After making sure Peter had all that he needed (a room to return to if he wanted, a costume and gadgets along with medical supplies and makeshift handcuffs), I bid the man farewell and let him do as he liked, only asking that he keep an eye on my area.
Unlike what I expected, he decided to hang around my shelter and Chadwick's clinic to help as much as he could, seeming to want the choice of ving a secret identity again, even if he didn't need it.
He would report what he found while patrolling, and I added him to the admin list of all of my animal atomaton, so if he needed help, they would do so.
The most interesting thing that he encountered while swinging through the undercity with his new webswingers was two small children building something from discarded scrap that Peter had to stop from blowing up when the girl had tripped and accidentally set off a chain reaction.
He helped them fix the broken machine and even managed to convince the kids to tell him what it was. Apparently, the boy had seen the Colchis bull and wanted to see if he and his friend could make something like it, but they hadn't understood the imaginary gear and tried replacing it with an incredibly rudimentary engine.
But nonetheless what they had managed was incredible all Peter had to do was align the positions properly and they had a working engine, while I didn't know the technology level of the upper city the fact that some street kids managed it was incredible, so Peter decided to direct them my way after making sure the kids got home properly.
Coincidentally, the day they arrived was the day my charges reset, so because I loved the idea of teaching them all about clockwork, I put 2 charges into teaching to be equal to an impossible good teacher who has taught for 20 years.
When they wandered into my shelter, I welcomed them with grins and explanations that 'Spider-Man' (don't forget the hyphen) had told me about how impressed he was with their skill and that he asked me to teach them properly.
"Why would you teach us?" The white haired boy asked as he hid his friend behind himself, almost as if I would attack them at any moment.
"Because one day I will day", I answered bluntly and that seemed to make them more confused than they already were, "One day I will die and if I don't teach other people the skills and knowledge I know will die with me" While not technically true it was why most people shared secret crafting methods.
"But why aren't children you may have in the future or have now?" The little blue-haired girl asked quietly, and I nodded.
"Because I do not know if I will or want to have children, and even then I wish to teach you two because I see great things in your future" I actually did see good things in their future because if at least then as a teen they were able to build an engine from scrap and no prior knowledge of what an engine was.
"Fine, but if you try anything", I raise my hands in surrender and then reach under my counter to pull out two books I prepared for them after putting my charges in teaching.
"Well, to begin with, do you know how to read?" They both nod, although the girl's nod was a bit more hesitant than the boy's, so she might have a bit of trouble.
"Ok then, I want you to read these books, they are an entry-level textbook on the fundamentals of science" I hand them the book and motion to a pair of chairs and desks next to each other, which I had set up for them beforehand.
"Give these a read, and if you have any trouble or questions, just call my name" I smile as they sit and continue my work of trading scraps the homeless give me with food and water they can actually get nutritional value from.
"Wait, we don't know your name?" The little girl asks, and I realise I never introduced myself, "Well, it's good to meet ya kiddos, the name's Nick", I say with a grin before turning back to the person I was helping.
When I looked up and noticed that it was already 4 in the afternoon a while later I realised that they probably needed to be getting home soon and that they had already been studying for about 5 hours straight only taking breaks when I handed them some food and water and took the books until they finished their snack.
"Alright, you two, that's enough studying for a single day", I say as I tap them gently on the heads (to not startle them).
"Aw, come on, it's only been a few hours, can't we do more. This is super interesting and I want to learn more" echo whines at what he thinks is the end of his learning for the day.
"Please, Mister Nick",, I damn near fold just from how sad powder looks when she gives me puppy dog eyes, but I hold my ground.
"Nope, no more studying for the day, you guys gotta get home soon, and I don't want y'all's guardians to hurt me just because you were late" I make sure not to assume they have parents, as statistically in the undercit,y, they probably don't.
"But I do have some homework for you both", I say (I had already explained some simple terms I would be using while I taught them, like homework), and they both grow smiles on their faces, although Echo's is much larger than Powder's, most likely because of Powder's shyness.
I go behind the counter and into the back of the store/shelter and grab two small boxes before returning to in front of them.
"Ok, so your homework is to use the parts in these boxes in as many machines as you can, be they clocks or toys" I see them brighten even further from what they probably think is a game.
"But the catch is that you must write in the provided notebooks how what you made works, if you make a clock, you must explain how the clock works, and if you had any trouble with it" The slump lightly from that, but I pay it no mind.
"If you manage to complete 4 machines I'll let you sit and watch as I do maintenance on the Colchis bull as he needs his weekly check up" See I thought I already knew what the phrase stars in the eye meant but apparently the phrase is literal as I cover my eyes from how brightly theirs are shining.
"No, off you go, kids. I have work to do, and you have a home to go to" I shooed them out of my store, and with a smile on my face, I returned to helping as many people as I could.