Human Cigarette

Recon

Martose Nationale (Former employers)

Author

**The Human Cigarette**, real name; **Jacques Dubois,** was a superhuman with the ability to conjure powerful gusts of smoke from their body after smoking a certain amount of nicotine cigarettes. He was the host of the podcast and Television talk show entitled 'Smoke & Mirrors: Discussions with the Human Cigarette', where he would invite guests to have an intellectual discussion on the current politics of the larger galaxy.

He was also a major provider and supporter for the Black Purveyors, providing them with the funding to continue their work and linking them with high calibre sources for acquiring artefacts.

## History

### Journalistic career

Jacques Dubois was born in the city of Symbique, and was very quickly found to be intellectually gifted. At only 6 years old, he found great enjoyment in the study of political science, and watching political discussions on TV. He initially wished to grow up to become a politician, however as he grew older, he found himself at odds with the ideals of the current figures in charge of the country.

Jacques would study political science and go on to become a journalist for the Martose Nationale. He was a strong vocal critic of the Prime Minister at-the-time Stephane Marichal, who he labelled as an incompetent leader that was completely out of touch with the needs of the people.

Jacques political articles would attract vitriol from supporters of the prime minister, who labelled him as a 'Human Cigarette' due to his frequent use of nicotine products and because they viewed him as an unhealthy cancer in swaying the public opinion.

Jacques would then go on to write and publish a fictional political satire novel entitled 'The Bats Whom Lead Us', which follows a young and hopeful documentarian (representing himself), being invited to interview the countries leader (representing Marichal) and over the course of a week discovering that they are a vampire who feeds off of innocent blood.

The novel quickly gain a significant amount of traction, and Jacques would be invited onto several radio shows, podcasts and talk shows to discuss his work.

### Gaining superpowers

Jacques would come to learn of VIR and the Matorsian governments public support of their endeavours. Jacques found this to be despicable, and after coming to learn of the Black Purveyors, he would source from them a method of altering his biology to gain superhuman abilities to stand in public protest of what he saw as an immoral genocide.

Jacques purchased a special kind of fauna, known as the 'Cough-Maker' due to it's foul stench that is powerful enough to make people gag, originating from an uninhabited planet on the outskirts of the galaxy. Jacques would smoke this plant, and his body was soon filled with thick smoke. His biology changed, and not only was he able to contain this smoke within him, but he was able to produce it from his body and control it.

Promptly, Jacques would design a 'superhero' persona and costume to stand in further protest of the government, appropriately naming himself 'The Human Cigarette'. His appearance was mainly for show, and he would attend various interviews, debates and press conferences whilst wearing the outfit. The only recording instance in which Jacques utilised his powers in a physical confrontation was when an associate of his was charged towards by a man who wished to cause them harm, and so Jacques produced a gust of smoke that was able to blow back and restrain the attacker.

### Black Purveyors Allegiance

Jacques would kickstart his own podcast where he would invite guests of prominent political notoriety to discuss the political climate of Martose and the greater galaxy as a whole. This was not only an audio podcast, but it also had a visual element that was filmed in a small studio set.

This show was greatly successful, and Jacques would use the revenue he had obtained to fund the efforts of the Black Purveyors. He became a great help to their cause, even using his influence to help sell their products on Elbodus. He would also link them with other providers, such as galactic explorers who could help assist in locating artefacts, arms dealers to provide them with the fire power to defend themselves and sources for the necessary equipment that was needed.

## Death

The Martosian government, having had enough of Jacques antics, notified VIR of his existence. Rajah was sent alone to assassinate Jacques, however Recon would come to learn of the situation beforehand, leaving Jacques with enough time to prepare. However, instead of retreating to safety or going into hiding, Jacques would purposefully attempt to lure Rajah to his position. He arrived at the studio set for his podcast, did not inform the other crew members of his plans, and when Rajah arrived in an attempt to kill him, he would restrain him with smoke and instruct his crew to start recording.

Jacques would then proceed to continue as if it was a regular episode, and would treat Rajah as his new special guest, keeping firmly restrained against the chair that was usually reserved for guests. Recon would come to learn of what Jacques was doing and would quickly make his way towards Elbodus in an attempt to put a quick stop to it.

Jacques would interview Rajah, curious to gain insight into the perspective of an agent of VIR and to understand why superhumans were seen as a danger that needed to be exterminated. All seemed to be going according to plan, up until Rajah was able to grab hold of his Shield Encaser from his belt and use it to break free from the gust of smoke which had pinned him down.

Before Jacques had any further time to react, Rajah shot him in the head and killed him. All of the events that transpired were recorded, but the episode was not released to the public and has since been kept locked away in Jacques' estate.

## Appearance

Jacques was a 5'5 man in his mid 40s with dark hair and a thin moustache. He possessed a wider frame and a chubbier body, which underneath possessed a fine amount of chest hair. His superhero costume consisted of a full body black suit with a featureless red triangle logo on his chest and a cowl, which seemingly featured no holes for eyes. However, Jacques was still able to see through this mask as it was made from a see-through material that was only see-through on the inside.

For his regular clothing, Jacques would choose to wear brown or black bomber jackets with a dark coloured T-shirt or sweater underneath.

## Personality

Jacques was always considered to be greatly intellectually gifted. At a young age, he found an interest in political TV channels and would always keep up to speed with the News, whilst other kids his age may have watched cartoons. His intelligence stretched beyond just an understanding of politics though, as he would also find enjoyment in solving complex mathematical equations, writing essays or fictional novellas, and engaging in larger philosophical discussions.

Whilst he was intelligent, he was also known to be eccentric. Although not eccentric in a hyper-flamboyant and outspoken sense, he had a particular sense of humour akin to a rebellious youngster whilst remaining refined and mature. As clearly demonstrated by his choice to gain superhuman abilities and dress as a superhero, Jacques was not afraid to take unconventional methods to display his thoughts.

## Powers & abilities

* **Smoke -** Jacques entire body is filled with thick smoke, which he can control with his mind. This smoke can exit his body through the pours in his skin or elsewhere and are thick enough to be able to hold people down, repulse them into a certain direction and suffocate them (although this is only somewhat presumed, as Jacques never fully utilised his abilities).
	+ **Charge -** If Jacques produces smoke from his body, he cannot bring it back in as it will dissipate once his mind lets go of control. Thus, to recharge the amount of smoke in his body, he smokes nicotine cigarettes.

## Transcripts

* Smoke & Mirrors Episode 79 (LOST EPISODE): Interview with a VIR Agent