The Aberrations of S.I.D.E.

No. 27: It's Up To You

"Just because I'm buff doesn't mean I have fucking superstrength," Remus grunted. "At least not when I can't pop out my kraken side."

"Well, don't," Roman said. "Not only is it gross, we're in public."

Remus flopped his head backward. "Can we just drop these off at the apartment before we go to the museum?"

"That's out of our way," Virgil reminded him.

"But---"

"Oh, my god, here." Roman pulled a big green backpack out of his bag and shoved it into Remus's hands. "Put them in there. Consider it an early Christmas present."

Remus took the backpack with a confused expression and stuffed the bookbags inside, eyes widening. "They fit. How---"

"It can't be filled and it's always light," Roman told him in an undertone. "Thought you might need it, with all the crap you've got."

"Oh, yeah, this is way better!" Remus said, swinging it onto his back. "Thanks, Ro-Ro!"

"Don't mention it, goblin."

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "Is it just me, or have you two been getting along better ever since you moved out?"

Roman shrugged. "Lack of parental pressure does wonders, I guess."

"Me and Persephone always sort of got along," Janus pointed out.

"Yeah, but you've got that big-brother protective instinct," Remus said. "Me and Ro are twins, so we don't have that."

"Uh, excuse me, who was always getting your ass out of trouble when we were younger?" Roman exclaimed. "I am older than you, you know!"

"It's a twenty-one minute age difference---"

"That's younger twin bullshit, and you know it."

"All right, I take back what I just said," Virgil muttered.

Janus cleared his throat. "So, are we taking a cab, or are we walking?"

"Uh... cab," Roman decided, walking up to the edge of the sidewalk and waving his hand. "Taxi!"

None of the taxis stopped.

"Okay, you're bad at this, lemme try," Remus said, pushing past him and stepping into the street, waving his hands around. "TAXI!"

Still none.

"I think you guys look too much like teenage hooligans," Virgil told them.

Remus gave him a confused look. "But... but I have facial hair. That's the whole reason why I grow it."

He sighed. "Look, let's just walk, okay? After the museum, we'll use Janus to grab a taxi back to the apartment."

"He's the shortest---"

"I can make myself look like I'm older than I actually am, which is useful," Janus reminded him. "And I could also make myself look younger, which means we might not need to pay full admission---"

"Janus, no," Roman and Virgil said.

He did a dramatic eyeroll. "Both of you are absolute wet blankets."

.............

Almost the second they got through the checkpoint, Remus instantly made a beeline for the huge dinosaur fossil in the center of the room. Janus pulled him back before he could try to climb up on it, thankfully.

"Okay, this is seriously crowded," Virgil grunted, squeezing through the throng of people. "Why the hell is this place packed?"

"The museum's a massive hit, remember?" Roman said. "Isn't that why you wanted to come?"