Author's Notes: No turning back

"So here's what Artie got on G�nter Schneider," Walter murmured, handing Penny a bunch of files. His voice was a low growl, barely audible above the sounds of the photocopiers and phones ringing in the cubicle spaces just outside the door.

"Alright, so besides the fact that he's dead, which is so fucked up, what else do we know?" Penny murmured, flipping through the pages of the file in her gave her an odd look."What?" She raised an eyebrow."You just swore," Walter murmured."

So what? I do that sometimes," Penny dismissed. Walter didn't seem to believe her. "I do! When I burn my tongue because of coffee or smash my finger in the car's door and well, when every single suspect of the case I happen to be working on is fucking dead," She kept looking at her as if she had grown a third head.

"Sorry, the bad words keep coming out of your mouth but I still can't process that you're saying them…" He shook his head. "Anyways, so here's what we know about Gunter Schneider. Well first, he's in fact German, born in Frankfurt and the son of Zoya Baskov-"

"That doesn't sound German…" Penny narrowed her eyes.

"Because Gunter's mother isn't German, she's actually Russian. She left Moscow at the age of 14 and married Adler Schneider 4 years later. But things didn't work out between them so they got divorced a few months after Gunter's birth. Then Zoya returned to Moscow, and Gunter ended up being raised by his father who never remarried," Walter read out loud, still paging through the reports until one of the pages of the folder forced him to grind to a halt. "And apparently, Gunter had a troubled childhood…There are reports of neglect and abuse made by neighbors but Child Protection Services never managed to actually open a case against Adler due to the lack of substantial proof and Gunter's refusal to cooperate with social workers. Since he was six, teachers pointed out that Gunter, despite his anti-social behavior, had an over-average intelligence. He was even given the opportunity to try out for the Federal School for the Highly Gifted in Schw�bisch Gm�nd, but he never showed up to the interview."

"He looked so sad," Penny murmured, flipping through Gunter's school pictures. Despite being atypically tall for a teen, Gunter somehow seemed fragile, so skinny under his oversized clothes as he hid behind layers of messy strawberry blond hair. And Penny couldn't help but notice the fading bruises on his left arm and how the boy's nails were bitten. Everything in him screamed "problems at home" and the dark circles under his eyes only conferred to him an unsuitable weariness to his features

"His anti-social behavior only aggravated with the years but he managed to graduate and his grades were good enough for him to get a scholarship in Robotic Engineering at an University far from Frankfurt."

"And away from his dad," Penny pointed nodded

"Yep, away from his dad… Well, Gunter Schneider graduated a few years later with good grades and was offered a scholarship to get his master's degree but he declined."

"Why?" Penny frowned."That's when things get weird… He just left Germany after graduating, just like that, out of nowhere, and came to the United States where he applied for a position ay Avalon Industries as a supervisor in the production of industrial robots."

"So he threw away a scholarship to move to the US to work as a supervisor for the production of industrial robots?" Penny asked slowly, trying to wrap her head around what Walter had just told rubbed the stubble on his chin, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"I know! Weird isn't? I mean, the position wasn't really discrepant with his curriculum, after all he didn't have any specialization, but still, he threw away a scholarship to one of the best German universities to work in Avalon's industries." Walter pointed to the file in his hands, showing Penny a picture of Gunter dressed in white, a red name tag hanging on his neck and the Avalon logo embroidered on his shirt.

"That doesn't make sense at all," Penny murmured, taking a good look at Gunter's picture. He looked much more carefree, his big blue eyes hiding under thick glasses, but shinning with excitement. He didn't even have the scar in his left cheek as Kurt had described. "He seemed happier, excited, like he was part of something big, something great."

"Maybe Project Metempsychosis." Walter shifted uncomfortably in his suit, fighting the urge to run his fingers through his curls that were brushed to the side with the harsh strokes of a comb just a few hours ago and were already falling out of place even though it was barely ten in the morning.

"Wait a minute!" Penny gasped eyes wide. "The Angelus Complex, the supposedly abandoned complex where Kurt was built, it was located just a few miles away from the industrial park where the industrial robots were built. And Kurt, in some aspects, is similar to an industrial model. He has a shielded nuclear power cell and everything …"

"That can't be a coincidence," Walter muttered barely audible."And as a Supervisor, Gunter would have free access to any complex." he looked up at Penny's brown eyes.

"Everything leads us to Avalon industries," The ginger woman concluded, lips pressed in a thin line.

"But that doesn't make sense. Why would Avalon Industries invest in the creation of an android like Kurt? That would not only be illegal but extremely counterproductive; Kurt's fabrication was an expensive and intricate process, not something that could be easily done in larger scales, in mass production. That's not Avalon's style. They produce disposable legal robots that became obsolete in a matter of months, as soon as the next generation is released with useless upgrades and applications that make people think that they need to have them. And even if they did invest in creating robots humanlike, why use Kurt Hummel's image? Why they would build something that resembles a dead boy?" Walter sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt a thick coil of uneasiness in the pit of his stomach. Something didn't fit. They were missing something, something big.

"You're right, Avalon Industries would have had no interest in building Kurt, but maybe someone inside of Avalon Industries did," Penny pointed out, looking at Walter hopefully.

"But why would someone have such an interest?" Walter cried out in frustration. "I mean, it makes sense for Burt to want to build an android in the image of his dead son, but what would someone inside of Avalon's industry gain from that?"

"I don't know, I don't have any idea," Penny murmured quietly. "And that's what scares me the most, Walter."

Walter looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"The fact we don't know the interests and intentions behind Kurt's creation! There are just too many deaths, too much gore in this case for us all to cling onto the hope that the person that financed this did it from the kindness of their heart. There are people after Kurt, and we don't know what they're planning to do if they get their hands on him," Penny said, her voice cracked and her eyes burning. Sandra, Burt, Gunter… there was only one constant in this case and it was Death. Walter let go of his files, clutching Penny against his chest and doing his best to whisper assuredly,"We are going to figure out this Penny, we will."

They had to.

*************

"I don't want to go," Blaine murmured, his forehead pressed against Kurt's, warm breath ghosting on the android's lips.

Blaine was never exactly fond of going to school, but damn, today he was especially not in the mood for it. It was exams week, everyone was miserable, and well, at home he had Kurt, all gorgeous and sweet, and they had the house all to themselves. Walter had left earlier, leaving a note behind promising he would be home for dinner. They could spend the day making out and maybe even watching one of those cheesy chick flicks Kurt loved so much.

"Yes, you do." Kurt smirked "C'mon, you'll do great on you exams." He smiled.

Blaine rolled his eyes, frowning. "No, I won't."

"Yes you will." Kurt pressed his lips softly on Blaine's. "You can't skip classes anymore. You said yourself that you wanted to build a better relationship with Walter… what if he calls school and discovers that you're skipping classes again? During finals week? That'll cause more conflicts between you two."

"What's one more conflict? It's not like we don't have 10 years of unsolved business." Blaine snorted, ignoring the way his stomach knotted at his own words. He just couldn't help himself. He always made fun of the things that actually dilacerated him on the inside.

"Blaine." Kurt gripped the older boy's neck. "Don't be like that."

"Okay, okay, I'll go to school." Blaine rolled his eyes. "Why are you so eager to get rid of me Ice queen, huh?" he teased, leaning in for a kiss.

Kurt turned his head, dodging away from Blaine's lips. "Hmm… I think it's the nickname thing, I just can't stand to be called Ice Queen anymore." He smirked, making Blaine laugh.

"Alright, I'll give you a break then," Blaine murmured, disengaging himself from Kurt's arms and grabbing his bag from the couch.

"Have a nice day," Kurt said, opening the apartment's door and holding it for Blaine.

Blaine growled. "I kind of hate you a bit for convincing me to actually go, you know that right?" He said, heaving his bag over his shoulder.

"No, you don't." Kurt battled his eyelashes, faking innocence as he leaned against the doorframe.

"I do." Blaine smiled, before invading Kurt's personal space. "Just a little bit," he murmured before pulling Kurt in for another kiss. It was not gentle, but it was slow and deep.

Kurt anchored a hand on Blaine neck. "A little bit?" He chuckled.

"Only a little bit," Blaine breathed, his voice almost of a tangible quality against Kurt's lips. He pulled the android closer again, and Kurt went forward easily. They kissed for long minutes until Kurt couldn't remember who he was outside of what Blaine was sharing with him. It was just so overwhelming, Blaine's perfume, his lips, the fluttering of his incredibly long eyelashes and the texture of his skin beneath Kurt's fingertips…

It wasn't until Kurt heard a loud gasp behind him that he was brought to reality, the same reality where they were pretty much making out at the front door of Walter's apartment, where anyone could see them, including Walter himself.

"T-Tina! Hi!" Kurt gasped, tearing himself from Blaine arms. He was so embarrassed, mortified, but at same relieved. It was Tina that had caught him, not Walter, or Penny or any other nosy neighbor who would end up letting Blaine's father know what was going on between Kurt and his son.

"I-I should probably going," Blaine murmured tentatively, not really sure of what he was supposed to do in that situation. Should he introduce himself? What would he introduce himself as?

Luckily, Kurt saved him from explaining the complicated, and yet all sorts of perfect concept of their relationship to that complete stranger. The android nodded, squeezing Blaine's shoulder. "Y-yeah, we don't want you to get late! Good luck on your tests," he said, voice strained as Tina kept staring at him, wide eyed.

Blaine made his away to the elevator, looking back a few times, before slipping inside of it.

"What were you doing?" Tina cried as soon as the elevator's doors were closed. Kurt raised an eyebrow. Well it was pretty obvious what he had been doing. He didn't understand the horrified look on Tina's face. She was looking at him as if she had just caught Kurt doing something atrocious.

"I-I was kissing Blaine… We're kind of together," Kurt explained defensively.

Tina tore her eyes from his, burying her face in her palms. "Y-You aren't supposed to do that," She cried, her hands trembling and her voice cracked.

Kurt froze, feeling his stomach flip. He took a shaky breath. "W-what's that supposed to mean?" he took a step back. Tina couldn't be a homophobe, she couldn't. She was one of his few friends. They watched musicals together, they cooked together! Tina came from New York for God's sake! She couldn't be a homophobe…Could she?

Tina ran her fingers through her hair, not really looking at him. It was like she wasn't even there. Kurt could see her mind racing with a million of thoughts. "A-Are you sure?" she murmured, almost inaudibly. "Kurt, are you sure about the way you feel for that boy?" She practically demanded, finally meeting Kurt's eyes.

Kurt couldn't believe it. There was pity in her eyes. She pitied him, as if he was some sick person, some sort of freak.

He felt lumps forming in his throat. "A-are you homophobe!?" he cried, stepping away further away from the Asian girl. That was the only explanation for the way Tina was acting. "I can't believe it…" He gritted his teeth together.

Suddenly, it was like a wire shorting out in the pitch of his stomach. It was heating up. Sizzling. He felt anger boiling up through his veins. "I thought you were my friend!" he murmured, hurt. He could've been fated to get a lot of crap for being a robot, but Kurt wouldn't let anyone judge him for being gay. No, not for that. No one would look down at him for loving whoever he choose to love.

Tina open and closed her mouth several times before the words finally broke through her lips. "I-I'm sorry Kurt," she murmured, before turning her back to him and walking towards her apartment.

*************

Tina opened the apartment door with shaky hands, leaning against it. It took a matter of seconds before she collapsed on her knees, hyperventilating. Everything was wrong, so, so wrong.

When had everything turned so wrong?

When had she turned into such a monster?

Kurt was in love. Maybe he didn't know yet, but he was, and she could tell only by looking at him. And that wasn't supposed to happen, that didn't fit the plan, the fucking plan that dragged Tina to this town, to this empty apartment where everything that surrounded her was lies and guilt.

Kurt wasn't supposed to fall in love. He was a robot, he was a thing. He couldn't fall in love…

How was that even possible? Did that boy, Blaine, know the truth about Kurt? Would he be heartbroken when Project Metempsychosis would be, once and for all, terminated? Would Blaine ever recover if Kurt went missing without a trace, would he move on, or spend his whole life waiting for Kurt to come back?

Tina didn't know.

She didn't want to.

With her hands, Tina let out the sobs that insisted on breaking through her. She looked around, at all the fake portraits hanging on the walls. They were all fake, all lies. She didn't even know the people in those pictures; they were just random portraits she had printed so that her fa�ade would look believable. More than ever, that apartment felt suffocating, with all its hidden corners and crevices.

Desperately taken by the need to see something real, a reminder of why she was doing that, Tina stood up and ran to the kitchen. She stumbled and fell on the way, but she didn't stop, she couldn't. She crawled until she reached the kitchen cabinet, opening its door and pulling out the energy drinks she kept there, to get them out of the way.

Stashed away in the pantry was a small notebook with a stupid Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pen stuck in its wire coil and bright green ink smudged on the rubber grip. Tina flipped the pages of the small notebook. Glued to one of the last pages was a Polaroid picture.

Gritting her teeth together, Tina ripped off the page, clenching to the picture between trembling fingers. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she ran her black fingernail over the picture, a small smile ghosting her lips. She looked so young. She was so young, blue streaks still in her hair and black clothes contrasting with her pale skin. Tina also looked so care free; laughing at the young man who stood beside her while he managed to balance a green, teenage mutant ninja turtle pen on his nose. His long strawberry blond hair fell onto his shoulders, and behind thick dark framed glasses his blue eyes sparkled with a childlike innocence.

"I'm sorry…" She sobbed, clenching the picture against her chest, shoulders thrumming, her soul coming apart at the seams as guilt spread through her chest and perched there, never to leave. "I'm so, so sorry"

When had everything turned so wrong?

She didn't know, but it was too late already. There was no turning back now.

*************

Quinn sighed in frustration as she sat up on the grass where she had been taking an unscheduled and not entirely permitted break. Where the hell was Blaine? She cursed. He was supposed to meet her there an hour ago. They always skip Mrs. Brown's classes together.

She shoved her purple sunglasses further up her nose. "Fuck this," she murmured under her breath. Quinn was tired of waiting for Blaine.

She stood up and dug through her bag for her headphones. She unwound them quickly and jammed them over her messy pink hair. Pressing play, she felt her red lips curling slightly as her favorite song echoed in her ear. Only music could make her feel better. It had been a shitty day so far. But, hey, when wasn't it a shit day, she thought. As she entered the school's hallways she came to the conclusion that it had been a crappy day for everyone. Even the perfect cheerleaders seemed to be tired and depressed, not surprising considering it was exams week. Another wonder of their wonderful education system whose only goal was destroy everybody's hopes and dreams by suppressing their talents and personalities so that they could fulfill the expectations of a capitalist and heteronormative society.

She rolled her eyes, lamenting, not for the first time, the fact that smoking was such an outdoor-based activity. She even considered to break the rules, and maybe earn a suspension, a break for a few days, but then something caught her attention and her eyes were fixed on her best friend, the little bastard that was supposed to meet her an hour ago on the grassy slope next to the bleachers. Unlike McKinley High's entire student population, he didn't seem to be completely miserable. He was actually smiling, looking down at his phone and smiling at some stupid text!

"Hey B," Quinn said, supporting herself on the locker besides Blaine's, startling her best friend.

Blaine quickly and quite suspiciously shoved his phone on his pocket. "H-hey Q, what's up?" he greeted, closing the locker door.

"Did you get laid last night?" Quinn inquired, crossing her arms above her chest. Blaine was looking too happy, too relaxed. He must have gotten some because that was the only explanation for his behavior.

"W-What? No!" Blaine shifted, walking away from Quinn.

She followed him, narrowing her eyes. "You're fucking glowing, Anderson! There's happiness coming out of you, and it's disgusting and unlike you. It's exams week for Christ's sake, where's the bad mood? The usual jerkiness?"

"Sorry if my mood bothers you, but nothing happened," He dismissed, not really looking at her and walking fast as if he was actually interested in getting to class on time.

Quinn's lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Oh really, nothing happened?"

Blaine nodded, still not looking at her.

"Oh great, so you won't have a problem if I do this then!" She smiled, putting her hand down in his pocket and grabbing his phone. With experienced fingers and the knowledge of Blaine's password, she quickly went through his messages as she ran away from him.

"Quinn! What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Blaine shouted, grabbing Quinn's arm and finally stopping her.

"Good luck on your tests! xx – Kurt," She read out loud, turning around to meet Blaine's hazel eyes. "Kurt?" She raised an eyebrow teasingly, her lips curving into a wicked grin. "As in Kurt Hummel, aka the boy you almost kissed at Santana's party?"

"Give me that." Blaine grunted as he put his phone to back in his pocket. He was so going to change his password again.

"Oh my God" Quinn gasped, eyes shining "So it is him! And don't even try to deny it, something happened between you two! There were little X's at the end of that text, little X's!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Blaine said and gritted his teeth, turning his back to Quinn, blush on his cheeks as he walked away with heavy steps, his fists clenched to his side.

Quinn rolled her eyes, smiling. "Aaaalright, alright, you don't need to tell me anything if you don't want to!" She gave up, throwing her arms around his shoulders and stopping him from running away from her. "But tell me this, does it feels good? You know, when there are actually feelings involved?" She asked tentatively, burying her face it his back as if embarrassed by the question.

Blaine covered her arms with his, comfortable in her embrace. "I-Its nice," he confessed, almost too quietly, making Quinn burst out into giggles as she noticed the tip of his ears going red and the corner of his lips lifting up.

"You fucker!" She snickered, letting go of him and punching him lightly on the arm.

"Ouch! W-why are you punching me?" He laughed, holding her wrists.

"Because you weren't going to even tell me! You bastard!" She shrilled, disengaging from his grip to punch him harder. There was no heat in her words, she was not even slightly mad at him, just glad, unbelievably pleased that her best friend was finally giving himself the chance to be happy.

They were both laughing loudly, disturbing the depressive atmosphere and receiving odd looks as result, but Quinn couldn't care less because that shitty day had just become a lot less shitty.

*************

"Oh my God…" Artie gasped, almost spitting his coffee all over his computer.

"WHAT?" Eugene said, taking of his headphones.

Artie wheeled around the lab. "Remember how I told that you I was trying to figure out when Gunter went to back Europe?" He asked, grabbing a sheet of paper which was coming out of his printer. Eugene nodded.

"Well I did, and it was surprisingly easy. He just bought plane tickets eight years ago to London and then left."

Eugene titled his head to the side. "AND DISCOVERING THAT WAS THE CAUSE OF SUCH A DRAMATIC 'OH MY GOD'?"

"No, this was." Artie handed Eugene a sheet of paper.

The robot quickly scanned it before wheeling his chair around. "HE DIDN'T TRAVEL ALONE…"

"No, he didn't, he bought two tickets," Artie read out loud. "There was someone with him, and according with the registers it was a guy, who travelled under the name of Adler Schneider."

"HIS FATHER?" Eugenie asked puzzled. That didn't make any sense. Gunter had a horrible relationship with his father.

"I doubt it," Artie replied, grabbing a file from their desk and opening it. "His father died 3 years before Gunter came to America."

"SO WHO THE HELL RETURNED TO EUROPE WITH GUNTER?" Eugene inquired.

"Now you understand the reason behind my dramatic 'Oh my God'," Artie replied, pressing his lips in a thin line.

He needed to call Walter.

TBC...