I thought about this, and couldn't really come up with a suitable explanation.
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When you see a laser reflecting it isn't the image. It is an exception as a laser is literally light. Imagine yourself shining a laser with an angle of 45º with respect to the mirror. You will see the laser and its virtual image (not the reflected laser). The fact that later the laser reflects doesn't mean it is the image. The reflection laser is part of the laser and not an optical phenomenon. The reflected laser will also have a virtual image as well. – Marc Barceló Mar 12 '22 at 10:05
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@MarcBarceló even a flashlight beam reflects. From what I understand of your answer, you assume that the "real image of the laser" is not of the instrument laser, but of the laser beam . If you are willing to make your comment into a lucid answer, I will vote to reopen . – anna v Mar 12 '22 at 18:52
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Possibly this should be closed as a duplicate of If I reflect light from a projector using a mirror, then is the reflected image real or virtual?, but it's definitely not a dupe of "Why does plane mirror form image of same size as object?". – benrg Mar 12 '22 at 21:39
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@benrg I thought it was asking about the physical detector laser appearing also. No the link you give does not answer this question. The comment by MarcBarceló does. – anna v Mar 13 '22 at 06:58
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@annav Okey, thank you, I will. – Marc Barceló Mar 13 '22 at 15:28
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Maybe this answer will help.
(seen from the top)
I think you are confusing the reflected beam with the image of the beam itself. The bottom part shows the real beam and the reflected beam (which is also real). This reflection is explained due to the fact that a laser beam is light indeed. However, the beam itself can be seen as clearly as a red solid bar. So, it is the "red bar" the one that has a virtual image (top side of the picture). Both the incident beam and the reflected beam have an image that you will see behind the mirror.
Marc Barceló
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