Reverse Missiles - Can you dodge?

[Otaku]

I have to ask, because apparently the RAW is still the same as from 2e Magic (which is to say 3e GURPS) there was something that never made sense to me but it rarely came up in play so I just went with it.

Originally Posted by GURPS Magic

If the attacker’s “to hit” roll is successful, he hits himself – if not, he sees the missile fly back toward him and miss.

How is the exception at all applicable?

If the attacker misses his "to hit roll", then isn't he missing the target protected by Reverse Missile and thus the Spell never "activates" against that particular shot? Even in if the attacker missed a roll against a different target, crashing into Reverse Missile by accident, the spell should return the shot along the path from which it came, in which case the original target should risk being hit (if still in the line of fire) and then the attacker should still risk being hit (again, if still in the line of fire).

I know it is "magic", but it strikes me as more complicated to have the Spell work in any fashion but reversing the missile and sending it back along the path from which it came at (roughly) the same speed at which it hit the Reverse Missile effect.