Name: Needles Alias: Mr. Hand Race: Virus Age: N/A Appearance: early 30’s Height: 5’10 Hair: None Eyes: Black Affiliation: Dr. Lintilla’s Strangers Unusual Feature(s): Bleached white skin, completely hairless, his fingers are flexible nine inch needles Viral Properties: Infects people/things by injecting or even scratching them with his needlelike fingers. The actual infection is something close to a super sped up version of the decaying process. Where as it would take a body years to deteriorate, one scratch can cause the organs to begin decomposing and flesh to fall apart. A full on injection can cause building to crumble as though they had been weather beaten for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Once a subject has become infected unless they are immediately cured by an AntiVirus the virus can potentially spread to whatever the subject touches. Other Abilities: Enhanced Speed Enhanced Stealth Enhanced Agility Enhanced Stamina Enhanced Hearing Code Vision Tracking Semi Telepathic Communication (can communicate with any other “linked” Stranger) How to Tell Hand Apart From The Other Strangers: Though all Strangers have a second form of communication all their own, the sound very much resembling the sound of someone chattering their teeth together, you can always tell when Mr. Hand is near because he is almost always chattering, giving off a distinct impression of annoyance. Mr. Hand is also the only Stranger that drags out his S’s in a sort of hissing sound, again adding to the impression of annoyance. Personality: Easily irritated, generally cruel and sadistic even to his fellow Strangers, easily angered, zealous, vengeful, can be traitorous if he is left to his own devices for too long Commanding Strangers: In Order Dr. Lintilla Mr. John Murdoch Mr. Book Brief History: Needles was a virus created during the first incarnation of the Matrix. He was said to have been deleted but this, like so much during the first incarnation was a fabrication. Needles met up with a wayward program called 246-01, who persuaded him to help her kill her programmer so she could take her programmer’s place. From that day on Needles became known as Mr. Hand, the first of many programs that would be known only as the “Strangers”, the Strangers actually named for Needles because 246-01’s first impression of Hand was that he was a “strange fellow, but likable”. Because Mr. Hand is a virus his coding often eats away at itself, which means he has to constantly have himself worked on, have his decaying strands replaced with new ones otherwise he will indeed kill himself. As a result the “loyalty strands” the new Dr. Lintilla employs in all of her Strangers does not always last very long, and so the doctor made sure to keep a close eye on him. I try to stay on top of you To hold your body down Your shaking seems to hinder Every grasp that I had found Moving every inch around you to diffuse your private bomb I stretch my self surrounding And protecting you from harm I use a wallet for your mouth So when you bite you will not bleed I drilled a wire through my cheek And let it down and out my sleeve And now you’re pulling out the best of me Yeah which never ever comes This wire is all that’s left of me And its hooked within my gums, within my gums (Chorus) So drill it, so drill it, so hard i feel it (so hard)...it’s Okay now (x2) I hate to show I'd bleed for this I cut myself to shame To get to know who this masochist Who’s stolen my first name Pretending he’s a teacher Holding all my weight at ease But the teacher seems to split in two Destroying both his knees and now crawling I position myself Below your broken wings I lift your feathered left arm Where you hide your heart from me I never noticed it was swollen With a touch of brutal pain I never knew a heart could live inside The rust from all your rain, all your rain (Chorus) I didn't think to bring a washcloth Or to rub away the dirt Myself & I we share This barely beating heart of hurt and when the hurt comes there’s an argument A fight to save a smile A small attack on human tears To dry them for a while A dream we all should count on Yeah a vision I believe And where confidence is found Attached to wires on a sleeve And where loneliness is history Told to pack his shit and leave And when guidance is a fortune Told to help in time of need And where crying isn’t secret It’s the art of how we grieve And lessons are the key To every goal I will achieve, I will achieve (Chorus x2) Drilled A Wire Through My Cheek by Blue October