Clark's first day on the job at the Daily Planet begins with a bus exploding right outside the building, which leads him and Lois on a trail of someone who might be infected by kryptonite. Chloe finds a runaway teenage girl, named Bette, whom Chloe suspects is involved in the explosion when Bette (whom will later become the fire-starter Plastique) has the meteor-rock power of pyrokinesis. In the meantime, Chloe also meets a local medic, named Davis Bloom, who takes an interest in her, even though she's engaged to Jimmy Olsen. Elsewhere, Tess meets Clark for the first time as she takes over the Daily Planet in Lex's absence and immediately senses something not right about him.

Chloe mysteriously returns to Smallville where she gives Clark the idea of killing Davis by telling him he can't keep the beast under control. Unknown to Clark, Tess has gotten together a kill-team affected by meteor rocks to track down Davis so Clark can kill him, but things get out of control when Tess' team discovers that she betrayed them. Meanwhile, Oliver, as the Green Arrow, agrees to help Clark look for things that can stop Davis by breaking into Tess' safe at the mansion to steal some black Kryptonite hoping to separate the two entities apart, while Chloe is revealed not who she appears to be, and Tess is working for another greater power beyond everyone else.

Oliver tracks down his tormentor Rick Flag, learns he exchanged him for Chloe, who died poisoned, and informs Clark, who helps him work out Chloe actually staged her fake death. On her Daily Planet assignment in Egypt, Lois meets archaeologist Carter Hall ans soon suspects his story about a reincarnated Pharaonic prince is autobiographic. Clark dislikes her staff replacement Cat Grant, but saves her from never identified, yet infallible assassin Deadshot and learns he was the actual target, actually hired by Flag, knowing Superman's weakness is his noble need to protect.