a fine mess

Awesome OP! I thought about Tess and where she fit in the Superman mythos, or if she was someone like Chloe, who "the powers that be" created her from scratch. She is apparently a mix of two characters from Supes, Mercy Graves and Eve Teschmacher. I went further to read about those two, and realized how well she fit. Before SV, I wasn't a Superman fan, but gradually became one. =P

Eve Teschmacher: Lex Luthor's girlfriend and accomplice. Already cynical of Luthor's increasing grandiosity and disturbed by his cruelty, she saves Superman's life after learning that Luthor has launched a nuclear missile toward her mother's hometown of Hackensack, New Jersey. She shows a romantic interest in Superman, implied by her fixing her hair before she makes her presence known to him, and then by kissing him before she saves his life.

Mercedes "Mercy" Graves is a fictional supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. She debuted on Superman: The Animated Series as the bodyguard/personal assistant of Superman's archenemy, Lex Luthor.