"Even my father sees me as a Monster that has to be chained! So be it...I'll gladly let them see what I can do."

AU Time! This time related to one of my GOATed shows, Avatar the last airbender. I remember a what if sprouted on my mind after watching Azula's breakdown. What if she somehow became phoenix emperor, not Ozai? Granted Ozai has to be usurped so I tried my best to make a chain of events that'll make her one.

Here's what I came up with: Katara heals Zuko which leads to the crossroads of destiny battle. Azula's lightning strike kills Aang (I know aang's status at the time is hotly debated; but i'm going with the original assumption that he is actually killed). But the actual divergence leading to her being crowned emperor is instead of banishing the Dai Li, she sends them on a "Mission testing their loyalty" by trying to find out why her father made her fire lord. And turns out Ozai views her as a puppet needing to be tamed. Azula sees this as a admission of her father seeing her as a monster in the same way her mother did; and a ultimate betrayal of how she is raised. A perfect gifted child now being relegated to what is essentially a co-ruler duty.

She secretly usurps her father luckily one day before Sozin's comet. Crowning herself Phoenix emperor. Without a avatar to oppose her, and nobody in the fire nation to oppose her ruling decisions. She effectively takes the reign to lead the war and finally conquer the world faster than her father can do.

But despite that, her mental state is already cracking at the seems, Ty Lee and Mai still betray Azula in this timeline, and with the combination of his father's true intentions. It further adds salt to the mental wound. She can just snap at any time.