In that universe, in Earth-16 as it is most known in the vast multiverse, Tim Drake is Robin and hasn't planned to be someone else, nor than he thought would someone contradict that fact. Even if sometimes he doubted or thought of himself as someone who needed to act more than thinking, he wouldn't change his place for everything in the world. But sometimes, with the job came doubt and what happened yesterday was bugging him. Even after the debriefing and Batman's claiming there wasn't any mole in the Team, he had the impression something was escaping his grasp.
That is why he was currently in an ice cream parlor with Dick Grayson, the Robin before him, currently Nightwing and working out of the Team, or the League after what happened with Wally West, who 'ceased' only five months ago. He hasn't taken any decision to go on patrol with any one of his friends, staying mostly in Blüdhaven, like some kind of empty shell. Tim hoped he would. It was nice to have him here, in Gotham, even if it was just to talk, and eat ice cream.
The parlor, at this hour, was mostly empty, if it weren't for the waitress, an old woman at the counter, and a young blond man behind Dick, turning his back to him. Tim had to talk with a low voice, but considering the size of the cup of the boy, there was a slim chance he wasn't paying enough attention to follow their topic of conversation.
"I swear, that was what Karen told us. It wasn't enough for that thief to give me a false lead in the lab, but now he knows who we are?"
"I agree with you, there is something shady going on" Dick responded, himself eating an ice cream of good size, pointing his spoon toward the younger boy "does he says something, afterwards?"
"Not really. He told us not to think about that, right now, and to go home. That he will take care of it. That's why I called you, because I need more than that, I need to know who this thief is and to arrest him for good before he do something irreversible"
Before him, the blond boy shifted and took a phone out of his pocket, looked at it and just left it on the table, returning to his enormous ice cream. It looked a bit like a burn phone, but maybe he was wrong because nobody who needed a burn phone would left it in plain view, most of all in a public place like where they were. His gaze came back to Dick, and he was on the verge of saying something when the parlor door opened violently and an angry looking man, bigger than Dick, entered the place and walked toward them with a slow and visibly infuriated pace. Both heroes shifted on their chair, in case they had to do something against that man, but he doesn't even looked at them, passing near their table to the one after theirs, slamming a fist on it. The ice cream cup trembled, but the young boy seemed unimpressed.
"Where is she?" The tall man growled.
"Hi Ricky," Responded the boy, still eating from his cup as if there weren't a 200 pound mountain of a man ready to tear him apart. "How are you? Nice weather outside, isn't it?"
"Stop your bullshit right here, Aberfort. Where is Linda?! Ezekiel saw her with you yesterday, and she hasn't come back home since."
"Too bad for you, but I have no clue where she is, sorry."
With a menacing growl, the man called Ricky flipped the table, sending ice cream and phone flying to the ground, before catching the slimmer boy by the collar, lifting him enough for his feet not to touch the white tiles.
"You tell me where she is before I break your neck!"
"You can try, Ricky. Do it, try breaking my tiny neck in your big hands in front of four witnesses. Don't you have enough problems already? You seriously want to add murder to the list?"

The blond man's voice was soft, yet there was something behind it who gave Tim chills. There was also the way the boy was supporting himself on the bigger man's grips, with only one of his hands on the other's wrist, as if he could get out off his hold easily. Near him, Dick rose on his feet and walked toward both of them, hands in sight, to show he wasn't a threat. And Tim could sworn he saw, for a brief moment, a strange, hurtfull expression on the blond boy's face before Dick ask the man seemingly called Ricky to put the other down, before disappearing as fast as it came. Visibly, starting a fight in an Ice Cream Parlour wasn't in the agenda of the bulkier man's agenda for that evening, but he didn't let the small blond man-no, boy, he couldn't be older than he was- down without shaking him by the collar one last time and throwing him slightly away from himself as if he'd touched some filthy thing.

"We're not done here, Aberfort"

"I'm sure we aren't, Ricky. I'm sorry she disappeared, though. But maybe we could talk about that elsewhere. Without non-concerned people around. This is your first AND last warning here, understand?"

The tall and bulky man gritted his teeth but made an acknowledgement noise before storming out of the parlour, watching behind him one or two time, as if he was afraid the blond boy would jump at him and hurt him. It seemed ridiculous, but in Gotham, it would be a bad thing to underestimate someone, as most of the really dangerous persons where the most fragile looking ones. But he thought this time, it was ridiculous. That blond boy was literally 9 feet smaller, and clearly 60 pounds lighter, and even with the bested will in the world, 'Ricky' would have the upper hand. With this thought in mind, Tim got on his feet too, approaching Dick and the boy called Aberfort.

"Are you alright?" He asked, visibly concerned

"I'm fine" he replied with a falsely cheerful voice. The tone reminded him of how he would told Alfred his injuries weren't as bad as it looked, but after all, if the boy had a habit of being pushed around by bigger men, something like this wouldn't be that important to him.

"I'm more sad about my ice cream, though" he added, looking at the mess on the floor with pathetic eyes "sorry about that, Marzia, I will pay for it" he said for the waitress behind her counter, who was taking a mop and a bucket of water, shaking her head as if saying it was nothing.

"Are you sure you will be ok?" Dick asked, crossing his arms and looking at the door Ricky closed as violently as he had opened it, slighty frowning, as if he wanted for the man to come back so that he would pay for the damages.

"Yes. It's my fault if he reacted like that. I should have knew not to act like a first class smartass. And even more if Linda have disappeared. He is really protective of his sister, you see, and she never ever left him without a word."
Tim looked at him as he chewed on his lips. He wasn't really sure what to do next, because even if he wasn't really happy to let the boy go, and the fact he actually threatened someone taller and bulkier-and who was seemingly not really in good terms with the police- he felt a little bad about letting him deal with it all by himself. He sure had balls, but it wasn't something who gave one a lot of protection.

"If you'll excuse me" the blond boy, Aberfort, says "I am going out of here, just in case he came back with the envy to punch me."

""Ah, sure" he responded with a slight hesitation. It was like the youngster have read into his mind and adapted his comportment to be seen as more fragile than he looked, as if he wanted people not to look at him, which could be a good thing if he really did lived in the dangerous neighbourood of Gotham.

"That's all you are going to see about me for the next few days, I think. Take a good look and be pround, because I will be as sneaky as a mouse" he joked before taking his phone on the ground, paying the waitress, whose name was Marzia and lived the place in a too well controlled pace.

And he didn't really knew why but, at this instant, Timothy Drake, aka Robin, had the impression he had been played all along, and that his impression was comfirmed, even more when Dick looked at him, making nearly the same face as he did.

Because that boy, whoever he was, had quoted nearly word for words the sentences Bumblebee have heard from the thief at Luthor's lab.

and it couldn't be a coincidence.