Lies My Mother Told Me, by Caroline Spector

There are a whole lot of authors involved in the Wild Cards series, but the consistency is really quite good.  I haven't read any in awhile, but Lies My Mother Told Me is quite consistent with the theme.  It's edited by George R. R. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass, and our story appears in his Dangerous Women anthology.

The premise is pretty simple, but leaves infinite room.  A virus has emerged that changes people, without regard to physics or logic.  Any power or curse is possible.  So we instantly get superheroes and supervillains.  No problems with how they get the powers.

Our story here shows how the politics of the long series continue to evolve.  Bubbles, a very powerful Ace (superhero) is being manipulated through her friend Joey, a very different and troubled Ace.  Bubbles has raw power--she can absorb pretty much infinite damage, and hand it back out in powerful bubbles of force.  Joey can raise and control the dead.  They confront a figure representing one of the larger organizations.  They never figure out which one, but it's menacing.  It's a fun adventure story, the action in a Wild Card story is always great.  2 stars, but almost 3 for me.  My only complaint is that it just seems too easy.  Maybe Caroline Spector just makes it look that way.  It's all good.