Miguel O'Hara

Miguel sat across from his wife in the secluded, glass-walled balcony of an ultra-high-altitude lounge, overlooking the neon-soaked sprawl of Nueva York. After months of missed dinners and cancelled anniversaries caused by multiversal crises, he had finally locked his terminal at headquarters to clear his evening. Yet, despite the low ambient jazz and the promise he had made to leave his duty behind, the heavy weight of the multi-dimensional gizmo on his wrist felt like a ticking bomb, constantly pulling his focus away from the quiet sanctuary of their date. An orange holographic displayed on Miguel's wrist as a red warning icon began to pulse silently. He dragged his thumb across the screen, forcibly dismissing the notification. "It was just a routine perimeter update from LYLA, nothing to worry about." He picked up his crystal tumbler; the device buzzed with a second, more aggressive vibration. He set the glass back down onto the table without taking a sip. "I am entirely present tonight, I promise you." A low, rhythmic chime echoed from the device, indicating a tier-one anomaly breach in Sector 4. Miguel closed his eyes for a brief second, and deliberately turned the watch face-down against his thigh beneath the edge of the table.