Whoo! First story since (oh my god) back in 2011. It's also my first DP story, so I would love feedback, especially on characterization, because it's been a while since I watched the show. Title is from Hamilton because I am unoriginal and bad at coming up with titles. I'm not totally satisfied with this (especially the ending), but that's probably just the number of times I've reread and picked through it.

This started off as a quick drabble and somehow ended up at 4k words and also way more gore-y than I anticipated. Warnings for gore and general ghost fighting related violence. Gen but can be read as D/S or D/S/T (which is my jam right now).

Unbeta'd so any mistakes are my own. Please let me know if you see any.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. (are disclaimers required here? nobody uses them on ao3 but better safe than sorry I guess)

Danny shuddered as his ghost sense went off. His hand shot into the air, and Mr. Lancer sighed.

"What is it, Mr. Fenton?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"May I use the bathroom?"

Mr. Lancer shook his head, "No."

Danny, already starting to stand, froze and stared at the man. He slowly sank back into his seat. "But it's an emergency," he protested.

"I don't care. If I let you leave, you won't come back." The teacher turned back to his grading, ending the argument before Danny could say anything else.

The teen nervously looked out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever ghost was lurking around. Maybe it was just the Box Ghost or another weak one. He snorted, Yeah, right. When has anything in my life ever been easy? With a small shake of his head, he turned back to his work, trying to ignore the growing unease in the pit of his stomach. A note landed on his desk, and he threw a quick glance over at Sam. She frowned, gesturing for him to open it. Want me or Tucker to go?

No. Hopefully it's just the Box Ghost, but if it is someone more powerful, then I don't want the chance of either of you getting hurt without me around.

He returned the note, and Sam skimmed it. He could almost see the argument forming, one that they'd had a thousand times over. "We can take care of ourselves, Danny! You're not the only experienced ghost hunter on the team. You don't always need to worry about protecting us."

"I know that you're more than capable, guys, but if something did go wrong when I wasn't around, I would never forgive myself. I can't lose you. I don't ever want to go through that again. I don't want to become–" The argument usually ended there, all three of them filling in where Danny had left off. I don't want to become him, evil, a monster. Any mention of him would shut down a conversation pretty fast.

Sam sighed quietly, writing back. I won't get into the whole "we can protect ourselves!" argument because we've been over it before – just know that I disagree with you. But anyway, maybe you could x2?

Danny shook his head, Too risky. You know how distracted I can get. Besides, if it is someone powerful, everyone will panic and run and I can you know.

He handed the note back to her, and she nodded, picking up her pencil to reply.

"Fenton, Manson, stop passing notes or I'll give you both detentions."

Danny sank lower in his seat, face heating up at being caught. Sam rolled her eyes, but turned back to her homework after subtly giving Tucker the note so that he would be in the loop.

After a few minutes of working, Danny began to relax. If the ghost had been planning to attack, it probably would have struck already. A second later, he was proven wrong as, with a shout, a ghost phased into the room. Danny tensed before relaxing again as he realized that it was just the Box Ghost.

"Beware! For I am the Box Ghost! And I bring you your doom in this box!" Danny had to stop himself from laughing and insulting the weaker ghost. He adopted a scared expression, running to the other side of the room with his teacher and fellow classmates.

The Box Ghost pulled something out of his box with a wicked grin, and Danny's breath caught as he recognized the device: the Plasmius Maximus. Well, that was a bit of a problem. He glanced around for an open path out of the room, but the door was sealed (which was really a terrible safety feature. Yes, let's trap the kids in the room with the ghost. Whoever had designed it was going to get a serious talking to after this), and the Box Ghost was between him and the window. Before he could move, the Box Ghost shot, Sam darting in front to block the blast at the last second. Danny took the opportunity to flee, forcing himself deeper into the terrified mass of students.

"You can't hide forever," the Box Ghost called, shooting again. Danny's classmates shrieked and dove out of the way, leaving the teen undefended. He gritted his teeth to stop himself from screaming in pain as he got hit.

"Yes! I, the Box Ghost, have won!" the Box Ghost exclaimed, floating towards the window.

Danny bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything that might give his secret away. He had to keep up the act, pretend that he was just as scared as everyone else while he waited for the ghost to blurt out his plan.

He didn't have to wait long. "My employer will be so pleased that you have finally been defeated; it will make his hunt much easier."

Hunt. Shit, that meant Skulker. Skulker in a room full of terrified students when Danny didn't have access to his powers. This would not be good. He glanced over at Sam and Tucker. Hero mode? he mouthed. His friends only hesitated for a second before nodding. He didn't want to, but he had to keep everyone else safe.

Danny took a step forward, rolling his shoulders back and glaring up at the ghost floating by the window. "So you're working for Skulker now?" he drawled, faking boredom. "I'm surprised that he would stoop to such levels, letting, as he put it, 'the stupidest ghost in the Zone' do his hunting for him."

The Box Ghost bristled at the insult, "I'm not working for him; we're partners. He knew that you would never expect such an attack from me."

Danny hummed, checking his fingernails. "If you want to believe that. And I bet he made you steal the Plasmius Maximus, too. He wouldn't want Vlady tracking him down. Better to make you a scapegoat. He'll let you take the fall and fly off with his prize. Doesn't seem like a fair trade to me." He could hear his classmates' nervous shuffling and murmurs at how he was speaking to the ghost, but he ignored them, all his attention on the threat in front of him. If he could get the Box Ghost to turn on Skulker before the hunter arrived, he had a better chance of getting everyone out safely.

The Box Ghost narrowed his eyes, mulling over what the halfa said. With a firm shake of his head, he spoke, "You're trying to trick me, get inside my head. But it won't work because I have won; I've beaten you. Skulker will come any minute now, and then I'll get my reward."

Danny's plan wasn't working, but he had to give it one more shot. "Even if by some miracle this plan does work, what happens then? You get whatever your reward is, and Skulker gets my pelt," he ignored the disgusted noises from his classmates. "But when Plasmius finds out what happened to his favorite 'little badger,' you can bet that he'll come after you, and he'll wipe you from existence."

The Box Ghost balked at the thought, but he wouldn't be deterred. "I'll be long gone and safe before Plasmius hears about this. It's a win-win for me, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Time for Plan B, then. "Oh, yeah?" Danny asked with a smirk. He darted over to his backpack and, before the Box Ghost could even blink, pulled out the Fenton thermos, sucking in the annoying ghost. "Whoops, guess I stopped you."

He turned back to his classmates who were staring at him in awe (honestly, it was like they forgot that he came from a family of ghost hunters). "Snap out of it. We have to find a way out of here fast before Skulker-" A hand closed around his throat, lifting him into the air.

"'Before Skulker' what, whelp? Arrives? Seems a little late for that, hmm?"

Danny twisted around to greet the ghost with fake enthusiasm. "Hey! Glad you could make it to the party. You know, I was just thinking about how you were overdue for your weekly dose of butt-kicking."

Skulker laughed, tightening his grip on the halfa. "Always making jokes. But you seem to be forgetting that you don't have your precious powers to protect yourself right now. Not that you would be able to use them in this room full of your peers, anyway."

Danny gave the other ghost a vicious grin. "And you seem to be forgetting that I don't need them to beat you."

He reared back and delivered a solid punch to the ghost's jaw. It achieved the desired result: Skulker dropped him, and he landed lightly in a crouch. His knuckles stung, but they would heal soon enough. His human form may not be as resilient as his ghost form, but he could still put up a good fight. As long as he could keep Skulker occupied and focused, the hunter wouldn't get any stupid ideas about trying to use one of his classmates as a bargaining chip.

He dove under a desk as a small missile flew towards him. "You getting rusty, whelp?"

"Nope," came his cheerful reply from under the desk. "Just thought I might let you get a few close shots in to make you feel better about your hunting abilities."

Skulker actually growled. "You'll pay for that."

"But wouldn't you have to catch me to make me pay? Ghost Zone's greatest hunter. Can't even catch a teenage boy." He rolled to safety under another desk before he could get hit by the next projectile. If he could get Skulker to waste all of his ammunition, it would be easy to tire him out and trap him in the thermos.

"But you're not a normal boy, now are you," Skulker hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe I should go after one of your puny friends." He floated towards the terrified group of teenagers who, until now, had been completely silent. They screamed, cowering further into the corner.

Shit. Well his plan was good while it lasted. "That doesn't seem very sportsmanlike. Shouldn't you hunt someone your own size? Like a mouse?"

Skulker's eyes blazed. "Oh, you're so funny. But you won't be laughing when your pelt is on my wall. Now, who wants to be my hostage?"

"As always, Skulker, ew." He crept closer, nearly within touching distance. "But anyway, I have to ask you to freeze." He wrapped his hands around the ghost's arm, channeling cold into it, being careful not to let the ice show on the surface. With a sharp twist, Skulker's left arm cracked, breaking off and shattering on the ground.

His opponent turned with wide eyes. "How–?"

"I guess you can't block someone's core," he smirked. He punched the ghost in the face again, knocking him off balance. One arm pinwheeled in an attempt to stay upright, but the ghost fell. Danny stepped forward, placing one foot firmly on the ghost's chest. The thermos whirred to life. "Well, this has been fun. Let's not repeat it for a while."

The ghost laying before him stilled. A smirk slowly crept onto his face. "You miscounted."

"Wha–"

A loud bang, and Danny couldn't hold back a scream as the blast tore its way through his shoulder. Several shrieks echoed his, and a thud sounded as someone in the crowd passed out. "Fuck, that new gun packs a punch." He didn't dare to turn his head and look, but he could guess that his shoulder was a gory mess. Blood was dripping down his side and soaking his shirt at an alarming rate. Even with his healing, he might be in trouble if this fight didn't end soon.

"Like it?" Skulker lifted himself off of the floor, the gun on his shoulder smoking. "Technus installed a few new ones after the last time you beat him."

"Yeah, it's lovely." The teen gave himself a little shake, holding back a wince at the flare of pain from his shoulder. "Ok, bring it. You versus me. No hostages, no holding back. Both down an arm, let's see who wins."

"You're on, whelp. And just so your little friends don't help," he grinned and fired a shot at the watching crowd, trapping them to the wall with ectoplasm.

In retrospect, Danny probably should have specified no weapons, but hey, what were a few bullet holes when your shoulder was already in tatters?

A punch to the face - two teeth gone.

One gun ripped off of an arm.

A bullet, barely avoided, grazing the side of his abdomen.

A kick to the gut, denting metal.

One broken rib and two bruised.

A second gun destroyed.

A kick to the face – another tooth.

Danny curled in on himself, spitting blood onto the ground and gasping for breath. "Shit. I need to practice more."

Skulker landed beside him, nudging him with a foot until he rolled reluctantly onto his back. The ghost's boot pressed heavily on his chest, and Danny struggled to draw in a full breath. There was a scraping sound as a sword extended from Skulker's good arm. "Admit defeat and I'll make it quick."

Danny shot him a bloody grin. "Where would the fun in that be?"

With a deep breath, he bucked his hips, managing to knock the ghost off himself. He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the wave of vertigo, and, while Skulker was still off-balance, grabbed the ghost's head. His vision went hazy as his injured shoulder protested the move, but Danny gritted his teeth and tugged. Skulker's head came free, and Danny nearly fell to his knees with relief.

He stumbled over to his backpack and grabbed the thermos. "This was fun," he said, pulling Skulker's blob-like body out of the helmet. "We should do it again sometime after a nice long stay in the thermos with your new best buddy."

After Skulker was sucked into the thermos, Danny risked a glance at his classmates. Most of them – at least the ones that hadn't passed out from the blood – were staring at him with thinly veiled horror. They probably thought he was an even bigger freak, but at least none of them had gotten injured. Sam and Tucker both wore expressions of concern and Danny hated to think of what his shoulder must look like to make them that worried. He grabbed his backpack, dragging it over to them. Pulling a pocket knife out of the front pocket, he started cutting them free from the ectoplasm.

"Sam, you're the best at stitches, could you take my shoulder?" She nodded mutely. "Great. Tuck, I don't think the graze will need anything but a disinfectant and some tape. My left radius might be fractured, but I can't really tell with the pain from that shoulder. I should be able to do the stitches on my thigh one handed. My seventh rib is broken on the right side. Six and eight are bruised. They should be fine on their own but," he paused scanning the faces of his classmates, "anyone have an ice pack?"

There was silence for a second before Dash spoke up, his voice quiet. "I do."

"Awesome," Danny smiled at him. "I'm going to need to borrow that for my ribs. That should be everything. Any questions?"

Sam and Tucker both shook their heads, darting over to their backpacks as soon as they were free.

Mr. Lancer watched as the two grabbed first aid kits, hurriedly collecting supplies and disinfecting tools. "Mr. Fenton," he said, "shouldn't you have an actual doctor look at your wounds? An ambulance could be here shortly."

Danny grimaced, pocketing his knife as the last chunk of ectoplasm fell to the floor. "No offense Mr. Lancer, but we know what we're doing. At the rate I'm losing blood, I don't think I have time to wait for an ambulace. Besides, Sam and Tuck are great at this. They've done it plenty of times."

"But –"

Sam cut off whatever protest the teacher had. "Yeah, that would be the blood loss. Normal Danny wouldn't announce to the world how often we have to stitch his dumb ass up." Sam put a gentle hand on his good shoulder, pressing him into a chair. "Sit down before you fall over, idiot. Tuck, could you grab the water bottle and banana out of my backpack? Dash, where is the ice pack?"

Danny grinned, "I love it when you get all serious Doctor Sam on me." He took the water and snack from Tucker, murmuring a quiet thanks. Dash shuffled forward, holding the ice pack out warily. Danny pressed it against his side with a sigh of relief.

Sam huffed but couldn't help the fond smile. "Yeah, whatever. You're going to have to lose the shirt."

"Aw," Danny whined, head lolling to the side. "That's the third one this week."

Sam made a mock sympathetic noise as she unceremoniously cut his favorite shirt from the collar to the end of his sleeve. She hissed in sympathy as the wound was exposed, pressing a piece of gauze against it to stop the bleeding.

Danny glanced up at her. "How bad is it?" he asked, voice muffled by the bite of banana.

"Not the worst you've ever had, but pretty nasty." She took a deep breath before beginning to stitch it up.

Danny nodded, taking a sip of water.

Tucker finished taping the graze on his side and moved to kneel by his legs. "I didn't see Skulker hit you here," he said, frowning at the blood staining his friend's pants.

"That was from this morning. A vulture and ectopuss teamed up to make a pretty nasty pair. I stitched it up, but they ripped out. I can redo them myself."

Tucker shrugged, cutting open his pant leg above the wound. "Nah, I've got it. They don't look too bad now. The bleeding has pretty much stopped. You probably don't need stitches, but better safe than sorry."

"I don't know," Danny grinned, "they would be pretty cool scars. They look like I was attacked by Wolverine or something."

Sam snorted. "You have enough scars as it is. Besides, Tucker is terrible at stitching, so they'll probably scar anyway."

"Hey!"

"She's right, you know."

"Dude! Where is the love? Next time Sam's out of town, I'm leaving you to get patched up by Jazz."

Danny groaned. "No, I take it back. I'm sorry. Your stitches are the best, and I love you."

"Damn right," Tucker grinned, patting his knee when he finished taking care of the cuts. "Good as new. Well, mostly."

"Done," Sam said, tying off her last stitch. She covered the stitches with antibacterial ointment and wrapped it. "How does it feel?"

Danny experimentally moved his arm in a circle, fighting back a wince. "About as good as can be expected after having my arm nearly blown off. They should hold as long as I don't do anything too extreme."

"Meaning you'll be needing me to fix them in a couple hours."

"Pretty much," Danny grinned.

The trio relaxed, content that another crisis was averted, until a cough reminded them that, oh right, they weren't the only ones in the room. Danny looked up with no small amount of dread. "What's up, my fellow classmates," he asked, fighting the urge to hide from their curious stares.

"You," Dash began, pointing a shaking finger at him, "just fought a ghost."

"Yes."

"And you won."

"Yes."

"And you nearly bled out."

Danny winced, "Unfortunately."

Dash regarded him for a second before asking, voice deadly quiet, "What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening?"

"Language, Mr. Baxter," Lancer murmured, but it seemed to be an afterthought, as he, too, stared at the injured teen.

Danny shrugged, trying to play it off. "My family hunts ghosts for a living. I've picked some things up."

"That," Mikey protested, waving his arms wildly, "was not 'picking a few things up.' That was insane. I've seen your parents fight, and they never do that!"

Danny winced. "Well I didn't have any weapons on me. How else would I have fought him?"

Dash looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown. "But you're a wimp! You couldn't beat anything!"

Danny laughed humorlessly. "I just won, so you're wrong there."

"You didn't even flinch," Valerie said, voice soft.

"Huh?" Danny looked over at her with surprise. He'd forgotten she was even in the room.

"When you were being stitched up. I've had stitches and I know they hurt. You didn't even move." She took a step closer, growing more confident as she spoke. "That wasn't your first time. How often does this happen?"

A glance around the room showed that he wasn't going to get out of this conversation. He let out a shuddering breath. "Every day. Not the stitching up–" he clarified quickly before anyone could panic "–though I have to admit it happens more often than I would like. But I fight ghosts every day."

Danny could see his classmates mulling it over, trying to connect the two images of him they had: weak, scared Danny Fenton, who cowers from bullies, and the boy who apparently fights ghosts everyday and treats life threatening injuries like they're nothing. It was one piece closer to someone solving the puzzle surrounding Danny Phantom, but he honestly couldn't bring himself to care. Maybe it was the lingering lightheadedness, or maybe he was just sick of keeping secrets from almost everyone around him. Sam and Tucker were burning twin holes into his head, but he hadn't actually told his secret, just given everyone a sliver of truth.

Valerie's voice was quiet when she spoke again. "But you always run from ghost attacks."

"So do you." Danny caught her gaze and nearly laughed when she realized that he knew her secret. He glanced away, letting her keep it; it wasn't his to tell. "But I would actually prefer to let the professionals deal with threats. I only step in when it's necessary." The lie fell from his lips easily. Not that it was really a lie; he did like to let professionals take care of ghosts. Just as long as that professional was Phantom.

Danny blinked, tilting his head as the distant siren from the front of the school shut off. He stood, gratefully taking the spare shirt Sam offered. He ignored the gasps as he changed and his classmates caught a glimpse of his scar riddled back. "Well, that will be all the questions for today, folks. My parents should be busting in here in three, two, one–"

The door banged open, Jack and Maddie both aiming ectoguns at the empty air.

"You just missed the ghost. I think he went outside."

"I'm coming for you, ecto-scum!" Jack shouted, darting back the way they had come.

Maddie paused for a second, glancing around the classroom. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Nope, you guys scared him off before he could do any damage." Danny shot a look at his classmates, just daring them to challenge him.

Maddie nodded once. "School's been dismissed for the day until Jack and I can locate the threat. Stay safe kids."

"Will do," Danny grinned, waving as she took off after her husband.

He whistled a cheery tune as he grabbed his bag. "See you guys Moday," he called to the still shell-shocked class as he left the room.

Sam and Tucker fell into step on either side of him.

"You know they'll have more questions on Monday," Sam said, giving him a curious look. "Why did you tell them so much?"

Danny shrugged. "Wasn't really a way to get out of it. Besides I don't think any of them will connect the dots. I could probably announce it in front of the entire school and they wouldn't believe me."

Tucker snorted, "They never listen to Wes."

"God," Danny grinned, "he is going to flip his shit on Monday. I cannot wait."

Surprise appearance from Wes because he's bae. Again, let me know what you think if you enjoyed it (or even if you didn't)! Any feedback is greatly appreciated. :)