Once Storm is back with the X-Men, Gambit sticks around. That gets him into X-Tinction Agenda almost immediately. He's barely had time to meet these people before he's mixed up…

Once Storm is back with the X-Men, Gambit sticks around. That gets him into X-Tinction Agenda almost immediately. He's barely had time to meet these people before he's mixed up in the Genosha situation and a crossover involving the X-Men, X-Factor and New Mutants. He hasn't suddenly become somebody with years of loyalty to Xavier. His connection is still largely through Storm, and you can see that afterward in #273. He offers to leave with her and go back to the life they were sharing. She isn't going to abandon her responsibilities. He also pushes her about leading the X-Men again. That conversation tells you more about where he stands than just putting him in a team lineup. He knows the Storm he traveled with. Now he's seeing the responsibilities and relationships that came back with the rest of her life.