"Who is this guy?" Dr. Sivana looked at everyone with eyes that were careful yet scrutinizing. This made Livewire a bit dissatisfied, so she asked Poison Ivy and Killer Frost beside her.
Unlike Livewire, who had dropped out of school early to become a streamer, both Poison Ivy and Killer Frost had degrees. Caitlin had even spoken with Dr. Sivana before, but with her white hair, black eye shadow, and full punk outfit now, he simply didn't recognize her.
The two quietly told Livewire the answer. The former streamer didn't understand why Thea had brought an archaeologist here, but she was wise enough not to ask.
Thea ignored her subordinates' whispered discussions. She was very busy right now. She needed to use Horus's divine power to open a backdoor in Black Adam's mental gap, allowing Grodd's psychic power to enter smoothly.
Horus's divine power could be said to be the earliest divine power she had encountered. Although she had spiritually transformed several times since then and completely erased the various divine marks, simply simulating it was still possible.
The image of the hawk god reappeared in Black Adam's mental world, immediately attracting the attention of the Horus divine power within him. Thea didn't immediately absorb and assimilate this portion of divine power. The power of the six gods was the foundation of Shazam's power, just like Thea's magic—they also pursued attribute balance.
If she absorbed a single divine power, the remaining portions would immediately collapse, and Thea would suffer a huge loss.
Her simulation was ambiguous, drawing the attention of Horus's divine power. Taking advantage of this gap, Grodd's mental control quickly drilled through the opening.
"How is it?" Seeing Grodd had entered, Thea also withdrew. Divine power had assimilative properties—if she didn't absorb others, others would absorb her.
"Resistance still exists. It's difficult for me to control him," Grodd's voice responded promptly.
Thea wasn't surprised. Black Adam was, after all, a top-tier magical character. After thousands of years of accumulation, divine and magical power had subtly transformed him.
It was only the seal that limited him. Otherwise, he might have even become a magical creature.
Thea signaled for Deadman to also join the control. The rogue duo's control abilities were highly complementary. In the original timeline, Deadman could briefly possess Batman, and Grodd could control Mongul. The combat records of both "people" could be called formidable. Now working together, there was almost no one who could withstand their combined efforts.
Even though Black Adam was in a coma, his face was full of pain. Despite his efforts to persist, unfortunately, after half an hour of tug-of-war, his psychic power was exhausted and he finally succumbed.
"Boss, how is it?" The one who ultimately gained control of Black Adam's body was Deadman. This somewhat sleazy guy moved around in place, seeming pleased to have beaten the gorilla to the punch.
Poor Grodd had worked so hard for so long, only to be beaten by a step by Deadman. He was so angry he kept spitting.
Thea pushed the gorilla aside and signaled Deadman to begin transmitting divine power.
"Slower, steady output, more evenly..." Thea kept instructing Deadman. Vast original divine power began to be continuously transmitted from Black Adam's body into Thea's.
Thea carefully savored it. The opponent's application method was actually similar to hers—both degrading divine power into magic for use. However, because it was granted through ritual without true ownership, it normally existed in divine power form, naturally decomposing into corresponding magic during combat to enhance the user.
In her view, this method was completely heretical, extremely detrimental to the long-term development of one's mind and heart. Things that weren't truly yours—what was the point of practicing them to perfection?
Six different attributes of divine power began pouring into her body. Thea frowned slightly. The divine power was genuine—vast, magnificent, and unstoppable. Compared to these advantages, the disadvantages were even more prominent: too many impurities.
What were impurities to her were actually the essence of each deity. Thea, who pursued pure uniqueness, didn't like these divine characteristics at all. She only wanted to be herself, not have all sorts of messy things interfering with her.
When the divine power output reached a critical point, just as Thea was about to gain Shazam's transformation, she called stop. This amount of energy was the maximum divine power she could contain without affecting her origin.
"How much was output?" Thea asked.
"About a quarter of the total," Deadman estimated carefully for a long time.
That meant she needed three more inputs. Black Adam's resistance would weaken more and more as his divine power drained. Thea told everyone to go back, leaving only Deadman and Grodd, and of course Dr. Sivana.
Things like Thoth's wisdom and Shu's stamina—these characteristics of the six gods were essence to ordinary people, but impurities to her. She definitely couldn't absorb them. At the same time, to avoid alerting the senile Shazam and ruining the more valuable gift package of Billy Batson later, finding a new host for these divine power residues was the urgent priority.
For the new host of these impurities, was there a better candidate than Dr. Sivana, who was obsessed with mysticism?
Most of Thea's magic was wrapping around the newly acquired divine power, but a simple suggestion spell wasn't difficult for her.
Dr. Sivana was instantly hit. The suggestion spell constantly collided with his imagination until he thought of the most favorable reason for Thea.
"Watch him." Thea instructed Grodd to watch Dr. Sivana while she began absorbing this unprecedentedly massive divine power.
Discern, separate, absorb. Massive divine power merged into herself, then converted into pure magic. Her own realm began rapidly ascending, quickly reaching what she classified as late-stage demigod.
Then she communicated with the holy sword, underwent heroic spirit transformation, and completely discarded the portion of divine power essence that refused to merge with herself.
A multicolored sphere of light was separated by her. This mass representing the precious essence of the six gods' characteristics was a supreme treasure to others, but to her, it was no different from poison.
"Dr. Sivana, your years of tireless loyalty deserve this gift. Accept my present." After Thea finished speaking, she shot this sphere of light into the bald doctor's body.
The future Billy Batson could turn a grown tiger into a mage, which showed that Shazam's power had absolutely no requirements for personal aptitude. Whoever got it could use it.
Just as she had guessed, even though Dr. Sivana was as dull to magic as a rock, he still merged with this essence. The same outfit as Black Adam before appeared on him—black cloak, black hood, and an identical lightning symbol on his chest. It was just that the substance had all been absorbed by Thea, leaving him with only the gods' skin.
Even so, Dr. Sivana was still extremely excited. The surging power and flight ability made him ecstatic, his bald head bobbing so fast it was dizzying to watch.
When he calmed down, Thea said, "Doctor, just like that guy on the ground, you just need to shout the incantation 'Shazam' to transform. If you want to cancel it, shout the same thing..."
She instructed him to stay in place. There were still three masses of divine power residue waiting for him to receive.