"Why do I have to wear this ridiculous costume?" Sivana snapped. He was wearing a long brown robe that had obviously been meant for someone shorter.

"Because we want Eclipso to recognize us as his masters," Luthor reminded him. He was also wearing a robe although his fit better due to the several inches he had on Sivana. Mercy stood just behind him, arms folded behind her back. In contrast she wore a red dress that stopped mid-thigh and a long black coat and boots. Her long blond hair had been braided and dark sunglasses were perched on her nose. Although she was a no nonsense woman and possessed very little jewelry a golden pentagram hung around her neck and matched her earrings and bracelets. Lex wore a matching necklace as well as bracelets.

The right side up pentagram would protect them from getting possessed especially as they had been blessed by a priest that used his magical abilities strictly for the protection of others. Sivana had no use for such 'trinkets' as he called them and neither Mercy nor Lex cared enough to insist.

The sorcerers performing the summoning ceremony had far too much confidence in themselves, at least according to Mercy and her boys. Fortunately the ceremony didn't require a lot of magical power (Mercy could have done it herself but Lex had insisted on finding someone else to do it just in case things went wrong) and anyone more skilled might have actually been capable of stealing control and destroying them.

Mercy had her boys standing by outside in case of an emergency but she doubted that they would be needed. She was confident in her ability to protect Lex. Sivana could look after himself, she thought derisively.

"Silence," one of the sorcerers ordered, shrinking back a little when the three of them glared at him. "Please," he added as an afterthought.

Once they had acquiesced to his demands he turned back to his compatriots as they began chanting. Mercy looked pained at their stupidity as they hadn't even bothered make sure that the magic circles were drawn right or that the pronunciation of the incantations was correct. She stepped closer to Luthor as the circles began to light up and a figure appeared in the center of the group.

"Who dares to summon Eclipso?" a growl emanated from the figure as it became more solid. He appeared to be Luthor's height with pointed ears and a blue and red stocking cap on his head. His face was blue on one half and flesh colored on the other, each looking like a perfect half-moon. His clothing also appeared rather old-fashioned and jester like as it mirrored his face.

'We do," Luthor said as he and Sivana stepped forward.

Eclipso sneered at them. "What could puny humans such as yourselves offer me, the god of revenge? You certainly can't offer me vengeance on God, the one who threw me out nor can you help me wipe out mankind."

"We seek revenge on the ones who stand in our way of global domination," Luthor answered.

Eclipso raised an eyebrow. "The two of you are trying to take over the world? Hmm. Perhaps mankind is more ambitious than I had given them credit for."

"Enough!" Sivana snapped. "We hold the Black Diamond and it controls you so you'd better shut up and listen to us!"

"I don't care for your attitude," Eclipso scowled.

"Ignore my colleague; he has no people skills to speak of." Luthor ignored Sivana's squawks of outrage and continued speaking. "Seeing as how we possess the Black Diamond you are required to answer to us. However, I see no reason for this to get ugly. After you finish the task we give you then we will set you free."

"I did not agree to this!" Sivana howled.

"Mr. Luthor is talking," Mercy's hand Clamped down on Sivana's shoulder. "Once he finishes or you are addressed then you may speak but not before then."

Sivana wanted nothing more than to kick her but reconsidered. The momentary satisfaction he felt would not be worth the inevitable pain and possible death. He'd heard the stories of what happened to Luthor's last business associate that had slapped her on the ass. He was now a monk living in Tibet and missing a hand.

"What do you want me to do?" Eclipso asked. "I May agree to your terms after i know the full extent of your plans."

"We need you to take down the Justice League," Luthor handed Eclipso a file. "They are the so called heroes of this world. There are seven of them: Superman, he's an alien. Wonder Woman is from Themsycira, Cyborg is half-man and half-machine. Batman has no superpowers and Green Lantern had a power ring which is limited only by his will power. Shazam-"

He was cut off by Eclipso who snarled, his face twisted by anger and hatred. "That pesky wizard is still around?! No wonder you needed my help."

This…could work in their favor, Mercy mused. Maybe.

"Wait a minute," Eclipso frowned as he pulled out some of the pictures. "This isn't Shazam; it must be another one of his champions. Oh well. They're still fun to torture even if they're almost impossible to kill," he smiled fondly.

"You mean I can't kill the Big Red Cheese?" Sivana looked beyond furious at the thought. "That's not fair!"

Mercy rolled her eyes. She had cautioned Lex against using Sivana for particularly this very reason: the man (if he could even be called that) was an overly dramatic person complete with temper tantrums and nervous breakdowns. The only reason there were even any stockholders left was most likely due to his undeniable brilliance and the fact that they were genuinely scared of him. Mercy had met his children and felt an immense amount of pity for them all, especially Beautia who was a good-hearted creature that devoted most of her time to raising her three younger siblings.

Eclipso looked as annoyed as Mercy felt as he glared at Sivana and said, "I didn't say that it was impossible to kill him only that it was difficult. His champions are always beyond difficult to kill, especially in god form. They possess a human form and a god form which they can turn into at will. If they aren't killed then both forms can last for an eternity. It's easier to kill the human form but it's even more difficult to find as it doesn't usually resemble the god form at all."

"That explains a lot," Lex frowned. "He acts like a child but I always just assumed that he had brain damage or something but you're saying that he may actually be a child after all."

"That's correct," Eclipso nodded. "As long as they can say the name of the wizard their age doesn't matter."

"Wonderful," Lex groaned even as a frown appeared on Mercy's face. They were villains true but both she and Lex drew the line at killing kids.

"This will be a challenge," Sivana chuckled, rubbing his hands gleefully.

"Superman's weakness is magic and kryptonite," Lex informed Eclipso. "Shazam is fair game but if you absolutely have to attack him you are not allowed to do it when he is in human form."

"Hey!" Sivana snapped. "He's my villain, not yours."

Mercy squeezed Sivana's shoulder tightly. "You will treat Mr. Luthor with respect or you can lose your tongue. If you wish to kill Shazam you can do it on your own time but I warn you, if you try to kill him before this partnership is over I will break every bone in your body and grind them into a fine powder which I will sprinkle on my supper. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sivana growled through gritted teeth. Once Mercy had removed her hand he winced before rubbing at his shoulder. He was definitely going to have a bruise there.

"If you require anything from us let us know," Lex ordered.

"I doubt you can help me but I'll go ahead and get started," Eclipso grinned then disappeared in a plume of smoke.

"Well this wasn't fun," Sivana grumbled as he left, the sorcerers having already slipped out.

"Keep an eye on him," Lex ordered once Sivana had disappeared.

"Already on it," Mercy pulled out her phone. "I'll have the boys follow him and make sure he doesn't try to do anything stupid. Should I contact Spec and have him see if he can learn Shazam's identity?"

Lex considered then shook his head. "I highly doubt he'll find anything and I don't want to tip off the Justice League."

"Of course," Mercy nodded. "You have a meeting in thirty minutes with Ted Kord."

Lex sighed. "We're getting something to eat first."

"Of course, sir."