This is Part III of the Tenth Anniversary Special. Last time, Blaze made an entry in her journal indicating we're in Year Four of the titular conflict now, and it's starting with a team heading for Nanda Parbat to go and meet up with the new Deadman, Dick Grayson. And fittingly, the team is composed of people he would have known and probably respected, or at least respected him in the case of Deathstroke. Our scene ended as they left, so what awaits on the other side of John Constantine's portal? Read on to discover...

(Our scene opens up somewhere in the Hindu Kush mountains, where Blaze and her new away team arrive, setting foot into the cold of the mountains, heading for Nanda Parbat)

John Constantine: Welcome to the Hindu Kush everybody. Next stop, Nanda Parbat.

Harley Quinn: (Shivers a bit from the cold and elevation) We'd best get a move on before we freeze up here.

Blaze: Just stick close to me, Harley. Ambient heat field, remember?

Catwoman: Then you'd better expect a crowd.

Starfire: Surprisingly, I am not cold. But I can provide Star-bolts to light our way.

Deathstroke: No need to worry about me either. Trained in temps like this just in case a target wound up in the USSR.

John Constantine: Regardless, Harley's right. We need to get moving. Nanda Parbat is still a few hours walk from where we stand currently. And it'll be nightfall by the time we get there.

Batman: Then we best get going.

(And with that, the group sets off, with Starfire taking a lead to provide a light, while Batman hangs back with Blaze, presumably to keep warm off the ambient heat field she produces)

Blaze: I never would have expected to find you cold, Bruce. I would've guessed you'd have some meditation technique that reduces your ability to feel cold.

Batman: I know Tummo meditation, yes. But there's a reason I hung back.

Blaze: Well don't just keep quiet, if we're going to discuss this before we get to Nanda Parbat, we'll need to have it now.

Batman: It's one question that's been bugging me since this started.

Blaze: That being?

Batman: Why'd you let me pick this away team? I thought you didn't trust me.

Blaze: Don't get me wrong, since you for some reason still won't tell me why you let Superman go when we had him cornered all those years ago, I still don't.

Batman: So again, why trust me to do this?

Blaze: The answer there is actually simple. You know Dick Grayson better than I do. Since, you know, he'd been dead for five years by the time you pulled us over to finish off the Regime. And after Darkblood managed to turn the Helm of Fate, I couldn't risk him turning up and trying to make the new Deadman his puppet as well.

Batman: (Slightly confused) Come again?

Blaze: (Chuckles) For once I managed to stump the Batman. Mark it down, I owe Dinah fifty bucks.

Batman: I could do without the sarcasm.

Blaze: Just trying to have a little fun, Bruce. But in all seriousness. I know how Darkblood's method of corruption works. Drago's parents told the entire Element Guard about it on the off chance we'd have to face it. And they revealed one thing was crucial to overwhelming it, an intense connection through positive emotions. Respect, camaraderie, love, all of them would work. And if anybody knew who could make that happen for Dick Grayson, it's the man who trained him from youth.

Batman: So you trusted me to find people Dick had a strong positive relationship with?

Blaze: Exactly, just in case Darkblood shows up and tries to add him to his Empire.

Batman: (Suppressing a smile, but badly) You're starting to think a little like me.

Blaze: I wouldn't say that. Considering you still let Superman get away for some reason.

Batman: You still won't drop that will you?

Blaze: Not until you tell me why you did it.

Batman: I...

(But before Batman can finally answer the question, John Constantine speaks up)

John Constantine: Hate to bring this to an end, but we're here.

(And sure enough, as Blaze looks up, she sees the city, hidden deep in the snowcapped summits of the mountains, only one door and a guard keeping it from the rest of the world. As the group approaches the city gates, the Guard points his sword at them, barring them entry)

Guard: Entry to this sacred place must be earned.

Blaze: (Stepping forward to confront the Guard) We have come to seek the Deadman.

(At this moment, the door opens, and an old man steps into view)

The Master: Come in from the cold, Blaze. We have been expecting you.

Blaze: (Caught off guard) How do you know my name?

The Master: You have come seeking a friend you have never known. (Looks to the rest of the party) Yet they know very well. (Looking directly at Batman) Especially my student here.

Blaze: You studied here?

Batman: For many years.

The Master: Come. This is a place of refuge; you are welcome here.

(At this point, The Master turns around and walks back in, and the Guard stops his challenge, allowing them entry. Still unsure of this man, but not wanting to be seen as rude for refusing his welcome, Blaze follows The Master in, followed shortly by the rest of the party, with the scene ending as the door shuts behind them)

This concludes Part III of the Tenth Anniversary Special. For the Finale, head on over to Ashes of Midnight. So, it seems someone in Nanda Parbat was expecting Blaze's arrival. But whom? Does Dick Grayson already know they're coming? Did The Master see them in some vision? Or is there something more... spiritual at play here? Tune in next time to find out! Same time... same channel!