The Titans had finished a day of deep cleaning in the Tower. All of the windows, doorknobs, handles, and surfaces were disinfected. Laundry was done as well. Now, Cyborg and Robin were ready to make a trip to the supermarket.
"Alright, what do y'all want from the store?" Cyborg asked the team.
"Mustard." Starfire informed cheerily.
"Tofu. Oh, and some moped magazines if you can. Some manga series would also be nice..." Beastboy started.
"Beastboy, we are going for things that we need, not what we want." Robin stated.
"Right. Um, maybe just some tofu then. Dude, why can't I just come with you?"
"Because we're trying to cut down on the exposure of germs. This time Cyborg and I will go out, and then we'll rotate shifts."
"Strategic. Well dudes, time for me to fulfill my goal in life: maximum couch time." Beastboy kicked his feet up on the table.
"Raven, what do you want from the store?"
"Sanity sounds like a go." Raven rasped.
"Hm. I'd take that as some books and herbal tea bags." Beastboy murmured.
"Did I say I wanted books and herbal tea bags?" Raven's teeth clenched.
"No... but... your sarcasm implies lotsa things."
"This is bad, really bad." Raven sighed and returned to her reading.
"Okay, we'll get some tea bags just in case. Cyborg, did you add all of that to the list?" Robin quizzed.
"Yessir." Cyborg tapped on his cybernetic arm.
"Great, all geared up and ready to go?" Robin slipped on a mask, removed his uniform gloves, and put on a pair of latex gloves.
Cyborg did the same, "Yessir."
"Alright, let's go. We'll be back guys. When we do, everyone needs to be in one piece and in the Tower."
"I'll try my best." Raven rolled in her monotone.
"Please, be safe and do not catch the corona." Starfire pleaded.
"We won't, Star. We'll be back before you know it." Robin reassured his girlfriend.
Starfire kissed Robin on the cheek, and he left with Cyborg.
"Wow, there's barely any cars on the road." the half robot noted as he drove.
"It feels so weird not seeing Jump City busy. It just doesn't feel right." Robin gazed out of the car window.
"Yeah man, the city that never sleeps seems to be sleeping twenty-four-seven."
"Mm..." Robin's eyes scanned the empty sidewalks.
Only a few cars stood in line for traffic lights. People that were on the street, had gloves on their hands and masks on their faces. When civilians walked outside, there was a notable space in between them.
Jump City was normally dense and well populated. Even so, under the new protocol, it felt as if Jump City had been flipped upside down. Countless rows of stores had a red "CLOSED" sign or another one that read "OUT OF BUSINESS". The billboards and commercials that usually advertised movies, celebrities, or snack brands, were now headlined with COV-ID 19 advisories.
Cyborg swerved into the supermarket's parking lot.
"Woah." he finally realized where all of the people and cars were.
"This place is packed."
"Like a can o' sardines." Cyborg searched for a spot to park.
It was difficult finding a parking spot. People were pushing carts that were stockpiled to the max. Cars were almost jamming into each other as drivers moved in and out of spaces. It was like entering a sea of calamity.
After about ten minutes, Cyborg finally located a parking spot. The duo left the car and embarked into the store.
Cyborg wiped down a cart with a wipe.
"Where we headed first?"
"Toilet paper and cleaning products." Robin replied.
"I think we should go to the food first."
"Cyborg, you asked me where you think we should go first, and I gave you an answer."
"Well, I changed my mind, I think we should go to the food."
"If we're going on lockdown do you think people are going to need toilet paper or food more?" Robin folded his hands across his chest.
"Obviously toilet paper, so we could eat some for dinner." Cyborg retorted sarcastically.
"Let's go to the toilet paper and cleaning stuff, please." Robin made his way to the aisle.
"Spiky-headed, four feet tall, cheap hair gel using little birdie." Cyborg mumbled in annoyance.
The store was a congested maze. It was hard to see anything past about ten feet ahead. Workers were tossing supplies on shelves as quickly as consumers were removing them.
"Ooooh, look! It's a Teen Titan! Mama, can I say 'hi'?" a little boy exclaimed.
"It's not one Teen Titan, it's two! That one is Cyborg!" a girl pronounced.
"What's the other one's name? His hair reminds me of a porcupine."
"His name is Robin, idiot."
"Hey! I'm not an idiot!"
"Guys, they are strangers, you don't know them. They could have the virus and be spreading it." the mother was a horrible whisperer.
Cyborg and Robin faced their fans.
"I'm Robin."
"And I'm Cyborg. What's ya names?" the half robot beamed youthfully.
"Max!" the boy's eyes lit up behind his mask.
"My name is Sally. Max is the annoying one." the sister was blonde, just like her brother.
"I am not!"
"Haha, how are you guys?" Robin questioned.
"We're alright. We're just getting some stuff since germs are taking over the world. You guys are sooooooo cool! Sally and I see you and the others on T.V. all the time And we have so many Teen Titans posters scattered throughout the house. Are you married to the orange girl... what's her name... uhh... Starlight?"
"Max, it's Starfire. You can't be out here telling the Titans you love them and you don't know their names!"
"Whaaaat? I was close, I got half of the name right."
"No," Robin chuckled, "I'm not married to her. Yet."
"Oooh. And Beastboy, doesn't he date Raven? I ship them sooooo hard." the girl squealed.
"Sally, stop getting into people's business!" the mother scolded.
"It's okay," Cyborg glanced at the mother, "No he doesn't, not yet at least."
"Okay, nice. Can I get your autograph?" Max pulled a paper out of his pocket.
"Me, too!"
"Of course you can." the half-robot penned his signature, and Robin did too.
"Woahhh, I got autographs! Wait until Dad sees this."
"Be safe out there, kids." Cyborg fist pumped Max and Sally.
"You too! Bye, Cyborg! Bye, Robin!" the girl shouted as she walked away.
"Oh, my gosh, I touched a Teen Titan. I am never washing my hands again." Max declared.
"Now's the time you can't actually follow through with that, huh?" Cyborg turned to Robin.
"I know, right?"
After hustling through a thick path of frantic people, the pair finally arrived at the toilet paper aisle.
"Oh. Wow." Robin's jaw dropped at the empty toilet paper aisle.
"So what were we rushing here for again, air?"
"Pretty much." Robin frowned.
"Maybe we gotta go to another store to find some."
"Probably. Let's see if there's any Lysol or hand sanitizer."
A worker walked past the boys, and Cyborg stopped her.
"Um, excuse me Miss, do you know where to find some hand sanitizer and Lysol?"
"We ran out." the dark skinned woman replied.
"You ran out of both Lysol and hand sanitizer?" Robin asked in disbelief.
"Yup. We've been running low on toilet paper, hand sanitizers, Clorox, gloves, and masks. Water is becoming an issue too. Some people are here packing twelve cases of water in their carts out of anxiety. We had to make each cart have a limit of two cases, so everyone gets a fair chance."
"Twelve cases of water? How long do people expect to stay in their houses for?" Cyborg's eyebrows furrowed.
"That's the thing. We don't know how long we are going to be quarantined for, so everyone's preparing."
"Wow." Cyborg sighed, struck by reality.
"Yeah. Since we have to comply to social distancing rules, the lines of people take about forty-five minutes to an hour to sift through. Some of the lines are stretching to the aisles."
"You're kidding."
"Nope, she's right, Cyborg. Look." Robin pointed to a string of people in a distant lane.
"Bruuuh."
"I know, it's crazy out here. Because we want to limit the transmission of germs, the staff has had changes in shifts. We are working less days a week, but more hours for the same pay. It's rough." the lady's eyes dropped behind the mask.
"I can't imagine." Robin exhaled.
"It's quite unfathomable, this crisis. But if you come earlier in the day maybe you can catch some more stuff. I'm sorry about that."
"It's alright. Miss, we'll figure it out. Thank you." Cyborg grinned.
"No problem." the worker dismissed herself.
"Okay... next on the list is some canned foods." Cyborg stated.
"M'kay. Hopefully those aren't sold out, too." Robin shook his head, and the two continued to scrabble through the chaos.