Trouble in the Valley of Peace

The team was brought to the green grassy hill just outside of the Valley. Garfield broke through the swirling vortex first. "Whoa," The green teen marveled as the rest came in. Raven saw the quaint little village resting in the heart of the huge mountain base. The village surrounded the one gigantically ascending mountain jutting into the skies above.

"Wow," Raven quietly whispered amazed as Tigress patted her on the shoulder.

"Welcome to the Valley of Peace," Tigress announced with a smile.

"It's a good place to be. Not much happens around here," Po said casually. Tigress eyed the panda suspiciously. "I mean, other than the bandits, villains, thugs, you know, the usu." Raven saw the mountain of the Jade Palace resting in the neck of another higher mountain. The green, red structure on top of the mountain gleamed in the sunlight. Raven felt Garfield dart pass her, looking down into the valley.

"This is so cool! It's like a video game come true!"

"Talking animals in ancient China? How is this any different from the mystical magic land of Corinth with Grootslang?" Raven asked.

"It doesn't have a wise crake snake," Beast Boy muttered. Raven smiled as they went down into the valley. Ducks, pigs, bunnies, and goats roamed the streets in packed stone covered streets. "Wow, this is amazing."

"If you say so," Raven muttered, noticing the stares and glares from other animals. Garfield frowned, but Po suddenly patted Raven on the back.

"Don't worry. They're like that with every new person, even me," Po smiled.

"You?" Lief asked, "But you were raised here." Po shrugged.

"It doesn't stop people from judging. The harshest critics are your family members." Beast Boy looked at the ground with another frown.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked.

"I was just... thinking of the time I... called you a freak. It must have been rough getting that from your friend," Garfield sighed.

"Best friend," Raven corrected, making the green teen feel worse, "But I got over it. Plus, you were right, I was creepy." Raven gave a dangerous smirk. "But so are you."

"Me? How?"

"Oh, I don't know. I would think that sneaking into someone's room, taking up magic, and being so worried about them is a little concerning. Even stalker-ish," The blue/red-haired teen slowly grinned with a closed mouth.

"WHAT! I was just... trying to get to know you better, that's all!" Beast Boy exclaimed. Raven only smiled as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"UGH! STAIRS!" Po groaned loudly, making Tigress's eyes roll.

"We do have two magicians here," the hyena stated. Po seemed relieved and excited, but Garfield looked worried.

"What's wrong?"

"Elevation has always been a tricky thing for me. I can do it, but it's tricky. I can't explain it," Garfield mentioned to Raven. "It's easier for me to go up-down, not down up." Raven nodded, opening up her own dark portal. As the team went through it, Po shivered violently as they made it to the top.

"GEEZZ! Can we never use your portal again, Raven? It gives me the creeps!"

"Po!" Tigress harshly corrected.

"No, he's right." Raven shivered. Garfield was confused. "Combined with my animal powers, I can start to feel the coldness of my original powers." The green teen was still confused.

"In any case, we're here." Leif finished. The large decorative doors of the Jade Palace opened wide. Raven's eyes widened again as she saw a bird, monkey, snake, and some small bug fighting each other in a sparring match.

"COOL!" Beast Boy exclaimed. The bird, a crane actually, flew up into the air and dropped down his wing against the snake. The snake slithered out of the way, striking her tail around to block the swing of a boa staff from the monkey. The monkey jumped out of the way from a small green bug that Raven couldn't quite discern. In the corner, a small oldish red panda in a regal-like robe watched.

"We're back!" shouted the panda. That caused everyone to stop the spar. The red panda came up to the panda first.

"It is good to see you have made it home, Master Po and Master Tigress," The old red panda bowed.

"Thank you, Grandmaster Shifu," Said the tiger and panda simultaneously.

"How's Lueduo?" Po asked almost frantically. Shifu rolled his eyes as he pointed to the small black and white female tiger in the back, practicing her kicks against a dummy panda. Po was relieved. Tigress shook her head with a smirk as she presented Raven and Garfield.

"Master Shifu, this is the Hybrid, Raven, and her...friend, Beast Boy, also known as Garfield and the Green Wizard."

"Hehe, I have more titles than you," Garfield cheekily said to Raven, who rolled her eyes. Shifu frowned a bit and sighed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two. I just wish that your coming wasn't during this time," Shifu muttered.

"What's the matter?" Po asked. Shifu gave a great sigh.

"The Emperor has taken away our permission to practice Kung Fu to defend the villagers," Shifu said. Everyone gasped. "We can only use it to fight off any bandits that try to steal the money from his treasury."

"Bandits. You mean THE villagers," Po argued back.

"Those are the orders from the Emperor," Shifu said defensively. Po grumbled under his breath. Po looked at Tigress with surprise. She wasn't worried.

"Why are you so calm?"

"The emperor said that we can't practice Kung Fu. He didn't say we couldn't fight. Besides, without the villagers, the emperor has no treasury to speak of, so-"

"You would have to protect the villagers anyways." Raven finished, seeing the loophole. Tigress smirked.

"He's not going to like that," Shifu insisted.

"Well, if he doesn't, he can go collect his money himself," Po grunted angrily. His attitude changed when Tigress rested her hand on his shoulder. "You're right. I shouldn't be upset. Anyways, let me introduce you to the rest, Raven." The four animals and one small thing that Raven finally found out was a mantis stood before her. "This is Master Crane, Viper, Monkey, and Mantis."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Raven said, bowing to the masters, "I just wish it was at a better time."

"We can discuss that later," Shifu replied, ushering the group to the kitchen. A curious striped kitten followed shyly behind them. "I don't know how we're going to convince the Emperor to stop his onslaught taxes."

"We'll find a way. When did this start to happen?" Raven questioned.

"About a year after the coronation. He seemed like a good emperor. He even suggested making orphanages for kids who were disowned by their parents," Tigress explained. Raven and Beast Boy looked at each other as they sat down.

"That's a weird turn. I don't think people would be angry at paying more for orphanages, except rich guys," Garfield mentioned.

"We know, but for some reason he made a complete turn around after that year," Po mumbled.

"It's sad, really," Viper sighed, "The emperor seemed like such a good person when we first met him." Raven could see she was truly sad.

"You'll have to forgive, Viper," Shifu said, "She and Po helped the emperor's family a bit when the emperor first went missing because of some bandits."

"What about his brother?" Tigress asked.

"I haven't heard any word from him, but I'm sure that we can get him to reason with his brother."

"Who's the emperor?" Garfield said, asking for a name.

"Li-Gong. His brother's name is Roshu," Po explained. "But as much as I don't like it, we have to find a way to knock some sense into Li-Gong."

"Careful, Po." Tigress calmed her husband down, "We don't know all the facts yet." Beast Boy thought about it for a moment before spotting a flash of white and black dart across the open doorway. A set of amber and jade eyes poked out from the side as a small white striped tiger and a cute chubby panda stood there. Beast Boy smiled, getting distracted as he made faces at the kids while Raven talked with the others seriously.

"We could help you."

"I would appreciate the help, although, I'm not sure that involving more people in this is the right thing," Shifu answered Raven.

"Well, we don't have to follow the same rules you have to," Leif replied, making his presence known again. Verloor rested a hand on Raven's shoulder, standing alongside his lion brother.

"We'll divide the labor. Garfield will stay here with Po, Crane, Viper, Mantis, Shifu, and Monkey to make sure everything is fine. I'm pretty sure that people won't bother with a sorcerer, right Beast Boy?"

"Huh!" Garfield snapped to attention, stumbling a bit, "Oh yes, yes! I'll stay here." He nervously chuckled as a giggling sound coming from the doorway reached his ear. Verloor rose his eyebrow a bit but dismissed it.

"Lief, Tigress, Raven, and I will find out what's going on in the palace. Since you have your teleportation powers back, I think it will be easy to get in there," Verloor replied. Raven thought about it.

"I think it would be best if you and Lief stayed here and Garfield, Master Tigress, and I go. Beast Boy has more knowledge about other kinds of magic that I don't and we could sneak up on the Emperor. Tigress knows more about the entire situation. And the village will need all the help it can get. Leif's cloning power and your howl are needed here." Verloor looked at her a bit before nodding. "Did you hear all of that, Beast Boy?"

"Huh?" Garfield said, distracted by the kids again. "I'm sorry. It's just the kids." Raven poked her head around the green teen's frame and saw the two shy but giggling kids. Po rolled his eyes.

"Lueduo, Lei-Lei, stop hiding and come out here," Po said. Slowly, the two kids came out, bowing before the two teens.

"It is an honor to meet you, um... what are your names again?" Lei-Lei nervously asked. Raven couldn't help but smile while Garfield laughed.

"I'm Beast Boy, aka Garfield, aka the Green Wizard, aka-"

"A person with a long title," Raven finished, deflating Garfield's mood. The white tiger cheerfully smiled.

"It's great to see you!" She cried out, "I never thought heroes could be so young."

"What do you mean? Anyone can be a hero," Garfield smiled, squatting down to the kids' height. The two kids seemed excited while Raven couldn't stop smiling.

"Are you nuts!" Po exclaimed. "They're just kids!"

"So were you," Said everyone in the room. The panda grumbled under his mouth as Tigress rested her hand on his with a smile.

"They are your children, so they'll have your traits," Tigress replied. Po sighed. "But for now, Lueduo, Lei-Lei, I'll be away for a while and daddy will watch over you two. Behave," She said sternly.

"Yes, Mama Tigress," The two girls bowed to her. The white tiger jumped up with excitement.

"Can we show the humans around the palace?" Lueduo asked. Po rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't know if-"

"Come on, man," Beast Boy injected. "She's just showing us around." Po still seemed worried.

"Why are you worried?" Raven asked Po.

"You said the green guy was like me, right?" Po said with a deadpanned face.

"Hey!" Garfield exclaimed insulted. Raven smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll keep a good eye on him," Raven replied as the children pulled them out of the kitchen. Po didn't dare look at his feline wife. He could already feel the smirk on her face.

"Not a word, Tigress," Po grumbled.

"I didn't say a thing," Tigress smiled.

Continued...