Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Possible Plot Device--Is it actually Probable?

I had this dream last night involving L&C, and it had an interesting element that I'm thinking could be a good plot device for a fic. I'm not sure it's really feasible, or even scientifically probable (in the L&C universe, that is, since it's not even possible in ours for a man to fly), but I figured I'd put it out there.

In my dream, both Lois & Clark had super powers (I've been following Bobbart's "The Return of Ultra Woman," so I just assumed that the KE/Kryptonian Biofield thing had happened in my dream, but there could be other reasons), and they were investigating something for the Planet.

While walking somewhere in Metropolis, they came upon a suspicious building somewhere (I think there was something weird about the door, or they'd followed a suspicious person there, or something, I don't know), and went inside.

Once they got inside, they were trapped.

Yes, trapped.

Lois tried to super-speed out of there, only to find that not only was the floor virtually friction-less (and her shoes didn't have very good traction), but there was just enough Kryptonite coating the ceiling to prevent flying and to slow her down before she got halfway down the long hallway to the door. She wasn't incapacitated though--just stripped of super powers while in the hallway so that their captors could catch her long before she reached the door.

So basically, she was doing one of those "Flintstones starting the car" things, but slowing down rapidly until she was just jogging in place at normal human speed.

There were other things preventing them from trying to escape as well, such as the threat of harm to the other if one managed to escape alone, or harming an innocent trapped with them if both managed to escape.

In my dream, they were trapped for years, but that was just a dream.

What I really want to know is, do you think the friction-less floor/kryptonite ceiling/super speed reduction thing is even feasible?

I don't have any ideas at all for a fic to go with that idea, if it is ('cause my dream basically just started with them getting trapped), but would be extremely interested in reading any fics that use it.

I realized just now that people might not have noticed that there's actually a question in that big blurb up there. So, I'm bumping the thread to see if anyone has an answer. (And to see if anyone would be willing to write a fic with an actual plot where my dream plot device is used or not.)

I love these types of questions and I’m sorry I missed it the first time around. So, lets see what we can do with this:
1. Frictionless floor: Easy. Several ways to achieve this.
1a. Ice?
1b. A floor designed to seep oil. Just enough to make the surface slick.
1c. Some “high-tech” surface that is just naturally nearly frictionless.
2. Kryptonite ceiling: Sure. How about kryptonite-embedded paint? Put a high concentration in the ceiling and a lower concentration in the walls. I am assuming this is intended to contain Superman or Ultra Woman, not kill them.

I’ve never tried to design a “perfect” Superman trap before but this isn’t a bad start. I once read that a pit that it too deep for a prisoner to reach the edge and walls too smooth to scale is a perfect prison. The key to keeping Superman contained is either Kryptonite or blackmail. It sounds like you had a little of both with a frictionless floor mixed in.

For me, this does have me wondering about constructing a perfect Superman & Ultra Woman trap. However, to be perfectly honest, I’m looking forward to some time away from any Ultra Woman related stories.

Unfortunately, none of my current working ideas have a need for a Superman trap. Could be interesting though.

BTW: I hope you are enjoying RoUW!

Bob

Oooh . . . that's interesting!

I was thinking of Kryptonite-embedded paint on the ceiling, but the walls seemed like it might be too much. Like you said, contain, not kill. (And by the way, I was reminded of "When the World Found Out,"--I think . . . it's been a few years since I read that one, and I can't even remember who it's by, but there was Kryptonite paint on the walls in that story.)

Yup, lots!

And in Sue S.'s great fic "The Next Step" , Clark and Lois are trapped in a basement where the walls are covered with kryptonite paint.

Fortunately, Lois, being human, is unaffected.

Actually, this isn't responsive to your question, but I just wanted to add my $0.02 and also put in a plug for that excellent fic. Try to read the nfic version.

When the World Finds Out is by CC Aiken.

Great plot idea. Would love to see someone use it.

The only way this is an effective trap is if it drains all of their powers, not just weakens them a little as they get closer to the edges of their prison.

Clark or Lois or both would be able to lie on the floor, as far from the kryptonite as possible, then use the "vibrating at super-speed" trick to phase through the floor - since we saw him do it in the show it has to be regarded as canon - and fix things from the outside.

Or one of them could simply throw the other through the door, wall, or whatever at super-speed, momentum would presumably be conserved and unless the effect of kryptonite is instantaneous the person thrown would still be invulnerable during the fraction of a second it takes to get through the wall.

Incidentally, what happens to the prison if super-Lois and Clark both inhale and hold as much breath as possible then exhale as fast as they can? An overpressure of just a few pounds is enough to disintegrate many buildings under hurricane conditions, working together they could probably create enough overpressure to crack a concrete bunker.

You might also want to consider the effects of super-cold breath (yes, oil freezes if you get it cold enough, and reinforced concrete cracks) heat vision, etc. etc.

I'm with Marcus that the Kryptonite would have to knock out their powers. Otherwise, if it were only in the ceiling, they could still avoid the slippery floor by just hovering inches above it and 'flying' at almost floor level. (In my rare flying dreams, I'm rarely more than about three feet off the floor. They could be mere inches off it and still be horizontal.)