Tess awakened in Cadmus Labs, mysteriously returned to life, with her face completely healed. She met "Alexander" (a conscious pre-pubescent clone of Lex), who told her how she survived. Tess discovered a multitude of clones engineered from Lex's DNA, and accidentally released an older psychotic clone, who incapacitated and imprisoned her in the facility, knowing that Clark would soon come to rescue her. When Clark eventually appeared, Tess relayed the clone's message to meet at Riley Field and later, when she returned to the Luthor Mansion, she took "Alexander" to live with her.