NERDS is an spy agency.
The acronym stands for the National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society. That name is kinda cool sounding, at least until you work out the acronym, which we started with so you do not have to, and then you see, as the Director admits, is "unfortunate". To me making it even worse is the fact that people writing it never, ever use periods between the letters so it stops being like an acronym and more like someone shouting the wordl
To understand the reason for the existence of NERDS, we are given a brief history of spies throughout, well, history and how they were really cool and all that. At least up until the creation of the computer and the super cool gadgets people started making with new technology and then finding out that the operatives in the field were oh so bad with using them and tons of bad things happened all the time. So the question became how to use these breakthroughs to help with spy stuff if those using them were either really bad at it or just plain scared.
The solution came with the realization that "there was only one group of people in the country with no fear of technology: children. The government quickly realized the advantages of recruiting children to do clandestine work. They are small, and adults often ignore them and underestimate their abilities and intelligence. In other words, children make great spies. So, in 1977, the government formed the NERDS."
"Membership in the organization follows strict rules. Only a child can be an agent. Each agent is retired from active duty at the age of eighteen. No one can know of the NERDS' existence. Their work is done in secret."
That is when we are allowed to meet the current set of NERDS, a team of eleven-year-old super spies who have not only embraced the tech, they have been major-league amped up with nanotechnology which gives them really cool abilities. The team members are:
Duncan 'Gluestick' Dewey: He's a paste-eater who can stick to walls.
Ruby 'Pufferfish' Peet: Her allergies help her detect danger and dishonesty.
Heathcliff 'Choppers' Hodges: He controls minds with his buckteeth.
Julio 'Flinch' Escala: His hyperactivity gives him super speed and strength.
Matilda Wheezer Choi: Her inhalers enable her to fly and blast enemies.
Jackson 'Braceface' Jones, the new recruit. This metal mouth is the team's go-to gadget guy . . . if only he can get over becoming a NERD.
It is important to make special note of the last person on that list, Jones. When we first encounter him, he is not a nerd - he is an anti-nerd, aka a jock, and he has a particular nasty attitude towards any and all nerds, especially the ones in his school. That is Nathan Hale Elementary, in case you were wondering. At that facility he was the hippest of dudes; everyone (minus the nerds) loved him, even the teachers. Until the dentist visit. Then major work was needed followd by ... braces!! We're talking big time metal "protruded out of his mouth and encircled his head like Saturn's rings". And it was magnetic, so wow!
He was not chosen, really, to become a NERDS operative, he kinda just discovered the truth then, well, maybe you should read the stories.