was wooden and so were the walls until two meters high where a cream coloured wall replaced the it. The ceiling had paintings and a sparkling chandelier hanging down. Some seats were already filled with court men and women.

The heroes took their seats, which were where the witnesses would sit. Not much later Nathalie arrived. Rena Rouge and Queen Bee narrowed their eyes at her while Carapace grunted his disapproval. However, Ladybug waved to her, glad she had arrived and even Chat Noir gave her a small smile as she sat down next to him.

They had to wait a little longer and as the ten minutes passed, more and more people came into the room, filling up the seats.

In what felt like forever for the heroes, the time finally came to start the trial. Just before the judges announced what the trial was being held about two security men arrived in the room, bringing in Mr. Agreste. As soon as he reached the seat that was assigned to him, he sat down and looked at Chat Noir worriedly. Chat flinched and looked away. Ladybug and the rest of the heroes sent a glare his way.

Once everyone was settled the court started asking Gabriel Agreste some question about himself. His full name, age, record and so forth. He answered everything calmly as if this was all part of his plan. Once that was done the court asked him about his crime. They told him that the crime he committed was terrorising the city of Paris and abusing his son.

Chat Noir almost jumped up but Ladybug held him tight. "Kitty, somebody has to know. He left you alone basically all of the time and he didn't let you out almost at all either. Plus he cut you with that blade he had in his staff."

Chat looked down. He knew it was true but he didn't exactly want to admit it. This would mean even worse charges against him. Ladybug noticed his hurt impression and squeezed his hand again. "Come on, let's listen. Okay?"

He nodded silently.

In the mean time the court had continued. They had started explaining the consequences of what he had done. First of all he would have to go to jail for 5 years for terrorising the city since his kind of terrorising wasn't anything that someone had been sentenced for before.

"Furthermore," The judge continued, "You will lose custody over your son Adrien Agreste due to your actions. It has already been decided that Nathalie Sancoeur would be his legal guardian until he is of-age unless she commits a crime. And by that I mean any crime." The judge looked at Nathalie pointedly.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Agreste had started to panic, looking at Chat Noir with wide eyes, obviously not wanting to lose his son. The court ignored this and continued with the usual procedures. They asked Mr. Agreste further questions on what he had done and he was supported by the lawyer he had brought with him. The lawyer obviously knew how to do his job well since Mr. Agreste had enough money to pay for a good lawyer. Once that was done, the court asked the witnesses some questions on what happened during the fight and in Nathalie's case, questions about what Mr. Agreste had done before that too.

It took a long time to finish all the questions but once they were done the court was satisfied. They started talking about the charges that would be given to Gabriel Agreste. His lawyer told them about the fact that Mr. Agreste could bail out of jail due to the big amount of money he had. The judges took this into notice. After a while of talking the court told everyone that:

"Mr. Agreste, you will be able to bail yourself out of jail under the circumstance that you do not commit any other crime and that you will not take your son back to live with you. Understood?"

Gabriel Agreste nodded, though reluctantly.

"In that case, the trial is over. Thank you for coming." The judge released everyone and Mr. Agreste was brought to the mansion with a car that was waiting for him outside.

The five heroes walked outside and went to sit together on the Eiffel tower. They were all quiet, not sure what to say.

"Thanks for coming guys," Chat Noir whispered to his friends.

Queen Bee nodded in an "of course" kind of way and Rena Rouge gave him a small smile.

"Of course, dude, we're here for you." Carapace smiled.

Ladybug nodded, agreeing, "Yes, kitty. We're all here for you and we'll never leave."

Chat Noir gave her a tight hug. He was so glad to have her. And so glad to have his supportive friends.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

A/N: The trial is finally over, but the story isn't! I think I'll write one last chapter to finish it off since I never like stories that end on a kind of sad note. So yeah, next chapter will (hopefully) be happier!