Author's Note: Bear with me here, this chapter explains just how do the girls get to know the spy organization. The trainings and whatnot will come later after this chapter. And thank you for the reviews! :)

Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.

Chapter 2: The Recruitment

At school, couple of weeks ago…

"And it has been told that if, and ONLY if the leader step down from her post," Gerald told the tale animatedly in his best Jesse Jackson impersonation, (his approach of telling legends had changed when he was middle school), "one will take her place as the new leader, and five will join in and will become as one of them – as agents. And so goes the secret spy organization, unique only to this very city, and non others anywhere else in this great land." And with that, Gerald closed his urban legend tale with a bow, followed by a round of applause from the crowd who were listening to him.

"Heh, the same old Gerald…" Rhonda chuckled in incredulity.

"I don't know Rhonda," Nadine replied, "His urban legends always end up being real in the end. And I believe this particular one will end up just as same as all of his other tales."

"Oh come on Nadine. Those are just coincidence. What are you hearing just now are kids' stories and I seriously doubt that any of it is true. I mean, c'mon? Women only secret spy organization? Hey, I'm all for woman's rights and all but don't you think that's a little too much?"

"Well, whether it's real or not, Gerald made it sound ever so very convincing." Lila intervened, and the two girls nodded in agreement.

"Hey Gerald," someone in the crowd called him. "You expect us to believe all this crap?" it was Helga.

"Girl, Fuzzy S. tells no lies." Gerald replied back.

"You want to know what I think about your story? I think its load of bull, just like everthing else that comes out from your mouth." And with that crude remark, it drew some chuckles from the crowd. "Yo Gerald, she's attacking your credibility! You're not just going to sit around and shut up, are ya?" someone shouted in the crowd.

"God, I hate that woman." Gerald thought. "Well, at least my mouth is not some infested cesspit spewing filth!" he retorted back coolly, and the crowd chuckled louder. "I'm not expecting you to believe it, Helga. I'm just here to tell the tale." He then continued and replied to her like a true raconteur.

"Although I am skeptical of the story, I feel that the legend is very entertaining and informative nontheless, as usual coming from Gerald of course," Phoebe shared her view.

"Why, thank you, girl. It's nice to know that I have a fan." Gerald said with a warm voice. Phoebe blushed at the remark.

---

After school, today…

Phoebe was in the bus, on her way to home. And because the decathalons were a month away, she took the opportunity to grab her books and study. "Let see… The Code of Hammurabi contains 282 articles of laws written on stones and placed at public places." Phoebe read, to pass time. "Oh dear, the academic decathlon competition is going to be hard…"

The bus stopped, and a new batch of passengers came in. One of them was a young female adult, and since the sit next to Phoebe was empty, she took a seat next to her.

"Studying?" she asked.

Phoebe was slightly startled. "What? Oh, yes. I need to study trivia and facts for my academic decathlon."

"Ah, the decathlons… It brings a lot of memories let me tell you that. My team used to be the statewide champion, you know."

"Really?" she said. "Which state?"

"Well, this state of course."

"In what year did your team won the decathlon?"

"Some six, seven years ago."

"My school has been winning the state decathlons for ten years in a row." Phoebe informed. "Somehow I have a feeling you're a former student in my school."

"Heh, maybe I am."

Come to think of it, you do look awfully familiar. I think saw your face on the 'Wall of Scholars' once…"

"That's probably me." She said with a smile. "Say, I'm doing a survey for the State Education Department, and I would love if you would partake in the survey and fill this questionaire form. Can you help me out, please?"

"Survey? In regards of what?"

"Oh, the usual student's stuff, like are you happy with the current hours, school laws - very basic stuff."

"Sure, I'll be happy to," Phoebe nodded. She then took her pen out and filled the forms. On every question she comtemplated carefully before she wrote it down. The stranger was impressed by her attentiveness. "Hmm... she's right after all. What a smart cookie."

"I think I'm done. Here you are." Phoebe said as she gave her the papers back.

"Thank you." She replied. "And here's my card just to prove that I'm for real." she said."Oh, darn… I think I'm nearing my stop. See you later," She waved at her as she got up from her seat and disembarked from the bus, and Phoebe waved back. Phoebe watched her reached something from her handbag. It was a grappling hook. Phoebe was stunned, as it was something out of the ordinary. She aimed the grappling hook on the roof a building nearby and pulled the trigger. She saluted her, and reeled herself away, and finally she was gone from Phoebe's view.

"My goodness, that is the most outlandish thing I've ever seen!" She said as she reached the card that the stranger gave to her earlier. She stared relentlessly at the card, but found nothing important (it was the State Edu Dept. address). She then flipped it over and found something interesting. And with that, she remembered the urban legend that Gerald told earlier, "Temping offer, miss. I will see what your organization has to offer."

---

Lila was in a neighborhood supermarket running errands that her father had requested earlier. It was a usual routine for her: she was the one who bought the groceries, and it was up to her to cook dinner for herself and her father later. She didn't care much really, because she enjoyed cooking.

"Okay… let me see here… five packets of frozen pizza – various toppings, a packet of mushrooms, a whole chicken, and two cartons of milk," she read the list. As she was searching the freezer, a supermarket employee came to her so she could help Lila if she was in need of any assistance.

"Can I help you?" the employee asked.

"Oh yes, thank you. I'm searching for Papa Jim's frozen pizza, do you still have any stock left?"

"Papa Jim's? Sorry honey, we're out of stock."

"Well, that's okay. I'm sure there are other quality brands around."

"If I may make a suggestion: I recommend you should try out Shakily's Pizza." The employee said. And then she searched for the pizza in the freezer and gave it to Lila.

"Why, thank you ever so much." Lila said.

"My pleasure. Now if you'd excuse me, I am needed in sector 42, nabbing crooks." She said.

"Nabbing crooks?"

The employee then pushed a button at the freezer, opening a trapdoor below her. As she chutes down the tubes that lead to nowhere, she shouted to her, "Make sure you read the card that I gave youuuuuu…" and the voice trailed of. The trapdoor closed back, but when Lila tried to push the same button again, it didn't respond. "What is she talking about? What card?"

She flipped the pizza box over, found the card, and read it.

"I suppose I could go there and have a look for a while… after I deliver the groceries back home."

---

After school, Rhonda was shopping for new clothes in an upscale, trendy mall in one of the classiest parts of the city - one of her usual hangouts. "No, no, no, no, no, no." she disagreed. "Those colors clash with each other, and they make me look ugly if I were wearing it. Go and pick something else, will you?" Rhonda ordered as she shook her head, and the attendee nodded and went away back into the stock room to find something that would satisfy Rhonda. "These people know nothing of fashion…"

"If I may suggest these to you, Miss…" out of nowhere, another employee came to her and recommended her some beautiful dress.

"Oh… such exquisite taste!" Rhonda replied delightfully. "If I may ask, where did you garner such taste for fashion?"

"I was in the Whatevoirfrancais School of Design, Miss."

"Ah yes, the highly respected fashion school in France. What a wonderful choice! You have my full compliments."

"Thank you Miss. If you could excuse me for a while, I have something very important to attend to."

"Carry on." She said as she contemplated whether she should buy that beautiful attire. "Hey, what's this?" she spotted a card underneath the garment. It didn't look like a price tag to her, "it can't be for me... it could be hers…" she muttered under her breath. "Wait, miss! I think you dropped something!" she shouted at her.

"Just read it!" she replied as she fired a grappling hook outside from the window. With a wink, she swung herself outside. Rhonda threw the dress away and sprinted to the window, but she was already gone. Still dazed, she walked back to the bench she was sitting earlier and picked the card up and read it. "Fight crime? What is this? Does she think I'm that gullible?" she said in disbelief. "But then again, she did have that grappling hook and the clichéd mysterious spy demeanor." And she read the card again, "Sorry… not interested." She said, and flipped the card over. On the other side, the card said: "You get to wear chic outfits!"

"Woo! I'm there!" "So Gerald's legends does have some merits after all. We'll see if this so-called 'spy organization' have what it takes to have Rhonda Lloyd in their little club…" she thought with a smirk.

---

Nadine was in the local park to find some new insects to be added into her collection. She always wanted to follow into her father's footstep, to become an entomologist. She was at the largest oak tree on the highest hill in the park, searching for some new insects to add. "Hmm… this is a rare discovery. An Oryctes Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros Beetle) living in this very park?" She wondered as she picked the creature up. "I thought your habitat was in the rainforests. You must've escaped from a pet shop or something. You poor thing…" she said as she gently petted the beetle.

"Excuse me… I know this is going to sound very silly, but by any chance have you seen a large beetle wondering about?" a female stranger asked her.

"I think I'm holding it right now." Nadine said as she showed her the beetle.

"Ah… thank you so much. Could you put her in this cage for me?" Nadine nodded. "Thank you." The stranger replied. "I'm an undergraduate at the local community college; my professor would kill me if I lose the little guy here. But thanks to you, I finally found it."

"How did the beetle got out?" Nadine asked her, as she looked at the insect.

"I was preparing to do an experiment when all of the sudden this bratty kid came by and kicked the cage. The beetle got out and - flew away."

"That sucks, kids nowadays have no appreciation for mother nature. Man, she's such a beautiful creature…" Nadine said amazement.

"She is, isn't she?" the stranger replied back. "Say, I want to show you my appreciation for finding my beetle, but I don't have anything on me right now – except for this card. So, if you happen in need of anything, just give me a call." She said as she gave Nadine the card.

"Wait a minute; this card doesn't have her name or her number on it."

"Hey, I think you gave me the wrong --" she stopped as she saw something that she couldn't believe her eyes. A hang glider shot out from the stranger's backpack. She then ran downhill to gain momentum, jumped up and instantly flew upwards into the sky. "If you're interested, come and visit us today!" she shouted from above. Still in disbelief, she looked at the card again. "Heh… Gerald. Where did you get all those urban legends?"

---

Helga trudged back home in complete irritation, muttering countinuous string of profanities. She couldn't believe that the bus left her even after she ran after it and banged the side as a signal to ask the driver to stop. But the driver didn't stop, and because of that, she had to walk 17 blocks to just get home. And because of that, she really wanted something bad to happen to that driver. She stopped at her tracks when she saw the pedestrian light went red. She rolled her eyes, and without any choice she waited for it to turn green again. As she waited impatiently, someone approached her from behind.

"Beautiful day huh?" the stranger asked.

Helga looked at the person, and scoffed. "Yeah, right sister…" the stranger was wearing a typical female outfit for the autumn season, a backpack, and a pair of sunglasses.

"Sounds like somebody is feeling a little bit moody today." The stranger said jokingly.

"Look lady, I don't know what're your motives are but mind your own goddamn business!" she pointed at her as she scowled. "I'm having a bad day today."

"Hey, wait a minute… she looks awfully familiar…"

"I can see that. Would you believe that I'm actually here to help you out, and offering you to have an experience of a lifetime?"

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you to leave-me-the-hell-ALONE?!" Helga exploded, uninterested at the offer. But the stranger still kept her cool. "I have to admit, she's one feisty character."

"Here's my card." The stranger offered her. In complete exasperation, Helga took the card, in hoping that if she took it, the stranger would leave her alone.

"Just give it a thought will you?" the stranger said with a smile.

"Whatever." She said as she put it inside her pocket, and the green light finally lit.

"Well, see you around sometimes. Gotta go!"

"Finally!"Helga thought in relief.

The stranger then pushed a button on her belt, and out comes a pair of jetpacks from her bag. Helga widened her eyes in shock, speechless at the sight. The stranger then rocketed away from her. "If you're interested, visit us todaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy…" and the voice trailed off, and she was gone from Helga's sight.

Helga had her jaw dropped all the way to the floor, still in disbelief at what she just saw. Slowly, she took the card that the stranger gave to her earlier out from her pocket, and read it.

LADIES of ESPIONAGE SISTERHOOD

Are you an adventurous person? Do you like to fight crime, helping others and playing with high tech equipments?
Then visit us today nearby the docks, at the abandoned warehouse in the Liberty District.
Alone.

"Oh my God… so Gerald is right after all... but I'll pass. It sounds too stupid for me." she said to herself as she threw the card into a trashcan and continued walking. But after a few steps, she stopped.

"Then again, I am very curious about it... arrgghh... curse you Helga ol' girl... you're going to regret it..." she argued with herself. She then walked over to the trash can and took the card out, and read the location.

At the other side of the city, an accident happened, involving a bus and a freight truck. Fortunately the passengers and the freight truck driver were okay, but same thing can't be said to the bus driver…

---

Although Helga was tired from all the walking, she kept going as she really wanted to know what was the fiasco with the jetpacks were all about, "I swear to God, if that girl is pulling any tricks on me I'll -- Phoebe? What are you doing here?" Helga stumbled upon her at a junction nearby the docks.

"I was following this instruction that some stranger gave to me, Helga." She answered as she showed Helga the card.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to take anything from strangers?" Helga said jokingly, as she reaches for Phoebe's card, "Hey, it looks just as same as mine. Is the person who gave it to you a white girl with a long auburn hair?"

"Uh, no. She's an African-American female. I believe that she's in her early twenties, probably."

"This is getting weird. C'mon, let's just go. The sooner we know what all these junk is about, the better."

"I have to concur with you." Phoebe replied.

They then walked to the designated area. Upon arrival, they saw Rhonda, Nadine and Lila, looking just as quizzical and puzzled as them.

"What are you goons doing here?" Helga said snidely.

"And what are you doing here, Pataki?" Rhonda retorted. "Hey, Pheebes." she greeted warmly.

"Some weird girl gave me and Pheebs here some stupid card. What's your story?"

"The same as yours. Apparently, all of us received a poorly manufactured card from a bunch of crazy people."

"This is ever so weird." Lila said.

"No, really, you think?" Helga said sarcastically.

"Hey, will you shut up Helga? We're all in the same predicament here, and your snide and sarcastic remarks aren't going to help us!" Rhonda scolded her in an annoyed tone.

"You should keep your stupid opinions to yourself, Princess!" Helga snapped back angrily, as she pointed her finger at her. And with that, the arguments, retorts and ripostes began, as Lila tried her best to calm both of them down.

"I sometimes wonder how I still managed to become her best friend, Phoebe." Nadine sighed as she shook her head, which the sentiment was shared by Phoebe.

"Come on, standing around idly won't help us with anything. Let's go search around and find a clue to help us with this unexpected turn of events." Phoebe suggested, and Nadine nodded at it. With the two bitter rivals still arguing in the background, Phoebe and Nadine started to look around their surroundings to find a hint. Nadine inspected around the warehouse's wall, and finally found something. "Hey, Pheebs, come and take a look at this." Nadine said, referring to a large red button with the words 'Do not push! this means you!' on top of it.

"I don't know if you should touch that, Nadine." Phoebe said, being cautious.

"Ah, come on. What could happen?" Nadine said a smile, and pushed it. Suddenly, an alarm rung loudly and made all the girls stop at what they were doing. Then, unexpectedly all of them got shot high up high in the air, because they were all trapped in a net and they were reeled upwards.

"Okay, okay. My mistake. I shouldn't have pushed it." Nadine apologized to all of them, as they looked at her irritably.

"Now, how are we supposed to get out of here?! Hey Princess, move your ass away from me!"

"Shut up, Helga! I'm already uncomfortable as it is!"

Suddenly, a door nearby was opened, revealing someone whom Helga had already known.

"I knew I remember you from somewhere! You're that girl that brought that VCR to Arnold, weren't you?!" Helga accused her, which she was right. That person was wearing a tight blue leathered uniform, with her brunette hair untied.

She chose to ignore Helga's accusation. "Okay, so which one of you touched my button?" she asked.

"Eewww!! Rephrase, PLEASE?!" Rhonda said in repulsion.

And so ends Chapter Two. I apologize if this chapter is too outrageous and too weird for you. And if there was any mistakes in this chapter, please point it out.