Kuvira examined the crowd of the open-air amphitheater as the ceremony for Wu's coronation began. Tonraq was in the very front of the crowd, as was Firelord Zuko, and of course, Suyin. Su couldn't even look at her. She avoided glancing at Tonraq but deep down she wondered how he would react to her announcement. She knew Su would hate it. She hoped Firelord Zuko and President Raiko wouldn't incite a war against her. But how would her adoptive father feel?
Only half paying attention, she watched in a special seat at the back of the stage as the audience half-heartedly cheered Wu on for officially becoming the king of the earth kingdom. He didn't have on any of the normal traditional regalia, only his normal clothes. Technically she was supposed to be on the lookout for those special royal and historical items, but she truly didn't care where that stuff ended up. It meant nothing to her.
"The recipient of the Earth Kingdom's Medal of Honor is the woman who has done more for our nation than anyone else combined," Wu announced, "given the nickname 'The Iron Maiden' by the people, Kuvira!" He turned and gestured to her.
She stood up gracefully and let him place the medal around her neck. She could feel it's cheap Republic City manufacturing before it even hit her chest. It was almost cruel, being given the highest honor in the earth kingdom, only for it to be made on former territory that was now colonized by the descendants who nearly wiped out her own ancestors. "Thank you," she said, careful to hide her distain of Wu, "may I say a few words?"
The acoustics in the amphitheater behind the palace was best she had ever heard. She hadn't even raised her voice, but she could hear it echoing across the stands.
He muttered, "I don't see why not since we have six hours to fill." He sulked off to the side.
Kuvira turned to face the people and said, "When I originally stepped in to help my nation, I was told after the queen was murdered there was some tidying up that needed to happen before we fell into ruin. I thought I could step in and bring the earth kingdom back to how the queen ran things. I was wrong. It's taken me three long years to get this nation on track. My crew and I have shed blood, sweat, and tears for what the earth kingdom had become under the pathetic rule of kings and queens. I refuse to stand by and let this bought and paid-for spoiled prince slide it back into the hell I pulled it out of. I'm only here now to announce the earth kingdom is no more. This man has no authority." She gestured to Wu standing behind her as the crowd gasped.
"What?" Wu asked, "But I was just crowned king! This is my stage!"
"From here on out the old earth kingdom is officially the earth empire!" she continued, "Everyone under my rule as empress will continue to enjoy prosperity, equality, and peace in the new age of the earth empire!" She smiled as the crowd went wild. The entire amphitheater shook as people leapt out of their seats, clapping, and screaming at the top of their lungs. The world leaders on the other hand were more than shocked. She glanced at Su's angry glare.
A reporter in the front of the crowd shouted over the cheers, "What is your first order of business as Empress?"
As Kuvira spoke, the cheers quieted enough for her to the heard. "I'm glad you asked, the empire has no need for a palace." She turned around to face the back of the monstrously sized building.
She did what she does best, destroy buildings. She felt the earth move under her feet. As she stomped the ground, a massive crack appeared and ripped through the palace walls. She pushed and pulled her hands back and forth, and even from a good 50-80 or so feet away, she felt the walls shake and crumble under her touch. Wu nearly fainted from the shock.
"Kuvira, no!" Su shouted from the crowd.
The dust kicked up, covering everything in sight as the rocks fell apart. The palace was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. More cheers came from her supporters as the world leaders' jaws dropped.
Kuvira said, "And let me make myself clear for my fellow world leaders. If anyone crosses our borders and tries to stand in our way, they will be crushed." She used metalbending to crush the medal around her neck and threw it to the ground. "No further questions."
She turned around as if she owned the entire planet and gracefully walked away. She glared at Wu so hard he collapsed. It was over. She did what she came to do, make her mark on the world, and judging by the reaction of the crowd, they were happy she did.
Back on The Iron Maiden outside of the outermost wall of Ba Sing Se, Kuvira and Baatar were in the office cabin. Kuvira sat behind the desk as Bolin entered the space. "Hi," he said awkwardly, "that was way more intense than I expected it to be." He knew she was planning on taking over and not relinquishing her power, but he had no idea she was going to destroy the palace.
"You got the point across, Kuvira," Baatar said, "exactly what you wanted."
Bolin anxiously pointed his fingers together as he asked, "We're not actually going to crush anyone, are we?"
"Only if they attack us first," she replied, "then they'll be seen as the aggressors, and we'll simply be seen as defending ourselves."
Baatar said, "That is good. I like it."
Bolin said, "It still makes me nervous that you just threw the crown prince off of his own throne and then destroyed the palace in front of everyone. Doesn't that make us look bad? I feel like that makes us look bad."
"Would you rather be ruled by him?" Kuvira asked seriously.
"No," he answered honestly, putting his hands up, "I wouldn't! I do think you're a better ruler, honest! That's why I'm so torn right now. I wish you were born a princess and then you would be the ruler of the earth kingdom now anyway and no one would be able to see this as a problem." He paused. "I still can't believe you ruined a whole building. Isn't that part of our history? Shouldn't we have kept it even if you won't be living in it?"
Kuvira said, "History is what got us into this mess. Having a promising future is what's going to get us out of it." She looked through the papers on her desk and handed him an opened up and carefully folded newspaper article. "Read this."
Bolin took it and read the title, "Earth Kingdom Palace Needs to be Condemned." He stopped, "What?"
Baatar explained, "Only homeless vagrants have been living in it for the past three years. Whatever wasn't stolen was broken, including all the heating elements. It needed a huge renovation anyway, we did them a favor. Besides, it's just a building, Bolin. There are plenty of other ones far older than that one in the oldest parts of the kingdom if you're that worried about preserving history."
"Kuvira," a guard said, stepping inside, "you have a visitor."
"Not now," she said.
He asked, "Don't you want to know who it is first?"
Baatar said as-matter-of-factly, "If it's my mother, we're not interested."
"It's Chief Tonraq of the southern water tribe," he answered, raising his eyebrow.
Kuvira couldn't hide her surprise. Her jaw dropped for a moment before she could collect herself. She said, "Let him in."
"Why is Korra's dad here?" Bolin asked.
"We're leaving," Baatar said, avoiding the answer and physically shooing him out.
Tonraq entered the room just as they left. Kuvira looked down at her desk and asked, "What did you think of my speech and demonstration?"
He answered, "Part of me is proud of you, Kuvira."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You're proud of me?" she asked. She sat at the desk, completely stunned. Her eyes forgot to blink. Did she hear him right? No, she couldn't have. It wasn't possible. No parental figure in her entire life had ever expressed pride for her accomplishments. More than ever, she wanted a truth seer by her side, telling her he was being completely honest. What if he was lying in an attempt to manipulate her.
He sat down in a chair across from her and said, "Yes, I am. I don't think anyone else could have achieved everything you have so quickly." He paused. "Part of me is also worried about you."
"Worried?" she asked, finally remembering how to function.
Tonraq explained, "You promised everyone three years ago you would relinquish your emergency power back over to the monarchy, but you've gone back on your word and now you're making everyone nervous as to what's to come next. Never mind the fact that you just took down an 800-year-old building."
"The world leaders only want Wu as king because he's so easy to manipulate," Kuvira said, "even the blind can see that. He doesn't care about the citizens of this nation. He doesn't care about projecting strength or maintaining stability or helping the very people who give him money. Every time he meets me, he only cares about how I look and never mentions what I've accomplished. What qualifies him to lead this nation?"
Tonraq sat back, looked up at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and muttered to himself, "Suyin warned me you were difficult to argue with."
Kuvira asked, "Is there anything else you're worried about?"
"I didn't come here just to represent myself," he answered, "the other world leaders and I talked, and they're worried about what you're going to do once the empire is fully reunited under your control."
"Once all of the regions are united," she explained, "I'll do my best to guide them into the future and tie up any loose ends."
He raised an eyebrow. "What kind of loose ends?"
"Corruption," she said, "I've been culling it from the beginning, but it's doesn't back down easily. But neither do I." She glanced back at him and asked, "What are you going to tell the world leaders now?"
"That you're determined to finish what you started," he answered, shrugging, "I don't suppose you'd be willing to hand over power to King Wu now that we've talked, would you?"
She shook her head and stood up.
Tonraq stood up and said, "It was worth a shot. I want you to know, as your father I'll always love you as if you were my biological daughter, no matter what happens now. I don't know what you plan to do next, but I hope you've thought everything through." He extended his arms.
Kuvira gave him a genuine hug and replied, "I have. It was nice seeing you again."
