Name: Lotus Albrook

Realm of Origin: Second Realm

Current Status: Apparently Deceased

One of many ass-kicking ninjas running around in my works, Lotus Albrook was one of the characters that made the jump from Second Realm to Realmwalkers continuity. Her first official appearance was in The Traveler Chronicles as a Dark Dance assassin that tangles with our heroes early on. I didn't have many plans for her at first, but she was one of those characters that grew onto me in time. From here, her life starts to get interesting.

It soon came to light that Lotus was the sister of one Lily Albrook, the same Lily Albrook that happened to be dating one of the Travelers by the name of Mani. That added a slight kink into her mission, seeing as one of the guys she was trying to take out was none other that her younger sister's boyfriend. Things only got worse for Lotus after the apparent death of Lily by the hands of Phantom, an agent of Lord Paradox, whom Dark Dance was currently employed by. The incident served as a wakeup call for the young assassin, who then turned her back on the organization that trained her. There is an attempt on her life, in which she is rescued by a few Travelers. Renouncing her assassin ways, she joins them in their fight against Lord Paradox.

Moving on to Realmwalkers, we meet Lotus Albrook once again in Natalie 5, but this time with a pretty hefty bounty on her head. It seems that Dark Dance is still a little pissed about her taking off and womanhandling several of their agents in the process. In the meantime, she has been hired by Ms. Mei-Lynn Zhang, a very wealthy young woman that apparently has some beef with Dark Dance herself. Once everything is said and done, though, Lotus finds herself going toe-to-toe with her Dark Dance replacement, and was apparently pushed out of a very high hotel window during the scuffle. Natalie and company were forced to flee the city shortly afterwards, so no one could confirm or deny her death.

Rumors: During the time of Realmwalkers, there was some speculation from a few of the writers that Lotus and her associate Mei-Lynn were perhaps... well, shall I say, a bit more than friends. While I never out and out said it, I'll just go on record and state that both characters possess some bi-tendencies. And no, you won't get a story or drawing illustrating that fact. At least, not anytime soon.

The Future: I'm sure that you all noticed that I have her current status as being apparently deceased, which means that there is a chance that she'll show up again. Of course the next question is this- if you recall the chapter of her demise, Gwen cut off all of that pretty hair as a trophy before sending her through the window. I'm wondering exactly how Lotus will look without her trademark long, red locks if she does come back.