Author's notes: Welcome to my next story. It's a response to a prompt left on AO3. Since I read it, I always intended to give this one it's own story, unfortunately, that meant the requester's been waiting a little bit longer than intended. While it is a crossover, most of the story will be focusing on the White Collar characters with Chuck elements thrown in. The Chuck cast will appear later on though. They're not being focused on mostly because they're used to action and danger whereas the White Collar cast haven't been involved in something of this size before. (I'll be back to non-twin stories after this one - I just want to get this one done first).


OMEN


From Saj_te_Gyuhyall at AO3:

The world has officially gone to HELL. Post Apocalyptic. Any way you want to swing it really (though I'm REALLY not too fond of zombies...) and both teams are caught semi-flat footed, and it's a scramble to survive, at first.

Neal's 'team' includes El, June and her granddaughter, Satchmo, Sara maybe, etc. Basically anyone you don't want to see dead!

Bryce and Neal have a safe house on an old property away from the beaten path where they both exercised their inner preppers and outfitted it for the END (because you can't tell me that two individuals as trained and paranoid as this particular Con and Spy wouldn't do something like that, lol. And Mozzie would probably help. Enthusiastically.), So they're leading their teams there from opposite sides of the country. Neither one has mentioned their twin to the people in their group (but maybe Chuck and Mozzie already know?), each hoping the other is alive, but not voicing it. Maybe they pick up people along the way (good time to throw in other crossovers, if you're inclined!) It's a hard angsty struggle with many close calls, on both sides, but ends happily/hopefully.


Part 1


It affected every computer in the world. Every electronic device. Team Bartowski thought they stopped it. They hadn't.

All it took was one line of activation code to bring out the Omen virus and erase every computer in the world. It tore through networks. Power plants, run through computer programs, stopped working. The flight controls in planes locked up without programs to run them and almost every plane in the air crashed, some into buildings, some into mountains, some on flat land where the people inside had a chance to survive. Gas pumps stopped working. Cars with electronic parts shut down and the rest would follow as soon as they ran out of gas.

Traffic lights and street lights went out simultaneously and cars crashed without their headlights, unable to see. Medical equipment failed and not even the hospitals' back-up generators worked.

Electronic locks failed. The world's criminals and crazies released to add to the chaos.

And this wasn't even the worst of it.


"Peter, please!" Neal was practically begging and Neal never begged. But Peter wasn't listening.

"We're the FBI, Neal," Peter responded as he pounded down the stairs with his holster and badge visible. "Even without orders, we protect the public."

"Hon," El said in a worried tone. She was terrified at the thought of her husband walking outside into this. Things that Mozzie had told her about the end of the world weren't helping to calm her nerves either.

"Peter, there is no FBI right now!" Neal yelled, "there's nothing! All we can do is save who we can!"

Peter glared back at him, showing his inability to accept this. Even though the New York skyline was red and grey, there were cries of panic outside as people ran to check on their loved ones, the sounds of things crashing, blowing up and burning echoed through the air and the smell of smoke seemed ever present.

It was hard to believe that minutes before, it had been an ordinary Saturday.

Peter walked towards the door.

"Peter!" El gasped with tears pooling in her eyes. And Peter fell, a dart sticking out of his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Neal said to her. He was holding a gun but El knew enough to tell that it was a tranquilising gun, having shot the dart that fell her husband. "But we need to get out of New York."

"Why?" she asked, wondering if it was safer to stay here rather than try navigating the world outside.

"Please, just trust me," Neal insisted. He didn't want to tell her this. There was a chance that, like Peter, she would insist on saving everyone. He didn't want to be the one to tell her that it was impossible. "Is your car filled up?"

"We can't drive in this," she insisted after nodding.

"We have to," Neal responded in a serious tone. He looked at her, his blue eyes piercing. "You saw the red that flickered over the television, right?" He didn't wait for her answer. "It's a virus. The Omen virus."

"I thought that was just a hoax." Christmas last year, the Omen virus appeared and sent the world into a panic. Although it was determined to be the act of a terrorist, a lot of people subscribed to the theory that it was all a hoax and that the virus didn't do anything besides look scary.

"It wasn't," Neal responded, "it was real and supposed to be neutralised. I don't know why it's activated but, we need to act now. There'll be time for determining what happened later, when we're safe. Help me carry Peter."

Neal was right. Now wasn't the time to worry about why this was happening; now was the time for acting and making sure her loved ones stayed safe. She helped Neal drag Peter to the car and buckle him in the back seat.

"We can carry two more," Neal mused as he jumped into the driver's seat. "Maybe even three or four."

"Satchmo!" El realised, jumping out of the car to grab the dog. She also grabbed some of his food and some food for them.


Neal drove like a racer at times and, at others, a stunt driver. He manoeuvred his way through debris, other cars, people and animals, without batting an eye and without much damage. The side door got scratched when he pushed between the gap between a car and a street light, but El didn't care about that. As long as the car kept going and they didn't crash.

She was surprised when they stopped to pick up Jones.

"Mozzie's in charge of getting Diana, June and her granddaughters," Neal explained as Jones jumped in.

"Why the hurry, Neal?" Jones joked humorously as Neal violently pulled out into traffic.

"We still need to pick up Sara," Neal responded without humour.

Jones and El both noticed that he didn't answer the question properly. He didn't tell them why he wanted to get out of New York quickly and that scared them.

They picked up Sara outside her work.

"Thanks for remembering," Neal said. Sara explained to the rest of them that Neal had told her what to do if something like this ever happened.

"He had played it off like something Mozzie told him," she said, "a 'what if' game."

"The little guy, I should have known," Jones muttered. Although he was trying to sound gruff, he actually sounded quite impressed.

El wasn't so sure that it was Mozzie. It her, it seemed that Neal was the one who prepared for this. Why else would he be carrying a tranquilising gun?

As soon as they were outside of New York, Neal sped up. Sara gave a frightened squeak as the car zoomed along the highway.

"Neal! You're going kind of fast!" she pointed out.

"I don't think anyone's going to arrest me today," Neal responded weaving through the traffic. It seemed that there were a lot of people thinking like Neal.

"What's the hurry?" Jones asked again, still jokingly, even though he really wanted to know.

"You're better off not knowing," Neal said, "not until we get away."

They all looked at him like they didn't believe him. As she was sitting in the passenger side seat and next to him, El could see the serious expression on his face.

"It's better that you don't know," Neal said quietly, although in the silent car, they all heard him loud and clear, "that way, when you find out, you can place the blame on me and not yourselves."

And that response made them all curious, although they knew that he wouldn't tell them. El sat back and tried not to look out the window and the burning New York skyline. Jones asked Sara about her latest client, as if it was an ordinary day; except, on an ordinary day, he wouldn't ask because she went to Neal or Peter with this stuff and they relayed it to him.


Around three hours of fast-paced driving later, Neal pulled up at a little cottage somewhere outside of Hagerstown, MD. It was off the road and hidden behind trees and they hadn't even realised that the dirt he had turned onto was really a road.

Peter had woken earlier and sat in stony silence as El commented that it 'looked nice'.

Neal pulled the car over and turned it off just outside of the cottage.

"I certainly didn't expect this," Sara commented. It was a nice place, picturesque. It was made from wood and had a porch out the front which also ran around the side.

They all got out and Neal seemed to count them off, one by one, in his head. He mused on something for a moment before speaking.

"This is a safe house that was developed in the event of worldwide disaster," he explained, "it doesn't use electricity and there's a well out the back. Any water you draw must be boiled on a fire before use, just to be safe. When you get inside, there are two bedrooms, one bathroom and a combined lounge/kitchen/dining. Jones, you can have the couch. Peter and El can have one of the bedrooms and Sara can sleep on one of the air mattresses. I'd like to keep the other room for June and her granddaughters."

"Where will you sleep?" Sara asked.

"There's a hammock," he said nonchalantly and with a shrug. "Now, we're going to have to change our clothes."

"Wait, what?" Peter questioned in an angry tone. He was still angry that Neal knocked him out and, technically, kidnapped him.

"Why, Peter, I didn't know you were the modest type," Neal joked.

"What's this about?" Jones asked before Peter could explode. "You were in a hurry to get here and now you're issuing orders? How about some answers first?"

A shadow crossed Neal's face. He frowned and his eyes dropped to their feet.

"Go inside," he said softly, "I'll put out clothes for everyone. Get changed. Underwear too. Then, I'll explain."

They all shared a glance. Finally, Sara shrugged and walked up the wooden steps and into the cottage. El followed her. With one last glance towards Neal, Peter moved after his wife.

Jones grabbed Neal's arm.

"Are you really going to explain?" he questioned in a quiet but hard tone.

"Power cut out," Neal whispered to him, staring right into Jones' eyes with his dark, blue orbs, "do you know what happens to nuclear power plants when they lose power?"

Jones had an idea. Fear coiled in his gut and he felt his face go pale and cold.

"We're outside the contamination zone," Neal was quick to point out, "and there are bottles of water in the safe house and the walls are lined with lead. We should be safe."

"Neal, there are millions of people in New York and you left them all to die?" he questioned in horror. He had never thought Neal would do something like that.

"I did," he responded, unflinchingly, "I made a promise to survive."

"Neal..." Jones' voice trailed off as he realised he didn't know what to say. On one hand, Neal had saved them but, on the other, he hadn't even tried to save anyone else and had left an entire city to burn.

Neal didn't look at him as he walked into the cottage.