Four weeks after Lex Luthor disappeared, Tess went to the Arctic to take command of LuthorCorp and search for signs of their missing CEO. She turned out to be the successor designated by Lex to guard all his interests in case something happen to him and immediately took control of the search project, but was forced to leave the area when they were ambushed by Oliver's team. She then made her way to Smallville to take up residence at Lex's mansion and in the process had her first encounter with Lois Lane. Tess began to look insistently at clues about the Lex's whereabouts and finally ended with a box containing the Crystal of Knowledge and a photo of a footprint that does not belong to Lex.