AN: Hey everyone. You're probably a little surprised that I updated three times in a row, right? Well... truth is, these chapters have been published on Wattpad for a while now, I just never transferred them over to here. You probably want to know why, right? Truth is, I'm just lazy. And wow, that's such a shitty reason to keep you all waiting like that, but that's the truth. I guess I'm just a shitty person in general. I mean I could try to explain that my depression makes it hard for me to put any effort into anything, but I don't really think that's a good enough excuse. At least, not in my eyes. But please understand that I am sorry.

Even if you don't forgive me... please enjoy this short epilouge anyways.

xXx

Dick wandered through the streets of Bludhaven, the hood of his raggedy jacket pulled over his head and hanging over his eyes. His stomach growled at him unhappily as he ignored the tempting smell of a nearby bakery, but he pushed away his hunger. He could last a few more days without food. Besides, he hated having to steal all of his meals. Committing crimes made his stomach twist up with guilt, no matter how big or small the crime was.

But now wasn't the time for those thoughts. Now wasn't the time for letting his 'morals' control his actions. In this world that he lived in, survival was all that mattered. He couldn't afford to care about anything else but making sure that he stayed alive.

Dick shook his head at himself and ducked into a nearby alley, his blue eyes flickering over the graffiti on the stone walls surrounding himself. One wall had a detailed picture of a middle finger... This city had some pretty lame criminals, huh?

At the end of the alley was what Dick had been calling his home for the past week: a sleeping bag he had stowed away in a hidden gap behind one of the grimy dumpsters. Home sweet home.

Dick crawled into his small hideaway and curled in on himself so that he had enough room to look at the newspapers that he managed to snag, all having something to do with the affairs of the Justice League and their sidekicks. Like always, he started with Gotham's paper, flipping through it until he found the latest update on the 'missing' Dick Grayson. He stared at the picture that the newspaper had provided, narrowing his eyes at the image of his doppelganger grinning as he stood next to Bruce Wayne. But he ignored his feelings of jealousy and frustration, choosing to read over the short article instead. From what he read, it was easy to tell that the search for Dick Grayson was still on, even though most children would have already been declared dead ages ago.

Slade once asked him why he never confronted Bruce or the Justice League. Without the clone, there was no one stopping him from claiming his rightful place as one of the heroes in the Team. But the hero gig? That wasn't really his thing. In a world of kill or be killed, what was the point of saving people who were too weak to save themselves. In his opinion, the heroes should just let the weak links be eliminated from the gene pool.

And besides, it wasn't like the Justice League would just welcome him with open arms. They would want the other Dick Grayson, not him. So as soon as clone boy came back into the picture, the real one would be disregarded. Everyone liked to stick to what they were more familiar with, after all. Dick couldn't fault them for it. It wasn't like he made an effort to step out of his comfort zone and find a way to get himself off of the streets or to stop stealing things.

So being a hero wasn't going to work out for him either way. And that was fine with him. If anything, he would prefer the role of a villain anyways. But then again... He was far too lazy to come up with the elaborate plans that came with the villain job. So he was stuck somewhere in between. Would one call him an antihero? Heh... It didn't really matter to him.

All that mattered was his own survival.

But when he returned his gaze to the paper and saw another article say "Barbara Gordon grieves over best friend," Dick began to wonder if there could be something more to the life he led. Friends... He never had one of those...

But it was likely that he never would.

xXx

AN: Okay, now the story is over. I'd apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but the epilogue was only meant to do two things:

1. Introduce the other Dick Grayson.

2. Confirm that there is more to the story. And no, I'm not talking about this book, because this is definitely the last chapter. But if this is the last chapter, and there's more to the story... Hm, I wonder what that could possibly mean. :}

Before I kick you out, it's time for my speech. I did my best to shorten it down so that I don't bore anyone with this super long author's note, so here you go:

Regardless of what I have said in the past, I really am proud of this story. For a lot of my readers, this book is what introduced you to my other stories. And honestly, I could say the same thing about myself. What do I mean by that? Well, this book is where I first developed my writing style. This is where I learned how much I love writing angst, and the first book that gave me a spotlight in the YJ community. And I mean that in a humble way. I never expected for so many people to know name. When I first started this book, I never imagined that it would end up being someone's favorite story, but it is.

And I'm not just proud of how popular this book became, but it makes me so happy to look back at this and see just how far I've gone as an author. When I first started this book, I was a rookie with almost no writing skill at all. But now... Well, I'm not the best, but I definitely improved since the time I first published this. And I don't mean to make this seem like a bigger deal than it probably is, but seeing how far I've come with this story alone... man, it really opens my eyes to some things.

I have one last thing to say: thank you. To whoever is reading this, I could not have come this far without you. Every view, comment, and vote that I have received on this story has brightened my days in ways that I could have never imagined. Before I started writing these stories, I was in such a dark place. I was not happy. I didn't have much of a will to live. But my stories, especially this one in particular, they have given me so many new friends that I can't imagine living without. And even though it gets a little irritating when people continuously demand for me to update, seeing people that love my work so much gives me enough energy to continue on this path that I'm on. So thank you, reader. I couldn't have done this without you.

Well... Goodbye. I'd say see you next time, but there won't be a next time when it comes to this book. I do hope to see some of you on my other stories (I hinted at what I want to update next), but do what you will. All I ask is that you tell me what your final thoughts are of this story, if you have the time.

Thank you all so much for your support.

-Ari (the author)