Sometimes you have to step back to see things better, you know? Bonds can be very dangerous in the Foundation, or transform you in ways you can't even imagine. Of course, to most of the creatures contained here we are simply food or a toy they break at will, but there are certain cases where they want… more. Companionship or slavery. A place in your mind, in your body, or both at once. And once they settle in you, there's no going back..
You want to know more, don't you? Alright, let your curiosity travel to Research Site 45. The Foundation built it in the mid-'80s at Cape Leeuwin, completely underground. They have all kinds of SCPs there, and with a little luck, there are some you'll never meet… but today your luck has run out. Tell me one thing: How do you feel about insects?
Bees, to be precise. Yes, it seems pesticides are wiping them out around the world, and at this rate we'll be eating sand, but these bees are different. The Foundation calls them SCP-2401, and they have a special requirement to create their hive: a human host. If it's a man, things never end well. They don't survive beyond 12 days due to routine stings and modifications to the dermis. An inflammatory storm that's always accompanied by deterioration of the immune system. Anaerobic infections do the rest.
Now, when SCP-2401 colonizes a woman… everything changes. The risk of infection is lower due to increased propolis production, and half of her dermis is transformed into a honeycomb made of keratin. The curious thing is that at that point they stop their expansion. The colony takes only what it needs, and the next phase is protection. The bees become very sensitive to the physical and emotional state of their host, who also suffers more alterations. Accelerated tissue regeneration, lack of appetite and thirst… and obviously, the trauma. The hosts don't lose their personality, and the idea of having been… 'occupied' by a colony of bees led most to commit suicide. The Foundation tried on several occasions, and only succeeded once.
Two Class Ds were exposed to SCP-2401. The first one put her head in the toilet until she drowned. The second… calls herself Mary. During interviews she explained that at first she felt a lot of pain, but as the days passed it disappeared. Half of her body is a honeycomb, holding multiple instances of SCP-2401 at different levels of maturity. This… symbiosis doesn't include knowledge transfer. SCP-2401-Alpha (Mary) doesn't know where SCP-2401 comes from.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ihWAEz-i0cYShe's not entirely stable either, shall we say. She tends to get agitated quite frequently, especially when her criminal record is discussed. The Foundation installed a device in her cell that emits smoke. It's burned pine needles, and it's more effective than they expected. Still, she managed to establish a certain relationship with Doctor Kenneth Lamb. 'Kenny' to his friends. Good guy, responsible. A shame we lost him.
You see, SCP-2401-Alpha started having dreams. She could never explain the details, except that Kenneth was in them. Her sleep problems were evident, and the smoke sessions became more common… until one day she collapsed. The cell was covered with dead instances of SCP-2401, and she remained there for 72 hours as a quarantine. Two security personnel and Kenneth entered the cell to remove the body and start the autopsy, however... 'Mary' woke up.
The security recordings leave no room for misinterpretation. Both guards ended up incapacitated with multiple blows, but SCP-2401-Alpha wanted something more from Kenneth. She threw him to the ground, and tore off his clothes…
… it was 90 seconds by the clock. The rest of the security team entered with electroshock weapons to separate Mary from Kenneth, who received some blows and ended up with a dislocated shoulder. In less than 24 hours, Doctor Kenneth requested an amnesiac and his permanent demotion to Level 0 for security reasons. As for 'Mary'… she got what she wanted judging by her abdomen. The Foundation ordered all testing on SCP-2401 and 2401-Alpha to stop, but something tells me they're going to follow this to the end.
