[ Ben keeps his eyes on Peter's face, a little part of his heart breaking as Peter glances from him to that paused screen and back, like he's confused and lost and just a kid after all. He'd already been feeling some pretty deep anger for whoever was responsible for those cameras, but boy howdy, this really pushes that over the edge into complete hatred. When Ben finds out who did this, who is responsible for making Peter this afraid? He is going to make them nothing more than some smears on a wall. ]

It's not all on you.

[ That had been made clear from all the responses to his network announcement before he'd come here. There is no shortage of people willing to lend a hand. Right now, Ben thinks, what Peter doesn't need is suggestions on exact next steps. What he needs is to understand this huge task isn't his alone. ]

You've got people here you can rely on, okay? You can - you can rely on me. I'm gonna help you figure out what to do next, and how to find this asshole. And - there's other people here, good people, with all kinds of skills and powers, who can help. It's not all on you, alright? It's not only your job to protect everyone. We... we all wanna help protect you, too.

[ Ben squeezes Peter's shoulder, and the decides, no, fuck it, that's just not enough. He might not be the best at it but it's ten past hug o'clock. So he leans in and draws Peter against him, hugging fiercely, like he could make it all go away just with that. Ben's voice is fervent as he reassures: ]

And you're like, one of the smartest, most hopeful, just... best people I've ever met. Whoever this fucking creep is, he picked the wrong room to break into, and the wrong guy to mess with. Even if you don't feel like that right now. You're so much more than he's prepared to handle.