Clarity

For Catherine Crane, life was muddled, murky. In a word, miserable. Until the eclipse made everything clear.

***

Legally blind from birth, Catherine saw everything through an extraordinarily narrow lens. Her sight was nonexistent save for one exceedingly small point on each of her pupils—tunnel vision that forced her to put puzzle pieces together to realize the faces of those around her.

Due to this fragmented way of seeing the world, she could make heads nor tails of most things. She felt unsafe in most public spaces. But her sharp mind and quick wit kept her spirit strong. She longed for a clearer, brighter view of her surroundings and the people she encountered.

The eclipse granted her wish.

Unafraid, she tilted her head toward the sun the day it occurred. She fixated her pointed gaze on the center of the blazing ball and did not look away when the black lens crossed between them. In that instant, the roadblocks in her mind fell away like dominoes.

She could still barely see, but now, things were so clear.

That day, Catherine Crane became Clarity. Some call it telepathy, but she does not. All she knows is this: after witnessing the eclipse, she could truly see people. Their memories, their hopes, their desires. The good, the bad and the ugly.

Everyone she sees is mesmerized by her stare, pulled in and entrapped—like flies in a beam of light. If they have nothing to hide, she lets them go. If their thoughts scare her, they lose their sight forever.

Clarity sees the good in people, but will spot anything wicked lurking beneath the surface. She is one of the more feared superheroes of her time, for no one truly knows where her threshold lies in determining who is inherently 'bad' versus 'good'.