The car slowly rolled over broken glass. Li Jie gripped the steering wheel, his gaze sweeping both sides of the road. The streets were filled with curses, sobs, and loud banging.
"Come in."
Li Jie slipped the magazine into his pocket. An officer poked his head through the doorway. "Sir, some friends of yours are here to see you."
"Friends?"
Li Jie paused, then followed him out of the office. He immediately spotted the elder Kents standing awkwardly in the middle of the station's reception area. Jonathan wore his old cowboy hat, and Martha clung tightly to his arm. Neither had even brought a travel bag. Their faces held nothing but bewilderment and fear.
"Clark?"
He hurried over and shook hands with all three of them. "Hey, Jonathan. Martha."
"Jay, I'm afraid I might have to trouble you..."
Clark Kent wore an ordinary shirt and jeans, along with those black-framed glasses that always seemed ready to slip down his nose. Although he hunched slightly, his powerful build still stood out in the police station.
"I brought my parents out, like you said..."
He looked hesitant, glancing back at Martha as she tried her best to smile at the nearby officers, then lowered his voice further. "I think Bruce's Giant Robots, and the Batcave's defenses as a whole, might make it one of the safest places on Earth right now. Safer... safer than anywhere I could find. But... I can't bring myself to ask."
Clark scratched his head, a gesture that made him look more like the farm boy from Smallville than the Man of Steel.
"You know how Bruce and I are... we respect each other, but some things..."
He gave a wry smile. "I'm not sure he'd be willing to let... ordinary people... especially my family, into his