 Nina's most distinguishing features are her spring-loaded steel bionic hands, which were given to her by her uncle Doctor Cortex.When Nina Cortex started to show signs of a kind heart, Doctor Cortex modified her arms with bionic parts and enrolled her in Madame Amberly's Academy of Evil, which he himself attended as a child.She doesn't see her uncle again until the Evil Twins threaten the existence of the N. Sanity Island in "Crash Twinsanity", during which Doctor Cortex sneaks her out of the school to assist him in defeating the Evil Twins.