Gina Torres

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Fresh off her return engagement to writer/producer/director Joss Whedon’s futuristic Western world in "Serenity," the upcoming film version of his short-lived FOX science-fiction series "Firefly," Gina Torres is getting together with a few more old friends when she reprises the role of K-Directorate agent Anna Espinosa in two episodes of ABC’s "Alias."

Anna was last seen in season one, having one of her many battles with secret agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner). With the show now in its fourth season, where’s Anna been all this time?

"She was presumed dead," Torres says. "It’s almost a guarantee they’ll bring you back. You never see me die. I just sort of disappear into the night. I think their way of explaining it was, they have a conversation, trying to bring everybody up to speed, and they said, ’I thought she was dead.’" In real life, Torres went on to do "Firefly," followed by stints on Whedon’s "Angel" on The WB, along with FOX’s "24." She also appeared in "Matrix Reloaded" and "Matrix Revolutions," which starred her husband, Laurence Fishburne.

"The timing was just wrong for three years," Torres says. "It was incredibly frustrating because I loved the show, and I wanted a piece of all that, what was going on, especially because Anna was introduced in such a wonderful way. So I thought it was incredibly flattering and so wonderful that they, every year, kept me in mind. When it happened, it happened in a great way."

Torres’ episodes are "Echoes," airing Wednesday, Feb. 23, and "A Man of His Word," airing Wednesday, March 2 (9 p.m. ET, both nights).

Also returning for the two is David Anders, reprising his role as the nefarious assassin Julian Sark.

"Anna and Sark have a thing," Torres says, "but it may not be the kind of thing people were thinking."

During Anna’s first appearance, she had several knock-down, drag-outs with Sydney, and proved to be her match. But while some things may have changed, Anna’s chief opponent hasn’t.

"Who else would I be fighting with?" Torres says. "There’s only one woman for me. It’s Miss Jen. But she’s gotten better. I have to say, when we were going over our first fight sequence, I was like, ’OK, she’s gotten better. Four years ago, she was a very green agent, now she’s got all these moves. Whoah, whoah, wait a minute ...’

"It was a lot more fun when I wiped the floor with her."

Since Whedon moved Torres from "Firefly" to "Angel," one wonders whether "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams might shift her to his other show, the plane-crash drama "Lost," which airs right before "Alias" on ABC.

"I saw J.J. Abrams at the Golden Globes," Torres says, "and he had seen my ’Alias’ episodes. They had just been put together and edited, and he was really happy with them. He said, ’Would you come back?’, and I said, ’Of course, I would come back, just call. And if you need me to run out of the jungle at some point, I’d be happy to do that, too.’

"So who knows, I’m just an actress looking for work. What can I tell you?"