The Power of Sandstorm!

I'm Lombard Ogleson, leader of the Federal hero team, P.A.C. It stands for Parahuman Activity Commission. I could think of loads better names, but couldn't everyone? They call me Sandstorm. Not to boast, but I'm probably the most powerful member of my team. I'm what they call, a lord class elemental. I can control elements and weather. But I don't stop there. I can actually shape shift into those same elements and weather.

My control is pinpoint accurate down to my very molecules so I can change parts of my body individually. I can be half fire, half ice, if I want to. I can merge with the ground under our feet or dissipate into air. In air form, I can travel at high speeds that carry me from one coast to coast in minutes. I can do the same thing by traveling through the Earth, or in water if I merge with it.

My powers basically just happened to me when I was a grunt in Vietnam. My friends were dead and the enemy was all around me. In my state of stress, I turned into a whirling sandstorm and de-fleshed them all to the bone. I had no idea what I was doing. It just happened. Later on, the CIA recruited me for deep cover missions all over the world.

To look at me, you'd think I'm not old enough to have been in Vietnam. That's because my powers slow my aging. I look like I'm in my thirties somewhere, but I'm actually in my late sixties.

I'm constantly in tune with nature around me. I can detect movement in the crust of the Earth or weather events over a thousand miles away. I can detect pollution levels and sometimes they're toxic to me. I can heal almost any injury by converting myself to an element and back again. Scientists with the Powers Institute think I could even grow back and arm or leg. I'm not eager to try that out.

I've been to places on Earth that no man could reach. I'm talking about the heart of a volcano or the deepest trenches in the sea. I've been to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. I can draw strength from elements around me and even become a giant to get almost any kind of job done.

I take my missions seriously and I have little regard for the crooked scum I have to face. Still, I follow the law. I try to move combat situations away from populated areas and do my best to protect bystanders. I don't know how far my powers can really go and sometimes that scares me. I've never tried to create big earthquakes, but I can become bigger than an F5 tornado.

Sometimes people ask me why I don't control the weather all the time, so it's always a nice day or to prevent tornadoes from forming. Well, for one, messing with the weather has drawbacks and can trigger a domino effect in even worse weather. It's really best to let nature take its course 9 times out of 10. Also, I'm not a god. I can't be everywhere at once, so I don't try to be.

During the Chaos incident, I had to take my powers to their limits, even in outer space. I did things I never realized I could do. It's amazing what necessity and desperate times can bring out of you.

Well, I gotta go. There's a gang fight going on in lower Manhattan and I know who their leader is. If you're ever in New York, and you have powers; use them wisely or we may have to talk.

Sandstorm is in the upcoming novel: Chaos Rising! Be on the lookout!