A/N A random idea that popped into my head.

Who selected the Avengers was a highly kept secret in SHIELD- mainly so said person wasn't harassed by rookie agents believing they have 'what it takes', although usually within a week those thoughts were quickly demolished.

Most of the agents assumed it was the result of Fury's planning while some more in the know had guessed Coulson and a few even speculated that Natasha was responsible. However the truth was something none of the agents had even considered, a fact even the Avengers weren't aware of- Clint Barton was responsible for the creation of the world's super team

He hadn't meant it. Truth be told he wasn't even aware of his scouting abilities, it went right back into his circus days, back when new acts were always searched for, something to help draw in even bigger crowds- and bigger profits. Whoever found the acts always ended up with a bonus and Clint was always in need of the bonus so eventually he became attuned to looking out for rare talents or those highly skilled and instincts like that never quite left him.

This, combined with his habit of picking all things odd and neglected (which whenever he denied, Natasha would simply point towards Lucky and raise an eyebrow knowingly) helped create the team the world now knew as the Avengers.

In the beginning it was Natasha. He convinced her to join SHIELD and work for the right side. And although Fury had flipped when he'd heard the news -

"Only Barton would recruit a God damn assassin! Who even allowed him to recruit people? Can he even recruit people?!"

-it had surprisingly worked well with the Black Widow becoming one of SHIELD's most valuable and trusted assets. The duo became a legend within the agency soon enough and unknown to the archer at the time, his skills at seeing potential had also gained a reputation although if he had known it was unlikely he would have placed value on them at the time.

The next was Tony. The story behind him was slightly odd. Clint, flicking through the channels one day caught a documentary on Stark enterprises and decided to leave it on. After thirty minutes of watching it Clint had decided that Tony Stark had to be hired by SHIELD, even to this day no one understood where exactly this insistence came from.

So after a month of nagging at Fury and Coulson they gave in and decided to give him a chance, deciding to contact him after his trip. However said trip lead to a hostage situation and the creation of iron man. The same iron man Clint had scarily predicted to be Tony Stark due to the logic of him being the only technological genius he knew.

However once Tony had revealed himself to be iron man, SHIELD decided there was no choice but to place people on the inside and once Natasha gave her evaluation of him they deemed him too unpredictable to join SHIELD in any matter. However Clint still insistent that he was right-

"But guys he was iron man! And before that he knew all that high tech stuff! I just know you've got to recruit him!"

-so an agreement was reached where he would be contacted in extreme circumstances which Fury had never expected to actually occur.

The next person Clint found was Bruce. He'd heard whispers of the hulk throughout SHIELD and despite his best intentions to stay out of something that was clearly none of his business, curiosity won out and he decided to investigate the matter himself.

This led to an all nighter watching videos on Youtube he was certain couldn't be faked and him deciding that they should have just left the green guy alone. It also led to Coulson receiving a phone call at three in the morning with Clint begging him to hire him for SHIELD-

"Clint he's unstable, there's no idea what could happen. Did you even watch the videos online?"

"Yes! And that's exactly why I'm calling, think of what he could do if he was smashing things for us!"

"And what situation would require a green monster Clint"

"Urm... the kind with alien spaceships? Wait! Give me a second to come up with something!"

"How about I just hire him when he's needed to take down spaceships? Now goodnight."

-Coulson was still terrified to this day at just how right Clint had been.

At a similar time Thor had landed on Earth. Sadly Clint hadn't been joking about rooting for the guy in his brief encounter with him, he really did and had stuck around in New Mexico to see how things turned out.

Two days after he had left Clint had coyly approached Coulson's desk-

"Don't even bother asking, Clint we can't hire someone who's not on the planet"

"But what if he was?"

"Fine if Thor ever happens to return I promise I will personally escort him to the helicarrier and do whatever it takes to make sure he works with us even if it kills me."

"Okay."

-It terrified Clint this time at how just how right Coulson had been.

Finally there was Steve. While Coulson was the supreme fanboy, Clint liked to consider himself the second in command when it came to the Steve Rodgers fan club. So he had been pretty excited like everyone else when it was discovered Captain America was still alive and kicking. He also personally decided that he should get back into action – after all he has literally just left world war two. Fury on the other hand didn't agree-

"Come on, he needs to be active and back in the world"

"He's a solider Barton not a spy."

"Well what if there was a battle? Then you'd have to recruit him"

"Fine when some idiot comes along stupid enough to invade us I will go visit him and recruit him for SHIELD! Now get out of my office!"

And that was how Clint Barton accidentally formed the Avengers.

It was a surprise to most that when Clint came running to Fury and Coulson with reports of two new twin super humans under the names Quick Silver and Scarlet Witch currently being held and how SHIELD was going to need them, that his mission to retrieve them was instantly approved-

"...held in some hidden lab somewhere I know there's no information or any sources but I know it seems odd but SHIELD needs them because-"

"Mission seems valid, take what you need Barton"

"-but you're not listening! Wait, what? Coulson what's wrong with Fury?"

"Just go on the mission Clint"

- Coulson and Fury went to plan for the arrival of two new Avengers and whatever danger they'll inevitably be helping save the world from.